Reeder Custom Guns - Short Bear Story

https://fieldethos.com/surviving-a-bear-attack/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campa...

I've seen videos of Lion attacks, Leopards, it's all ass grabbing, fetching, hi-stepping, and shooting! Like Jerry Clower's story, "shoot amoungst us, one of us needs some relief!"

I saw where a PH got shot by a client with a .458! You'd think it would have blow him apart but it was just a bad flesh wound, very lucky.

Blake Naugle built up and messed with a Super .45 1911 a few year's back and I tried to follow in his steps but working in a different light. I used the Glock G21 chassis. The rubbery frame is very forgiving up to a point, obviously. Special normal rifled barrel, custom chamber, throating, expansion brakes and recoil springs. I was able to get the 230 gr. "cast bullet" (100 fps faster than jacketed at the same pressure) to 1300 fps from a 6" barrel. As a sidenote, on the same platform with very careful "cast gas check" handloads from a conventional rifled 6" barrel I also worked a 230 gr. 10mm load to 1300 fps. It duplicates some specialized Underwood 10mm ammo. I used Longshot and AA#7 powders to work hot loads. In an auto special care for chamber support is also paramount. You can't mess with the feed ramp as it also supports the case web.

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But a .45 or .400 caliber semi-auto, that is proven to be reliable, with a 13-15 rnd. capacity and punting 200+ gr. hard bullets at 1200+ fps is better than nothing. I prefer a short pump shotgun with slugs, like the game dept. But whatever fills your hand when it hits the fan is fine. George the bear whisperer in AK told me it didn't make much difference semi-auto or revolver as you'd likely only get one good shot, if you were fast and lucky. But I find a double stack mag of magnum .45 very comforting.

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promote a 10mm in Grizzly country. The 10mm is a good cartridge but is not a cartridge for dangerous game. The 10mm is more power than a 357 but not as much as a 41 Magnum and for sure not a grizzly cartridge. Those guys were very lucky and very stupid carrying a 10mm in grizzly country. And by writing this story they are going to get more people carrying a 10mm in bear country and get some people killed.

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was a very well known and popular bear guide that stopped a Bear attack at mere feet with a 9mm Luger S&W 3-1/2"!! I want to know what a AK bear guide is even doing with a 9mm for starters. (I know, yes, I know, how many crazy crackpots there are in AK, wild Indians and such. More likely a threat.)

But I'd be highly pissed if my high dollar guide was backing me up or looking over my greenhorn butt with a 9mm handgun in Grizzly country. I'm in no position to be an armchair quarterback but on principal alone. At least a .357, something bigger than a 9mm! George's guys had S&W M29's and a Redhawk in .454.

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there's more to the story than gets published ... and he does not recommend using the 9mm but it was what he had at hand in the moment and he was good enough to make it work.

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Was he one of the crew back when you used that .348 Winchester in that river camp? I remember seeing those photos. Looked like a real experience! How old were you back then? Comparing it to my age/experiences.

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at the Shootists Holiday ... the Alaska hunt was 17 years ago. I was 61.

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- No text -

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lifetime I am fairly sure I know the secret of killing a bear. That is run over him with a semi trailer truck. I have found everything else is really iffy.

Bear #1 My first bear hunt in Alaska..Hunting with my 510 GNR a bear decided he didn't like me for some silly reason and trotted up to me. The first shot on the bear was about 2 feet from my quivering toes, at which he rolled over and gave me that "your ass is grass" look, so I shot him again at about 2 feet at which he gave up and ran off. But even then I had to walk into those willows to finish him off. Thank goodness he had the decency to go ahead and die before I got to him. George Faerber, who was our guide and was with another hunter down the stream said it sounded like I had a full auto handgun.

Bear #2...in Washington state, Colleen shot this big bear way the hell up a tall tree with her 338 GNR Contender. He did a swan dive right into the ground right in front of us. I walked over, bent over him and told her he needed to be a full mount bear as he was a cinnamon color. Colleen's eyes got really big while I was talking to her. Realizing there was probably something behind me that I needed to see, I turned and her bear was standing at kissing distance. I had my 41 GNR Redhawk in hand and emptied it into him burning some holes in his fur. Her comments was "thanks, you just put 6 more holes in my bear's hide".

Bear #3...
Again in Washington state (I should learn to stay the hell out of that state). Our bear dogs had bayed this big black bear up against a rock wall. We had to crawl on hands and knees to get to him thru some extremely thick brush and the guide yelled for me to shoot him, he's killing my dogs. I shot the bear at about 50 feet at which time he decided we were probably a better lunch than those dogs. I shot him 3 more times while he was on his way to have a talk with us. As we were still on our knees the bear knocked both of us over while he was trying to get at the strike dog (The important dog as he smells the bear a long way off and you don't want him to get hurt so he stays clipped to the guide's belt) who was barking at him. The bear was concentrating on cutting the dog in half while I reached up and put my last 2 rounds into his arm pit. This was in the 44 Magnum days,way before all the 454s, 475s and 500s so my puny little 44 Magnum was even punier as it was in a S&W model 29. My guide had my Contender in hand and as the bear was more on top of him he put the barrel into the bear's throat and shot him. He was actually the one that killed the bear as my 44s didn't seem to do more than really piss him off.Although I had the good end of the bear as he was sitting on my chest. I still hear from that guide from time to time. He still has times when somebody says "bear" he wets his pants.

So there are my 3 reasons to not go into bear country with a 10mm.

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Short Bear Story

Great story! Getting potted in a brawl is a real concern.

It was a good story but how can a Game & Fish guy

The latest and most publicised story of late

I spent a week with him ....

I admit that was the case. Folks think highly of the fellow.

No ... I met him 2 years ago

I'm 61 now. Thanks for that.

Having danced with 3 bears in my short but horny