I think I might use this. 
Yesterday, a hunter near(ish) to me was being chewed on when he used a handgun to kill the bear. Doesn’t say what make or model…
Alaskan Browns are FAST and stealthy. They’ve been clocked at 35mph.
In one case, the guy was fishing, and the Ruger Alaskan revolver was his “Oh shit!” gun. Hit the bear just above the keel of the sternum, and pretty much destroyed every important organ down the length of the bear - “Dead Right There.” That didn’t stop the carcass from careening forward on its established course, and steam-rolling the guy into the dirt. He hiked out, about ten miles, with a concussion, dislocated shoulder, and two busted ribs. No fish.
Second case, the guy was standing on a stump, watching a game path, waiting for his meal to walk into view. It was cold. He occassionally stamped his feet to help circulation. The bear… Was sleeping in a den under the stump. :eek: Bear pops up, dude jerks one shot off, bear vanishes. :dubious: Headshot. Between the eyes. Bear fell and rolled back down into its den. I’ve seen - touched - the hide. Yup. 7mm hole centered between the eyes, just above the eye-line.
I would be shaking to much to aim.
There is the story of a soldier in Alaska. Upon being told that his M-16 would not stop a polar bear, he responded, “He won’t catch me. He be slippin’ on shit.”
Both cases I cited, it’s a situation of ‘surprise reflex’ - they didn’t have time to start shaking, they were too busy reacting. Of course, there are any number of stories where the outdoorsmen had inadequate preparation or reflexes or fortune, and the bears are the ones telling the stories.
Heh. Yeah, the polar bear is pretty much the largest land carnivore as walks this planet these days. One shot of 5.56x45 won’t do the job, but a full magazine will. Maybe not fast enough to save your life, though.
TBH, the Alaskan (or other northern climes) animal that intimidates me the most is Moose. Bullwinkle is NOT your friend. He will stomp you, kick you, run you over, and otherwsie mess you up.* And if it’s his sister, and she’s got calves, square that. If it’s winter, and the weather’s been harsh, cube that.
*Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretti nasti
One of my sisters has a place high in the mountains west of Denver. Sees a lot of moose up there, does not mess with them.
Black bears at the bird feeders on the porch are just fun to watch through the glass. Slugged 12 gauge at the ready but the ‘fear’ factor is way lower than the moose one. Especially when actually outside …
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Favorite moose story, which I would call bullshit on except there was a State Trooper witness and an insurance report:
Guy was driving his truck and cab-over camper down the Parks Highway in Alaska when a bull moose stepped out in front of his truck. He slammed on the brakes, the windshield shattered, and the truck spun out into a ditch. When the driver got out of the truck and looked back he saw that the camper had been ripped from the back of the truck and was sitting upright in the middle of the road. Pieces of it were flying everywhere, because inside was a very pissed off moose. It had apparently jumped right before impact and hit the camper instead of the bumper. It took a couple of minutes, but the moose reduced the camper to kindling and freed itself. It looked around, snorted and then walked back into the brush. Totalled the truck and the camper. Total injury to the moose - a few scrapes, I guess. Maybe a headache later.
Never mess with a moose if you aren’t packing serious firepower and have excellent backup. Them suckers are mean. They make great chili, though.
Completely plausible, silenus.
People don’t realize that the moose doesn’t have to jump - those long legs put the barrel of the moose’s body already at windshield height. Then the A-pillars and windshield just ramp it up into the air - whilst frequently killing anyone in the front seats.
The Moose Experiment run by the MythBusters was one of their better ones, and the results completely matched empirical evidence.
I’m surprised by that. One would think that those hooves would make handling kitchenware difficult.
I believe they just stomp on the ingredients.
Yep. Moose=1,000 lbs of meat on stilts.