Back to the linked prior thread, most people are going to be pretty panicked in such a confrontation, especially at the sort of short range where any pistol (emphasis) is going to be accurate. And a pistol is a lousy weapon for anything big and tough, so only pinpoint accuracy is likely to be immediately lethal, otherwise you get a “Bear killed Colorado Man, died of wounds later” scenario at best.
So if you want a more dependable lethality, especially for center of mass hits, you want something with substantial punch, such as shotgun slugs, or a .45-70 lever action rifle, or similar. Big, heavy, slow(ish) so it’s not a through-and-through small diameter shot.
But anything like that is a PITA to carry, and if you’re at short range anyway, NOT likely to do much good.
I have a lot of miscellaneous firearms I’ve inherited from my FiL, with more to come, as well as a few I purchased for target shooting. But at 30-06 rifle, or a 12g shotgun are the heaviest I own. Then again, I don’t hunt, hike, or otherwise bring myself out where anything would really be needed. Worst I’ve seen in town was deer, snakes (quite a few rattlers), raccoons, and (if I include the wife and MiL) black bears at their work/home respectively. And since I live in town, that’s what a call to animal services for, unless it’s trying to break in my door (thankfully all my pets are inside only)!
Thankfully, the coyotes that periodically make their presence known in our area have (to this point) always been heard and not seen.
I’m reminded of an incident that took place when I lived in the Quad Cities. A fellow reporter working for one of the Illinois-side daily newspapers did a feature on a police competition shooting squad. He thought it would make a neat photo to have the squad lined up across the room facing him, in firing position. As he was taking the picture, one cop pulled the trigger on his weapon (for realism?). It turned out there was a live round in the chamber. The bullet missed the reporter/photographer by apparent inches. Guess the guy wasn’t all that good a shot.
It did make for a very effective photo, which ran on the front page. Oddly, the officer who hadn’t properly checked his gun and fired the live round, had a slight smirk on his face.
Yeah, weird. I own twelve firearms. Most of them are from my Dad. The only gun I have bought is a target shooting air rifle. Very expensive, spot on and quiet. I like target shooting. It’s not Olympic match quality, but wow.
I donno. I don’t really want to turn this into a gun thread. We have all been there.
My Wife walked the dogs this morning. Into national forest (White River, our property backs up to it) . First light. She wears an orange coat an a yellow back pack.
Dogs had no problems.
When I moved up here my dad told me not to worry about 4 legged animals. Worry about 2 legged animals.
The chances of a missed head shot are very high, as it’s a small target. A large caliber handgun or rifle will take down a grizzly. . .sometimes. But first you have to hit it, which is not at all guaranteed when the target is moving at 30 mph.
The bear that killed Treadwell was malnourished. In addition, the people who flew in to find Treadwell spotted the gut pile and the bear from the air, so were well-prepared to defend themselves.
More than fair. Thinking ahead, I pulled up a guide to what you can and cannot do to protect property (including pets) and self here in Colorado:
Note on three in-thread mentioned critters:
Coyotes
Without a permit may hunt, trap, or take. The pelts or hides may be transferred, possessed, traded, bartered, or sold by any person who holds an appropriate small game or furbearer license.
Mountain Lions
CAN NOT be destroyed when they are causing damage to personal property, including pets.
CAN be killed when it is NECESSARY to prevent them from inflicting death, damage or injury to livestock, human life, real property, or a motor vehicle.
Any wildlife killed shall remain the property of the state, and such killing shall be reported to CPW within five days.
Black Bears
CAN NOT be destroyed when they are causing damage to personal property, including pets.
CAN be killed when it is NECESSARY to prevent them from inflicting death, damage or injury to livestock, human life, real property, or a motor vehicle.
Any wildlife killed shall remain the property of the state, and such killing shall be reported to CPW within five days.
So outside a direct threat to self, or your real property/car, we’re absolutely back to loud noises, bear spray, and other non-lethals for cougars and bears anyway.
Certainly, although black bears are common in Alaska. They’re also much shyer than brownies and more likely to run than charge. I would still use a horn or alarm. A spray needs to reach the bear. A horn can be pointed anywhere.
I wasn’t pointing at anyone in this thread, I know some of you guys know what you are doing. But for others reading this thread I think it’s important to note if noise making is effective and a lot safer for others in the vicinity.
… and this comes from a culture that is afraid to travel to Australia where by meme everything is trying to kill you and risking getting bitten by a spider?
Don’t you all open carry blunderbusses or summat over there? Life, liberty and the pursuit of the Constitution?
I would have to put forth considerable effort to come up with anything that matters less to this thread (<grin>), but …
The large male bear killed near the campsite with human remains in its gastrointestinal tract was estimated to be 28 years old, and appeared to be in reasonable condition for an old bear with no obvious signs of injury, abundant mesenteric fat, 4 cm rump fat, worn teeth with broken canines.
My understanding is that nearly all the bears had left that area to den up. This particular animal was still in the area looking for food. Treadwell had also left the area, but decided to go back for unknown reasons, along with his girlfriend.
Cougar season in Oregon is open year round, every day. Jan 1st to Dec 31st. You need a hunting licence and a tag, tag is about $15. Most hunters buy the tag just in case when they are hunting deer or elk. There are a LOT of cougars here, but they are mostly shy and not often seen. I can only tell when they visit me by the scat (shit) they leave.
It might have been an insect; cat vision is much better at motion tracking than human vision, and they can often see small flying insects that humans have trouble noticing. That’s a common reason for cats staring at something “invisible”.
