Sidearm for Black Bear.

[KFhunter]

slightly modded 3rd gen G20

200gr full power hard cast

[Redridesbulls]

I carry my Ruger Vaquero (old style) .45 LC loaded with HSM 325grain +p's whenever  I'm in the woods.

[6.8mmARHunter]

Bigger is better, that what both my wife and girlfriend say.

[tgomez]

Bigger is better, that what both my wife and girlfriend say.

So you carry a strap on?

[police women of America]

Bigger is better, that what both my wife and girlfriend say.

I think your not going to like that saying once your looking down your wife's .50 rifle when she finds out about your girlfriend

[npaull]

FWIW, black bear research shows that black bears do sneak attacks on humans as prey and in such cases always eat the victim.  There will be no warning in such cases.

Do you have a source for this? Not trying to sound snarky or snide - I'm just interested.

(Well, I AM a teeny bit skeptical, but I'm happy to have my mind changed!).

[NINEX19]

Perhaps I should just let this thread die  , but I too am interested in that black bears do sneak attacks on humans. Black bears are opportunistic creatures and don't really "hunt" or stock, that I am aware of, at least. They would rather just eat what comes their way with the least effort. You might be getting this info mixed up with grizzly or Kodiak. I think there is plenty of documentation of them stalking their prey.

Well, might as well answer the original question. I always carry a .357 Magnum with 4.5" barrel whenever I go into the woods (especially while doing archery for deer).
My logic is, while I could carry a 9mm for self defense, why not carry a .357 Mag. for self defense when they both virtually weigh the same and take up the same amount of space and (IMHO) the .357 would be a superior choice between the two for any 2 or 4 legged encounters not resolved with other non-lethal means.

[Okanagan]

FWIW, black bear research shows that black bears do sneak attacks on humans as prey and in such cases always eat the victim.  There will be no warning in such cases.

Do you have a source for this? Not trying to sound snarky or snide - I'm just interested.

(Well, I AM a teeny bit skeptical, but I'm happy to have my mind changed!).

Fair question.  Dr. Stephen Herrero, BEAR ATTACKS (I think that is the name of the book I have in mind).  Herrero is generally considered the world's foremost expert on bear attacks.  Below is a link to a magazine article on the subject.  Herrero's studies showed that black bear mothers with cubs and habituated black bears near lots of people are less likely to kill.  He says to watch out for the sneaky wilderness black bear who is stalking you as food.   The eight minute video linked in the article is superb on this topic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/science/11bears.html?_r=0

I believe it was Herrero's studies that changed bear defense instructions:  play dead as a last resort with grizzlies and Kodiaks but never quit fighting a black bear.  A grizzly may cuff you and leave, but if you play dead with a black bear it will almost certainly start eating you.

This info is kind of counter intuitive re black bears and grizzlies only because we know little about either species beyond popular assumptions and lore. 

[Jonathan_S]

That would be an interesting thing to go through...

"Hmm...it's hard to play dead with this thing chewing on my hams.  Alright tough it out - happy place - you can do it, he'll stop soon.  Wait? Is this thing actually eating me?  Perhaps I should reengage."

[KFhunter]

anyone remember the news story about the husband and wife fishing - they seperate a ways eaching fishing their way along a river bank - hubby returns to see wife being eaten by a black bear

I didn't find the story but it sticks out in my mind as a possible sneak attack, we don't really know.

The husband of a 70-year-old grandmother who was killed by a bear in northern Quebec ...

Conservation experts set traps after Friday evening's attack, but ... the bear was still at large in the wilds of northern Quebec.

As she scouted a fishing hole for walleye, Ms. Lavoie became separated from her husband. Barely 10 minutes later, Mr. Lavoie felt something was amiss and went searching for his wife of 51 years. Metres away he came upon the nightmarish scene of her body being dragged into the forest by a bear.

Mr. Lavoie chased the predator for nearly 200 metres and managed very briefly to scare it away from his wife. He tried but was unable to carry her limp and bleeding body back through the dense spring foliage.

He left her and went for help. When he arrived with police, the bear had returned and was combative.

"The bear was still around and the bear was aggressive,"

The bear was so aggressive, police were forced to delay attempts to retrieve Ms. Lavoie's remains until early Saturday morning...

In 1991, a black bear killed a Toronto couple in Algonquin Park...

In 2001, a high-school student was attacked and partly eaten by a black bear 25 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

In 2007, a Calgary woman, who was cycling on a trail near a British Columbia resort, was stalked and killed by a black bear.

(Excerpt) Read more at theglobeandmail.com ...

[KFhunter]

I think in areas where black bears are more predatory on deer/elk they might be more prone to sneaking up and attacking a human.  These bears would be scary, far more stealthy than we might think and quick!   I've seen motivated bear running and they're super fast.  Bears don't normally attack livestock, but there are infrequent cases of bears killing cattle,  I'd be extra cautious if there was a cow killing bear around.

I think any human even on standard hunting alertness level would have a tough time defending themselves before the bear was on them...21 foot rule for humans is about a 100 foot rule for 4 legged predators.  You might be defending yourself from a horizontal position.

[NINEX19]

He left her and went for help. When he arrived with police, the bear had returned and was combative.

"The bear was still around and the bear was aggressive,"

The bear was so aggressive, police were forced to delay attempts to retrieve Ms. Lavoie's remains until early Saturday morning...

This strikes me as odd in several ways (could be just the way it was reported though) and leaves alot of questions. OK, so there is a combative bear and obviously aggressive based on the attack on her. So the police return to the scene of a bear attack with a known body unarmed. On top of that, they were "forced" to delay retrieval  until the next day. What? Meanwhile they let the bear feast on her remains. What happened to the bear. Just let it go to attack another human?

I would assume the same thought process of killing an animal that attacks a human in the U.S. is the same as it is in Canada. Why did they not shoot on site?

[Okanagan]

He left her and went for help. When he arrived with police, the bear had returned and was combative.

"The bear was still around and the bear was aggressive,"

The bear was so aggressive, police were forced to delay attempts to retrieve Ms. Lavoie's remains until early Saturday morning...

This strikes me as odd in several ways (could be just the way it was reported though) and leaves alot of questions. OK, so there is a combative bear and obviously aggressive based on the attack on her. So the police return to the scene of a bear attack with a known body unarmed. On top of that, they were "forced" to delay retrieval  until the next day. What? Meanwhile they let the bear feast on her remains. What happened to the bear. Just let it go to attack another human?

I would assume the same thought process of killing an animal that attacks a human in the U.S. is the same as it is in Canada. Why did they not shoot on site?

I'd chalk that up to ignorant newspaper writing.  It's a glaring question but there's no solving it from here without talking to the cops on the scene.  Maybe they had rules of engagement for bears!

[NINEX19]

I'd chalk that up to ignorant newspaper writing.  It's a glaring question but there's no solving it from here without talking to the cops on the scene.  Maybe they had rules of engagement for bears!

I know. I was hoping someone had a bit of insight on Canadian "rules of engagement for bears". I thought all RCMPs were armed (though perhaps not with rifles sufficient for a bear) now. No date on the story, maybe they weren't back then.

Sorry for the thread drift.

[dawei]

My sidearm when hunting or hiking in the woods is a 4" SS Taurus® TRACKER™ in 41 Remington® Magnum; loaded w/Federal ® 250gr CastCore® ammunition.