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Protection in the woods?????
mikecarol63
Member Posts: 336 ✭✭✭
Hi all; Its been awhile since I posted a question on here, but I need to get an answer to my bewilderment. I want to go into the woods to scout for a hunting location for deer. I hear that the bear population is very high this year, and I don't want to take a chance going in without self defense protection. I know chances are very slim that I would come upon a bear, but with the kind of luck I have, you never know. I can borrow a .45 semi-auto to take with me, and I wondered if that was enough? I'm not in a position to buy a .44 magnum, so that is out of the question. Is a .45 enough protection or not? I'm 72, and my wife will probably walk with me, for the exercise. I don't want to go in without. Thank you in advance, Mike
Comments
Worse case scenario, shooting a dark bear coming straight at you at 30 miles per hour in the vitals with a 45ACP with open sites. He/she covers 25 yards in a little under 2 seconds.
Another possibility is bear repellent. It is basically industrial sized and concentrated pepperspray and supposedly effective out to 25 yds. It blinds and disorients the bear.
http://www.udap.com/
You didn't say where you were, but mountain lions are a bigger problem around here.
You may find this thread interesting:
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php?t-16721.html
Have you ever heard of Bear Pepper Spray?? It works. That and a handgun together are your best, portable option
I pack a Ruger convertible in 357
45 should do the job though
I've always carried a hi-power magnum revolver to get to vitals if the shot you have is not be the best.
In RSNYDERS scenario, I would be doing good to get two shots off....while leave a scat sample.
Dumping the whole magazine of 45+P would be possible in that situation, and may do the job just as well.
Regardless of what you carry, the ability to put one on the spot will take a magnum load of cool.....hard to practice for that.
This happened to me once and I choose to jump off a ledge and into a tree that happened to be within jumping distance because I didn't have the time to draw. I was in an area with a lot of young growth and did not have a good field of view.
On the plus side, it probably gave the bear a good laugh.
If it's on top of you put the gun in it's mouth and keep firing. [;)]