The Build and Adventures of Bearbait

Most of the guides if fished with in Alaska carried .44's in a chest holster...and a 12 gauge in the boat...
 
Bear_JKU said:
If you want to carry a large caliber like 454, 500, even something like a .357 mag, .44 mag. It’ll be in a revolver. If you want a semi auto maybe look at the Glock 10mm.

Edit: I don’t think a .45 is going to do much for you unless you only have black bears in the area you’ll be. Maybe... If your in grizzly country you’ll want a larger caliber. Either way an angry bear or defensive bear works off of adrenaline and the will to survive so lean towards a larger caliber.


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Oh okay, thank you! I am in grizzly country which is what worries me a bit. Haven’t seen any, I make plenty of noise on the trail lol

WJCO said:
Since you've never owned one, try and find a gun range that rents several. Shoot a bunch and get a feel for it. Also, if you have a gun show nearby, try going to one of those, you can get a lot of weapons in your hands and try out holsters for comfort. And research quality. A gun isn't something you want to go cheap on. It could save your life. We have a gun thread here as well :
https://wayalife.com/showthread.php/10907-Show-your-guns

Where you're at, I'm assuming you have grizzly and moose. Personally I wouldn't go smaller than a 44 Magnum. We only have black bear here (no grizzly) and they don't concern me near as much as our moose. That's the main reason that I carry what I do.
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I will certainly hit up a gun range and fire a fee different ones! I’ll also look for a gun show [emoji106] are there a few names I should mainly keep my eye on for quality?

We certainly do have grizzly and moose. I’ve seen a few moose but haven’t seen grizzly yet. I have heard moose are more aggressive than bear... haven’t heard of any instances though
 
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One thing I will add is after you make your selection, practice with it, and keep practicing so you are always comfortable with shooting it.

You don't want to wait until you need it to freshen up on the skill.
 
jdofmemi said:
One thing I will add is after you make your selection, practice with it, and keep practicing so you are always comfortable with shooting it.

You don't want to wait until you need it to freshen up on the skill.
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Absolutely I’ll be practicing plenty. I read that if it comes to it, you need to aim for the Bears central nervous system to stop it in its tracks. Not that big of a target!
 
I got charged by a black bear here in WA my senior year of high school (no hand gun) I spooked a black bear at 18 yards while walking up the hill on our property during deer season. We had a stand off for about 1 minute and it starting getting a mohawk getting all worked up so once it started coming towards me I put 1 shot from my 30.06 into it, it's front legs buckled and stood right back up. It chased me after that about 10 yards and went down, my round took out one of the atriums (top chamber in the heart) and it still was standing and chased me for about 20 seconds, and it was only a 500lb black bear. I can't even imagine a grizzly lol
 
rl206 said:
I got charged by a black bear here in WA my senior year of high school (no hand gun) I spooked a black bear at 18 yards while walking up the hill on our property during deer season. We had a stand off for about 1 minute and it starting getting a mohawk getting all worked up so once it started coming towards me I put 1 shot from my 30.06 into it, it's front legs buckled and stood right back up. It chased me after that about 10 yards and went down, my round took out one of the atriums (top chamber in the heart) and it still was standing and chased me for about 20 seconds, and it was only a 500lb black bear. I can't even imagine a grizzly lol
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Wow man. What a shot.

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rl206 said:
I got charged by a black bear here in WA my senior year of high school (no hand gun) I spooked a black bear at 18 yards while walking up the hill on our property during deer season. We had a stand off for about 1 minute and it starting getting a mohawk getting all worked up so once it started coming towards me I put 1 shot from my 30.06 into it, it's front legs buckled and stood right back up. It chased me after that about 10 yards and went down, my round took out one of the atriums (top chamber in the heart) and it still was standing and chased me for about 20 seconds, and it was only a 500lb black bear. I can't even imagine a grizzly lol
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That is unbelievable! I’m glad you got a good shot off! I’m a little nervous about a grizzly now [emoji23] have yet to see one in the backcountry and I’ve backpacked quite a bit!
 
From the guides up in Alaska that I have hunted and fished with have told us, that even if you shot and killed the bear, it will still most likely get to you and maul you before it final succumbed to the bullets it took. Scary, but the good thing, is all grizzlies that have been around are more interested in fishing than us. They are beautiful to watch. They’ve came out of the bush ten feet or less from me and didn’t even care that I was there. You just talk to them and slowly walk away. One of my favorite animals on the planet! I couldn’t imagine a world with out them.


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wjtstudios said:
From the guides up in Alaska that I have hunted and fished with have told us, that even if you shot and killed the bear, it will still most likely get to you and maul you before it final succumbed to the bullets it took. Scary, but the good thing, is all grizzlies that have been around are more interested in fishing than us. They are beautiful to watch. They’ve came out of the bush ten feet or less from me and didn’t even care that I was there. You just talk to them and slowly walk away. One of my favorite animals on the planet! I couldn’t imagine a world with out them.


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I think they are one of my favorites as well but 10' away would scare the crap outta me lol
 
wjtstudios said:
From the guides up in Alaska that I have hunted and fished with have told us, that even if you shot and killed the bear, it will still most likely get to you and maul you before it final succumbed to the bullets it took. Scary, but the good thing, is all grizzlies that have been around are more interested in fishing than us. They are beautiful to watch. They’ve came out of the bush ten feet or less from me and didn’t even care that I was there. You just talk to them and slowly walk away. One of my favorite animals on the planet! I couldn’t imagine a world with out them.


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Thank you for that peace of mind about the bears being more interested in fishing and not caring about you. A few friends of mine (little paranoid about everything... safety freaks) got me all thinking about carrying a gun in the back country not too long ago... not a bad idea, but they freaked me out about bears lol they are one of my favorite animals! Hence the name “Bearbait” and my dog “Bear”

Arrcherr said:
I think they are one of my favorites as well but 10' away would scare the crap outta me lol
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A little close for comfort absolutely!

JKbrick said:
He left out the part that he pooped his pants at the same time as he was talking and walking away


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I would too!!! [emoji23]

Chadly1990 said:
Didn’t they make a documentary about a guy that talked to bears and hung out with them? If I remember right it didn’t end well.


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Yeah they did, I think it was “Into the Wild” or “Grizzly Man” haven’t seen them in a while so I forget how exactly it ends but I think you right lol
 
Ive only encountered brown bears twice fly fishing in Alaska...both with guides armed with .44's... both times they were across the stream eating chum or pink salmon...both guides told me in a decade of guiding, they never had to pull the gun out of the chest holster...the main thing is not to surprise them. As we were walking or wading the streams, we were making plenty of noise talking loudly, especially around bends where visibility was limited...I was singing (badly) Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin songs frequently...
 
Brute said:
Ive only encountered brown bears twice fly fishing in Alaska...both with guides armed with .44's... both times they were across the stream eating chum or pink salmon...both guides told me in a decade of guiding, they never had to pull the gun out of the chest holster...the main thing is not to surprise them. As we were walking or wading the streams, we were making plenty of noise talking loudly, especially around bends where visibility was limited...I was singing (badly) Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin songs frequently...
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I’m very glad to hear that they’ve never pulled their gun! We absolutely talk loud when on the trails, every now and again I see people running all stealthy with headphones on (in bear territory) and I always wonder if I’ll be hearing of a bear attack later...

So by the sound of it, I think I’ll save and get a hunting rifle instead of a bear gun! Bear mace will do for me [emoji106]
 
Jsouder53 said:
I’m very glad to hear that they’ve never pulled their gun! We absolutely talk loud when on the trails, every now and again I see people running all stealthy with headphones on (in bear territory) and I always wonder if I’ll be hearing of a bear attack later...

So by the sound of it, I think I’ll save and get a hunting rifle instead of a bear gun! Bear mace will do for me [emoji106]
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Bear mace is always the best option but I would always have a leathal option. There was a guide found in either Wyoming or Colorado ( I can't remember) with a empty can killed. Who's to say if a gun would've helped but Iwould rater have and not need it.
 
jasont0311 said:
Bear mace is always the best option but I would always have a leathal option. There was a guide found in either Wyoming or Colorado ( I can't remember) with a empty can killed. Who's to say if a gun would've helped but Iwould rater have and not need it.
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Good point, I guess I would rather be safe than dead
 
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