Bear Medicine-Ruger LCR

[kato]

Guy goes into a gun store. He tells the salesman he’s going moose hunting in Alaska. He needs to know what kind of handgun he should carry in case he runs into a bear.

The salesman says, “Carry any handgun you want. But if you’re going to shoot a bear with it, be sure to grind off the front sight.â€

[heacocis]

Gripster...yes I figured it was likely a joke, but he also said "Ideal for backpacking and camping" in his text, and firearms are not really something to take lightly, especially if someone thought 'hmmm, well given this bear attack maybe it would be a good idea for me to get a gun, and look, here is one for sale that could be used against bears.' I didn't mean to be harsh, just blunt.

Toad...have you ever seen bear fur and hide? If .38sp is barely acceptable after thin denim, there is no way it could be effective through fur. Second, a .357 can shoot .38, but not vice versa. You would not want to try to kill an animal with hollow points, they would clog immediately and not be effective. This is why hunting rounds are not hollow points, but instead some variety of "soft point" design. So, to answer your question, assuming an aggressive bear was in the process of attacking you, in my opinion a soft point .357mag round would go through the fur/hide, expand, and penetrate deeply (20 inches?). A large wound track 20 inches deep that hopefully hit a vital organ or two would cause massive internal bleeding and hopefully drop the bear in less than a minute. A hollow point .38sp would expand immediately upon contact, clog with fur and hide, and stop probably only a couple inches in, and would likely just make the bear more mad and aggressive.

[Clevis Hitch]

heacocis, What a fucking expert. You must be a operator.

I've back packed all over the place with 38+p. Its a great gun to have with you while camping or hiking. Its light weight and easy handling. The whole outfit weighs 15 ounces fully loaded. It will stop a man no problem. As far as you saying that thin denim will stop the bullet? I'll put my gun up against you taking a round from it wearing demin. So if you believe the bullshit you just said put your ass on the line. I'm willing to put a stub nose LCR up. Try not to embarass yourself.

If anyone is interested in this gun. Its a good price that I'm selling it for. I don't know why that guy would say its not. It is new and in the box and has never been fired. The holster is a Don Hume jit slide. The box of shells sells for $25 a box. They're 158 grain round nose solid lead. $480 is a good price.

[michaelarmand]

Just firing a gun is most likely going to scare a bear away. If not, you are likely screwed unless you have a huge gun or really good aim. My neighbor was charged by a bear and he hit it with over a dozen rifle rounds before it dropped. I don't recall the caliber, but likely more powerful than the average handgun.

[Clevis Hitch]

I wanna say that what your neighbor was dealing with wasn't a black bear. In fact I'm gonna say that with the utmost confidence. He was probably in a western state and was dealing with ZGrizzly bears. A black bear not in captivity will ussually top out around 400 lbs. Grizzlies can weigh as much as 1700 lbs. if they are coastal grizzlies in Alaska. This is not something that you're going to have to deal with in Kentucky. 38 spl +p at close range defending yourself should be more than adequate for most situations.

[hypro]

...so a 9mm gloc would be better than nothing against a bear or what?? fire a couple at the ground then aim for the head if he dousnt run away??

[Toad]

Better aim for the mouth and eyes.

We talkin' porn, here?