minimum sidearm for black bear country

[CampingJosh]

You're afraid of black bears??

Not right now, no. I'm in my office in Indiana.

When in the woods, it's wise to have an awareness of and at least a healthy respect for the apex predator, whatever that may be in any given area.

 

[rhino]

I'm afraid of anything with teeth and claws that is bigger than a house cat.

 

[Expat]

I'm afraid of anything with teeth and claws that is bigger than a house cat.

Some house cats can be scary....

 

[olhorseman]

I know this is a poor photo but we really weren't expecting this guy to show up last weekend. The small black spot in the center of the photo is a small black bear that passed through our property. Didn't see mom or any others. He was about the size of a Saint Bernard.

 

[rhino]

I'm afraid of anything with teeth and claws that is bigger than a house cat.

Some house cats can be scary....

I didn't say only​ bigger than a house cat.

 

[AtTheMurph]

Next thing you know people will start carrying guns in the woods because there are deer!
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1258792

 

[Expat]

I didn't say only​ bigger than a house cat.

 

[actaeon277]

Next thing you know people will start carrying guns in the woods because there are deer!
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1258792

Sometimes when people have asked "why do you need a gun?", I ask them what they'd do if their kid was being attacked by a dog... Yell at it?

 

[dugsagun]

Was deer hunting this past week in arkansas with my 243. My dad got a doe as did i, he used his 7mm rem . Anyway, the last morning we were hunting, after getting down from the big elevated stand, we both turned to see a big lone wolf, by the spot my dad got his doe the day before. We figured he was looking for the entrails that we didnt remove till later. He was about 50 yards from us and we stared at him and he just stared right back at us. It definitely is an interesting feeling when u realize stuff with fangs and claws can bite you back. Our land is in a bear zone and while i have personally never seen one in our field, i have come across their tracks in the neighbors woods. I would say whatever makes u feel comfortable is what to use.

 

[bgcatty]

I'm kinda looking for an excuse to buy a revolver.

S&W Model 29 — .44 Magnum loaded with 240 grain Hornady XTP Bullets and stout loads will take care of a black bear.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Our place in Canada always has potential for black bears. When one group leaves, oftentimes the next group will see bear sign around the cabin when they get there. One time, when my kids were younger, we'd just gotten there and they both jumped out of the boat and ran down the trail to the other end of our place. I was walking after them a few minutes later and thought I saw a beaver in the lake, and it was a bear leaving our island. It couldn't have been 20 yards away from the kids when they ran past and spooked it.

The fun part of being in bear country in Canada is that you absolutely can't have a handgun, and if you're like me, you give up trying to convince the customs agent why they should let you pay an extra 50 bucks to take your gun. If they say no, there you are at the border with a gun, and they won't keep it for you.

And.........to get to the outhouse, you walk down a path through the woods. When you're a kid, at night, that path seems really long (who am I kidding, I'm 55 and sometimes it still seems pretty long at night)

 

[bwframe]

How would the normal standard of 147gr Federal HST from a G19 work on black bear?

 

[cosermann]

Yep, it's an older thread, but I came across this relevant article today.

I found the apparent efficacy of handguns surprising - https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/de...s-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz5UFScHWeC

 

[Timjoebillybob]

 

[Expat]

Yep, it's an older thread, but I came across this relevant article today.

I found the apparent efficacy of handguns surprising - https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/de...s-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz5UFScHWeC

Interesting. I wouldn’t count the failure against the .357. Of course we don’t read of the failures since the guy got eaten

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

It's funny, at some point after this thread was posted, I found myself camping in black bear country more than once.

Those camping trips were long-distance trail hikes where pack-weight is a concern, so I carried my 9mm Shield with me. We never did see any bears.

One of the trails that we hiked was the Sheltowee trace in Kentucky. Sheltowee is the OPs name. Ironic.

Interesting. I wouldn’t count the failure against the .357. Of course we don’t read of the failures since the guy got eaten

A guy once said: If you're romancing your woman and you have Barry White playing in the background....if you don't get lucky, it's not Barry's fault.

 

[rhslover]

Having lived in black bear country a good portion of my life I'd say the appropriate gun for hears would be none. People who live with these critters view them much as we view raccoons, a nuisance and nothing else. I've camped many nights in bear country, having them wander through camp looking for food never had an issue. Now, don't let that dissuade you from getting a revolver, have at it.