Hunt Backcountry Podcast 121

[Huntindog45]

The only reason he didn't shoot it during the SECOND attack was because the bear had knocked the pistol away from him. He most certainly would have shot that bear on the second attack if he could have reached his pistol. Bear spray shortened the first attack, but did nothing for the second.



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of course there is no doubt he would like to have been able to get a round or two in the bear and I am certain that now he has both options more readily available. I just know that he credits the spray with having saved his life and openly says that he is not sure he would have been able to get a shot off if he had drawn his pistol first. And that is a guy who is damn proficient with a firearm so it is always entertaining when people who shoot a few times a year at stationary targets think they are going to be able to defend themselves with a firearm when a critter the size of a volkswagen is barreling down on them.

 

[Huntindog45]

alll that being said...after listening to his story this is how i am approaching bear country from now on

View attachment 71437

 

[GLB]

How did you go about rigging up the target to come at you for your tests? My buddy and I went out to a hill and tied a piece of rope between two trees as tight as possible. We then tied a milk jug onto a pulley attached to the main rope. Rig up some haphazard stick/rope release mechanism and you have yourself a pretty fun way to practice.

The target is made by MGM, its called the "Atack Target" I believe. It runs on a track that is spring loaded to come towards you when triggered.

 

[GLB]

An Anchorage PD officer killed a brown bear in my neighborhood a few years back. It had killed a moose calf and drug it near where kids lived and played. I was surprised that he used an AR. Should have known you guys train for such instances, especially in AK.

There are many accounts of Officers using the AR15 rifle to deal with problem bears here in Alaska. I have over 30 years with the AR platform and it continues to impress me.

 

[DavePwns]

I think the marine flare is a great idea for deterring an aggressive grizzly, especially if it's windy where spray would only reach a few yards. I have no experience with grizzlies but it makes sense that animals have a natural fear of fire

 

[tnanselmo]

Haven't listened to the Podcast yet but will soon. The subject of bear defense with a handgun comes up all the time and highly debated. About 2 years ago myself and a friend, both of us are Firearms Instructors for our departments and active competition shooters for 3 gun and precision/long range conducted a test. We used a charging target that gives you 2.5 seconds to react before it reaches you at 7 yards.
The handguns used by us were Glock 20 with full power 10mm loads, 44 mag revolvers, 454 casull revolver. The test was done from guard (weapon out of the holster and in a fighting stance)

We were looking for the best hit probability on a moving/ Charging target with enough gun/bullet/load that could penetrate the skull of a bear. Previous penetration test has shown that the above handguns/load combinations will penetrate a bears skull both black bear and brown bear.

The end results were the Glock 20 10mm had the highest hit probability hands down with and average of 4 accurate hits in the head size target in 2.5 seconds. That compared to two hits with the 44 mag and 1 hit with the 454. Accuracy was marginal at best with the 44 and 454. The Glock 20 we kept our hits in a 4" group centered on the 9" head target and with the revolvers we used all of the 9" to count as a hit.

So for me if I'm only going to carry a handgun in bear country it's the Glock 20 10mm. The shotgun with slugs or rifle is always a better choice.

This post just helped me make my decision to get a Glock 20... Do you recommend a chest pack holster or just hip holster?

 

[Idaboy]

This post just helped me make my decision to get a Glock 20... Do you recommend a chest pack holster or just hip holster?

Dude, it's a 6 yr old thread..,but, I would run whatever set up that you feel you can draw and shoot most accurately from while hunting.

 

[7mm-08]

Yep as stated in my post, Full power loads were used in all guns. The 10mm is a handload with a hard 200 grn bullet at 1150 fps. I have well over 1000 rounds with this load in my G20. Its reliable and accurate. We pushed it to 1205 fps but reliability was not there.

Just goes to show you that with a LOT of training, you can be accurate with a pistol with the amount of recoil generated by a 10mm. Most folks won't devote the time and money to get 1,000 rounds of 10mm down the pipe. Besides (for me at least) shooting a 10mm is NOT fun! Good on you for this devotion.

 

[tnanselmo]

Dude, it's a 6 yr old thread..,but, I would run whatever set up that you feel you can draw and shoot most accurately from while hunting.

I know it is a 6 yr old thread, but figured they might be able to answer. I wanted a recommendation because I am considering getting an FHF Chest Rig and am deciding whether to try the holster with it or stick with my hip holster.