Sunday, April 2, 2017

Grizzly Questions

When charging a human, what is the maximum speed?  What are the dimensions of the head down grizzly?  Going to Fairbanks April 21.  Going to build a grizzly simulator for friends to pull towards me to work on my marksmanshp.  No substitute for the real thing, of course, but having some practice firiing at a target the right height and size coming my way seems prudent.

7 comments:

  1. Oh dear. If I read this from ANY other source, I would think you were making a joke. But since you're you, I'll contribute the little sense I have about bears.

    (1) If a bear comes at you, it's faster than you can believe. The next to last thing you see is the teeth. Or is it the claws? Nobody knows for sure .. ask Jeremiah Johnson who did survive a bear attack. okay, kidding.
    (2) Griz will maul you and then leave you. Black bears hold a grudge; if you have a choice, don't piss off a black bear. Griz will only kill you, Mr. Black will stick around for a day or two, in case you wake up from your nightmare.
    (3) There IS a guy here in Oregon who makes his living killing bears. Don't know his name. He has a pack of hounds which track the bear down (this is paid for by the State, when they have 'rogue' or 'superfluous' bears in an area) and the dogs find the bear. Dogs surround the bear, bait it, get its attention. Then Mister Bear Killer walks up behind the bear and calmly pokes a Ruger .41 Magnum Blackhawk revolver behind its ear and kills it.

    Me? I have two Ruger Blackhawk .41 magnum revolvers, just in case I run into a bear.
    In town.

    If you're worried about bears, stay out of the woods. That's the best "bear advice" anyone is going to give you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your target would need to be powered by a vehicle, pretty much. Talking about 30-35mph, level ground.
    Saw a blond colored bear, fairly small, running uphill just outside of Yosemite Park, twenty years ago. Astounding speed, and it didn't slack off as it got steeper. Later, I saw it running downhill as it returned, and it wasn't a lot faster, for some reason. No idea why it was running. Followed the same trail up and back, past my campsite.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Since the grizzly is going to be charging you head down, you need something that can smash through his skull. I suggest one of these firing either solid brass, steel, or depleted uranium, copper-coated bullets.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I forgot, you will also need this to complete the ensemble.

    As an aficionado of fine British motors, I know you'll understand the necessity.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Will: Pull a box with grizzly face as fast as you can. I understand 300 grain .44 Magnum is reasonably close to adequate.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Clayton,

    Any handgun is a compromise; ability exchanged for portability.
    Anyone who reasonably expects to be in a gunfight never chooses a pistol as their primary.

    Experienced guides and others who work in grizzly/bear country prefer rifles (heavy 30.06 loads, .375 H&H, etc) and 12 gauge pump-action shotguns loaded with Brenneke hard slugs. They only carry pistols (.44 magnum, .454 Casull, etc) as their backup for when they have chores that require two-hands (cooking, fishing, latrine, etc).

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'd consider a Desert Eagle in .50AE, if portability was required. Shoulder rig. If you can get both hands on it, muzzle return to POA is much, much, faster than a revolver. Beats the heck out of my Ruger 7.5" Redhawk .41Mag in controlability.

    ReplyDelete