Reeder Custom Guns - So,.. Black Bears and 357 mags...

Seems one fella got lucky.

http://www.erienewsnow.com/story/39520574/man-takes-679-pound-black-bear-at-five-yards-...

600lbs+ bears were taken in the next county over from our home.

in N.C. a few years back when I was there for a hunt. Two were a bit over 800 and the 3rd was just under 800. I got there just as a hurricane made land fall and ruined my hunt but the guys that got them were a couple of days ahead of me. Here are some of the big bears out of that area. All around or over 600 lbs.One of the Misfits, Geoffrey Lee is in one of the pics. A hint, he is not the old lady measuring her bear's pecker.
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I have never taken a really large bear. The biggest I have taken was a bit over 450 lbs.
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Bears love peas! So I dug a deep hole and threw a bunch of wood in it and burned it. Once it cooled and there was nothing but ashes in the bottom I took that can of peas and sprinkled them all around the big holes edge. Ran off to hide in the bushes and watch! A big bear soon appeared at the edge of the hole to take a pea, I ran up behind the big bear and kicked him right smack in the ash hole! True story!

It takes some fiddling to get the .357 to impress me much. The early .357 loadings of a 158 gr. at 1500 fps are a little troublesome to find today. The .357 Max. or .356 GNR can do it. Even then, that's not a "cannon" by any stretch. I can boost it by my crafty loading techniques, but not everyone can do that themselves.

My 180 gr. slippery cast bullets can get around 1400 fps. I've even shot 200 gr. through it over 1100 fps. Yes, in a normal Ruger BH revolver. That comes closer, but a good .41 or bigger easily surpasses it, commonly, with lots less trouble. A hot 10mm can get close, but not quite, to Keith's 1920 ideal of a 240/250 gr. at 1200 fps. That's a good all round load but not a cannon either. It's a tool to push a 7/16th's inch, 1/2 oz., projectile through something straight and true. Within the limitations as to bullet design parameters in a semi-auto. Then again you have to "hit" it correctly too!

God Himself plays a bigger role in our everyday lives, more than most of use realize (self included). If you have no more use in God's will here on earth, or no more chances to be so, in this age, you'd be tit's up for certain. No matter. That's just a fact, no matter if you personally believe or no. It's so.

PIECE IN "GUNS" NEXT YEAR ON "THE .357 MAGNUM--DON'T SELL IT SHORT"

I personally am highly looking forward to the series....

I see all the time people dismissing the 357 because it is too limited for concealed carry, too weak for the field.... positive opinions seem to be getting fewer and fewer!

So, I for one am grateful for your perspective.

I think it's one of the finest (.357 revolver) rounds for shooting back at someone. The late 9mm is so much better than it used to be, it's not really that far behind.

But shooting bears!!! Even under the best circumstances we can do much better.

I read from Paco Kelly that he once anchored a bear with his 38 sp wadcutter loaded backwards so the hollow end was outward. Said the bear dropped right there. Who am I to argue?

I get your point. It’s just sad to me that over the years calibers get bashed for doing things they have done for years...

I am neither an expert nor the son of an expert. So, no more argument from me.

a 1911 Gvt model with lee's 45 ACP Super Vel.
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Anchored it at just under 200yds too...maybe more than 1 round but the bear was dead. He did cheat a little and use a scope...

I know Gary has a pic of Goerg's "Bear Buster" somewhere

22 K-Hornet, one shot each.

.38 SPECIAL FMJ. HE WAS UP A TREE AND THE LION WANTED HIM. HE SHOT IT IN THE TOP OF THE HEAD AND KILLED IT INSTANTLY.

center chest, through and out the spine, a large Nilgai Bull with a S&W M&P in .38. He was shooting a LEE 124 gr. 9mm slug at 1000 fps. It's still going for all I know. I saw it with my own eye.

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Have hit him with something bigger before I used the 38...

It was a .338 GNR and 200 gr. Hornady if I remember.

end up wearing that 357 up his arse, at 15 ft he wouldn't have time for a second aimed shot. I had a friend (now deceased) who killed 50 plus black bears with a 22 LR pistol, easy way to do it when their in a trap. He was a government paid trapper in southern Colorado for many years. so the question is not if the 357 will kill a bear, but will it do the job in time you save your butt.

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I used a DW 15-2 with the 8" barrel with a home rolled
180 grain FNHC bullet. Shot right behind the shoulder with a clean pass thru. I've done it with a G2 with a 12" barrel in .357 Maximum.
My prefered hand gun now is the .41 GNR with a 225 grain hard cast.

It will do its job if you do your part.

From animal rights to internet MD's stating how a bullet increases velocity over distance and thus increases the effectiveness further away; I guess that is how they shoot these creeds out to almost 5 miles with no bullet drop.

My son killed his first bear at 7 with a 357mag marlin, this year at 10 with a 30-30. The 30-30 is the go to for bear here in eastern NC, a lot of guys starting to use 44mag leverguns.

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