Idle curiosity and bears.

[fightingquaker13]

OK, the S@W .500 thread got me to thinking. The one gun (niche) I do not own is the BFG pistol. I'm not sure I need one, but being within 50 yards of a grizz (smelling distance) and 5 miles up the road from 3 casulties made me reconsider this. Generally, for human threats? A .44 mag is beyond plenty. For bears, using a shorter, say 2 1/2"-6" barrel? Do you want the .454 Casull or the .500 Smith? The advantage of the Casull seems to be the ability to use relatively affordable (and sane, .45 Colts). The Smith? A BFG. I don't hunt with a handgun or shoot long range targets and don't plan to start. I just want Yogi dead, pretty much right now. Ammo cost is not irrelevant, but secondary. Thoughts?
FQ13  

[MAUSERMAN]

Ruger Alaskan 454/45lc works for me. All rugers are overbuilt and always ready to work. I think Buffalo bore makes a great 454 load that is bear ready.  454 Casull Ammo - 325 gr. L.B.T. - L.F.N. (1,525 fps/M.E. 1,678 ft. lbs.) - 20 Round Box$45.00
 



 
 

 

[PegLeg45]

Well, you could go with the S&W XVR .460 Magnum.....it is a BFG!!!!!

It shoots the .460 Mag, .454 Casull. and the .45 Colt cartridges in the same gun. Biggest problem is barrel length is 8+ inches and you can't just have it shortened because it has 'gain-twist' rifling.......sooooo, you would need to go to a gunsmith and install a custom barrel to have it shortened.

http://www.gunblast.com/SW460XVR.htm

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product4_750001_750051_765500_-1_757771_757767_757751_ProductDisplayErrorView_Y



You could go with the .480 Ruger, but ammo would be a pocket pincher.

IMHO, the Alaskan in .454 Casull would be the ticket, however, there are plenty of custom ammo makers out there that build stout enough ammo for the .44 magnum, that I would not feel inadequate with a good .44 mag gun, like a good strong Ruger with a smokin' load.

[ellis4538]

I believe Buffalo Bore and Garrett make a 300 gr. .44 mag which might proove enough (carried by the right individual) but I'm not sure I'd want to test it to be sure.

JMHOFWIW

Richard

[sledgemeister]

with a 2.5" barrel the recoil is going to be bad enough with stout loads on a .44 magnum especially if you want to let of a few rounds in a hurry double action, let alone a more pokey calibre like a .454, or a 500 S&W etc. I would think at least a 4" barrel to give you some assemblence of control. Especially if mr and mrs bear is travelling quickly towards your location and shots need to count.

Case in point:

NB Ruger Redhawk 4" Barrel in 454.



http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/080709/out_478669517.shtml

Interesting story especially his recalling trying to shoot it.

"I drew my gun and just started shooting in its direction. There was no time to aim. I don't know where the first shot went, but I think the second or third shot hit him. I rolled him at about five feet away," he said.

But, the bear had so much momentum behind him from the full charge, that once it rolled over from being hit by the 350 grain bullets, he still slid several yards across the gravel road, and just a couple of feet from Brush.

"He skidded to a stop about 10 feet beyond where I was shooting from. I actually side-stepped him and fell over backward on the last shot. His momentum carried him past where I fired it from," he said.

"From the time I saw him, until he skidded past me it was seconds, and I'm not exaggerating or fabricating anything," he added.

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

with a 2.5" barrel the recoil is going to be bad enough with stout loads on a .44 magnum especially if you want to let of a few rounds in a hurry double action, let alone a more pokey calibre like a .454, or a 500 S&W etc. I would think at least a 4" barrel to give you some assemblence of control. Especially if mr and mrs bear is travelling quickly towards your location and shots need to count.

If they're not I have no intention of shooting. I'm a live and let live kind of guy, particularly with something that outweighs be by a factor of five and can move at 20 miles per hour, and I'm armed with a hand gun. Bear? What bear? Unless its heading at me, I never saw it, won't pick it out of a line up, and am not really sure why I'm in the DNR office to begin with, because I ain't testifying against it. Seriously a good post though. The 4" barrel Casull seems to make the most sense. I just want to hear other opinions.
FQ13

[Hazcat]

Get the .454 Ruger and ya can get a Rossi .454 lever gun and ya got a nice handgun / rifle combo.  Shoot .45 colt or the .454 out of either.  Added bonus if ya get a carbine type lever (16-20 inch barrel) is ya have a great home defense gun as well.

[sanjuancb]

There are a lot of guns that will fill the role. Ruger makes an assortment. The Redhawks are excellent and a single-action would be fine as well. Smith & Wesson actually makes a pistol just for bear protection and survival. It is the 460 ES and comes with knife, saw, compass, hard case and other accessories. Basically it is their .460 S&W pistol with a short barrel and yellow Hogue grips. I think that it would be a sweet gun, but I can imagine that the recoil is pretty fierce---on the other hand, if you are being attacked by a bear do you think that you would even notice?

They did a pretty good write-up about it on Gunblast. It's worth taking a look at:
http://www.gunblast.com/AndyTuttle_SW460ES.htm

[TAB]

all you need is a budy that can run slower then you can.


a hand can with a short barrel= the bear would hurt less.

[PegLeg45]

There are a lot of guns that will fill the role. Ruger makes an assortment. The Redhawks are excellent and a single-action would be fine as well. Smith & Wesson actually makes a pistol just for bear protection and survival. It is the 460 ES and comes with knife, saw, compass, hard case and other accessories. Basically it is their .460 S&W pistol with a short barrel and yellow Hogue grips. I think that it would be a sweet gun, but I can imagine that the recoil is pretty fierce---on the other hand, if you are being attacked by a bear do you think that you would even notice?

They did a pretty good write-up about it on Gunblast. It's worth taking a look at:
http://www.gunblast.com/AndyTuttle_SW460ES.htm

Thanks for that info on the S&W.
In all my poking around, I just plain missed seeing (on S&W's site and Gunblast) that they had the short barreled version. That was why I mentioned the barrel shortening in my first post.
How the heck did I miss that thing with the color of those grips??   

(Aha, now I know how I missed it....it's what I get for posting at 4:56 AM)