handgun for bears, snakes, etc

I ride my ATV daily on my dirt road. Bear and rattlesnake country along the Clinch River.... what could be better than my 44 wheelgun? 240gn more than enough for any unsociable bear and CCI shot cartridges for snake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kk1n8Aodx4

When I lived on the mountain I carried a SAA clone in 45.
There was bears, packs of free roaming dogs and plenty of trespassers during hunting season.
Prolly the most dangerous thing you would encounter was wack jobs for first day of trout or buck.

They would all come up the lane at various times of the year with the same old story.
Anyhow it carried good, packed a punch and I didn't have to worry about it getting messed up from water dirt or whatever.
+ Everyone knew how it worked if they wanted to use it.
Should have held on to that one but I gave it to my old man.

I don't think most bears need handguns, they're pretty well equipped for short range threats. A rifle maybe, for longer distances.

And snakes, I wouldn't trust them with any kind of firearms!

Doco Overboard said:

packs of free roaming dogs

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This is no joke and is frankly one of the biggest dangers in the woods. A pack of wild dogs is a scary thing. I encountered some at the Undisclosed Location and it was very unsettling to watch the behavior of what look like pets, but no longer act that way.

Feral dogs were common 50 years ago.

Norton said:

This is no joke and is frankly one of the biggest dangers in the woods. A pack of wild dogs is a scary thing. I encountered some at the Undisclosed Location and it was very unsettling to watch the behavior of what look like pets, but no longer act that way.

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My brothers handi- capped and some cornered him out in the driveway one time.
Luckily the old man down the road came up with a back hoe to park it and scared them off. He grabbed a dead tree branch evidently and did some reverse aggressiveness.

I met a guy bow-hunting on some public one time in MD who strapped on a pistol. We were at a common parking area and he seen I noticed he had it.
He said he was attacked and bitten one time while hunting and could care less if he was caught with it is what he told me.

We went off in the woods and I expected to hear a pistol shot around dark but never did.

I was out before he was and when I seen him I just rolled out afterwards.

John from MD said:

I'm assuming you don't have arthritic hands.

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No I am 65 and medium build and a lefty too. A couple years ago I had a bad accent with my left hand. The back of my finders tangled with a 3/4 in. dado blade on my table saw. Medicvac to the national hand center in Baltimore. Spent close to 5 hours under the knife while rebuilding my fingers. Woke up the next morning with over 30 pins and 100+ stitches. 9 weeks late all pins out stiches removed. After some hard work I have 95% use of my hand and shoot my 500 S&W with it.

Norton said:

This is no joke and is frankly one of the biggest dangers in the woods. A pack of wild dogs is a scary thing. I encountered some at the Undisclosed Location and it was very unsettling to watch the behavior of what look like pets, but no longer act that way.

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I was Upstate NY visiting my family. Was walking down a path to an apple orchard. A bout 80 or so yards a cougar stopped in the middle of the trail ahead. He stopped and stared straight at me I stood my ground with nothing but my Case trapper. He walked into the woods and I went back to the house. Told my family what happened and they said Oh we for got to tell you need to bring a gun. The next morning there were 2 bobcats in the back yard. Yep bring MR 12 gauge.

Thanks for all the input. I'm coming around on the revolvers for simplicity. This .357 magnum Red Hawk https://www.ruger.com/products/redhawk/specSheets/5059.html looks nice for flexibility of load and purpose, reviews say its on the heavy side but looks like a good combination trail and camp gun.

Love my smith and wesson 686 .357 mag

TD

miles71 said:

Love my smith and wesson 686 .357 mag

TD

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I like the 19 classic a lot https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-19-classic

ehall said:

I like the 19 classic a lot https://www.smith-wesson.com/firearms/model-19-classic

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Something beautiful about a S&W revolver
TD

Ruger Super Red Hawk Alaskan Bear Gun in 44magnum. Small enough to easily carry. But it's got the stopping power you want. Don't worry about capacity. You won't get more than 2 shots off at best. So you better practice your aim.

I have hunted in PA and open carry a .357 Tarus Revolver. Its a 7 shot revolver and I am comfortable shooting it. Of course if I am up there for firearm season, I already have a rifle so no need to carry extra weapon for a bear.

.45 ACP.... with some nice Federal JHP's.

Irrelevant to this but someone once posted a pretty cool article about how most bears are killed by 9mm.

I think the theory is cuz that’s what the people carry the most

I wonder how many 9mm rounds it took to accomplish that. Ws the shooter cool enough to pick a vital spot or enough rounds that one finally did the job or did the bear bleed out. Also...what kind and size bears? How many did a lot of damage to someone before they dropped.

A S&W model 69 should do the trick. A stainless .44 Mag can take care of most problems.

Phil Shoemaker , hunting guide , and occasional hunting/ gun writer, living full time in Alaska Bush , is one of the few people with enough gunfights with Bears to have meaningful personal experience comparing various calibers .

The most important takeaway from his experiences , is that in an up close gunfight with a Bear , the Only shot placement that will be quickly enough effective is a brain shot . He opines that one a round is capable of penetrating the skull to reach the brain , even more power doesn't drop them any quicker . But a .458 Magnum not through the skull won't drop them until after they could get in a couple swipes , or couple bites .

Yes , he recently dropped an attacking Griz with a 9mm . Only took one shot . ( See above re : either it's a first shot hit penetrating the skull , or it's not .)

A good friend of my Great Uncle had a dude ranch/ year round pack trip operation in Wyoming , not far from Yellowstone . As in when the Park Service " relocates Problem Bears from the Park into the wilderness " , they release them near him . So he has Bears who have lost their fear of humans , and have a PCP hangover . He once had a gunfight with a Grizzly Inside his Dining Room .

Mike reported that when encountering a fractious bear on a narrow trail with his pack string , the bear will * usually * see the error of his ways , and remember important business elsewhere , when he places a .44 Mag round just past their ear ( to the outside ) .

Meanwhile back East , while I frequently see Yogi , the time I had a very close encounter , I was ironically Too well positioned for deer hunting , and the bear didn't see me . Just as he was one step away from my needing to take action , he finally Smelled me , and took off rapidly in opposite direction .

All of above said , when bears are plentiful enough , while small , the risk is greater than zero . So for years , my motto has been :

" I can deal with pot growers and meth cookers better with a .44 or .45 , than I could deal with a bear using 9mm or .38 . "

***********************

A on the related subject alluded above ;

Once upon a time , my friend had actually borrowed a rifle from me for hunting near his original turf in WV , when he has beset upon by pack of dogs . He reported that PMC Starfire .44 Mag from a Marlin M94 in , will quickly drop large pack dogs with one chest hit

ralph.mclean said:

.45 ACP.... with some nice Federal JHP's.

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You don't want JHPs.