45acp ammo for black bear defense

[exexpat93]

Well, least we forget a kid was attacked this last week by a bear. Stuff happens in the woods.

I read and posted on the last "Bear Attack" thread. I think the consensus was 45acp wasn't enough in any loading - Bear or Cougar.

Try a 30-30 lever action carbine or pump shotgun vice trekking into "Bear Country" with just any pistol. Even that might not be enough.

Bear spray? Just the other day I was attacked by a dog while walking and hit it with pepper spray ... it walked right through it and commensed to chew on my boots. I think I just made it more angry.

I will not trust any spray on any person or animal. A bear might just take it as "seasoning" before the munching.

No more "Bear Threads".

[the_gunman1]

Ever considered a good marlin .44 mag lever gun. They only weigh about 6-6.5 lbs loaded. Recoil is pretty mild and follow up shots pretty fast.

Something like this(without the scope of course):


With a good 300gr hard cast bullet it would be great bear medicine.

"I read and posted on the last "Bear Attack" thread. I think the consensus was 45acp wasn't enough in any loading - Bear or Cougar".

Most 230gr HP's would be enough for any size cougar( Puma, Mountain lion whatever you want to call it). They are not thick skinned or heavy boned animals and a .45 would work about as good as it does on a person. My uncle is a hunting guide. He works pretty much the western US and has killed four cougers in his 30 year career with a 1911 using 230gr FMJ ammo for three of them and 230gr Gold Dots on the last one. Three of them were large males.

[Bree]

Originally Posted by spamlovr

We didn't get your cover charge??????

Someone go get the cover from her before she hides under the DJ booth!

If you think this is fun, you haven't seen ARFcom. http://www.ar15.com
I see you are from NY. Here is your ARFcom Hometown forum: http://ar15.com/forums/forum.html?b=8&f=9
You may never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Please be cautious.

You are trying to twist me and pervert me into something my mom warned me about!! Now let's see how much are those AR15's??

[Krackels]

Black Bears seldom attack people unless you get between a mother and her cubs.

After all the great contributions, I can just give you this article and tell you that it might be worth your time.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...47/ai_78900535

[SpringfieldXD.40]

Originally Posted by fleshatomb@yahoo.com

Thanks bree for giving me some ammo to check out. I really wish cor-bon had a FMJ +p though.

I think a 45acp would work fine for the bear in my state. if i lived in alaska, i would definantly carry a 12 gauge with alternating loads of 00 buckshot and slugs. And i would much rather have 14 rounds of 45 acp with less recoil then 6 rounds of 44mag with lots more recoil which takes more time to line up your target. maybe thats me. i really doubt all a 45acp would do is piss off a bear unless you just totally missed or had all bad shots.

I agree....from what I have seen of the bears around here, a 45 SHOULD get the job done....shot placement is the name of the game

[Frisco Pete]

I would tend to go with the Buffalo Bore FMJ-FN. The flat nose will cut a better hole and do more damage than just a normal round nose. Should have the penetration you would need. The old .45 Colt revolver killed a lot of black bear in it's day with only a slightly heavier bullet. The cast bullet was a good penetrator. There isn't enough difference between that and the .45 ACP to worry about (that is why the army adopted the ACP version). Sure isn't ideal for black bear hunting, but most aren't much bigger than a man, so in a pinch...

Black Bears seldom attack people unless you get between a mother and her cubs.

Maybe you had better check yesterday's news (June 18th) See: www.sltrib.com/ci_6174924

With this scenario you probably should add a Tac light to the light rail for nighttime encounters in camp.

[fleshatomb@yahoo.com]

gw45nut - thanks for that recommendation, ill check into those.

krackles - the momma bear and her cubs are my biggest concern. i figure any other bear i might run into would jsut run off. That was a interesting article. thanks for posting it.

frisco pete - thanks for that info and article. i never really gave much thought to a tactical light since i have my surefire right beside my 45 XD.


But, some onelinked me to Extreme Shock bullets. I found a review of two of their rounds, which the test was supported by this lovely forum, lol. and they werent worth their weight in crap once the test was done. But they have what they call a 'enhanced penetrating round'

http://www.extremeshockusa.com/cgist...d=6014404.4768

im thinking about buying 5 of those cause there so damned expensive, some buffalo bore, and maybe some corbons or double taps, im not sure yet. and test them at the local range. probably try one of my hydra shocks too.

Someone told me, shooting those big cans of tomatos made for a pretty good test for bone and tissue. is that true? IM thinking of building a little rectangle table to set about 5 cans on back to back in a straight line and see how far each round penetrates.

does that sound like a good penetration test? or would gallon water jugs work just as good? (easier to retrive the bullet, but i have learned from myth busters bullets break apart in water, so it wouldnt be good for a test?)

thanks every one else for the help and information. vbmenu_register("postmenu_606137", true);

[Myk9noseknows]

Pow'RBall's are DEFINITELY not the way to go. They simply do not have enough Mass to penetrate through the animals thick skin and dense bone mass. They may move fast, they they do not have enough weight to get the job done. Not to mention that the expansions tests I have seen show them to be least effective at keeping their expansion weight. Fine for humans, no no for a bear!

Sidearm and OC spray/foam sound like the move for you if you don't want to carry a shottie or invest in a .44 or up. OC Spray will really render the bear defenseless, it can't see and it can't run after you, it's pretty good stuff for what it's designed for. If anything you could spray him , then shoot him and then run.
I'm personally looking at the Alaskan .454 cassaull (sp) or the S&W .500 magnum to take with me out on the trails. Yeah, they are all about $700 and up, but I'd trust my life to that and a 350g bullet, I would just use the .45 out of necessity and then run like the wind.

[fleshatomb@yahoo.com]

Originally Posted by Myk9noseknows

Sidearm and OC spray/foam sound like the move for you if you don't want to carry a shottie or invest in a .44 or up.

Oh, I do want a .44 and/or .500mag. i jsut dont have cash right now. lol. I also want a RRA ar15 entry tactical, SA XD .40sw SC. and a .38 snub nose. on top of a new truck. lol. I have a small armory in my room, lot sof shot guns, but only one 12 guage (well 2 but the other is very old), and its for turkey hunting. I will definantly get a bigger handgun for the trail later on, and possibly a short barreled 12 gauge later too.

But i just now checked out the double tap ammo, and compared to the Extreme Shock stuff, it is 40fps slower, 22 pounds less energy. but the double tap is also 45 grains heavier i dont think ill even mess with the extreme shock stuff.

[lobster_roboto]

I've encountered 3 black bears on 3 different occasions while hiking in California...only one even noticed me but it just looked at me and pushed a "log" around looking for food I suppose...
This "log" was more of a tree that I wouldn't be able to even budge without help. Very impressive show of strength in my opinion...

Anyhow...

For bear, load up with the heaviest FMJ +p you can manage and fire blindly behind you as you run for your life.

no more bear threads

Next stop best load for a robot attack!