3 Yukon River Breakup video

[Robert Prior]

if your life is threatened you can shoot people too

You don't have to outrun the bear, just your slowest companion. So a quick leg shot before sprinting out of there…

 

[Walleye Hunter]

HAH! First off, you get in less trouble if you shoot yourself....but yeah...if you're threatened then of course...feel free...if you happen to have a shotgun with slugs in it. Anything less and it's probably a waste of time. Then again, if your life is threatened you can shoot people too!

I have always wondered just what it would take to stop a grizzly in its tracks or convince it to go away. If I was going to venture into their territory, I would carry something that would do the job. I enjoy the realistic shows on AK and it looks to me like the regulars up there carry either a .45 ACP or a Colt 45 long revolver any time they go out their front door.

 

[akdrone]

Absolutely nobody caries a 45 for grizzly protection. The only effective thing for grizzlies is 3 inch magnums with a slug not shot. I rifle certainly can do the trick, but nobody carries them around for bear protection. Their protection means a close and fast and the mass of a slug is going to do much more damage than a rifle bullet It’s better not to use a handgun, then to use a handgun. Any handgun.

 

[akdrone]

Absolutely nobody caries a 45 for grizzly protection. The only effective thing for grizzlies is 3 inch magnums with a slug not shot. I rifle certainly can do the trick, but nobody carries them around for bear protection. Their protection means a close and fast and the mass of a slug is going to do much more damage than a rifle bullet It’s better not to use a handgun, then to use a handgun. Any handgun.

I will add that a handgun may stop a black bear and deter a moose although it probably will only badly wound the moose. Shooting off a hand gun may deter and scare away a grizzly but no handgun, not even a 44mag is a good bet to put down a grizzly and for personal protection we are talking trying to put down a charging grizzly that have been known to continue a charge after being hit with a shotgun slug. Some people do carry a 44mag as it's the only handgun I know of that has any chance but in all seriousness a shotgun is the only real protection for somebody that is actually concerned about protection. Such attacks are rare enough that it's very rare for anyone to be actually saved by a having a gun handy. Hunters, mostly. There are some books...two (?) titled Alaskan Bear Tales that describe encounters with bears, mostly by hunters, that will amaze you. In my many bike rides in Denali Park I've had a lot of close encounters - some as close as 15 feet (too close) and am amazed by them every time I'm anywhere near them. No close encounter is intentional....

 

[Walleye Hunter]

I will add that a handgun may stop a black bear and deter a moose although it probably will only badly wound the moose. Shooting off a hand gun may deter and scare away a grizzly but no handgun, not even a 44mag is a good bet to put down a grizzly and for personal protection we are talking trying to put down a charging grizzly that have been known to continue a charge after being hit with a shotgun slug. Some people do carry a 44mag as it's the only handgun I know of that has any chance but in all seriousness a shotgun is the only real protection for somebody that is actually concerned about protection. Such attacks are rare enough that it's very rare for anyone to be actually saved by a having a gun handy. Hunters, mostly. There are some books...two (?) titled Alaskan Bear Tales that describe encounters with bears, mostly by hunters, that will amaze you. In my many bike rides in Denali Park I've had a lot of close encounters - some as close as 15 feet (too close) and am amazed by them every time I'm anywhere near them. No close encounter is intentional....

Well..a .44 mag will blow a head clean off and a 9mm will take a lung out, so I figured a .45 would cover me. I accept the correction and will abide by the advice. I have a friend who flew to AK years ago and he reports that by law, he was required to carry a shotgun with him for protection in the event he went down where he didn't want to go down. I did not research the validity of the claim. He also said that he had one cut down to a minimum length. I don't know if a shortened barrel was required or just done for better wielding, as you mentioned.

 

[akdrone]

Well..a .44 mag will blow a head clean off and a 9mm will take a lung out, so I figured a .45 would cover me. I accept the correction and will abide by the advice. I have a friend who flew to AK years ago and he reports that by law, he was required to carry a shotgun with him for protection in the event he went down where he didn't want to go down. I did not research the validity of the claim. He also said that he had one cut down to a minimum length. I don't know if a shortened barrel was required or just done for better wielding, as you mentioned.

A 44mag will absolutely not blow the head off a grizzly bear let alone stop one that is charging. The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game has some information (I think) online about this. A charging grizzly doesn't provide much in the way of a target for a kill shot that is available to a hand gun. Even hitting them in the head leaves a good chance the bullet will literally be deflected. Seriously. The ONLY thing they recommend is a shotgun and ONLY with slugs, not shot. Most folks that are carrying a shotgun for protection do have short barrel varieties. Folks going backpacking rarely carry such a heavy thing and almost always rely on 1) keeping a super clean camp with all food and smelly things like deoderant or toothpaste far away from the tent and 2) Bear spray. Rafters and guides for fishermen often do carry a shotgun. Fish and Game has also found super loud compressed air horns to be very effective. Probably as effective or more so than spray because it can be used even if the wind is in your face. A key is noise if walking upwind and making noise in general to not surprise anybody. A BIG deal is formation. A group of people scattered in a large campsite are much more vulnerable than a group that has all come together in one mass. Got a little woman in the group? Put her on somebodies shoulders. Well...maybe . Put a lawn chair up over your head to make yourself bigger. Bears almost never charge a group of people all together. I've done my share of camping alone in serious grizzly country. I carry bear spray and keep a pristine camp with all my food well away from my tent. People have been et by bears in spite of that but the odds of anything happening remain very low. Just don't wipe those bacon encrusted hands on your pants before entering your tent . Dinner in your tent is hard to resist when the mosquitos are making you crazy so THAT is my number one tip to NOT DO in bear country. Much to learn for those not used to camping in grizzly country and humorously, most often the real danger is moose, not bear.

 

[rhberg]

Incredible river.