Zone1 Bear spray or python 50 cal?

[justoffal]

I'd still go with the bear spray. An irritated bear is much less likely to attack than one that is wounded.

Bear spray? Irritated bear who will think that the cost isn't worth whatever they might have been after.

Gunshot? Seriously pissed off animal that is looking to seriously hurt the thing that hurt it.

Dunno.....A bear is a strange creature...if they decide you are food nothing is going to deter them I think. They have to be stopped. But I am considering what you said.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Rapid fire?

Yep...
Also have a 10mm. Magnum which is more potent but only offers 6 rounds and it doesnt fire as fast.
I guess it's the old question of quantity over quality.
If a bear is charging me I'm likely to get a bit shaky and a double action revolver is harder to shoot accurately than a semi auto.

 

[lennypartiv]

For me the choice is simple. I don't do bear hunting and actually I don't even approve of it. I don't go hiking in Yellowstone or any other place where I might cross up with an alpha predator like a bear. However recently in my neck of the woods the Black Bear population has become very curious and aggressive and can be found in one's backyard from time to time.
Several of the local males look to weigh in at 4 to 500 lbs.... way the hell beyond any hope of defending yourself against one. The local wisdom is to keep bear spray on you. I think that's pretty stupid. I intend to survive my encounter... people with bear spray sometimes don't. The python 50 cal is a definitive end to the argument.... Not going to need more than one shot...

1. It's the female bears with cubs you need to be concerned about. If mama bear sees you as a threat to her cubs, it's over for you.

2. Be aware of the local, state, and federal laws concerning wildlife. What you deem as "okay" might be considered a crime by the authorities.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Dunno.....A bear is a strange creature...if they decide you are food nothing is going to deter them I think. They have to be stopped. But I am considering what you said.

A bear isn't going to be looking at you as food. It will however look at you as a food "source" as in having something it might eat, but it won't bother you too much unless it smells chow somewhere around you. Bears don't like to be bothered much.

However.........................

Piss one off by hurting it or by getting too close to a momma bear's cubs, and you are in for a world of hurt. Momma bears will defend their cubs no matter what, willing to die for them if that is what it takes. Hurt one? They are going to be looking for revenge and want to make you hurt at least as much as you hurt them.

If they come at you and you hit 'em with bear spray? That's a minor irritation that doesn't hurt much (kinda like getting stung by a bunch of bees), and they will look elsewhere for a snack. Also, because you didn't hurt them, they don't really see a need to go through all the effort of hurting you.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Yep...
Also have a 10mm. Magnum which is more potent but only offers 6 rounds and it doesnt fire as fast.
I guess it's the old question of quantity over quality.
If a bear is charging me I'm likely to get a bit shaky and a double action revolver is harder to shoot accurately than a semi auto.
View attachment 814922

View attachment 814921

When you consider that a charging bear can do upwards of 30mph, you aren't going to get a chance to shoot more than a couple of rounds, even with a semi automatic.

 

[justoffal]

When you consider that a charging bear can do upwards of 30mph, you aren't going to get a chance to shoot more than a couple of rounds, even with a semi automatic.

Heavy Grain neck and head

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

When you consider that a charging bear can do upwards of 30mph, you aren't going to get a chance to shoot more than a couple of rounds, even with a semi automatic.

That would depend on how far away it was when it decided to charge ...obviously.
I can empty a 15+1 in a matter of seconds. If he was 40 feet when he decided to charge I could easily shoot all 16 rounds.

 

[justoffal]

A bear isn't going to be looking at you as food. It will however look at you as a food "source" as in having something it might eat, but it won't bother you too much unless it smells chow somewhere around you. Bears don't like to be bothered much.

However.........................

Piss one off by hurting it or by getting too close to a momma bear's cubs, and you are in for a world of hurt. Momma bears will defend their cubs no matter what, willing to die for them if that is what it takes. Hurt one? They are going to be looking for revenge and want to make you hurt at least as much as you hurt them.

If they come at you and you hit 'em with bear spray? That's a minor irritation that doesn't hurt much (kinda like getting stung by a bunch of bees), and they will look elsewhere for a snack. Also, because you didn't hurt them, they don't really see a need to go through all the effort of hurting you.

Problem here is this....if the bear spray doesn't work you got nuthin.....

If I'm using spray....I'm going with pressurized anhydrous A....not what some government regulated spray can thinks is enough...I swear the agencies would rather let you become offal...(just)

Jo

 

[1srelluc]

More power in the rifle?

Hell yeah and you are not restricted to pistol calibers that lose velocity due to their shorter barrels. Oh some try to make up for it with lighter bullets but it's a fools errand.

Even .357 or .44 magnum is a lot more effective out of a 18 or 20 inch lever gun barrel than a handgun.

A Marlin 336 in .35 Remington makes very short work of them too. A 200 gr bullet is no joke.

Then again a 12ga with slugs does the trick too. Even 00 Buck at social distances.

I saw a guy kill a 600#+ Black Bear with 00 buck at around 20 yards. Collapsed/died on the spot, head/neck shot. It was in his hog pen after his pigs. He shot it with a old H&R single shot 12ga. Dad and I helped him cape it out the next morning. I was sort of surprised at the penetration to be honest.

 

[justoffal]

Hell yeah and you are not restricted to pistol calibers that lose velocity due to their shorter barrels. Oh some try to make up for it with lighter bullets but it's a fools errand.

Even .357 or .44 magnum is a lot more effective out of a 18 or 20 inch lever gun barrel than a handgun.

A Marlin 336 in .35 Remington makes very short work of them too. A 200 gr bullet is no joke.

Then again a 12ga with slugs does the trick too. Even 00 Buck at social distances.

I saw a guy kill a 600#+ Black Bear with 00 buck at around 20 yards. Collapsed/died on the spot, head/neck shot. It was in his hog pen after his pigs. He shot it with a old H&R single shot 12ga. Dad and I helped him cape it out the next morning. I was sort of surprised at the penetration to be honest.

Maybe the best bear rifle would be one that combined both bear spray and projectile. There's one hell of a patent for ya!

 

[justoffal]

Hell yeah and you are not restricted to pistol calibers that lose velocity due to their shorter barrels. Oh some try to make up for it with lighter bullets but it's a fools errand.

Even .357 or .44 magnum is a lot more effective out of a 18 or 20 inch lever gun barrel than a handgun.

A Marlin 336 in .35 Remington makes very short work of them too. A 200 gr bullet is no joke.

Then again a 12ga with slugs does the trick too. Even 00 Buck at social distances.

I saw a guy kill a 600#+ Black Bear with 00 buck at around 20 yards. Collapsed/died on the spot, head/neck shot. It was in his hog pen after his pigs. He shot it with a old H&R single shot 12ga. Dad and I helped him cape it out the next morning. I was sort of surprised at the penetration to be honest.

Explain the slugs....not too familiar with shotguns.

 

[justoffal]

1. It's the female bears with cubs you need to be concerned about. If mama bear sees you as a threat to her cubs, it's over for you.

2. Be aware of the local, state, and federal laws concerning wildlife. What you deem as "okay" might be considered a crime by the authorities.

Yeah I hear ya.....stupid fucks would rather see you dead.

 

[justoffal]

1. It's the female bears with cubs you need to be concerned about. If mama bear sees you as a threat to her cubs, it's over for you.

2. Be aware of the local, state, and federal laws concerning wildlife. What you deem as "okay" might be considered a crime by the authorities.

What about an industrial grade taser?

 

[1srelluc]

Explain the slugs....not too familiar with shotguns.

the internet is your friend.

Shotgun slug - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[justoffal]

Hell yeah and you are not restricted to pistol calibers that lose velocity due to their shorter barrels. Oh some try to make up for it with lighter bullets but it's a fools errand.

Even .357 or .44 magnum is a lot more effective out of a 18 or 20 inch lever gun barrel than a handgun.

A Marlin 336 in .35 Remington makes very short work of them too. A 200 gr bullet is no joke.

Then again a 12ga with slugs does the trick too. Even 00 Buck at social distances.

I saw a guy kill a 600#+ Black Bear with 00 buck at around 20 yards. Collapsed/died on the spot, head/neck shot. It was in his hog pen after his pigs. He shot it with a old H&R single shot 12ga. Dad and I helped him cape it out the next morning. I was sort of surprised at the penetration to be honest.

Brother in VA uses a pressure washer and canned horn to discourage bears.
Says it works very well.

 

[justoffal]

the internet is your friend.

Shotgun slug - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Wow! So this stacks up to a magnum ammo? Kill force at short range say 50 feet or less?

 

[1srelluc]

Brother in VA uses a pressure washer and canned horn to discourage bears.
Says it works very well.

Meh, I don't really even worry about them other than when a sow with cubs is in the yard.....Then it's their yard.

 

[the other mike]

For me the choice is simple. I don't do bear hunting and actually I don't even approve of it. I don't go hiking in Yellowstone or any other place where I might cross up with an alpha predator like a bear. However recently in my neck of the woods the Black Bear population has become very curious and aggressive and can be found in one's backyard from time to time.
Several of the local males look to weigh in at 4 to 500 lbs.... way the hell beyond any hope of defending yourself against one. The local wisdom is to keep bear spray on you. I think that's pretty stupid. I intend to survive my encounter... people with bear spray sometimes don't. The python 50 cal is a definitive end to the argument.... Not going to need more than one shot...

You have to use mental telepathy to hypnotize them like Crocodile Dundee

 

[SavannahMann]

Ok. Let’s begin at the beginning.

The Colt Python is a revolver chambered in .357 Magnum. It can fire .38 Special but it isn’t chambered in .500 Magnum.

Second. The problem with those monster cartridges is can you shoot it? If you miss with your first shot how long does it take to get a second shot off?

Third. How difficult is it to get ammunition for the weapon? If you can’t get much you can’t fire much and then the weapon becomes a curiosity instead of a useful tool.

Fourth. How reliable is the weapon. A friend bought one and his did this. This is not my friend in the video. But the same thing happened to him.



I’d rather have a proven cartridge with a totally reliable weapon than the most powerful roulette wheel in existence. When it comes up 00 you are gonna have a bad day.

Reloading. How difficult is it to reload the weapon? You can get speedloaders for .44 Magnums. I’m sure someone sells one for the .500. But really?

Lastly. If you are headed into best country, for whatever reason. Take a weapon you can shoot accurately. Bear Spray is a good choice, it works 97% of the time. If it doesn’t, then you have a last ditch option with your weapon. It has to be something you can shoot well. Something you are familiar with. Something you are comfortable with.

If you can’t hit the broadside of a barn with a .454, don’t take it. All the power in the world is worthless if all it does is sail by the target. If you are comfortable shooting a .357, it is better than nothing. It probably won’t stop a Grizzly but as a last ditch defense it is better than shitting your pants and hoping it makes you taste bad to the bear.

If you are comfortable shooting a .44 Magnum, take it. Yes the .500 is way more powerful. But you are only gonna get one shot with that. And if you miss the reset time is too long.

That is the thing. You need enough to stop the bear. You need a way to get a second shot off.

 

[justoffal]

You have to use mental telepathy to hypnotize them like Crocodile Dundee

Yeah that's what they moron aka "lunch meat" Timothy Treadwell thought too.