Larry,
I was not camoflaged,I was wearing the required hunter blaze orange.

In my state,orange is required from Sept 1st to last day of February with the exception of crow,duck and bow hunters.

Now about the "if's" not many folks can answer yes to one or more of them.

Watching folks at my range,you can see they do quite well in a calm,pristine setting. Put them under a time limit and things change fast.

I do Jelly Bryce drills (Jelly Bryce?? Look him up) at least once or twice each week at the range. That is 5 shots in less than three seconds at a playing card size target at eight feet.

That is why I advise folks to carry bear spray,much better chance of a "hit".

Wayne

Wayne--

Your comments suggest...

A tiered approach (assuming an encounter is imminent or happening).

1. Warning or avoiding surprising a predator whenever possible, hoping they will decide to leave.

2. Bear spray deployed at its greatest effective range or if the wind will blow it toward the predator. Use the weak/nondominant hand...just in case things go to...

3. A handgun with stopping power. With ability to use it with one hand if needed.

4. A knife if you run out of ammo or somehow lose the gun, maybe int the mayhem of the attack.

And give some though to the anatomy of the critter that is attacking so the vulnerable parts can be targeted with the gun or knife.

Larry

A thought...

We can find numbers about people who simply disappear in the wilderness every year.

The disappearances often never get solved. No idea what happened to them, no clues found.

Out of all the things that can happen to people, we don't know what number might involve predators attacking them.

It might happen more often than we can know.

Larry

Larry

For many years I worked as a forester in the woods, mostly alone, marking timber and such. I was always in bear country, but when stationed in Island Park, Idaho, adjacent to Yellowstone, there were plenty of grizzlies around. Back then I packed a Ruger 44 mag Blackhawk. Over the years I have packed a S&W Model 29 as well. In real life, if one should touch off a round or 2 of a 44mag, by the 2nd shot, you can't hear anymore. Also, the recoil of a 44mag, or larger caliber, is such that recovery to sight again becomes problematic. So, about 8 years ago, I went to a Glock 10mm. Not quite as powerful as a 44mag, but has way more firepower with 15+1 as fast as I can pull the trigger. I purchased a Diamond D Guide Chest holster with extra mag holder, made in Alaska. I love that setup.

Pap

Pap,
I was thinking about you with your Glock 10MM.

Folks in this forum are not your average person. Probably practice more and are more proficient with their firearms.

You are right about the 44 mag,after two shots you would not hear a bear even if it were whispering in your ear!!

Each Sunday,while I am doing Church/security,I have ear plugs in place. Trust me,a gun battle indoors is quite noisy!!

I too have a Double-D rig for my Ruger Alaskan 44.

But,in all honesty,most of the time when I am in the woods,it is my Charter Arms Pathfinder in 22 lr or Magnum.

When hunting,it is the Ruger SP-101 not so much for the four legged predators but two legged ones which there seems to be more of.

By the way,the owner of Double-D leather's son was in the Army and did a couple of tours in Iraq. I used to make calls to Alaska to see how he was doing.

Wayne

Wayne--

I found the book online at about $6. That is less than we would pay for postage, so I will order this copy.

Thanks,
Larry

I've only...ever...had one bad encounter with bears. Seen lot of black bears, hunting in Florida...just no problems...except when I strolled out onto a dried-up round pond and entered the clearing...Smack...Dab...between a black bear cub on my right....and mama-sow on the port side.
I saw my first and only bear charge and am not excited of a second one. I was carrying my 257 Roberts, an RMK Model #23, Gamemaster and this little number below. It's S&W #29..."CLASSIC" with a 5 inch (under-lugged) barrel, wide target hammer & trigger, red ramp/white outline sights and an incredible trigger. both single and double. I've shot a good deal of hot ones through it and am more-than-confident with it.
Long story short. I pulled it out of My Sam Andrews, suede-lined, cross-draw holster and fired one round over the sow's head, above her ears. and she hits the brakes, although did not run off. I backed outta' that clearing and all 3 of us went one about our usual business..."but"...one of us had to stop-n-pee shortly after!
Stay Sharp...& "PRACTICE",
Capt. Chris
PS: This handgun will be the last one preyed...if you know what I mean...CCS

Capt,
Nice 44 you have there!!!
Glad that your encounter worked out well for all involved.

Encounters of the close kind can get kind of "interesting" and usually "pee-breaks" take place during the encounter which tends to get "messy"

Larry,
When you read the book you will learn about fish & game/gov't cover ups about many of the incidents.

Wayne

Interesting thread, lots of food for thought.

I like the idea of the multi blade "tool" in the 18 handle. Time to browse the Leatherman site.

Love my 45LC's with heavy lead, but I too have joined the 10mm camp. Grock in a 2A chest rig, also loaded with heavy lead, it's just enough of a good thing! The Sig and FN 10mm look good also. Never been a huge fan of the Austrian brand, best option available for my purpose at the time.

Looking into that book Wayne mentioned as well

Jerry--

I found the book for about $6 at Thrift Books online.

They might have other copies.

Another discount place is Discover Books (I think that is the name, a search will find it for you.)

Larry