.357 mag for bear?

[billy_56081]

Do you carry conceiled the rest of the time in life?  This "bear attack" scenario is very unlikley in the lower 48. As I said before, the 357 will be fine for you, in fact it has the best one shot stop rating on real threats.

[ar-steve]

357 is fine, my father in law killed a huge black bear with a 357. it charged him ,he fired one 148gr hollow point and dropped it dead right there.
The bullet went in at the shoulder and went though the heart and stuck under the hide on the bears butt.

[jcn59]

MANY OF US DO ALL OUR HUNTING IN BLACK BEAR COUNTRY,  LIKE IN WISCONSIN, MN, & MI. HAVE MANY OF US EVER HAD TO DEFEND AGAINST A BEAR?  I THINK NOT, BUT IF I'M WRONG, WE WOULD SURE LIKE TO HEAR YOUR STORY.

NONETHELESS, I ALWAYS CARRY A CENTERFIRE HANDGUN WHEN I HUNT OR WALK THE DOG IN THE WOODS.  EVERY BEAR I'VE EVER SEEN RUNS THE OTHER WAY.   I WILL ADMIT TO BEING CONCERNED ABOUT THE ONES THAT DON'T RUN AWAY, AND THAT'S WHY THE GUN:  USUALLY A 4".357 IN MY POCKET WITH HEAVY CAST BULLETS; SOMETIMES A .38 LOADED SIMILARLY.  A .44 ALWAYS SEEMS A BIT LARGE WHEN CARRIED AS A "SECOND" GUN.

[Lloyd Smale]

i totaly agree and i dont carry a sixgun with the thought of protecting myself from a bear. I consider it a fortunate day when i even see a bear in the woods and we have lots of them. They are for the most part a very timiid animal. I do usually carry a sixgun in the woods but mostly because we now have a pretty good population of wolves here and theres always the chance a guy or your dog could tangle with a  rabid animal. But you have to have pulled a pretty stupid stunt to get in trouble with a black bear. IF and when you see one if you just walk away or dont do anything theatening they will head for the high country faster then you can believe.

MANY OF US DO ALL OUR HUNTING IN BLACK BEAR COUNTRY,  LIKE IN WISCONSIN, MN, & MI. HAVE MANY OF US EVER HAD TO DEFEND AGAINST A BEAR?  I THINK NOT, BUT IF I'M WRONG, WE WOULD SURE LIKE TO HEAR YOUR STORY.

NONETHELESS, I ALWAYS CARRY A CENTERFIRE HANDGUN WHEN I HUNT OR WALK THE DOG IN THE WOODS.  EVERY BEAR I'VE EVER SEEN RUNS THE OTHER WAY.   I WILL ADMIT TO BEING CONCERNED ABOUT THE ONES THAT DON'T RUN AWAY, AND THAT'S WHY THE GUN:  USUALLY A 4".357 IN MY POCKET WITH HEAVY CAST BULLETS; SOMETIMES A .38 LOADED SIMILARLY.  A .44 ALWAYS SEEMS A BIT LARGE WHEN CARRIED AS A "SECOND" GUN.

[45-70.gov]

the  357 your familiar with  is better than a new  44

probly smaller  too

is  bear  the ONLY  posable problem

get  heavy penetrators  and check  the point of impact

Is that why the Pepper spray cans for Brown bears come in Cajun and Blackened Flavors?  
Hey a 22 will work for bear.  All you have to do is shoot the guy next to you in the leg and run.  

if you hunt with  this guy  definitly carry a hangun





i  don't go anywhere without my 357

something could go wrong with  your  rifle
a  slip and  fall
357 is a good signal device too



357mag...........   don't leave home without it

[jcn59]

Lloyd, speaking of stupid stunts, a few years back I had a "fawn bleat" call.  I was sitting in the woods watching a black bear foraging for acorns.  Eventually it got within 50 yards, and I had the brilliant idea to try my fawn bleat on him. 

He stood up on his hind legs when he heard it & then back on all four, he began a brisk walk directly towards me.  I wish I had a camera to take a picture of my face.  Anyways, when he got inside of 20 yards, I stood up & yelled at him.  You should have seen the look on his face then.  He turned himself around inside his own skin (it seemed) and then he was running away as fast as he could.   

Another time, actually the first time I used the fawn bleat,  I was sitting in the woods at dusk or a bit later, and moments after I called, an adult doe ran up towards me stopping at about 80 yards.  I began to think that call was the real deal!  Then she took off running again, and moments later six or eight wolves ran by, going in her direction and that was "the rest of the story".   Unfortunately it was too dark by then.

[kiddekop]

I am going on my first elk hunting trip in October. We are going to some private land my friends have in northwest Colorado. I have a Ruger security six in .357 mag that I am going to take with me. Will this gun be enough if I need it for a bear? Thanks in advance.


snakeman

I hunted west of Meeker,CO in the Piceance Creek & Little Hills area 1984 thru 1999 never saw any bear but did see    coyotes,geese,ducks,grouse,cottontails,elk & mule deer.I was in le but I never carried a handgun with me just  one of my Sako rifles in 30-06 with 165gr bullets or 300wm with 180gr bullets.

[Mohawk]

I am going on my first elk hunting trip in October. We are going to some private land my friends have in northwest Colorado. I have a Ruger security six in .357 mag that I am going to take with me. Will this gun be enough if I need it for a bear? Thanks in advance.


snakeman

I hunted west of Meeker,CO in the Piceance Creek & Little Hills area 1984 thru 1999 never saw any bear but did see    coyotes,geese,ducks,grouse,cottontails,elk & mule deer.I was in le but I never carried a handgun with me just  one of my Sako rifles in 30-06 with 165gr bullets or 300wm with 180gr bullets.

Wow, Kiddekop, we were about neighbors. We were living near Rifle, CO and hunted Piance Creek religiously. Nothing like hunting in the sage!

[teddy12b]

Wow, Kiddekop, we were about neighbors. We were living near Rifle, CO and hunted Piance Creek religiously. Nothing like hunting in the sage!

What's that like in Rifle CO?  My grandpa used to elk hunt in Rifle Colorado and I grew up listening to his stories about hunting there. 

[Mohawk]

Wow, Kiddekop, we were about neighbors. We were living near Rifle, CO and hunted Piance Creek religiously. Nothing like hunting in the sage!

What's that like in Rifle CO?  My grandpa used to elk hunt in Rifle Colorado and I grew up listening to his stories about hunting there. 

Yes, its the same one. Beautiful area and full of game, at least back in the late 80's and early '90's. It was one of the only places that I have ever seen mulies, antelope, and elk within a mile of each other. And probably the best cottontail rabbit hunting I have ever experienced!

[kiddekop]

I am going on my first elk hunting trip in October. We are going to some private land my friends have in northwest Colorado. I have a Ruger security six in .357 mag that I am going to take with me. Will this gun be enough if I need it for a bear? Thanks in advance.


snakeman

I hunted west of Meeker,CO in the Piceance Creek & Little Hills area 1984 thru 1999 never saw any bear but did see    coyotes,geese,ducks,grouse,cottontails,elk & mule deer.I was in le but I never carried a handgun with me just  one of my Sako rifles in 30-06 with 165gr bullets or 300wm with 180gr bullets.

Wow, Kiddekop, we were about neighbors. We were living near Rifle, CO and hunted Piance Creek religiously. Nothing like hunting in the sage!According to our friends & not as many deer & elk in that area but tags went fast last year possibly to all of the drilling crews.

The   mule deer came preseasoned in fact after several trips to that area my wife couldn't stand to use sage in her cooking we always reeked of it so did my Baja Bug,then my Landcruiser  & finally my Jeep Scrambler which I still have.We met some people from pennsylvania who hunted that area and became friends ,they hunt the 9 mile area successfully for mulies & cow elk.

[S.B.]

All good points but, a popular myth of American's is to  depend upon caliber when we should really depend on our own abilities to put the bullet in the correct location.
Steve

[buck460XVR]

MANY OF US DO ALL OUR HUNTING IN BLACK BEAR COUNTRY,  LIKE IN WISCONSIN, MN, & MI. HAVE MANY OF US EVER HAD TO DEFEND AGAINST A BEAR?  I THINK NOT, BUT IF I'M WRONG, WE WOULD SURE LIKE TO HEAR YOUR STORY.

+1......in 40 plus years of walking to and from bow stands in the dark, in bear country, my greatest fear is gettin' too close to a skunk.

[crash87]

MANY OF US DO ALL OUR HUNTING IN BLACK BEAR COUNTRY,  LIKE IN WISCONSIN, MN, & MI. HAVE MANY OF US EVER HAD TO DEFEND AGAINST A BEAR?  I THINK NOT, BUT IF I'M WRONG, WE WOULD SURE LIKE TO HEAR YOUR STORY.

NONETHELESS, I ALWAYS CARRY A CENTERFIRE HANDGUN WHEN I HUNT OR WALK THE DOG IN THE WOODS.  EVERY BEAR I'VE EVER SEEN RUNS THE OTHER WAY.   I WILL ADMIT TO BEING CONCERNED ABOUT THE ONES THAT DON'T RUN AWAY, AND THAT'S WHY THE GUN:  USUALLY A 4".357 IN MY POCKET WITH HEAVY CAST BULLETS; SOMETIMES A .38 LOADED SIMILARLY.  A .44 ALWAYS SEEMS A BIT LARGE WHEN CARRIED AS A "SECOND" GUN.

Living in N.E. WI and having been making tracks in the nicolet forest of florence county for the past 30 years, I must say, while i've been in contact with a few bears never had I an encounter, armed or not. This even while baiting bears ,when myself or my wife have had the opportunity, a total of 4X since the advent of the illustrius DNR money making scheme of the POINT SYSTEM. My wife, has in all honesty,  had more encounters with sow and cubs than I have, and that is when she takes walks on the county roads, unarmed! (She's fine by the way never a scratch).When my children were born they loved running around in the woods and, of course, Mother and I just loved searching them when they came in for ticks. This about the time we were starting to come in contact with wolves. I can tolerate bears getting into my shed and ripping it up, I can even tolerate Mother bear and her 2 cubs getting into my diminisioning bait cache, but the wolves, I will not tolerate the Liberals sacred cow at all. I've always carried , usually, revolver when tramping around the northwoods, for no other reason than "I just Can", these last few years my motives have changed for carrying and that is for protection, and not from the bears. It is now the time for the bear dogs to be training and we are already starting to hear reports of the dogs getting killed by the wolves. Time will tell, and we all know what should be done and who, knows maybe it is.
       BUT, I degress, I do have and have carried a 357 magnum revolver loaded with a stout charge to push a L.B.T. 180 gr fn w/gc out of the end of a 6 1/2" & 4 5/8" revolver barrel and an 18 1/2" rifle barrel. It will do what you ask of it, IF, you do what is asked of you. It's always interesting to hear stories of how a certain "gun" or "caliber" or "bullet" or "insert whatever you want here" failed. But yet, who really was it, that failed? CRASH87

[jcn59]

Is it true that if a wolf attacks your dog on public land in Wisconsin, that you can't injure or kill the wolf when necessary to save your dog?

[crash87]

You can kill a wolf IF you are defending life or property, as in livestock or your dog. Public land? That one, you would have to ask the powers that be. Make 10 phone calls and go with the majority as you will get 10 different answers. The 1st account of a "Legally" killed wolf, I believe happened a year or so ago. I read it in a Wis based periodical. In a nutshell, a guy let his dog out of his truck and it took off after a deer or some such thing to a woodline across a field. When the dog came running back with a wolf on his rear paws gaining fast, the owner got out his, and this I do remember from the article, a .222 rem and shot the damn thing, wolf, not dog. Called the DNR and it was deemed justified. But it was just an article covering the story, it never said how long He and the dog were interigated or what methods they used, or wether or not they got homeland security involved with the wiretapping, water boarding and all the stuff the military, can't do to POW's, but remeber we are talking about a citizen of the United States, a gun, and the, precious, NSF, new symbol of freedom, a WOLF. Crash87

[crash87]

A few thoughts just occured to me, 1st off, I know we are way off topic , But isn't that just human nature when you get waaaay down onto the 2nd page? 2nd, Run this question by the boys on the Wisconsin page and see where it goes from there, I'm sure you will find a more definitive answer there.
          I also made a phone call to a buddy of mine, who, while He doesn't own bear dogs, on occasion goes on training runs, assists, with the ones that do. He told me that if you could kill a wolf for endangering your dog on public land, Wisconsin "would not"  have a problem with wolves. Crash87

[rockbilly]

I don't worry too much about being attack by a Bear while hunting, but I do have a fear of them paying me a visit at night while sleeping on the ground or in a tent.  I lived in New Mexico for several years and did a lot of back country hunting, We pasted through Philmont (spelling ?) Boy Scout Ranch and drove for another 10-15 miles, then unloaded and set up camp.  It was a beautiful Nov. afternoon, I ran around in shorth and a t-shirt while wading and fishing for trout.  We had a few drinks and turned in about 9 pm, the weather was still nice. Four of us were sleeping on top of our sleeping bags in a six man mountian tent.  About three AM I awoke, freezing to death, to the sound of pots and pans rattling in the kitchen we had set up under a tarp between two large trees.  I unzippet the flap and shined the flash light out, there were five bear tearing up everything they could.  I reached for my pistol then remembered I had laided all the guns in the back seat of the pick-up.  Four guys about to crap their pants, no gun, and five bear.......

We were very lucky, at Philmount the next night a bear went in a tent and bit a Boy Scout on the head, drug him out of the tent and mauled the heck out of him.

I learned two very important lessons this night, first I never go to bed in the wilderness without a firearm nearby, second, when setting up a kitchen make sure everything is put away and "bear proofed" before leaving camp or going to bed.

[Oldshooter]

Is that why the Pepper spray cans for Brown bears come in Cajun and Blackened Flavors?  
Hey a 22 will work for bear.  All you have to do is shoot the guy next to you in the leg and run.  

 yea buddy!       now thats using your noggin!

[Greeenriver]

Just a slight add to the information. I live in Michigan and have hunted and spent time out in the woods for most of my life. Lived in NM for a few years, too, but never seen a bear there. I've seen more bears in the last, oh, maybe 15 years than I've seen in mylife near here. Northwestern MI south of Traverce City and adjacent to several hundrad thousand acers of State and National forest, town of 351 people and last few years been getting bears sometimes in town in back yards in the evenings or early mornings.

I'm 60, and I've only ever been told of one experence of a bear comming at someone near here. Farmer raking hay in a hay field and the tractor got between the moma and babies, she wern't very happy about that and made a run at the tractor. Just kept going and she stoped after hitting the RR tire and made loud growling noises and kind of whoffed several times, gathered up the two kids and got the he!! out of there.

Seen them in the woods many times when hunting, or just woods walking, and they have never offered any threat. Usualy, they turn and  run as soon as they  hear, smell, or see ya. Stood still once in deer season, about 6 in fresh snow, watched a decent sized bear walk twords me. At about 75 yds I moved and yelled, danged thing turned to run so fast his feet slid out from under him and he went down on his but.

Did have one drag off a deer once, but I was gone for about 45 minuts after my Quad to haul it out, and I never did find the Deer.

When I go to the woods, I always have a pistol with me, normaly a SSA Colt with Ivory grips in 45 colt, simply 'cause I love the pair of them and will always cary one of them when I can. I load it with a hard cast 200grn flat point round over a very healthy dose of HS6 to a level that is safe in the Colt frame.


Greeenriver(probibly more than you wanted to hear)


 

[Ak.Hiker]

Greeenriver
Good story. Your pair of Colts sound like some fine guns. They worked for protection years ago and they still will get the job done.

[bigbore442001]

I looked up some loading data on the .357 Magnum on Hodgdon's website. It seems that with Lil Gun powder you can add a breath of life, so to speak, into the 357 . I have thought about it for our Massachusetts bears .

[myronman3]

for the most part, i agree.   99% of the black bear out there will run like hell at the thought of a human.  but, bears are like people, and they have their personalities.  1 1/2 years ago, i was honestly two feet apart from at least a 400lb bear.  we had us a mexican stand off, me with a double barrel 28 gauge, wondering whether or not it would kill it or piss it off; and the bear, try to either figure out w.t.f. i was, or trying to decide whether to run or maul.   either way, the look in it's eyes was not really friendly.  it looked at me like i owed it money.   long story short, the bear and i both escaped unharmed. 
   my brother used to be the kind of guy that loved bear, and was happy when he would see them. even had a couple start to climb the tree he was in while hunting one night.  he loved it.   one night he had a bad experience, and he doesnt think they are cute anymore.  he still respects them, and any of you who dont respect them are asking for it.   NOTICE!!!!  i said RESPECT, not FEAR. 
    as far as wolves, shoot every one you get a chance to.  and as far as legalities of it, remember, we still have a right to a trial by jury (for now).  and i can about guareentee up here, out of 12 people, one of them is going to say "not guilty".  i have said it before and will say it again....being protected doesnt make them bulletproof.