Handguns for survival purposes in the Canadian bush. Any comments?

[ems300]

Thats what they where designed for in SA, You could try the rubber bullets v the bear, but i don't fancy your chances!! or you could put buckshot and then slugs in and then have a go at it!!

[rotorboy]

I am a little confused. I just did a couple of day job on the BC coast and every one of the guys were packing. I had flown these guys before and remembered they all had 44's and 45's. We talked about the carry issue. They had to get the permit, then get a second permit and (class invloved0 and it also required range proficany with the gun fofr it to be carried. The firearm can not be concealed... and that it was no problem having the pistol in the bush. They had a guy in the compnay who was approved to do the range proficancy...

RB

[OFBSLF]

In My mind, the best solution, to me, is Packing a handgun. It is very discrete and in the case of a 44 magnum with a six inch barrel or something of that nature is very deadly for anything on four legs.

I think you have an overly optimistic opinion of the effectiveness of a .44 magnum. As a firearms instructor with about 200 hours of training in the defensive use of firearms, I have a much different opinion. Handguns in general are very weak when used against people. People are much smaller, thinner skinned, and far less determined than an angry brown bear. You'd be surprised how far a deer can run after a 12 ga slug has destroyed its heart. There's a reason most hunters going after brown bear use something larger than a 300 WinMag.

Furthermore, pistols are much harder to shoot accurately than a long gun. A stockless shotgun makes it basically impossible to use the sights. You can shoot a stocked shotgun (whether straight stock or pistol-grip stock) much more accurately and much faster than a stockless shotgun -- I've done 5 rounds through an 870 on target in 2 seconds at a distance of 50'. As for semi-auto shotguns, in general they are less reliable than pump shotguns. Pump shotguns are far more likely to operate after abuse and neglect. Benelli shotguns have a fast cyclic rate, but also an overly complex set of controls matched with an easily damaged aluminum receiver. An 870 pump shotgun is half the cost and much more likely to work after being knocked about and ignored.

When a bear is charging you, you have to make accurate shots, the target area you have is actually pretty small, and you will have little time to make those shots. A 44 magnum is certainly better than a pointed stick. But it is no magic deathray. And if you don't have some good training and a fair amount of practice, you won't hit a darn thing with it. Firing a .44 magnum double-action, quickly and accurately is far easier said than done, particularly with full-power loads. Unless your name is Jerry Miculek.

[gadgetguru]

soiling ones self

& all assuming you don't ****e yourself & drop the bloody weapon instead of engaging the target.

It's all well & good to tote the firearm, but when one finds oneself in the proximity of the beastie without the niceties of say a zoo fence....that will test ones intestinal fortitude, most high stress incidents I found myself in, my minds was still panicing when i realised that my body had already reacted & brought arms to bear, centre of the seen mass & I'd already begun to squeeze the trigger at the point where concious thought prevailed.

scary how the body reverts to survival of the organism, when ones mind is trying desperately to convince the rest of the baggage to flee with it.

For those of us who have been fortunate enough to have had some training, it just takes over & the drills become a thought reflex moreso than a motor skill.

best of luck with your selection & purchase, but consider how you might react when the real thing occurs

[BigMike]

And now for the FINAL say in Bear hunting devices... the AT-4

This is a great little device in 84mm Super Magnum calibre. Compact, only about 1m long, can be carried in most cockpits, effective on all Bears as well as other large predators.

Downside; Not all Firearms dealers stock it, no follow up shot (single-shot), not recomended for small game, and there may be some local restrictions on ownership in your area.


Picture: Local hunters practicing pre-hunting season for the big trip "up-North"

[RONLY]

Well it's your butt up there but I have found that it is far easier to get forgiveness than permission and if some Jacka$$ wants to give you trouble after you have stopped a polar bear that has just eaten the tailboom off your helo and has designs on you for dessert screw them you at least will be around to fight another day. No court in Canada is going to waste time putting you away. Especially when the jury of your peers will be drawn from the local population where you shot the bear. So unless you shoot it in downtown Toronto act like the Boy Scouts "be prepared"

[cptpinpin]

[ No court in Canada is going to waste time putting you away]

Thats all fine and dandy but what if you get caught with your hand gun
for some reason or an other before you had a chance to use it to save your life
and debate this in court YOU ARE IN DEEP SH...
You get arrested, get a criminal record and you can't own a gun anymore.
That is why we have to do something about changing the hand gun laws and
prevent perfectly honest citizens from being condemned as criminals for
wanting to pack a gun for self protection / Survival in a risky working environment.

[B Sousa]

The expression on that Bears face seems to say" Let me out and Im gonna eat your ass" Do hope it got released away from humans. I seem to have more sympathy for animals than I do for Morons. Time does that.
For sure Canada has some ridiculous gun laws. But so do a lot of places and various states in the U.S. We go from unlimited access to extremely restrictive and I think if you compare statistics in those states, very few would be changed because of the gun laws.
The picture above as that Missle/Rocket is launched appears to be one of the guys from the 25th Division "Tropic Lightning" heres hoping that someone got to meet Allah as a result.
Will cut this short as I have to go clean my M-4 and my CAR-15.

[vaqueroaero]

Ridiculous gun laws - try the UK. Thank God there are no bears there......

[BigMike]

This is an interesting read for those who want to know what will stop a big critter:

http://www.cabelas.com/information/c...rBigBears.html

[GeneralMelchet]

I think this should be sufficient.

There is a cut down version for those who dislike the bulk!!

http://www.wildwestguns.com/CoPilot_...de_rifles.html

[B Sousa]

G.M.
That co-pilot is sweet..........Not many Helicopter Drivers can afford it.........

[OFBSLF]

You can get most of the functionality of that with a Guide Gun from Marlin:

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firear...tion/1895G.htm

Have gunsmith smooth up the action and add a ghost-ring sight. You should be able to do that for $600 or so.

I'm sure the Co-pilot is nice. But that is just silly money.