Bear

[scott1970]

A good friend traveled to Siberia and hunted brown bears. Everywhere they went in camp, they had to take their rifles. The outhouses had no doors and faced the forest in an effort to cut down on surprise bear attacks. He killed a monster.

 

[Roberteaux]

At this point in time, the fastest-ever human being is a Jamaican sprinter named Usain Bolt (good last name for a sprinter). This guy was clocked at 27.8 mph in a 100-yard sprint back in 2009.

However, a real slowpoke of a grizzly bear runs along at an average of 30 mph, while a quicker bear can get up to 35 mph!

So no, you ain't outrunning something like that. He's gonna get'cha!

Worse: even if you had a really good lead on a grizzly, it could still catch your ass if for some reason it absolutely wanted to.

A study of the species done in Yellowstone back in the 1930's determined that a grizzly bear is capable of maintaining a speed of about 25 - 28 mph over a distance of two miles... while a human being would be a superior athlete to average 15 mph over the same distance.

How Fast Can a Grizzly Bear Run?

--R

 

[Dolebludger]

Right! Fortunately, we have only smaller black bears here (Grizzly bears are in the larger brown bear family). Black bears are almost always non aggressive. What they do, however, is get into garbage containers, root around, and scatter garbage all over. And when garbage is left out unsecured, they become dependent on it for food, and become less afraid of humans. Then they become nuisance bears and must be relocated or put down. Here in SW Colorado, I belong to an organization that encourages people (and garbage haulers) to get bear proof kitchen garbage cans, and their use is very effective. But I would not live in an area with Grizzly bears (or any brown bear species) because they are far too dangerous. But black bears come around all the time. I have run them off by shouting and waving my hands. With Grizzly’s, this wouldn’t end well! Here, it is against the law to feed black bears, or any wildlife for that matter. We want to keep them wild.

 

[TheX]

Yeah, I think both my dog and I would be deader than door knobs in less than a minute.

We have more in common than I thought.

 

[THDNUT]

I'd be packing my 8 3/8" S&W 500 mag in bear country. I'd load it with 400 gr. Sierra JSP ammo loaded to about 1,800 fps.
Yeah, that's the ticket.

 

[Dolebludger]

THDNUT, brown bear country? Hell, don’t go out there outside after dark. Black bear country after dark? You have the right idea. You probably won’t need it, but I would want it anyway.

 

[James R]

I've always thought it was amusing that man sees himself as the apex predator.

I know there's lots of ways to kill a grizzly, but unless you're actually hunting a grizzly, the likelihood of being prepared if you just happen to stumble across one is low... about as low as your chance of survival.
Scariest animal on the planet, imo.

 

[simon connor]

I was once hiking in the Canadian Rockies, outside of Jasper, Alberta. We were going up a pass, when this other hiker came up to us and said "Man, you have got to see this." So we continued up to the pass, and we could see this big meadow, below us and a couple hundred yards away. Down in the meadow we could see three or four grizzlies, and they were kind of frolicking about - It looked like they were playing. On closer inspection the Grizzlies were chasing small animals - squirrels or Marmots or something - which would run away from the bears, and shoot down their holes into the ground. The bears would just scoop up big patches of the ground and shove it into their mouths, both the dirt and presumably the squirrels/Marmots with it. It was both fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Needless to say, we did not go down there, and in fact we turned around and went back the way we came. Grizzlies are the stuff of nightmares. Luckily they don't often attack humans.

 

[Dolebludger]

Well, unfortunately, they do. Grizzly territory is not where you want to camp out at night. Indeed, some of us don’t camp out anywhere. Camping out to me is a four star hotel — even if it is 1K miles out of Grizzly territory — and especially if it is.

 

[LtDave32]

I'd be packing my 8 3/8" S&W 500 mag in bear country. I'd load it with 400 gr. Sierra JSP ammo loaded to about 1,800 fps.
Yeah, that's the ticket.

Christ, what a spanking recoil that must have.

400 grain bullet, loaded for 1,800 fps? Ouch.

(for those playing at home, a good ol' .45 auto shoots a 230 grain bullet at about 830-850 fps)

 

[Olds442]

The Bears around these parts have proven to be harmless. Dolphins, Vikings and Cowboys have slaughtered them without much effort.

 

[THDNUT]

Christ, what a spanking recoil that must have.

400 grain bullet, loaded for 1,800 fps? Ouch.

(for those playing at home, a good ol' .45 auto shoots a 230 grain bullet at about 830-850 fps)

It was just a guess. I don't have access to a chronograph but, I load that bullet with 34 grains of 296. My other load is 40 grains of 296 behind a Hornady 350 grain XTP.

Imma going to see if I can find out what velocity that 400 grainer is achieving.

I found this load. It uses a little more powder than I do.

.500 S&W Magnum Load Data

A database of .500 S&W Magnum handloads.

www.powderthrough.com

Here is the data for my XTP load.

.500 S&W Magnum Load Data

A database of .500 S&W Magnum handloads.

www.powderthrough.com

 

[Olds442]

Ammo Shop: so you want to stop a charging grizzly?

@THDNUT: no i want to blow it's head clean off in one shot.

Ammo Shop: done.

 

[THDNUT]

Blowed it up real good

 

[SteveGangi]

I'd be packing my 8 3/8" S&W 500 mag in bear country. I'd load it with 400 gr. Sierra JSP ammo loaded to about 1,800 fps.
Yeah, that's the ticket.

 

[Seven]

This is the ammo I carry in my Marlin 45-70 SBL when in bear country.

"Our 540-gr +P Hammerhead Ammo is the ideal choice for stopping heavy bears at close quarters or hunting them at short range. This Hammerhead bullet has a meplat (frontal flat) diameter of .360”, which is just one tenth of an inch less than bore diameter. With its tremendous weight to diameter ratio (sectional density) it provides end to end penetration on the heaviest of bears, with exit, and does tremendous damage per unit of penetration due to its extremely blunt front end. This load is carried exclusively by NOAA for protection against coastal grizzly attack. It is also carried by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Geological Survey for protection from grizzly attack. For the specific task of stopping a grizzly charge, this ammo has no peer."

Garrett Cartridges Inc. 44 mag .45-70 .44 ammo ammunition bullets african hunting cartridges

We are specialized builders of ammo, building only for the 44 Magnum and 45-70. Through the exclusive use of our highly evolved SUPER-HARD-CAST bullets, we produce 44 Magnum ammunition capable of shooting through elk (broadside), and 45-70 ammunition capable of shooting lengthwise through any...

www.garrettcartridges.com

 

[scott1970]

Here's Jim's Siberian brown bear. To gauge the size of it, the partially visible eight-year-old trick-or-treater is standing beside its rear haunch.

Jim flew to Russia, rode twelve hours on a bus, and then took a two-hour helicopter ride to the camp which was made up of dirt-poor villagers who survived thanks to the wealthy bear hunters from around the globe. He said their English was practically nonexistent, they didn't have toilet paper, and he said the hunters ate what the villagers ate which was primarily bear paw soup. Jim was smart enough to tote toilet paper with him, but some of the other hunters had not. Jim still laughs when he talks about how much money he turned down from an Englishman who really wanted to buy his roll.

This monster was the fifty-first, and largest, brown bear he saw on this hunt. They rode on the back of snowmobiles guided by the local villagers.

Jim's group of hunters flew out of camp a day early because of an anticipated blizzard. Upon reaching the bus for the return twelve-hour ride, he met the batch of hunters who were going to fly into camp. That helicopter got caught by the blizzard, and all on board died.

Pictured with the bear is a rather large wolverine he killed over there. Jim had it mounted in a squared off pose with the bear. Jim, who owns his own carpentry business, had to open up the door frame of the taxidermist's shop to get the mount outside. His only complaint is that the hump on the bear's back came out noticeably smaller than it was when the bear was killed.

 

[Roberteaux]

In Florida, the bears are a lot like the whitetail deer-- really, really small compared to the specimens you'll find just one state away. A big one is maybe 125 pounds, before field dressing.

We also have a type of black bear around here. A really, really big one is about 350 pounds, but they average around 300 for the most part.

They look different than the black bears I used to see in Upstate New York. Those guys are black-black, but quite a few of these Florida bears have kind of a reddish hue going if you see them in daylight. At night, they appear to be almost gray.

Despite being about the smallest bears in the USA, it is well-known that they can easily kick a human being's ass if they feel like it. But at least they don't view our species as prey.

SO! One time I was riding home from work on my motorcycle. I was rolling on asphalt, but then you come to a section of the very same road where suddenly the paving gives way to a dirt-- or sand, really-- road. At that same point on the route there is also a 90º turn. You have to watch it while rolling off the asphalt and into the sand, and you better keep the speed way down low while riding an enormous street cruiser-type of motorcycle such as the one I was riding that night. That is one tight curve, and it begins at the same place as where the road goes from asphalt to sand. You turn too tight and your front tire digs in, and you will for sure do an endo.

As I was about halfway into this turn, I saw a mama bear with two cubs, trashing the hell out of the garbage cans sitting out front of a house at that point in the road. I almost shit-- this road I'm talking about is a one-laner, more or less, and there I was plowing through sugar sand where you can easily lose it.

What to do? As I drew abeam these three bears, mama stood up-- not a good sign, or so I have heard. And there I was, way too close to her and her brats.

For an instant I contemplated the idea of accidentally dumping my scoot, and then having this pissed-off female bear on my case and in my face... and the pucker factor really increased!

Not good! But then she dropped to all fours and looked like she was gonna charge!

Man, I just screwed that throttle on like I was a flat-tracker slaloming through a corner... I felt the rear tire start to slip ever so slightly, kicked my right leg down to stabilize at one point and still occasionally feel pain from the injury I suffered as my bones ended up jamming together as I fought to keep that overweight pig of mine upright and hauling ass.

Whoo! I made it! I didn't even look back to see how close she might have gotten, once I got onto flat, well-packed sand I just hauled ass outta there as fast as my motorcycle could carry me.

Scared the crap out of me!

I've seen them several times since then. One night, there was one in my back yard-- which is why the back yard is fenced in these days.

I don't care what kind of bear you've got around you: it can easily go bad. Even with these dinky bears we've got in Central Florida.

--R

 

[delawaregold]

I'd be packing my 8 3/8" S&W 500 mag in bear country. I'd load it with 400 gr. Sierra JSP ammo loaded to about 1,800 fps.
Yeah, that's the ticket.

Here in the Northeast, in an urban area, after dark, we consider that a backup piece.

 

[LPMarshall Hack]

Here's Jim's Siberian brown bear. To gauge the size of it, the partially visible eight-year-old trick-or-treater is standing beside its rear haunch.

Jim flew to Russia, rode twelve hours on a bus, and then took a two-hour helicopter ride to the camp which was made up of dirt-poor villagers who survived thanks to the wealthy bear hunters from around the globe. He said their English was practically nonexistent, they didn't have toilet paper, and he said the hunters ate what the villagers ate which was primarily bear paw soup. Jim was smart enough to tote toilet paper with him, but some of the other hunters had not. Jim still laughs when he talks about how much money he turned down from an Englishman who really wanted to buy his roll.

This monster was the fifty-first, and largest, brown bear he saw on this hunt. They rode on the back of snowmobiles guided by the local villagers.

Jim's group of hunters flew out of camp a day early because of an anticipated blizzard. Upon reaching the bus for the return twelve-hour ride, he met the batch of hunters who were going to fly into camp. That helicopter got caught by the blizzard, and all on board died.

Pictured with the bear is a rather large wolverine he killed over there. Jim had it mounted in a squared off pose with the bear. Jim, who owns his own carpentry business, had to open up the door frame of the taxidermist's shop to get the mount outside. His only complaint is that the hump on the bear's back came out noticeably smaller than it was when the bear was killed.

That looks like the one Putin rides!