Years ago I originally had the same thought as the op...not for bears, but pig hunting. Planned to carry hot 45 colt (equals 44mag and sometimes better in shorter barrels) along with 45 colt shot shell loads. Sorry, not a fan of snakes. Figured I'd carry 5 hots and 1 shot....I'd have time to rotate the cylinder to the shot load. Turns out the recoil from the heavy loads caused the "cap" (don't know what else to call the shot holder) to dislocate (extend) and lock up the cylinder. Made it a one shot gun pretty quick. Another thing to remember is that 99.99% of those giving advice on what to shoot a bear with...never have (self included!)
handgun for bears, snakes, etc
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.460 Rowland conversion, or this:
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RockyTheDog
Member
- Sep 5, 2011
- 54
A grizzly bear can run 35 miles an hour. The head-on target area is about one square foot. Imagine you're walking along when an NFL quarterback leaps from behind a bush and drills a pass at you. Can you reliably draw and hit the ball before it hits you?
I've climbed, hiked, fished, and backpacked for 59 years in every eastern state north of South Carolina and many states in the West. I've encountered more black bears than I can remember. One time on the western side of the Shenandoah we came across bears 14 separate times in one day, two times mothers with pairs of cubs. Then there was the one that came through the parking lot at the ranger station every day at 3 PM. Or the one that strolled through the front yard of my house in the Adirondacks 20 feet from where my daughter was sunbathing and my mother was holding my infant son. The worst thing that ever happened was the time what appeared to be a bear convention used my bear canister for a soccer ball in the middle of the night in Ramsey's Draft. Black bear attacks are incredibly rare and almost always the result of human stupidity like approaching the wild animal or keeping food in your tent.
In all that time, I've seen precisely three venomous snakes; one big rattler that had been run over in Savage River State Forest, one copperhead that had been beheaded in Southern Maryland, and one rattlesnake that jumped into a river off the shoulder of the road I was walking along while flyfishing in West Virginia. I suspect the traffic vibrations kept him from hearing me coming. Copperheads are a protected species in Maryland, by the way.
I used to have a flat coat retriever that was mistaken for a bear several times. My biggest concern was that some idiot would shoot him. I've never felt the need to go armed in the woods. You're far safer there than in your car on the way to your adventure.
I've climbed, hiked, fished, and backpacked for 59 years in every eastern state north of South Carolina and many states in the West. I've encountered more black bears than I can remember. One time on the western side of the Shenandoah we came across bears 14 separate times in one day, two times mothers with pairs of cubs. Then there was the one that came through the parking lot at the ranger station every day at 3 PM. Or the one that strolled through the front yard of my house in the Adirondacks 20 feet from where my daughter was sunbathing and my mother was holding my infant son. The worst thing that ever happened was the time what appeared to be a bear convention used my bear canister for a soccer ball in the middle of the night in Ramsey's Draft. Black bear attacks are incredibly rare and almost always the result of human stupidity like approaching the wild animal or keeping food in your tent.
In all that time, I've seen precisely three venomous snakes; one big rattler that had been run over in Savage River State Forest, one copperhead that had been beheaded in Southern Maryland, and one rattlesnake that jumped into a river off the shoulder of the road I was walking along while flyfishing in West Virginia. I suspect the traffic vibrations kept him from hearing me coming. Copperheads are a protected species in Maryland, by the way.
I used to have a flat coat retriever that was mistaken for a bear several times. My biggest concern was that some idiot would shoot him. I've never felt the need to go armed in the woods. You're far safer there than in your car on the way to your adventure.
RockyTheDog
Member
- Sep 5, 2011
- 54
Atrox88
Gold Member
You know how it is, it's like moving near an gun range, calling the cops to complain about the noise. You move into an area where bears and snakes are and you kill them.
- May 22, 2005
- 122,889
Venomous snake near the cabin is a deal breaker. Can't have it. No way, no how.
Yup agree I carry a Magnum Research BFR 500 S&W
Attachments
budman93
Ultimate Member
Thats fine but I'm pretty sure the op is talking about encountering them while hiking. There if you have time to shoot it you have time to just walk around it. At home you just use a shovel.
BlueHeeler
Ultimate Member
For bears, I think they would require a large grip, and an especially large trigger gaurd to get that toe in there.
I think the snakes are just SOL tho, no way to hold and fire at the same time.
2a says he only has the right to arm bears, not snakes.
Pale Ryder
Ultimate Member
Bears and snakes are a modest concern, the etc. is more probable. I’d go with whatever you are most comfortable carrying and accurate with, if that were a 9mm so be it.
Many years ago, I was the commander of a MN ARNG medical company in the woods at Camp Ripley. A SGT awoke me to tell me we had a sow with cubs in the midst of our "camp" and ask what should be done. I replied, "shoot it." He replied, "We don't have any ammunition. We aren't allowed to have ammunition." So we decided to throw a grenade simulator at the bear. It went off under the bear. She and the cubs ran off into the darkness.
A few years ago while in Glacier NP, a small sow with one cub decided I was a threat. No, I was not close to her or the cub. She came at me and the cub went up the nearest tree. I backed up while waving a camera at her face and yelled at her. After a brief time she turned and ran off with the cub following.
Every other time I have encountered a black bear, it has run away from me.
Accept for the young copperhead entombed in a cinder block within our basement wall, every snake I have encountered has slithered or attempted to slither away. I could imagine that one might step on a snake hiding in leaf litter. At that point a fire arm might be dangerous to both snake and the unfortunate person.
JB
A few years ago while in Glacier NP, a small sow with one cub decided I was a threat. No, I was not close to her or the cub. She came at me and the cub went up the nearest tree. I backed up while waving a camera at her face and yelled at her. After a brief time she turned and ran off with the cub following.
Every other time I have encountered a black bear, it has run away from me.
Accept for the young copperhead entombed in a cinder block within our basement wall, every snake I have encountered has slithered or attempted to slither away. I could imagine that one might step on a snake hiding in leaf litter. At that point a fire arm might be dangerous to both snake and the unfortunate person.
JB
No...but I am more confident in my ability to make that shot than my ability to run 36mph
The folklore I heard is that, if you are bitten by a suspected venomous snake you are supposed to kill it (if you can without getting bitten again), for the following reasons:
1) To make positive identification of the species for appropriate antivenin
2) To ensure no one else (in your party or rescuers) gets bitten (or you get bitten again)
3) Revenge. (obviously).
1) To make positive identification of the species for appropriate antivenin
2) To ensure no one else (in your party or rescuers) gets bitten (or you get bitten again)
3) Revenge. (obviously).
Killing a snake with regard to point #1 is definitely "folklore". Pit vipers are the only venomous snakes in most states, including maryland, and would't likely be confused with a coral snake in states that have both. The same antivenin (Crofab) is used for all pit viper envenomations, be it from a copperhead, cottonmouth or rattlesnake.
- Feb 2, 2016
- 2,499
^^^This^^^ Redhawk 5050 45lc/45 ACP loaded w/ Buffalo Bore 405gn+P hard cast.
https://www.ruger.com/products/redhawk/specSheets/5050.html
4.2" barrel and light/small enough on the hip that you don't know its there. It will always go bang. Load 1 chamber w/ snake shot. It is also nice to be able to shoot cheap 45 ACP.
Now that straight wall cartilages has been approved, I may use it to bag a deer while walking the dog.
For semi's like the G20, I don't think snake shot cycles the gun reliably if at all. If you were to try to scare a charging bear w/the snake shot, it would be nice to know that the next round will go bang every time as with the Redhawk or other revolvers. YMMV
RockyTheDog
Member
- Sep 5, 2011
- 54
No...but I am more confident in my ability to make that shot than my ability to run 36mph
The thing about this thought that is there are better ways of dealing with it. Try to think of it from the bears point of view. If you miss you're going to have a very pissed off bear charging you. If you hit it but don't stop it you're going to have a very pissed off, wounded bear charging you. There is nothing more dangerous. Last year's record black bear in PA was over 600lbs. An well fed, male African lion weighs at most 500lbs. We used to go to the garbage dump in northern British Columbia and watch the grizzlies. Those things are huge. The last thing I'd want to do is irritate one of them.
RockyTheDog
Member
- Sep 5, 2011
- 54
Almost always, a bear wants to avoid you. They have learned to stay away from humans. The ones that don't are usually destroyed pretty quickly. Google the bear called Yellow yellow. She was a black bear in near Marcy Dam in the Adirondacks who learned how to open bear canisters. She lasted about six months after associating humans with food. There are places where it does make sense to worry about this sort of thing. Polar bears have been known to aggressively hunt humans. When I was climbing on Baffin Island we had a 300 Win Mag in our base camp. Brown bears in Alaska and certain Aleutian islands probably warrant something similar. Around here its just not necessary.
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