Bad Bear Attitude Adjustment

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Uncle Mike

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Thinking on a bear buster...something to carry whilst in bear territory working or hunting... on the ATV, on foot...whatever.
Would be open carried, say 4" to 6" maybe out to 7" of barrel, Stainless or Wonder Alloy, most likely stainless.
Hip holster.
I have plenty .44 MAG's, long, short, big and small. Don't need a bear adjuster but just want a new one.
And please, no suggestions to 'just use one of your 44's... I already thought of that one and ....No, gotta get another...you know how it is!
Thinking 460 or 500 S&W...between the two, which one would you get and of course, why.

Many thanx-
 
I would go with the .460 for the versatility. I dont think the .04'' are going to be a deal breaker for the bear but it could be for you.

good luck Bob
 
when thinking about bears... any pistol can mean death (to you)
yes... maybe you'll get lucky.. it happens all the time..
but to be sure.. a rifle is the key
 
Thinking 460 or 500 S&W...between the two, which one would you get and of course, why.
Click to expand...
Of those two I would buy the .460 Magnum because you can shoot 4 different rounds from it. (.45 Schofield, .45 Colt, .454 Casull and .460 S&W Magnum) I know the .500 Magnum will handle much heavier bullets but IMO the .460 Magnum is still a better choice. I think their 5" M460V would make a great bear gun, very heavy, but great...
 
.500 JRH is a short version of the .500 S&W. It recoils a reasonable amount, and, it gives you a low recoil round that is still well about anything the .460 will shoot...
 
all the 460 is going to buy you over your 44 is speed and speed isnt what you need when it comes to penetrating a big bear bullet weight and bullet size is. If you are stuck on those two the 500 is a much better choise.
 
Guess you know what I use. For bears, .500 is bigger than .460................................
DSC05273.jpg
[/IMG].........................................A .45ACP cartridge is shown for comparison.
 
Are these gonna be cute little Black bears that just want your blueberry muffin?

Or big scary angry Grizzly bears that want you?

rc
 
something to carry whilst in bear territory working or hunting... on the ATV, on foot...whatever.
Click to expand...

The X frames are ginormous. Too heavy and bulky to be very practical for a field sidearm unless you like that much weight on a belt. I'd suggest a Freedom Arms .454 Casull. Of course they're rather pricey.
 
Cosmoline, have you ever hefted a 500 with the snub barrel? To me, it just doesn't seem to weigh that much more than a 629 with an underlugged barrel. A well designed holster and belt can easily make up the difference in comfortable carry of the snub "X" frames.
 
I've shot and hefted the 4", and that must have been close to four pounds. The word that sprung to mind was "silly." Then "ouch." The local market is chock full of ones that have been shot a few times and sold off. I don't think they're a practical bear gun at all, though they're probably fun for those who enjoy huge, bulky, and heavy recoiling handguns.

If I were going to get a big bore bear-level handgun other than a Freedom Arms it would probably be a BFR .45-70 revolver. They look pretty outrageous, but they shoot surprisingly well with a nice rolling recoil. I wouldn't shoot the B-bore level loads out of them, but I've shot cowboy level and standard SAAMI hunting loads with nary a flinch. Really accurate, too. Then I had to give it back to the guy who owned it. Didn't want to!
 
Black bears or grizzlies? Although I kind of gathered from your post that you really just want a new gun (not that there is anything wrong with that.

I can only imagine that the pictured .500 SW snub with wood grips is not a real pleasure to shoot. I also imagine real fast follow shot are challenging.
 
Uncle Mike said:
Thinking on a bear buster...something to carry whilst in bear territory working or hunting... on the ATV, on foot...whatever.
Would be open carried, say 4" to 6" maybe out to 7" of barrel, Stainless or Wonder Alloy, most likely stainless.
Hip holster.
I have plenty .44 MAG's, long, short, big and small. Don't need a bear adjuster but just want a new one.
And please, no suggestions to 'just use one of your 44's... I already thought of that one and ....No, gotta get another...you know how it is!
Thinking 460 or 500 S&W...between the two, which one would you get and of course, why.

Many thanx-
Click to expand...
Freedom Arms .475 Linebaugh / .480 Ruger. The cartridge hits like a 500-lb bomb, the big revolver helps keep it from shattering your hand. Check out the ballistics on either round. It should go end to end on any griz short of a Kodiak, disassemble a blackie. There are good holsters suitable for mounting on your ATV. And, most of the people who bought those guns quickly found out they didn't need / like / want it, so you can likely pick up a "gently used" one cheap. Got mine (5 rounds through it) under wholesale from SECOND owner. First one was shocked to learn its price was going down. Comes with an excellent shock-absorbing grip, but you'll still want to learn how to properly shoot it.
 
Girodin, I handload, and have decided that a warm load with 375gr. bullets at 1125fps (clocked from this shorty) is about 1.5 times as powerful as a 3-4" .44 mag, and cutting a much bigger hole to start with. The wood grips "cut" my the web of my hand on the 5th shot......a piece of duct tape or large bandaid spread over the web would have shielded it enough from the upper part of the wood to prevent that. Follow up shots: I have confidence that my hand, or hands, will be bringing the muzzle back down just as fast as I can if a bear is coming at me. On the upside, the bear will be getting closer, and making the target bigger by the second, so I won't have to bring it down as much for each shot....... PS: The issue rubber grips are much better for comfort in recoil, but make it tougher to conceal or draw from under clothing. PPS: I replaced the issue red ramp with a bright red fiber optic, and that is my drill: "Big Red Dot on Bear! Boom! Big Red Dot on Bear! Boom! Big Red Dot on Bear! Boom!"......
 
any pistol can mean death (to you)
yes... maybe you'll get lucky.. it happens all the time..
but to be sure.. a rifle is the key
Click to expand...

Well, actually, if you read bear attack accounts, the rifle is the first thing during an attack that the hunter doesn't have and can't get back to. So, if you have your pistol on your waist, it is better than the rifle that is ten feet away.
 
Are these gonna be cute little Black bears that just want your blueberry muffin?

Or big scary angry Grizzly bears that want you?
Click to expand...

It'll be for the scary angry grizzle bear...blackies...I got a sling shot for them!

I grew up in black bear woods...never did understand the fuss over the black bear, yea they can put a hurtin' on ya, but you'll have to pull a whisker from it...or slap a cub to get to that point!

The 460 is good, but only from a minimum of 8" of barrel, a little too long.....othewise I might as well pack on of the 44's.

The 500 does better, if only slightly, with shorter barrels, but no less than 6.5"...otherwise, it's back to the 44.

I'll look into the 480/475 Linebaugh, i have always liked the Linebaugh.


SDM...did you have to get a 'fire' permit to set that thing off, thats gotta be a flame thrower! WOW, sweet pistola!
 
Oh sheesh, another bear question without any useful information from the OP. What kind of bears!?!?! Where might you encounter these bears!?!!?

:banghead:
 
Years ago, I got to visit John Linebaugh at his house in the foothills. He was very accomodating, and took me in as many true Western gentleman have and would, and let me shoot some of his creations. I shot a tight chambered .45 Colt, .475 Lineb;augh, and .500 Linebaugh, all on Ruger Bisley frames. They were all beautiful guns, and handled well. The .500 struck me as "the" gun to have, as it made a boom rather than a bang. When S&W came out wit the 500, it outclassed the Linebaugh in raw power, but I didn't jump on it because it was such a BEAST, and heavy. I have migrated to the short barreled 500. I know it could use a longer barrel, say 5-5.5", and without an underlug, but for the ease of packing, and the power you can still manage to handload out of this gun, it is still a fine package for the purpose of toting, and being able to get a bear's attention. One shot stop? Maybe. A bear's ability to withstand 3-5 shots? Well, fire one of these, even with reduced loads, and you tell me if you think the bear will keep fighting, or maybe make a fine rug.
 
I'd be more worried about hitting a charging bear with rapid fire, or even drawing in time. I'd rather have my Speed Six firing 180 solids than an X-Frame cannon.
 
460 or 500 S&W 5" barrel Revolvers

Last time I checked CDNN had 5" S&W package revolvers for $799.00

it came in a case and included a holster if I remember right , a lot to carry but the price
seemed good, it was supposed to be a hunting package and had green grips and a green of some sort holster included.
 
I've fondled and fired an X-frame revolver in .460S&W.

I think the SRH Alaskan is FAR more practical. It weighs less, is smaller, and the difference in kick is significant.

Of course you want a 4+" barrel, not one of the snubbies... I'd still say get a .454 SRH and hire a gunsmith to rebarrel/shorten the gun. I have considered doing exactly that, though the 2.5" snubbie works fine.

The .460S&W is an awesome cartridge, but it's more a hunting round than a bear defense round IMO.
 
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