Bear Guns and City Folk
Revolver or semi for black bear?
Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum is pleasant to shoot
with .44 Special loads, adequately powerful for most needs,
but the shooter has the option of full power .44 Magnum loads.
Colt Single Action Army .44-40 with 4¾" barrel made circa 1980.
First sold in 1873, it is still a capable defense firearm against
predators, both two and four-legged.
The cast-iron skillet was heating up nicely, resting on a wire grill over a bed of glowing coals. Jake took two thick slices of bacon and laid them in the skillet, enjoying both the sound and smell as the bacon started to sizzle.
“Feels like beer o’clock to me.” For 50 years, Zack had been his fishing buddy and closest friend. Zack dug in the cooler next to his camp chair and came up with two icy cans of PBR. After 10 hours on the water fishing for walleye, they were welcome.
“Where’s Ian? He’s old enough for a beer now, isn’t he?” Ian was Jake’s son. Since he was 27, a military veteran, married and the father of two, he was certainly old enough. Jake replied, “Ian and his friends went to fillet the fish. They seem like a nice enough couple for city folk.”
“What were their names again? Rodney and Pat. They were good company out on the water — never complained — though I doubt Rodney ever fished or camped before.”
The young people came walking up, Ian carrying a bucket of walleye fillets. “You should see this woman fillet fish!” Ian enthused. “Bet they didn’t teach that at law school.” “No, I learned from my dad. He loved hunting, fishing, kayaking, anything outdoors.”
Jake removed the crisp bacon for later use in a salad. He poured some of the bacon grease into a second skillet, one for fish, the other for hash browns. He said, “By the way, we heard bears have been hanging around camp.”
Rodney reacted with considerable interest. “Bears? Grizzly bears?”
Jake laughed, “The nearest grizzly bear is about a thousand miles west of here. We do have lots of black bears. They aren’t as aggressive as grizzlies.”
“But still dangerous, right?”
Zack replied, “They can be. Mostly, they are shy, retiring creatures who run at the first scent of humans. But they are strong, fast, well armed, and they can have bad days. Anyone who says he knows what a bear will do is asking for trouble.”
Ian was setting out plates and cutlery on the picnic table. “I read somewhere a grizzly attacks because you surprised it, threatened its cubs, or offended its dignity. A black bear attacks because it is hungry and intends to eat you.”
Rodney thought this over. “We have our rented camper van, but you guys will be sleeping in a tent. Aren’t you a bit nervous?”
“Not really. We won’t be bringing any bacon in our tent.” Jake gave the hash browns a stir. “Besides, I have this.” He patted the stock of the revolver he wore in a handsomely carved belt holster. “It’s a Colt .44-40, bought new in the ’80s. Here in bear country, I load it with Buffalo Bore ammunition 200-grain hard cast lead bullets at about 950 fps.”
S&W .44 Special revolvers are a pleasure to shoot with
Black Hills cowboy loads and can be loaded to full
power with Buffalo Bore heavy loads.
For the shooter who likes the same options of .44 power
but prefers a double-action revolver, the S&W model
29 remains a modern classic.
Rodney chimed in, “You have to keep an empty chamber under the hammer in your Colt, don’t you? The cowboys had a saying, ‘Five raisins in the pudding.’”
“Five beans in the wheel.” Jake looked Rodney over carefully. Now, was there or was there not a glint of amusement in his eye? “If a bear pokes his head in the tent, the range will be about three feet. I figure five shots is four more than I’d need.”
“What about you, Zack?” Pat asked, “Is that a Colt you’re carrying?”
“It’s a RugerRuger .44 Magnum with 5½” barrel. I use .44 Special equivalent loads, a 250-grain Keith-type bullet at about 1,000 fps. My Ruger has the newer lockwork, so I can safely load six raisins in the pudding. Ian uses the same loads in his S&W 29.”
“Ian’s not wearing his 29 today,” Rodney objected, “He has a GLOCK 9mm, same as me — all the gun anyone ever needs.”
“Not quite the same,” Ian said, “It’s a GLOCK, but 10mm, and with a 6″ barrel. With Buffalo Bore loads, I get 1,200 fps with a 220-grain hardcast lead bullet. Plus, I have 16 raisins in the pudding instead of five or six. But your 9mm will do, with perfect shot placement. And a bit of luck. Probably.”
Zack spoke up, “And as long as you’re around to defend Pat … what the …”
Pat had made motion smooth as oil on water and was holding her compact S&W Shield 9mm pointed straight up. “Pat can defend herself, thank you. And I’m more concerned with two-legged predators than bears.”
“How did you get a gun out so fast and smoothly?” Jake was more than a little impressed.
“By doing it many times over till it is done perfectly — for it is worth doing, to quote Rudyard Kipling. A nice old man at our gun club taught me some basic skills.”
Meanwhile, Rodney, who had never before eaten fish fresh from a cold northern lake, was already on his second fillet. “We must go fishing again, Pat. But first, we need to each buy a 10mm.”
“If you insist, dear.”
