63bkpkr
Silver Member
- Aug 9, 2007
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Bears are amazing animals! What do all animals do out there, they walk around every day, up and down hills through brush for most if not all of the year. That just happens to be quite an exercise routine. Then how do bears get food? If the grass, flowers, or berries are ripe they just eat them. Bears also hunt for squirrels mostly by digging for them, so just how easy is it for them to dig for squirrels. Bears also chase down young animals, like moose, fawns, etc. Bears climb trees for leaves, honey and maybe squirrels. What I am getting at is that all bears are quite strong. All bears can be standing still and in an instant be heading for 25 to 30 MPH, Momma Bear if she has Psyched herself up could even move a little faster and her mind is all about protecting her children, do you think she cares about you, NO.
So how far the bear is from you when 'You See It' makes a big difference in your reaction time, your reaction time needs to be quicker than the bear all the time!
IF a bear is charging you what is the best point to aim at? If you go to a "Where to shoot a bear to kill it" on an internet search site, any site worth its salt will tell you to shoot it right in back of the front shoulder/leg as that gets the bullet into the Bears vitals (heart, lung, organs the things that keep the bear moving). Here is a hint for you: Bears do not run at you sideways. The front of Any Bear is armored with big bones, heavy fur and skin, fat and the skull is heavy and angled which happens to deflect bullets fairly well.
Lets get back to timing - a charging bear encounter is generally going to happen very fast as they understand how to Stalk their dinner. Remember we are just another intruder dinner to them. So how do you aim at a "fast" moving target? Getting the front and rear sights aligned on a fast moving target is how you practice at the range, Right?? No!!! Well you'd better if you are going to be out in Mr or Miss' bears back yard. I prefer to practice shooting at a target by looking down the side of my barrel (454 Casull Revolver), for Semi-Autos you'd be looking down the side of your slide. At what distance? from 25' to 3'. How much time do you have, not enough to squeeze the trigger and poop your pants at the same time, its all going to go down real fast, especially if its Momma with Cubs.
Yes, some bears bluff charge which gives you a little more time to get your weapon out. Some bears are still Leary of humans and will walk away from you once they've seen you, try not to Startle any Bear. The ones that have become used to humans (trash can bears) or the ones that humans have hand fed (tree huggers and dummies), well they consider you just another source of where the food comes from. AKA - you are it, chewy on the outside, soft in the middle.
Caliber: YES, you will find accounts of people stopping a bear with a 9mm. Remember, it hurts when you accidentally stick yourself with a "pin" so any slug is going to hurt a lot worse (.22 and on up). The best kill shot on a bear is from the side but likely you won't have that shot, you will likely be looking at the bears face and chest, all mighty tough stuff. The bullets will hurt the bear which will excite the animal causing its adrenaline to spike and now you will have an Adrenaline Junky That Wants To Kill the Thing that Hurt it. Right, all of this is bad news for the human. With a 9mm you want to get all 14 rounds into the animal very quickly (some will miss) and then get another full clip into it (excuse me, magazine). Then immediately keep shooting the animal!!!! Be very capable of changing magazines in a high stress situation (Note: a bear wanting to kill you IS a high stress situation, this is no joke) Practice!
Now, personally I love being out in Extremely Wild Country, I've also had MANY encounters with bears. On one particular occasion if the bear in the bushes to the left of the trail had chosen me as a target, I would not be writing this right now! I happened to surprise the animal (recall I told you to not do this), both of my hands were full of things (one of those things being a wet canvas bag full of fresh caught Trout). When the bear exited the bushes I opened both hands and grabbed for my revolver which I keep in a shoulder holster in my left armpit. By the time I'd undone the snap on the holster the bear was gone over the next ridge about 30' away. That was many years ago and I camp in that country every year. Am I crazy, I like to think that I love that country so much that I need to be out in it every year. These are mostly wild bears with limited contact with people BUT back in the mid 1970's the Forest Service started Dumping Bad Bears (the ones the humans fed in National Parks) into MY Canyon (rugged mountain country). They began by taking my food bags that were hanging from a rope over a tree limb so the bears could not get the food which up until the dumping started worked (that would be from 1964 into the mid 1970's). I lost several food bags and ropes then I switched over to a steel cable and that ended the stolen food. They then turned to my camp itself. The trick is, do not zip up your tent. Leave it open so they can walk in, explore and then easily walk out. The tent will still be there, a few things may be torn up (that would include my squishy air mattress and some stuff sacks) and do not leave your first aid kit in your tent just way too many curious smells for bears. (Heck they go wild over hydrocarbon fumes, think gasoline in 5 gallon plastic jugs, the bears chew through the jugs to get at the fumes!!!) You try to chew through the wall of a 5 gallon jug!
Okay, I use my 454 as a noise maker and to date it always works and so far NO charging bears. How, close 15'. I have no interest in shooting a bear for any part of it, I absolutely want nothing to do with any part of a bear other than watching them walk around. I do wish they would leave my camps alone! Oh, the 454 IS NOT for everyone!! It is very heavy unloaded and a lot heavier loaded with 300 grain slugs (my choice). Why do I own it? It will shoot through 3/8" steel plate. Once I tested it on an 8" diameter pine tree but before I fired I lined up the target tree so there was a catch tree behind it, good thing I did. From a distance of ~ 8' the 300 grain solid slug went right through the center point of first tree and buried into the second tree. All I have to do is place the slug and it will do the rest no matter what I'm shooting at.
So around Bears be wise and keep your food out of their reach. Clean up really well after each meal. Bears can easily rip the lid off of a food cooler. If a bear smeels food in your car they will break into your vehicle. One of their tricks (this would be an educated bear) is to put a claw under the rubber strip that holds the windshield in place and pull the seal out, this happened on the Alaskan Pipe Line build! Make noise so you do not accidentally startle them. Also, be quick on the draw and practice high stress shooting!.......................63bkpkr [a candy bar in your shirt pocket or day pack on a hot day is not wise]
So how far the bear is from you when 'You See It' makes a big difference in your reaction time, your reaction time needs to be quicker than the bear all the time!
IF a bear is charging you what is the best point to aim at? If you go to a "Where to shoot a bear to kill it" on an internet search site, any site worth its salt will tell you to shoot it right in back of the front shoulder/leg as that gets the bullet into the Bears vitals (heart, lung, organs the things that keep the bear moving). Here is a hint for you: Bears do not run at you sideways. The front of Any Bear is armored with big bones, heavy fur and skin, fat and the skull is heavy and angled which happens to deflect bullets fairly well.
Lets get back to timing - a charging bear encounter is generally going to happen very fast as they understand how to Stalk their dinner. Remember we are just another intruder dinner to them. So how do you aim at a "fast" moving target? Getting the front and rear sights aligned on a fast moving target is how you practice at the range, Right?? No!!! Well you'd better if you are going to be out in Mr or Miss' bears back yard. I prefer to practice shooting at a target by looking down the side of my barrel (454 Casull Revolver), for Semi-Autos you'd be looking down the side of your slide. At what distance? from 25' to 3'. How much time do you have, not enough to squeeze the trigger and poop your pants at the same time, its all going to go down real fast, especially if its Momma with Cubs.
Yes, some bears bluff charge which gives you a little more time to get your weapon out. Some bears are still Leary of humans and will walk away from you once they've seen you, try not to Startle any Bear. The ones that have become used to humans (trash can bears) or the ones that humans have hand fed (tree huggers and dummies), well they consider you just another source of where the food comes from. AKA - you are it, chewy on the outside, soft in the middle.
Caliber: YES, you will find accounts of people stopping a bear with a 9mm. Remember, it hurts when you accidentally stick yourself with a "pin" so any slug is going to hurt a lot worse (.22 and on up). The best kill shot on a bear is from the side but likely you won't have that shot, you will likely be looking at the bears face and chest, all mighty tough stuff. The bullets will hurt the bear which will excite the animal causing its adrenaline to spike and now you will have an Adrenaline Junky That Wants To Kill the Thing that Hurt it. Right, all of this is bad news for the human. With a 9mm you want to get all 14 rounds into the animal very quickly (some will miss) and then get another full clip into it (excuse me, magazine). Then immediately keep shooting the animal!!!! Be very capable of changing magazines in a high stress situation (Note: a bear wanting to kill you IS a high stress situation, this is no joke) Practice!
Now, personally I love being out in Extremely Wild Country, I've also had MANY encounters with bears. On one particular occasion if the bear in the bushes to the left of the trail had chosen me as a target, I would not be writing this right now! I happened to surprise the animal (recall I told you to not do this), both of my hands were full of things (one of those things being a wet canvas bag full of fresh caught Trout). When the bear exited the bushes I opened both hands and grabbed for my revolver which I keep in a shoulder holster in my left armpit. By the time I'd undone the snap on the holster the bear was gone over the next ridge about 30' away. That was many years ago and I camp in that country every year. Am I crazy, I like to think that I love that country so much that I need to be out in it every year. These are mostly wild bears with limited contact with people BUT back in the mid 1970's the Forest Service started Dumping Bad Bears (the ones the humans fed in National Parks) into MY Canyon (rugged mountain country). They began by taking my food bags that were hanging from a rope over a tree limb so the bears could not get the food which up until the dumping started worked (that would be from 1964 into the mid 1970's). I lost several food bags and ropes then I switched over to a steel cable and that ended the stolen food. They then turned to my camp itself. The trick is, do not zip up your tent. Leave it open so they can walk in, explore and then easily walk out. The tent will still be there, a few things may be torn up (that would include my squishy air mattress and some stuff sacks) and do not leave your first aid kit in your tent just way too many curious smells for bears. (Heck they go wild over hydrocarbon fumes, think gasoline in 5 gallon plastic jugs, the bears chew through the jugs to get at the fumes!!!) You try to chew through the wall of a 5 gallon jug!
Okay, I use my 454 as a noise maker and to date it always works and so far NO charging bears. How, close 15'. I have no interest in shooting a bear for any part of it, I absolutely want nothing to do with any part of a bear other than watching them walk around. I do wish they would leave my camps alone! Oh, the 454 IS NOT for everyone!! It is very heavy unloaded and a lot heavier loaded with 300 grain slugs (my choice). Why do I own it? It will shoot through 3/8" steel plate. Once I tested it on an 8" diameter pine tree but before I fired I lined up the target tree so there was a catch tree behind it, good thing I did. From a distance of ~ 8' the 300 grain solid slug went right through the center point of first tree and buried into the second tree. All I have to do is place the slug and it will do the rest no matter what I'm shooting at.
So around Bears be wise and keep your food out of their reach. Clean up really well after each meal. Bears can easily rip the lid off of a food cooler. If a bear smeels food in your car they will break into your vehicle. One of their tricks (this would be an educated bear) is to put a claw under the rubber strip that holds the windshield in place and pull the seal out, this happened on the Alaskan Pipe Line build! Make noise so you do not accidentally startle them. Also, be quick on the draw and practice high stress shooting!.......................63bkpkr [a candy bar in your shirt pocket or day pack on a hot day is not wise]
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