BEAR DEFENSE LOADS
WITH THE HHI BLACK BEAR HUNT IN MAINE COMING UP IN SEPTEMBER I HAVE BEEN THINKING OF WHAT REVOLVER I WILL TAKE, NOT FOR THE HUNTING, BUT FOR BACK-UP, FINISHERS AND BEAR DEFENSE LOADS. THE PEARCE BROTHERS HAVE IN CAMP FIRE 11 A NICE YOU TUBE VIDEO ON BEAR DEFENSE LOADS. THAT VIDEO AND MY EXPERIENCE THIS PAST DEER SEASON WITH THE MISSOURI BULLET COMPANY .45 SLAMMER, .452 325gr WFN "BRINELL 18, OPTIMIZED FOR TAKE DOWN" GOT ME TO THINKING.
ANIMAL SKULLS ARE BUILT LIKE TANKS AND TO MY MIND A BEAR DEFENSE BULLET MUST HAVE 2 ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS: 1) AN ADEQUATE FLAT MEPLAT TO IMPART SHOCK ON BODY HITS; and 2) ABSOLUTE BULLET INTEGRITY WHEN HEAVY BONE IS HIT. MANY CAST BULLETS CAN DO 1), FEW IF ANY CAN DO 2).
THIS PAST SEASON I WAS USING THE SLAMMER @ 1,030fps OUT OF A 4.2" BOWEN CUSTOM 5 SHOT 45 COLT REDHAWK (ONLY 3" OF RIFLED BARREL THE BALANCE BEING A PORTED EXPANSION CHAMBER) FOR FINISHERS ON HOGS AND DEER, SOME BODY SHOTS, SOME HEAD SHOTS, MOST CLOSE UP FROM A FEW FEET TO 15-20yds. I DON'T RETRIEVE FINISHER BULLETS BUT I AM GOING TO START TRYING TO DO SO. ONE OF MY LAST FINISHERS WAS ON A WHITETAIL BUCK LAYING ON THE GROUND JUST A FEW FEET AWAY. A BULLET TO THE HEAD AND IT WAS INSTANT lights out/account settled. LATER WHEN THE RANCH HAND WAS SKINNING THE HEAD AND REMOVING THE LOWER JAW (FOR AGING OF THE DEER) HE RECOVERED THE FINISHER BULLET. IT WAS buggered AND WEIGHED 227grs. HERE IS A PICTURE OF THE RECOVERED BULLET NEXT TO A NEW BULLET:
I EXPERIENCED SIMILAR BULLET PERFORMANCE WITH THE 340gr .476 THUMPER BULLET AT, IIRC, A fps IN THE 1,300's, SHOT INTO A BOVINE SKULL UP CLOSE, THE THUMPER LOST ABOUT 1/2 ITS WEIGHT AND DID NOT EXIT THE SKULL. IF I AM DEALING WITH A BEAR I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE CHANCES WITH A BULLET THAT HAS INTEGRITY ISSUES. I THOUGHT THAT THE SLAMMER AT A SEDATE 1,030fps WOULD BE MANAGEABLE AND WOULD HAVE ADEQUATE BULLET INTEGRITY BUT I DID NOT CARE FOR WHAT I FOUND ON THAT WHITETAIL BUCK.
I HAVE A BUNCH O F .451 325gr BARNES BUSTER ('BB") BULLETS, THAT IN A 454 LOADING WAS WHAT I TOOK MY LAST BLACK BEAR WITH. MY BLACK BEAR REVOLVER IS A FA 454 (WITH AN XTRA 45 COLT CYLINDER), 8 3/8ths" MAG-NA-PORT STALKER, AND I WILL USE THE SAME LOAD AGAIN AND/OR A 454 LOAD I HAVE WITH A SWIFT 300gr A-FRAME. THE BB BULLET HAS A smallish BUT ADEQUATE MEPLAT AND IS PLENTY STOUT, SO I AM GOING TO TRY AND WORK-UP A LOAD USING THE BB BULLET FOR THE 5 SHOT REDHAWK, LOOKING FOR SOMETHING IN THE 1,000fps - 1,100fps RANGE. THE GUN CAN DO LOTS MORE BUT THE SHOTS WOULD BE UP CLOSE AND I WANT A MANAGEABLE LOAD IN STRESSED CONDITIONS.
INTERESTED ON YOUR THOUGHTS ON BEAR DEFENSE LOADS.
Having questioned “witnesses” for the last 30+ years, for the purposes of rescue, recovery, incident layout, and game recovery. I have learned that important details are very often overlooked or not logged into memory. Hunters, campers, drivers, vacationers, etc. are not thinking of needing to reinact a situation, and so do not note details. Their past memories will very often insert unnoticed details in order to fill in blank portions of an incidence.
Many times I’ve asked hunters where an animal was standing, or what orientation was it in, only to be told they couldn’t recall. Some witnesses to tragic events even swearing they saw something when others make statements directly against them. It is for this reason that I place little certainty in anecdotal references, or he said, she said stories. Not that all people lie, but many embellish, recall incorrectly, are not in an articulate and recalling state of mind, and some are actually going out of their way to be “helpful” in a retelling. When actual facts are most helpful, it is a must to not rely on a single persons recollection. Even when only a single person is available to recall the “facts”. Restaging the events from the evidence, helps determine what actually happened.
I cannot begin to recall the number of times witnesses and participants have recalled incorrectly or “lied” about what they perceived happened during an event. Even having had hunters claim animals were facing left and a projectile impacted on the left side. Only to discover the impact was on the right side and the animal turned and ran off to the left. They remembering only that it ran left and so recalled the animal facing left at the moment of impact.
All this to say, anecdotal recalling of an event, while making for a great story. Does little to provide actual evidence of what really happened.