Two hikers in the Denali National Park reported shooting a grizzly after it charged the woman while they were walking along a trail. The man who was with her fired 9 times with his .45, after which the bear retreated to the brush. Rangers later found the bear dead about 100 yards from the attack site.

Those two were lucky. I love my 1911's, but gimme something that will drop the grizz where it stands. Maybe a .44 Mag, but I'm sure I'd at least pack my .454 Alaskan with properly stout rounds on any trip where grizz hang-out.

he must have had time to take careful aim and well-placed slugs did the job. I've shot completely through whitetail with my Marlin Camp .45acp.

And I hope he was wearing brown pants.

You're probably right about placement, and I'd STILL want something designed to stop those beasts in a heartbeat.

And that he said a "thank you" to his Maker when it was all over too.

yesterday I did a little target shooting with my .45 1911 useing ball ammo (factory) and stacked 4 2x8's spruce up to tack a target onto. the slugs plowed through takeing a chunk out the back-side and kept on going plowing up the ground aways where they hit.
there are better bear protection rounds though for sure.

Pretty impressive..................that oughta work well enough on some thug in a dark alley in a winter coat for sure!

I will feel much better on our next trip to the Mountains now that I can legally carry my Glock 10mm and it's 15 shot mags with me. Bout damn time.

__________________
four more years.....groan.

I actually doubt he was able to get good shot placement, having fired 9 times and the bear died 100 yds. away.

Not blaming the guy in any way. Bears can move VERY QUICKLY, and aiming for a perfect head/eye-socket shot (or wherever is the ideal placement on a bear when using a .45) might have gotten him killed.

The bear probably turned around because, well, AFAIK, .45 ACP hurts!, even if you are a bear.

I don't care what I'm carrying, if a bear charges I hope I'd be able to draw fast, have a clear shot (i.e., no people behind it) and keep firing at it till I can't see it anymore.

Since the guy got off 9 rounds, I'm guessing he wasn't carrying a 1911? I know there are almost limitless varieties, but 7+1 is the largest capacity of which I'm aware. Also, I can't see him reloading but then only firing once. Just guessing here. Anybody know?

Maybe- Maybe not... I looked at a "double stack" SA 1911 with a 14 rd Mag when I bought my gun (mine is the standard GI 1911- same price but mine was new and the double was used), I also think there may be 9-rnd mags for 1911s, although I am not certain of this.

there are multiple makers of 10rd mags for the 1911 .45acp.

Thanks for the clarification. I recall reading about extended mags for 1911, but have not seen one- and i dont exactly take what i read on the internet as gospel truth.

I have a Marlin Camp .45 and several 10 rd mags for it that fit and function fine in my 1911. pachmayr, shooting star and metalform are some good ones.

My guess is he had "an 8-rounder with one up the spout". I own several 8 and 10-round mags for my 1911's and have carried them with one additional round in the chamber, cocked and locked. These days I generally stick with the standard 7-round mags for dependability. Sometimes the larger caps aren't all we may wish they were.

I would think he didn't stop shooting until the pistol did and that's why it makes me settle on the 8 + 1 likelihood.

Been listening to "The Nuge's" recomendations have you?

That's some setup.

Not one of Ted's fans, unless I'm in the mood for some of his music. Have owned a Delta Elite forever and when a friend needed to sell his Glock 20 he came right to me. Yes, it is just silly but there's a TLR1 stuck on the bottom and he sold me 4 mags with it so if I was to start a war with a handgun this would be the one.

__________________
four more years.....groan.

could have been one of Hindman's .45 Super conversions. that has serious 'whack' to it.

first thing I thought of was a gov model with an 8 rounder. That's what I carry, 8 stacked with one in the tube, cocked and locked. If you are gonna go that route, buy good mags and use them enough to be confident in them.

Pocket artillery.

You know, they make +2 extensions for those magazines

Jim

My son shot a charging grizzly in our back yard in 2002 with a 20 ga. with slugs. The first shot went in the chest and broke the collare bone and then destryed the lungs the second shot was a lung/liver shot.

The bear turned and went up the mountain 100 yards and was still alive a full 5 minutes later when I came up with anouther shotgun with slugs and flashlights. We backed out and came back in the morning and found a dead 450lb griz.

It is my opinion that if the bear wants to get you there is nothing short of a lucky spinal shot that will drop one in its tracks.
It is also my opinion that any semi auto cart. IS NOT bear medicine. I now carry a S&W 629 44 mag as minimum protection with bear spray as first line of defense. A 12 ga loaded with slugs with a pistol grip for a butt stock as adequate.

I choose the 629 5" double action as you only need one hand to shoot it and no thumb action. Bear spray as a means of slowing down the bear so I can get off a good shot. It has proven to work.

Please note this is from my experiance and is MY opinion. It is MY reasoning that;
-a semi auto does not have the ability to put forth the killing power that revolver does, as revolvers can handle more power.
-bear spray to slow down to give me a better shot. Please do not start an argument that you a really great shot and you will be able to hit a bears brain, the size of a tennis ball, as it is running at you at 30 miles and hour and bobbing not only up and down, but from side to side. While filling your pants!!
-If a semi auto is all you have or a 357 is all you have that is better than nothing. CARRY IT!
- Please no arguments that you can shoot a single action as fast as a double action. This is a no brainer. If that is all you have CARRY IT!

I carry what I do as I know that I will never leave it in camp as it is still light enough to carry but barely big enough to get the job done if I am lucky.
I am lucky to have my son alive, If a bear wants to get you there is nothing you can do to stop it. BUT I will never give up, I will fight until it kills me.

John

I'm in black bear country and my go to camp gun is a 12 gauge pump full of 3" slugs.

__________________

Perhaps he had a proper bear set-up like mine...28 rounds of bear shooting goodness...lol...Taylor MkII drum...



Actually I couldn't see carrying this in a holster but is sure is fun at the range. In bear country I would be carrying my 625 set up for 460 Rowland.

__________________
I became insane with long periods of horrible sanity

I use Buffalo Bore loads in my Ruger Super Blackhawk for bear repellant. No Griz down here though.

That was too funny!!!
I'm still howling