theat
Well-known member
I have killed two wounded black bears with a 44.
One died fairly quickly after three hits. This bear had been gut shot two hours earlier by my buddy, so was likely in pretty bad shape before I shot it with the pistol. We found it in the entrance of an old collapsed mine shaft. I shot it once in the chest from about 7-8 yards and it immediately lunged out of the mine and between me and my hunting partner. After it passed I shot it twice more and it fell dead about thirty yards down the hill. If it had decided to attack after that first shot I am pretty sure it could have killed one of us long before it died.
The second bear I had shot the evening before from across a canyon. After the shot the bear dropped and fell off a cliff. When we went to recover it the next morning the bear was nowhere to be found. After about an half hour of searching I found it laying against a big ponderosa. I yelled to my buddy, who was down hill below some small cliffs, that I had found it. After I yelled the bear got up and started to move down hill. I yelled a warning to my buddy and began to fire at the bear. I shot the bear four times before it fell off a cliff and got hung up in a tree. It took it a t least two minutes before it stopped thrashing around in the tree. My initial shot across the canyon had deflected off its front shoulder and broken its jaw.
I have also been charged by several black and grizzly bears. Ever time but one I did not know the bear was there until I was very close (<15 yards). Unless you are confident that you can draw your pistol and hit a running bear in the brain in less than three seconds I would recommend the spray. I carry both in grizz country while bow hunting, and just the spray when I have a rifle in my hands, and yes the rifle is usualy in my hands and not on my back.
One died fairly quickly after three hits. This bear had been gut shot two hours earlier by my buddy, so was likely in pretty bad shape before I shot it with the pistol. We found it in the entrance of an old collapsed mine shaft. I shot it once in the chest from about 7-8 yards and it immediately lunged out of the mine and between me and my hunting partner. After it passed I shot it twice more and it fell dead about thirty yards down the hill. If it had decided to attack after that first shot I am pretty sure it could have killed one of us long before it died.
The second bear I had shot the evening before from across a canyon. After the shot the bear dropped and fell off a cliff. When we went to recover it the next morning the bear was nowhere to be found. After about an half hour of searching I found it laying against a big ponderosa. I yelled to my buddy, who was down hill below some small cliffs, that I had found it. After I yelled the bear got up and started to move down hill. I yelled a warning to my buddy and began to fire at the bear. I shot the bear four times before it fell off a cliff and got hung up in a tree. It took it a t least two minutes before it stopped thrashing around in the tree. My initial shot across the canyon had deflected off its front shoulder and broken its jaw.
I have also been charged by several black and grizzly bears. Ever time but one I did not know the bear was there until I was very close (<15 yards). Unless you are confident that you can draw your pistol and hit a running bear in the brain in less than three seconds I would recommend the spray. I carry both in grizz country while bow hunting, and just the spray when I have a rifle in my hands, and yes the rifle is usualy in my hands and not on my back.
