Best CCW to kill a bear!

[fmunk]

This.
Bears are almost definitely a non-issue. If mountain lions are going to be an issue, you'll be bleeding on the ground before you even figure it out. Your most likely animal threats are of the canine variety: coyote but more so feral dog. Your most dangerous threats would be wild boar or human. Keeping that in mind, I think a compact or subcompact semiauto in .40 S&W shooting heavy bullets would cover just about anything you'd encounter out in the boonies.

Couldn't agree more. Black bears are reclusive and mountain lions rarely attack. Both try to avoid human contact. If a cat has you, you wouldn't know it until it is far too late to do anything about it.

[smittty]

If a cat has you, you wouldn't know it until it is far too late to do anything about it.

That's why a gun or knife or both need to be accessible ie, on your hip, not inside your backpack.

[S&W629Lover]

I heard about that incident. To put it in perspective, that was one of 12 bear attacks in 34 years (since 1980)

So roughly 1 every three years.


Let us examine each attack
May 1986- May 1986, man sleeping is injured after being awoken by what he thought were two boars. Turned out it was two bears duking it out. The bear retreated when hit with a tent pole
Sept, 1986- man bit while FEEDING a bear.
1991- Archer hunter for deer, stopped to photograph a bear with cubs. Mama bear charged and bit his shoulders.
May 1993- Man claimed to wake up to find a bear drooling on him. He claims the bear "swatted" him and then took off. Fish and Game did not interview him.
August 1993- two bear attacks in Big Bear. Each time 13 yr old boys, mauled while sleeping in sleeping bags. Bears tracked down and shot
1995- 13 yr old was "pawed" while sleeping after bear ate food in his backpack. Received minor injuries
1996- man bit on butt
1998- upon be woken up, man and woman were attacked by sow with cubs. Woman was superficially hurt, many ore extensive. Sow was shot and cubs relocated
2001- Woman was bit on the arm feeding bear from a picnic table. LASD shot bear (just a cub really)
2003- backpacker sets food down to look for a place to hang it, bear come in knocks him down and grabs backpack. Man throws rocks, bear drops it and leaves. Note, not really a bear attack, the bear just bumped into him while going for the backpack...seriously
2003- A man is attacked by a sow. Rather than doing what he should (make noise, etc), he just stood motionless and quit staring at the sow. That was stupid. Bear pawed him to the face


And none since. Seriously. You can see, aside from the attacked while sleeping incidents (in which nominal resistance sufficed once offered) most were due to some stupidity by the people.

Actually, there are more "attacks" than you are aware of. I study black bears here in California in great detail, especially in both Yosemite & Kings Canyon National Parks. I've been in direct contact with both Wildlife Departments for all black bear "incidents" that involved human injuries ranging from minor scratches to bites with puncture wounds. The Wildlife Department in Yosemite is very resistant to share these detailed reports and it took me over a year to get any information. They only provided me with injuries from 1985 to 2011. They have recorded 65 such injuries, but do not like the general public to be aware of this. On the other hand, the Kings Canyon Wildlife Department was quick to share very detailed information. But only from 1989 to now. They have recorded 29 injuries since then. There were zero fatalities in either reports. The majority of these attacks came at night while people were sleeping in tents or under the stars. There were very few during daylight hours. These bears were mainly after imporperly stored food. Also, you have to consider the millions and millions of visitors that frequent these parks. These injury numbers are very low, all things considered. So, in general black bears are really not an issue. There are numerous other issues that have already been mentioned, mainly the issue of other people up to no good. I carry protection everywhere I go thanks to a CCW. But when I'm hiking/fishing in the forests, I carry a 44 Magnum. To each his own. I'm guessing any pistol is better than no pistol at all. Have fun deciding and be safe.

[TMcGuff]

10mm or 44mag stub nose. only way to go.

[xSARSx]

I think ur biggest threat would come from another person not a bear

[TMB 1]

Charter Arms Bulldog 44special, Smith & Wesson Model 60 357mag or something like this in 45 Colt or 357 http://ruger.com/products/vaqueroDE/models.html

[nitrous_bob]

i wouldnt rely on a "fo tee" any more than i would a 9mm

i carry a 6" .357 GP100 in a cross draw holster that sits right about at the bottom of my ribcage.... high enuff it doesnt touch the ground if im bow hunting... low enuff its not in the way of riding or shooting anything else

i also have this exact holster for my 1911, which i adjust higher than in the pic to achieve similar results.... but i dont trust the .45 in bear country

http://www.worldwarsupply.com/cart/Black-US-M7-Holster?search=paratrooper

heres the other holster....might give an idea what i mean, worn similar to the paratrooper holster...but sits horizontal

[HUTCH 7.62]

Be A man Carry a Model 29

[BrianRodela]

1 full plastic jar of peanut butter. Remove lid, squeeze and throw at bear. Should buy you a half hour!

[fmunk]

1 full plastic jar of peanut butter. Remove lid, squeeze and throw at bear. Should buy you a half hour!

LOL! Best answer ever.

And for mountain lions, another jar filled with catnip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tklx3j7kgJY

[thomashoward]

You really shouldn't concern yourself with bears. Every bear I have ever seen in the wild has been running away from me. They are scared. If we had brown bears around here, then we could have this discussion.

Cougars are another story. But they have thin skin, so you have more options. Problem is, a cougar isn't going to chase you down with you aware of it. You are going to feel it on top of you, biting the base of your skull, before you even see it. So whatever gun you can draw and aim behind your head the fastest is the gun the buy.

^ its funny ,all the bear talk by people who have never seen one.
I've had them in deer camp. As soon as you raise some noise they scram outa there. Unless flatlanders leave groceries out at night.you won't see or hear them.
A lion will stalk you. but people are the biggest predators

[fmunk]

I know, I laugh every time I see threads about people wanting to carry for bears or mountain lions.

As for mountain lions... Anyone with the wherewithal to draw and aim at the mountain lion attached to the back of their skull should probably just shoot themselves in the head and get it over with. If a cat is already on you, you are done. Big cats don't play around. When they strike, they do so with purpose... one decisive killer blow.

[Kirill]

If you think wolves are an issue in N. Cal then you need to learn a little bit more about the outdoors up here.

Well, technically we do have wolves...errr... a wolf. When it wanders in from Oregon once or twice a year.

[Socalman]

A .357 with 180 grain bullet will do most anything you want. As for bears in California, most are black/brown bear and rarely aggressive to humans unless you threaten the cubs.