archery elk hunting do carry firearms or bear spray or nothing at all. last year i ran into three bears with no problems but its making me wonder if i should????? what do u think???
My brother and I used to go round and round about this. He was Mr bear spray and I always had my 44. Usually we agreed to disagree until we were in the tent. The bear look spray pretty pointless then. I liked everything about the firearm except for the weight. Last year I ran into a local bear biologist and we got into the bear spray/firearm debate. When I pulled the tent card out she came back with a simple fix.... An airhorn. I started hiking around with a mini can o air waiting to try it out and when I got my chance last October I was impressed. It turned a griz on a dime at 500+ yards and watched it run for another 100 yds and never looked back. Changed my mind
My brother and I used to go round and round about this. He was Mr bear spray and I always had my 44. Usually we agreed to disagree until we were in the tent. The bear look spray pretty pointless then. I liked everything about the firearm except for the weight. Last year I ran into a local bear biologist and we got into the bear spray/firearm debate. When I pulled the tent card out she came back with a simple fix.... An airhorn. I started hiking around with a mini can o air waiting to try it out and when I got my chance last October I was impressed. It turned a griz on a dime at 500+ yards and watched it run for another 100 yds and never looked back. Changed my mind
My brother and I used to go round and round about this. He was Mr bear spray and I always had my 44. Usually we agreed to disagree until we were in the tent. The bear look spray pretty pointless then. I liked everything about the firearm except for the weight. Last year I ran into a local bear biologist and we got into the bear spray/firearm debate. When I pulled the tent card out she came back with a simple fix.... An airhorn. I started hiking around with a mini can o air waiting to try it out and when I got my chance last October I was impressed. It turned a griz on a dime at 500+ yards and watched it run for another 100 yds and never looked back. Changed my mind
Never leave yourself vulnerable when you're most vulnerable.
I hunt with my dad. He has a bad hip. That's better than a gun or bear spray. JK :)
Seriously though, I carry both. Three elk hunts and three other backpacking trips in Grizz country and I've never had to use either. Knock on wood.
Our general plan is if a Grizz is charging, we're not going to wait around to see if it's a bluff. Bullets, spray, arrows, rocks, empty bear spray cans, all will be hurled until the threat is subdued. Some people would scoff at that, but we enjoy life more than we like bears.
Are you talking about Grizz country or black bear country? I don't carry anything if it's just black bear country unless I'm alone, then I carry the Glock, but in black bear country, I'm honestly more worried about two legged animals than bears.
I have been thinking the same thing. I hunt in Grizz country and never had a problem till 2103, when my partner & I were charged. We only carried spray. I will be going solo this year & was thinking about purchasing a side arm. What is the caliber of choice if you are going to carry?
If an air horn works why not just bring the wife or girlfriend?
And to answer drycreek's question of why not both... because the wife and girlfriend don't get along. lmao
Seriously.. when you are elk hunting you can just keep adding things to carry. Plus bear protection has to be very easily accessible. How many things can you have hanging on you in reach right?
Because to be useful, they have to be instantly accessible, and you have to be practiced at employing them, QUICKLY. How much stuff do you want to strap on yourself? And how much time to you want to waste deciding which to use when? Choose whichever you are most comfortable with. PRACTICE deploying whatever you choose, and hunt with a partner in grizz country. And realize up front, that a determined charge may not be turned, and in reality you hope to survive, not necessarily unscathed. Serious incidents are rare, and most can be avoided if you stay alert to begin with.
I generally carry a Ruger Redhawk .44 with Garret loads. LBshooter, They're pretty hot. I had my Ruger ported to help control muzzle jump. My wife either carries bear spray or her Ruger .357 with hot hand loads and hard cast bullets.
Air horns work good. It's what I use while fly fishing. Have scared off several aggressive acting grizzlies, scares the crap out of them! Not too sure how effective on turning a charge, never had it go that far yet. Hopefully it never does.
If we are talking black bears in Co I carry a tag. Last year we didn't get a tag. We glassed up a nice looking bear about a 1/4 mile from camp. The year before my partner had a tag and we didn't see a single bear.
Google and read some of the extensive studies on relative effectiveness and survival of a bear attack with a gun vs. bear spray.
Gun may make you feel better, but statistically, you're way better off with spray.
I carry spray for black bears. We don't have griz where I hunt. I also carry a little J-frame titanium S&W .357 that weighs 11.5 oz for two-legged problems or if I need to track a bear after the arrow hits.
Thanks midwest, I have the same one as you and love it. Mr garrett is no longer in charge, he sold out to some other guy and is retired , check the web site. Same bullets just a new owner.
Between the index and middle finger on my left hand you can see the remote shutter release. I was playing with a new gadget! Pretty sure no one would be dumb enough to take that one for me. Well now that I think about it I can think of maybe one...
Pretty much the same as Jaquomo. No griz where I hunt, but I carry bear spray just in case I run into a blackie with an attitude. I also carry a .40 S&W for two-legged "animals".
When hunting Black bear only country, nothing... In grizzly country spray only.. If a grizz is on you and you can get your hand on the spray in the holster and spray from the hip while the spray is still in the holster it will work... I feel better than trying that with a gun. Ed
" Carry what you feel comfortable with ". Good advice. Having never hunted in bear country, or even seen a can of bear spray, and having owned and used heavy handguns for fifty plus years, I would probably opt for a .480 Ruger Super Redhawk, and hope I never had to use it.
Well spray and prey generally doesn't work, but I remember seeing Fred E floating a river and cubs were on the shore as they were passing by. The mother literally ran over the cubs to get to the raft and Fred fired one shot which hit the water and turned the mother away. In his excitement or terror he pulled a round off early but it worked.
Went elk hunting in Washington State last year and had three encounters with mountain lions. I went out and bought a gun. I feel safer now. I fear the lions more than the bears.
Nothing unusual here. .44 Mag with Buffalo Bore hard-cast Keiths. I like the S&W 329PD for its light physical weight, and mine is equipped with laser grips. I spend up to to 12 days at a time in the backcountry of Alaska and I like the option of being able to reload my bear protection device quickly.
Of all the Alaskan hunters who head into grizzly country every year, I'd be interested to know what percentage of them would be willing to go with nothing but pepper spray for bear defense.
I have a 329. It's not that bad. You don't buy the thing to plink with. Using .44 special loads is a good way to practice with it. I have no trouble shooting mag loads that are 180gr and 240 gr. When I first bought the thing my friend and I shot many diff ammo types thru his model 29 first then the 329 next. Not really a big difference , though after 5-6 240gr loads I could really feel the diff but it's still not bad. Stay away from really heavy loads or +p loads to avoid jump crimp and other issues. Man o' man is it easy to carry !!!
Pepper spray should work under the right conditions. Wind direction and velocity is my big concern with using it as your only means of defense.
It's obviously airborne so it will dissipate and move quickly with the wind. A big concern that you don't hear much about is secondary exposure to yourself. If you get it in your eyes and lungs you're going to have problems, especially if the bear didn't get his fair dose.
I've seen one example where it didn't work well on an animal; I had to spray a Rottweiler and after a couple of blasts she learned the distance and just kept herself beyond the range of the spray. You could say it worked but you could also say it didn't.
As far as handguns, nothing practical is going to really provide any real shocking power. 454's and bigger are getting there but the gun is going to be bigger. Penetration is key. A solid point bullet, heavy for caliber, so that it reaches vitals is what I use.
I live and hunt in grizzly country and carry a 44 mg with a 300 grain hardcast bullet and also pepper spray.
I don't agree with Buskill. I have a 329 and 629......and at twice the weight, the 629 has one half the felt recoil which is a big difference and simple physics. The 329 makes the palm of my hand numb for a few hours after shooting 6 full power rounds, even with a glove on. I do agree the 329 is great fun to shoot with 44 Special loads and a dream to pack. Too bad we can't carry them in Canada. I bought mine when living in Colorado and making an occasional Alaskan trip, but now am one of those who hunt with a bow and a can of bear spray in grizzly country. I might even start packing the bear spray when I black bear hunt. I had a nice dominant black bear boar try to intimidate me last spring with his woofing and bouncing on his front legs combined with "shaking" a pine tree. I never got close enough for a shot (50 yds) but hope we cross paths again this year.
A shotgun or rifle in camp is a good thing too but not practical on a backpack hunt in my view vs a float trip, horseback or fly in hunt where weight is not quite as important.
I have been looking real hard at that gun to use while baiting Grizz/Brown Bear. Then I keep looking at the price and compare it to the short barreled Mossberg 500 I have with 3 1/2 slugs and I end up not buying it. I have almost bought a 45-70 several times. Maybe one of these days.
I suppose a person will just have to shoot a 329 and see for their self. 6 rounds make your hand numb, I've shot more than double that with no ill effect at all. If anyone is close to me ( southwest VA) I'll be glad to let them try mine before they commit to their own purchase.
I shot a deer in NJ and was looking for my arrow when I turned to see a black bear looking at me then he came walking towards me. I only had an air horn as spray and handguns were illegal to have there. I brought the airhorn because northern NJ is loaded with bears as I ended up seeing 7 in one week. Anyway, I gave him a blast of the horn and he kept coming, gave him another blast, hardly any effect, on the the third blast he turned and walked away. In conclusion, I would not want an airhorn in grizzly country without a gun or spray.
I hunt SW Colorado so only have to be concerned about black bears. Actually, I'm not much concerned about the bears but we run into a mountain lion occasionally. Due to that, I carry bear spray when walking in and out when dark. I carry it in-hand...not much good on a belt or in a pack with a lion on your back.
In 2009, while chasing a bull in Utah, we got charged by a sow black bear. At about 20 yards the cubs went up a tree, and from no where, the sow came, jumping a lil arroyo and landing right in front of me. All I could do was swing my bow like a baseball bat, catching the sow along side the head. She rolled into the arroyo and laid there for a bit before she came to, looking at us and getting up to run away. We had to drive to Grand Junction to get my bow fixed, and I still wont sell that bow...
At times, you might not have time to get the bear spray out or a pistol out. We do carry bear spray now anytime we're in the woods. A pistol under the arm gives you a lot of confidence, but at times its weight is a burden. If you had time, a pistol might turn a bear, so might bear spray. It might be best to think about stopping the bear once its on top of you, something spray might not do, but something a pistol will...
im no gun expert but serious guys i spoke to turned me in the direction of the 454 ruger ! I told them i just wanted the gun for grizz /browb bear protection . All said 454 or 500 both have enough energy knock down power to inflict serious damage with one hit .
.45+P with the brass "punch bullet" would be the minimum .Not alot of recoil difference in the .454 Casull and the .45+P if using the soft Hogue Grip.
Penetration testing using "punch bullets" of .454 actually out penetrated the heavier .500 SW with a slighty smaller wound channel of course.
"Punch bullets" are legal due to a very small hole on the face classifying it a hollow point.....it will out penetrate anything as it's a machined brass bullet with lead poured in the back cavity to get the weight up to 325gr for length long penetration
What holster is that? I'm looking for something similar. I have a Glock 20, bb hard cast ammo is what I'm using.
I'd like a holster that doesn't pull my dang pants down when wearing on my side so something on my chest makes sense but it has to be to the side of binos.
Sorry guys...my company has been dealing with the repeated hammering of snowfall here in Ohio.
Some guys can shoot the 329PD and it's no big deal. With full-on loads it will pop my hands, but I could care less. I only shoot big loads on occasion and practice with .44 Special. I shoot hot loads to check impact. I can do 6 hot loads and my hands sting some, but a cold brew settles it right down... ;-)
The rifle (above) is mine. I bought it from Nick at Wild West Guns in Anchorage a couple years ago. It's a full-on custom Wild West Alaskan Guide which has been refitted with many new components, ported and parkerized. It shoots like a dream (bad one for a bear) and my 130 pound wife loves to shoot it. It has been re-chambered to shoot .457 Wild West Magnums plus .45-70 loads. It's a very compact defense rifle and I shoot it better than the shotguns I tried. The ghost rings are superb for fast acquisition. I think it's just about the perfect Alaska defense gun. I don't pack it around when hunting. It usually stays outside camp in a weatherproof Nomar soft case in the event a bear is hanging around when I get back. I do use it when butchering and packing meat in grizzly country. The threat of a bear attacking while butchering is real.
Nick, It's a D&D Guides Choice, http://www.diamonddcustomleather.com/Chest_Holsters.php my only bitch (it's pretty minor) is the leather squeaks when i draw my bow with my pack on, other than that it was a dam good investment...cant tell you're wearing it
