No love for the 10mm?

[Butch]

You made a foolish statement about bears and I called you on it. What is not productive in this thread has been your posts. They have just been jabs and insults at other members. Is it too hard for you to show others respect and agree to disagree?
Pat

You made a foolish statement about bears and I called you on it.

What did I say about bears?

What is not productive in this thread has been your posts.

And your war stories are?

You would fit in better over on GT with your argumentative nature.

They have just been jabs and insults at other members. Is it too hard for you to show others respect and agree to disagree?

Kettle meet pot.

[GJM]

You don't have time for warning shots.
Pat

Pat, it sounds like you have a lot of interesting experience with bears. That said it is important to distinguish between your experience and your opinion versus a fact. Having first harvested a grizzly in 1992, recreated around them since then, lived in Alaska for the last ten years, taken the Gunsite bear course twice, and having harvested multiple grizzly bears, I also have some experience and a different opinion on this.

Over multiple occasions, including as recently as with a moose last winter, and a sow and two large cubs in September, I have found a warning shot to cause the animal to discontinue the charge. Since my goal is to stop the attack, my preference is for the bear to go away -- and if a warning shot does that, it is a very efficient and effective use of a single cartridge.

Like people, bears come with a wide range of personalities, and in my experience, charges come in different flavors. Certainly there are instances where you have time for just one shot to the brain, and a warning shot would be a bad use of time available. There are also instances where there is time for a warning shot, and both you and the bear are better off for a different outcome. As a result, it would be wrong to tell someone that they never have time for a warning shot, just as it would be wrong to tell them a warning shot always makes sense. Same with the effectiveness or lack of effectiveness of bear spray, or any particular caliber. As an Alaskan, I am sure you know that when the three troopers responded down in Katmai, where the bear had eaten Treadway and his girlfriend, unfortunately the one trooper armed just with a Glock 22 got ahead of the two with shotguns, and he stopped/killed that man-eating bear with .40 S&W as his two shotgun carrying colleagues watched from behind him.

This is a photo taken by my wife not long after I fired a warning shot that turned a sow and two cubs while caribou hunting. At the shot, the bears went running for their lives.

[Pointshoot]

Jack-O

Thank you sir ! I couldnt find the link, or the issue of Bear Hunting magazine where he wrote about the subject. Your help is much appreciated. In the magazine article he wrote about his experience guiding for police officers who wanted to use their service pistols to hunt black bear. He was using hounds to tree the bears, and was not impressed at all by the results. Maybe I'll eventually find the magazine, I havent seen that actual article posted anywhere online yet.

It was interesting to find out the views of someone who had been involved with taking down so many bears. One's personal experience with a relatively few number doesn't provide enough information alone.

As for a warning shot for incoming brown bears, maybe it comes down to the distance and time you have? There was a video not too long ago of an Alaskan hunting guide who was charged by a brown bear. It was open country. That bear was out a bit (500yds+, I don't recall exactly). The guide waved his arms to identify the hunting party as human, but it still came running in. He got off one warning shot in the dirt in front of the bear, before she came rushing in anyway. Its amazing how fast the bear moved. As I recall, he had to put several shots into her with a 375 rifle to bring her down (mighta been something bigger bore). You can hearing the guide cussing during and after the shooting. He didn't want to have to shoot that bear, but was forced to do so. Watching that reminds you of how puny any handgun is for the task, even given the advantage that youre more likely to have it on you all the time. That guide was one cool headed professional.

GJM - beautiful country ! Alaska is one of the best places on the planet IMO

Regards, - - -