[OldScribe2009]

Given the standard Glock Talk arguments about bears and calibers and .44's:

Just saw this article in an old America's First Freedom and found it at Americanhunter.org.

Publisher Robert Petersen killed this with a Model 29 .44 Mag.

Petersen and his guide remained concealed behind an ice mound as the bear approached, and he unloaded five well-place rounds in to the shoulder, chest and heart of the bear with his Smith & Wesson .44 mag.

http://www.americanhunter.org/GalleryItem.aspx?cid=45&gid=95&id=1136

Are you certain the bear's dimensions haven't been altered by the taxidermist?

That's not a bear, it's a monster. It looks like that thing that hemmed up Luke Skywalker on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. Look at the girl standing beside it. Compared to the bear, she looks like a little doll or something.

Jesus. Just give me an RPG. :shocked:

 

[method]

Are you certain the bear's dimensions haven't been altered by the taxidermist?

That's not a bear, it's a monster. It looks like that thing that hemmed up Luke Skywalker on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. Look at the girl standing beside it. Compared to the bear, she looks like a little doll or something.

Jesus. Just give me an RPG. :shocked:

Judging by the girl's legs, she's pretty short. She's also standing a few feet behind the bear. I'd guess the bear's height at 12 or 13 feet.

 

[Berto]

Well sheesh, only 12 or 13ft....




:freak:

 

[pennlineman]

http://www.bearsoftheworld.net/polar_bears.asp

The largest Polar Bear stood over 12' tall and weighed over 2,200 pounds. Having the girl in the background no doubt makes it look bigger. Still, big animals.

 

[bac1023]

Well sheesh, only 12 or 13ft....




:freak:

:rofl:

I hear you on that.

 

[glock2740]

Bear seems awful skinny. :whistling:

 

[SmokeRoss]

Judging by the girl's legs, she's pretty short. She's also standing a few feet behind the bear. I'd guess the bear's height at 12 or 13 feet.

B.S. That's my grand daughter. She stands 6'2". That bear is 20 feet tall and bullet proof. You are out of your league when it comes to Polar bears. Anything that can kill and eat a 2000 pound male walrus deserves respect. A .44 will only piss it off.

 

[Novocaine]

B.S. That's my grand daughter. She stands 6'2". That bear is 20 feet tall and bullet proof. You are out of your league when it comes to Polar bears. Anything that can kill and eat a 2000 pound male walrus deserves respect. A .44 will only piss it off.

With all due respect nothing is bulletproof except Chuck Norris. Even the bear that is almost twice as large as the largest bear in recorded history.

 

[SmokeRoss]

With all due respect nothing is bulletproof except Chuck Norris. Even the bear that is almost twice as large as the largest bear in recorded history.

Try telling that to the bear. :rofl:Also read "Track Of The Kodiak" and "Alaska Bear Tales". You might have a new perspective.
Chuck would wet his panties if he had some of the bear experiences I have had.:wow:

 

[Novocaine]

Sorry about the off topic but Chuck doesn't wet panties. Panties wet Chuck.


Did it come out right?:dunno:

 

[Wishoot]

Sorry about the off topic but Chuck doesn't wet panties. Panties wet Chuck.


Did it come out right?:dunno:

:rofl:

 

[Brucev]

Killing is not the same thing as stopping. True in self-defense. True also with animals... even the big ones. The .44 S&W Magnum will kill a polar bear, no debate. One round will do it. Only needs to get into the living room... i.e., heart/lungs or brain. For routine use against such animals, probably better figure on putting as many rounds as possible into the animal... reloading ASAP and then firing more rounds. Short of a shoulder cannon, got to figure that it is going to be very hard to stop a polar bear bent on getting up close and personal. JMHO. bruce.

 

[AK_Stick]

Polar bears, are often not as heavy as brown bears, but are bigger animals.



a 44 is more than adequate for both bear hunting and/or bear defense. But that said, if I have my choice, I'm taking one of the big bore rifles to deal with any meat eating aminal.

 

[OldScribe2009]

You guys are making me want to buy a S&W .357 Magnum. Not a .44 Magnum, because the same penetration you get on a Polar Bear will work against you on a human.

No, I want a .357 Magnum with a 5-inch barrel, loaded with the heaviest, nastiest hollow-points.

Oh, here we go again...

 

[AK_Stick]

a heavy 357 will more than penetrate a person.


Pistol rounds, being what they are, I'll take a bigger hole.

 

[guyandarifle]

Larry Kelly proved you can kill anything that walks with a .44 magnum. However I, like others, would reiterate that "hunting/killing" and "defense" are two somewhat different criteria. I'd much prefer my .340 Wby rifle over even my .500 S&W to stop a charging bear given the option.

As for a .44 vs .454/.460/.500 regarding shootability I'm a bit torn on that one. Considering that you may very well only have time to get off one shot, perhaps two, I rather like the idea of those shots being 400+gr .50's. I can see both sides of that argument. (having both a .44 and a .500)

 

[mac66]

Larry Kelly, the inventor and owner of Mag Na-Port, has shot just about everything under the sun with a 44 mag. If you are ever around the area, stop at his place in Mt. Clemens Michigan and look at all his trophies.

I stopped there about 20 years ago and he came out and gave me a tour and sat down with me and went through all his photo albums of his trips to Africa. Ended up spending most of the day there listening to his stories and looking at his pics. He was hunting in parts of Africa when there were revolutions going on. He has some very graphic pictures of some of his trips. Very cool guy, though he is probably getting old by now.

 

[Haldor]

For hunting a bear a .44 mag is fine since you can wait until you get a broadside shot into the boiler room and can make a deliberate shot into a vital spot.

Stopping a charging bear from the front is a very different story. The only reliable "off" switch you can reach with a pistol from the front is a brain shot and that is a low percentage shot. The skull is thick and angled which means that even if you hit the head the shot can skip off.

A 12 gauge loaded with slugs or a 45-70 loaded with heavy, hard cast bullets is what I would want to have in my hands if facing a bear attack. I would rather have bear spray than a pistol in that event.

Garret has some interesting things to say about bears and firearms.

http://www.garrettcartridges.com/defensive.html

This is what I would load my 45-70 with.

http://www.garrettcartridges.com/4570540tech.html

And this is what I would load my Model 29 with although it is still definitely a very last option.

http://www.garrettcartridges.com/44hammerhead.html

 

[gsdrulz]

Awful lot of "experts" here.... wheres Alfred10 when you need the "real" expert on bears.

The .44 mag will work there are more than a few Alaskans who will vouch for that. We Alaskan can always tell the "goobers" from the lower 48 as they always try to use the biggest gun known to man. Funny how most of them are the ones who get eaten. The biggest gun in the world won't do you any good if you miss.