Woman killed by bullet fired to stop Grizzly Bear

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Originally Posted By: 285south
Even Clint Eastwood said shooting the .44 Magnum revolver hurt


My little B92 lever action in .44 Mag leaves great bruises after a fun afternoon.
 
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
I ve heard that about a grizzly and .44 magnum and don't believe it. You hit anything in the head with a .44 magnum and there is chunks flying and it is dead. A .357 magnum in the skull as well. I've seen the special 310 grain .44 magnum grizzly bear loads and they would do " better" if you hit it in the body but any .44 magnum factory 240 grain bullet to any skull is going to penetrate and kill a bear.


And that is what my friend and I always thought. The locals though say it doesn't work and they would know better than I would. They say a Grizzly can shrug a regular .44 off and keep going/coming even when hit in the head.

I for one would not want to find out! I would rather be over armed than under armed and I will always listen to the advice of those who know better than I do.
 
Originally Posted By: spackard
Does one really need a one shot one kill load, that probably penetrates everything around if you miss?


Yes, absolutely. You might only get one shot so you better make sure it counts!
 
This might do it - .500 S&W Magnum® Cartridge with 2600 ft/lb. Muzzle Energy.
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Originally Posted By: Shannow
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
If a .44 magnum will go through a engine block it will go through a grizzley skull. Anyone said it will not probably didn't live to testify it.


http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-54-busting-an-engine-block/


I seen that article before. Point is a .44 magnum did penetrate Cast iron. Unless that Grizzly is wearing a Kevlar helmet, he is toast with a head shot for a .44.
 
Both Ruger and S&W make a .44mag snubbie revolver for just such an occasion. I would never consider living up there without one for everyone in the house.
 
Most people in the north use Rifles not handguns. I wonder how they would know the bear was 38 years old? Can they cut a bone and make this determination?

Also, the coroner says a bullet went off a tree and killed her, how would they know that? Would the coroner make a report to protect the family in case the husband shot her by mistake? I mean he had no choice, but to shoot in this case.

Sad story at any rate. Looks like this couple were Europeans who left the rat race and wanted a more meaningful life in the Canadian north, but it all ended in tragedy. .
 
You'd be surprised what ballistics can accomplish in some of these scenarios, assuming that a proper analysis were done. On the other hand, if the police and coroner did, even independently of each other, wish this case to just go away to spare the family, that's certainly possible.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Of course, carrying any handgun in Canada would get you into loads of trouble. A carbine, of course, wouldn't be an issue.


WHAT??!! Canadians that live in grizzly territory are not allowed to carry a large caliber revolver for protection? ABSURD!! There should be a permitting process or some other process in place. Not everyone is going to sling a shotgun/rifle just to take the trash out, but a pistol on the hip is easy enough.
 
No. Handgun personal carry permits are rarely, rarely issued. One could technically apply, but it would never fly. Heck, when you apply for a restricted weapons permit (i.e. handguns, various military type firearms), you have to provide a reason for acquiring such firearms. Collecting and target shooting will get you approved. Personal defence, particularly against animals, will get you shot down, as it were, in short order. Heck, with the storage regulations on handguns, you're not going to be having a handgun at easy access, loaded, near the front door to carry out with you to take the trash out.

You can get a good carbine, particularly a nice lever action, in darn near any caliber you want. That would be my first choice, anyhow, since at least it's good for several things.

I don't think very large caliber handguns sell too well up here. Aside from collectors, anyone else will be simply using it at the range to punish their hand and their wallets, since that's the only legal place to use the thing.
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I think a Freedom Arms revolver in .454 Casull would be a lovely firearm to experience, but has no real practicality. Unless you get accosted by a grizzly when you're at the target range, you're pretty much out of luck with respect to using it to defend yourself. And, I suspect a couple hours of shooting it for target practice could get expensive and painful.
 
Not sure I'd count on my ability to pull off a headshot on a charging grizzly with a handgun... practiced or not, not with an adrenaline dump. 44mag seems a bit on the small side, and if Canadian laws are as Garak says they are (not that I doubt but I've never been there) then I'd think 12g slugs would be what I'd prefer.

Sad story.
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I'm right in with the bear every weekend so I kinda follow these attacks. I'd say a good 85% involve a dog..was the case here too...I'm sure the dog scent, barks make the bear crazy defensive.

I always open carry on the ATV, 7.5" 1872 Open Top Colt 45LC.
 
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Heck, supton, you don't even want to try getting into Canada with a handgun from the States, without filling in a boatload of paperwork, and then you're not going to be doing with it up here what you would down there. It's going to be locked in a lock box, locked in your trunk, and you will have only a certain amount of time to get it to a pre-determined and pre-authorized location, and locked away there, accordingly. When it's time to leave, you go through the same procedure.

You only get to fire it when you're fed up with the paperwork and can't take the pain any longer.
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Originally Posted By: ZeeOSix
If I lived someplace like that where bears could attack, I'd have a 44 magnum on my hip at all times. They were caught off guard and he wasn't totally prepared for this attack. Sad it ended the way it did.


I'd personally move and let the bears have it. Nice places to visit but not to live.
 
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