How to kill a blackbear?

Hi, I'm not a hunter, but a prospector in the Sierra Nevada, and this year I will be up there alone.Only firearm I have is a .357 handgun and a box of Federal 180gr. Castcore ammo.If confronted by a blackbear,as a last resort is it possible to use this rig with any effect on the bear? And if so where can I learn about proper shot placement as I have no hunting experience at all, just target shooting and plinking.Thanks for any tips......Chris S

: will be up there alone.Only firearm I have is a .357 handgun and a box : of Federal 180gr. Castcore ammo.If confronted by a blackbear,as a last : resort is it possible to use this rig with any effect on the bear? And : if so where can I learn about proper shot placement as I have no hunting : experience at all, just target shooting and plinking.Thanks for any : tips......Chris S

As the old story goes, by the time the bear is after you, you get the gun out, etc. your only option is to place it to your temple to save yourself the pain.

The bear, if it attacks, will be coming at you at 30-35 mph. Unless you're holding the gun, he'll be on you before you get it out. There isn't any proper shot placement at that time, it's just going to be shooting at anything feeling fuzzy, if you can do that. OTOH, if you make a lot of noise the bear will probably steer clear of you.

samg

For a BLACK bear, I would think you'd be ok. But honestly, I'd be surprised if you needed it - black bears are *generally* not nearly as aggressive as a griz. Usually just yelling at it is sufficient to scare it off.

I would think that as a prospector, you would face a much higher risk from predators of the 2-legged variety (in which case, a .357 is also a good

By all means, pack the .357. Many bears have fallen to this caliber, although it's by far not the first choice.

Better than the .357 will be some of the pepper-based bear repellent

Well its a double action Smith and Wesson I always have on me in my Bianchi accumold ready to go at a moments notice.I actually had an encounter with a Cougar carrying this weapon, and even under a tremendous adrenalin rush was able to have my sidearm drawn and ready in a second.Luckily for both of us it decided to retreat, but only after staring me in the eyes for what seemed like an eternity maybe 10 yards away.I did take some classes on defensive handgunning at Thunder Ranch a few years ago, but this was obviously geared at humans, not animals.I also carry a Mark IV cannister with me too.My question is, is a 180gr. Castcore .357 load going to be able to penetrate the thick skin, muscle, and dense bone of a 200 pound black bear? Or is the pepper spray going to be a better defense? In truth I have never seen any signs of black bear, scat, tracks, etc. in the several years I've been hanging around the old hydraulic mining pits of the Sierra, its just this year I'll be alone and am just trying to be as prepared as possible for any situation.Thanks again.

Entire books have been literally been written on survival of bear attacks. They happen, and they usually are not pretty. However, you should be relived to know that they are relatively rare, and often do not result in the death of the victim.

In general, learn to differentiate between what is a black bear, and what is a Grizzly. I cannot speak as to the range of Grizzly, but they are to be treated very differently. If you are confident there are no Grizzly possible, then you can treat all encounters as they are Black Bear. If you need specifics on what to look for to tell the Grizz from the Black bear, email me. You cannot trust colour though.

First line of defence against bear in general is noise. Some advocate a little bell or some such as you walk. Dont rely on this, as if the wind is not cooperating, you could walk right up to a bear and it would not hear you coming. As well, shouting at the sight of a bear, while probably effective, has actually led to inicidents where the 'startled' bear charged at the sudden intruder. Funny the way instincts will work. Noise in general is a good thing however.

Second, assuming that noise did not scare away the bear, and since at first sound/sight of a human 80% of the Blackies I have dealt with hump it out of there faster than stink, any bear which stick around could be a definite problem. They could just be curious, and they do sometimes check you out. But then, they may be hungry. Get ready for a charge. Get your gun out (if range allows it.) or prepare to defend yourself in some manner. The bear may decide to charge, and these are often bluffs. However, if it does charge, be prepared to deal with it. If you have the 357 out, go down on one knee, and brace your shot. If possible, wait until the bear is within 25 yards. This might seem odd, but at this range, you can be pretty sure there is no bluff. More importantly, beyond this range, you can be sure that under a stressful panic-striken state, your accuracy will be non-existant. There is are two reasons for going down on one knee. One, it stabalizes your shots. The second, less obvious reason should be apparent once you get close to a bear. As big and as mean as they seem, they are really quite small and compact. The size is largely pshycological. As any hunter who shot his 'huge' bruin. Once it is dead, it seems barely larger than a typical Labrador Retreiver. The gist of this is that if you are standing, and bear charges, you will have a definate tendancy to shoot 'over' the bear as you will constantly have to adjust your aim downwards. Under a stress situation, you want to minimize any adjustments or anything which takes you away from pulling that trigger. Going down on one knee puts you at the bears level. You no longer have to worry about aim adjustment. Just hold the gun on the bear and pull the trigger. Dont worry about 'bullet placement' too much. Again, any thinking you do during the few seconds of terror will take away from dealing with the bear. Just hold the sights on the centre of the big black mass charging you and that will be good. That will also place the shots more or less straight into the chest/heart. It may also place shots right into the face/head. Either way, the same goal is achieved. If for whatever reason you are presented with a broadside shot, aim basically behind the shoulders, low on the chest. That should take out the lungs/heart. Again, the goal will be achieved.

If you want to practice, I can give you some VERY bear specific drills on request, but an easy excercise should be 25 rapid fire. More precisely, how many shots can you put inside a 12' square target inside of 2-3 seconds. Dont worry about 1' groups or any nonsense. Just ask yourself if the bullet hit the target. The bear is larger than 12' square, and frankly, wont comment on you getting 1' groups once you put 4 rounds in it.

Anyhow, contrary to popular propaganda, DO NOT PLAY DEAD with a black bear (though this may be good with a grizz.) Assuming it comes to that, fight, and fight vigourously. Never give up against a Black bear. The long and the short of it is that if a Black bear makes contact (physical), it is not a warning, it wants to eat you. Unlike Grizz which often beat you around and leave, Black bear will try and kill you. One advantage for you is that even the huge ones are really not that big. Yes, they are very stong and big, but you will be able to still put up a decent fight. It has been observed that a vigourous defence will often make Black bears wary and often cause them to leave since you are not as easy a meal as they first thought. Be loud, wild, and dont back down. If you do, you will die.

This is all worst case scenario stuff. Chances are, assuming you even see a bear, are that the bear will sense you, look at you for a second or two, and then all you will see is his plump ass jiggling away at

I've read and heard reports of .45 ACP rounds and even .303BR bullets bouncing off a black bear's skull without apparent effect. But if you can stick the muzzle in his side, neck, or mouth, it ought to do the job.

Another defensive tool I've heard described by people who spend a lot of time in bear country is pencil flares. The idea is not to deflect a charge (for that I'd have my gun out), but to encourage a hesitating bear to clear out.

One other thing I think migh work is a kevlar throw net. Something along the lines of the nets used by the Roman gladiators, with weights at the corners. When a cougar or bear gets his claws into the netting, it ought to slow him down quite a bit.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anyone who would manufacture such a net.

good luck

I happened across a very interesting and thorough page that discusses lots about both black bears and grizzlies. Although I know next to nothing to be any sort of judge, this fellow certainly appears to know what he is talking about! Follow the link, and learn.
http://mx7.xoom.com/keithrogan/index.html

Regards to all,

Just how far do you think you could shoot one of these nets? Or would they be used for close combat?

I read most of the text on this site, and looked at the acknowledgements, and feel the presentation is unbalanced and seriously misleading, especially as regards the seriousness of grizzly attacks.

You could easily beleive from this site that you can expect to walk away from a grizzly attack with a few scratches and maybe a few stitches. Or that a grizzly will never try to eat you alive.

The reality is a grizzly will take half your face off with one swipe, or scalp you and possibly crush your skull with one bite. Telling people that a charging bear is probably bluffing is not going to save anyone's bacon except the bear's. Asking someone to stand still and do nothing while a bear charges, in the expectation that he'l swerve off to the side at the last minute is irresponsible.

Furthermore, if you try to follow all the suggestions of places to avoid, everthing from destinations from which the wind blows, paths by running water, thick bush, places where there might be carcasses, or berries or grazing, you won't be going anywhere in the bush.

The list of acknowledgements is notable for its lack of authors outside the government service and academic sphere, where the world view generally rates the importance of your survival below that of the bear.

And then there's the continuous plugs for UDAP pepper spray, withought, interestingly enough, any specifications as to the limitiations of that spray (range, duration, effect of wind or rain, or temperature).

I suggest taking this site with a large pinch of salt.

Instead of the handgun which might work or might not try one of the new pepper sprays for bear they work well enough the guide I hunted with in Canada carried it instead of his rifle Sam