Two Idaho youths shoot a grizzly bear off each other

Wow - quite a story!

Interesting side note on the firearm effectiveness, first, the Springfield 10mm continued to run.

Then this, “He “fumbled around,” pulled out his Taurus 1911 .45 ACP pistol and fired four to five shots at the bear before the gun jammed.”

Note to self - carry a Springfield 10mm in bear country.

Or a Glock…
 
Last edited:
Wow - quite a story!

Interesting side note on the firearm effectiveness, first, the Springfield 10mm continued to run.

Then this, “He “fumbled around,” pulled out his Taurus 1911 .45 ACP pistol and fired four to five shots at the bear before the gun jammed.”

Note to self - carry a Springfield 10mm in bear country.

Or a Glock…
I'd be comfortable with my Delta Elite 10mm 1911. Probably would want to run some drills and brush up on some skills to avoid the about afore mentioned "fumbling."
 
Wow - quite a story!

Interesting side note on the firearm effectiveness, first, the Springfield 10mm continued to run.

Then this, “He “fumbled around,” pulled out his Taurus 1911 .45 ACP pistol and fired four to five shots at the bear before the gun jammed.”

Note to self - carry a Springfield 10mm in bear country.

Or a Glock…
I'm sure that reliable Taurus pistols exist, but I've yet to come across one I'd want on my side in bear country.. There are so many better options that aren't that much more expensive. Like a Springfield, Glock, S&W etc etc..

However Taurus was certainly better than nothing in this instance. Glad they were armed.
 
"While the two hunters are grateful they survived, they are sad the grizzly was killed. “Sad it had to happen,” Hill said."

Nice to see that they are ethical outdoorsmen. Kudos.

While in forestry school almost 5 decades ago, one of my instructors introduced us to Aldo Leopold's "Land Ethic" via his book A Sand County Almanac. I continue to recommend it to my students: https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/the-land-ethic (FYI, its not a tree hugger concept).
 
"While the two hunters are grateful they survived, they are sad the grizzly was killed. “Sad it had to happen,” Hill said."

Nice to see that they are ethical outdoorsmen. Kudos.

While in forestry school almost 5 decades ago one of my instructors introduced us to Aldo Leopold's "Land Ethic" via his book A Sand County Almanac. I continue to recommend it to my students: https://www.aldoleopold.org/about/the-land-ethic (FYI, its not a tree hugger concept).
I took it as the obligatory virtue signalling that the reporter prompted them to give. Not that I blame them for anything.
 
Note to self - carry a Springfield 10mm in bear country.

Or a Glock…
When I was in Alaska, everyone I saw that worked or travelled where bears were expected, carried wheel guns, mostly .44 Magnums and some .454 Casulls. There were some rifles being carried as well, but for handguns, that's what I saw in the most. The Casull was a fairly new round at the time, so the .44 was more common.

The .454 Casull is mainly intended for hunting medium to large game, and bear protection.
 
Last edited:
Note to self - carry a Springfield 10mm in bear country.

Or a Glock…
If you were going to get a new one, which would it be or something else?

My son dear hunts with his friends in upstate NY and there are bear around. Currently his backup choices to his 30-06 is his .357 magnum 6" Python or 9mm Glock 19. We did get him Buffalo Bore for the .357. After reading that I might pitch in for him to get a 10mm something where he can have more rounds and less recoil. Don't even get me started on the happy NYS 10 round mag limits......

I think mag replacement is easier/faster than a 6 round speed loader.
 
If you were going to get a new one, which would it be or something else?

My son dear hunts with his friends in upstate NY and there are bear around. Currently his backup choices to his 30-06 is his .357 magnum 6" Python or 9mm Glock 19. We did get him Buffalo Bore for the .357. After reading that I might pitch in for him to get a 10mm something where he can have more rounds and less recoil. Don't even get me started on the happy NYS 10 round mag limits......

I think mag replacement is easier/faster than a 6 round speed loader.
Black bear - not that likely to charge (maybe a mama) - and even 9mm. Grizzly different story
 
If you were going to get a new one, which would it be or something else?

My son dear hunts with his friends in upstate NY and there are bear around. Currently his backup choices to his 30-06 is his .357 magnum 6" Python or 9mm Glock 19. We did get him Buffalo Bore for the .357. After reading that I might pitch in for him to get a 10mm something where he can have more rounds and less recoil. Don't even get me started on the happy NYS 10 round mag limits......

I think mag replacement is easier/faster than a 6 round speed loader.
First, I wouldn’t worry too much about black bear in upstate New York, they tend to be shy, and they tend to run away from humans. When I lived in Vermont, it was rare to see a black bear, not because they were uncommon, but because they were shy.

Next, I’d be really reticent to shoot a black bear. If I made the mistake of getting between mama and her cubs, I feel like that’s on me.

Finally, if I was gonna carry something for bear protection, particularly with a 10 round magazine restriction, I would still go with a 10 mm.

A 220 grain hard cast round from Buffalo Bore has significantly more muzzle energy than .45 ACP, as well as outstanding penetration. If you find yourself in a defensive situation, against a large mammal, there’s no better choice in a handgun, at least, in an autoloading handgun.

The Glock 20 is simple to operate, reliable, and compared with most, affordable. Even hamstrung by small magazines, I would lean towards that as a platform. If you’re OK (or, he’s OK) with a Single Action 1911, with its more complex manual of arms, then the Springfield Armory Ronin 10mm is a well, made, reliable gun, at a reasonable (for a 1911) price point. Mine shoots very well and has been flawless.

But your son has a 357 magnum, loaded with buffalo bore. That’s actually an outstanding choice as well as a sweet gun. The muzzle energy is about the same as 10mm, maybe a few ftlbs higher. Nice choice.

I don’t know that the performance gain of a couple of extra rounds is worth the expense of buying a whole new gun and learning its manual of arms. Particularly when the odds of its use against black bears are so low. I think he’s well protected right now.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom