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This is a discussion on Bear gun check within the Range Reports forums, part of the Gunner Forum category; Been a while since I gave my bear guns a check to see if they are in working order, so grabbed some bear loads and ...
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2013 From: northern wisconsin Posts: 6,001 | Bear gun check
Been a while since I gave my bear guns a check to see if they are in working order, so grabbed some bear loads and headed to the range to check the sights to see if they were still on. I call these two Rugers, bear guns, because, in fact, I do carry them/would carry them for protection against these big furry guys with teeth and, we really do have bears, here. In truth, though, the bear gun thing is an excuse. I just love shooting magnum revolvers with heavy loads, as some of you know. Makes no sense for an old granny like me to shoot these things, but there you have it. Crazy me. First up is my SP101 4.2" in 357 mag, wearing Hogue finger grips which are a big help when shooting heavy 357 mag loads. Not as concealable as the factory grips, but the Hogues improve accuracy and help manage recoil, better. ![]() No problem with the SP sights. Right where I left them last time I was shooting these 180 hard cast flat point 357 mags. Yes, there is some recoil in this small revolver, but that's what makes it fun. Not enough to affect accuracy, though. ![]() Next up, a terrific DA revolver in my favorite cartridge, the 44 mag. It's my Ruger Redhawk with 4.2" barrel. This one is an all afternoon shooter for me, even with heavy loads. A dainty S&W it is not. This thing will shoot 44 mag loads that would lockup Smith with one shot. In fact, this is one of the guns that inspired the term "Ruger, only" load. ![]() Accuracy is there. ![]() This gun seems to have a strong preference for hard cast bullets, too. ![]() Why a Redhawk? My favorite guns for DA shooting, that's why. I shoot Redhawks in DA nearly as well as in SA. Here's 6 I poured into the target, quickly, in DA mode. ![]() Not my only bear guns, so more another time. A girl can't have too many bear guns, right? |
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2014 From: St. Louis, Missouri Posts: 4,728 |
NCG, you are an amazing shot & for Halloween, I would not wear a Smokey Bear or Yogi costume in your woods. Thanks for posting. |
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2014 From: Texas Panhandle. Posts: 3,846 |
Very good shootin! Especially your steadiness in DA.
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Senior Member Joined: Nov 2015 From: Buck Ridge, Georgia Posts: 3,478 |
Fine shooting. And at 23 yards, that's amazing.
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Super Moderator Joined: Apr 2008 From: Where it's warm Posts: 10,623 |
If you see any bears just show them the targets they will hi-tail it to Canada. Good shooting.
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Senior Member Joined: Jun 2008 From: Ft Hood , Tx area Posts: 11,626 |
Great shooting NCG .... ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2009 From: Far Western WA. Posts: 10,970 | |
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Senior Member Joined: Feb 2009 From: McKinney, TX Posts: 8,994 |
Awesome shooting, Ma'am.
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Senior Member Joined: Aug 2015 From: Virginia Posts: 4,021 |
Bear gun check? I just checked, and none of the bears around here have guns. They never heard of the right to arm bears, I guess.... ![]() You're only as old as you think. If the big guns keep you sassy, go for it! |
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2013 From: northern wisconsin Posts: 6,001 |
Thanks, guys. As I said, it's more about my love of shooting the big bores than actual practical self-defense, but, still, it is comforting to know I have the guns to do the job, if and when. Awareness in the woods is my first line of defense against an animal attack, then bear spray, then a gun. Have done a lot of mountain biking in some very remote and isolated areas over the summer and have seen bears and lots of bear sign and some wolf sign, too. Riding a bike has caused me to rethink a carry gun. Great example of how you need to tailor what and how you carry to your activity. Like you, TGR, I think I am faster and more accurate with a single action, but only if I have two hands available to operate the gun - am way too slow operating SA revolvers with one hand because I struggle to reach the hammer. This is an issue when riding a bike. When astride a bike, any attack from the side or the rear would make using two hands impossible, hence the DA revolvers. Also, bike riding makes carrying on the hip or IWB impossible, so the revolver gets carried in my front handlebar bag which is actually easier for me to access than any body carry when riding. Tried carrying a semi-auto, but given how much bouncing and jostling goes on when riding in the backcountry on a mountain bike, just didn't trust a cocked and locked semi-auto. Probably okay, but made me nervous, all the same. (For those of you who haven't done hardcore mountain biking, trust me, it can be brutal. Think motocross in the motorcycle world.) bearcatter, that was awful. Loved it. ![]() |
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Senior Member Joined: Aug 2015 From: Virginia Posts: 4,021 | I hope that was taken as intended! One of my grandmothers would often up and decide she was "too old for this", whatever "this" was at the time. Then she'd stop doing it. By the time she was sixty, she had stopped doing about everything but breathing. She "thought" herself old before her time. To read your posts, and look at your photo, you're no "granny", just a "gun-totin' mama"......... ![]() |
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2013 From: northern wisconsin Posts: 6,001 |
It was, not to worry. Yup, I'm an outdoor girl, always have been, always will be. Really don't slow down much until things get down to twenty below or so and, even then, I do venture out. Not to sound too macabre, but don't want to die in bed. Hope I'm outdoors doing something I love. |
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Super Moderator Joined: Apr 2008 From: Where it's warm Posts: 10,623 |
My great grandmother said to me one day when I get to be an old lady......... She was 80 at the time. You have to keep moving until you get your ticket punched. If you slow down they punch it sooner.
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Senior Member Joined: Nov 2015 From: Buck Ridge, Georgia Posts: 3,478 |
Like Jimmy Buffet sang...."I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead."
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2014 From: Texas Panhandle. Posts: 3,846 |
I've never seen any testing done, but I always wondered if the sound of a magnum being fired would run a bear off better than shootin it, and making it self defensive. Of course, that would leave one less round available.
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Senior Member Joined: Jun 2008 From: Ft Hood , Tx area Posts: 11,626 |
When I did serous trail riding on my motorcycle I carried a 1911 or my 1911 Detonic cock and locked in the hills as a defense gun since I would be miles from any roads or houses and would be out there over night sometime . Today I would carry my Glock 23C since I feel it is the safest gun you can carry loaded even over a revolver . They drop a Glock from a helicopter over 1000 feet high and then tied it to jeep and drove 5 mile down a rocky road and untied it and pulled the trigger and fired it . Can't find the video I saw over 10 yrs ago ... ![]() ![]() |
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Super Moderator Joined: Dec 2012 From: Harrisburg, North Carolina Posts: 4,280 |
Looks like I almost missed a great conversation, purty handguns, and some awesome shooting. NCG as always your skill amazes me.
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2013 From: northern wisconsin Posts: 6,001 |
Given I would shoot a bear or animal as a last resort, I would probably try a shooting the air, first. bears are hunted, up here, and they do understand what gunfire means. Oh, I'm sure a semi auto would be safe enough to carry, but big heavy magnum 44 or 45 loads are pretty much revolver, only, territory, anyway. |
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2009 From: Far Western WA. Posts: 10,970 | Quote:
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Senior Member Joined: Jan 2013 From: northern wisconsin Posts: 6,001 |
Does with grizzlies, for sure. Not sure about black bears.
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