Shoot your bear defense gun more

[jpc01101]

That’s it, that’s the message. However much help you think your gun is going to be you are likey wrong. I shot mine some yesterday and wasn’t impressed with myself LOL. Spend some time shooting and make an honest decision about how effective you think you can be with a bear running at you.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

Good reminder. Also important to shoot it with the ammo you are going to carry in it. Yea those hard cast or whatever you chose typically come in a smaller, much more expensive pack than the 50 round target pack, but you need to know two things. 1. You can still shoot accurately with the increased recoil impulse and 2. the pistol will reliably feed and cycle that ammo.

I have a g20 I trust a lot. Shot it thousand and thousand of rounds without a hiccup. Last year before bear season I almost didn't shoot it but at the last minute did. It was jamming on the hot loaded stuff, ended up needing to replace the recoil spring, luckily I had a spare laying around. Even if you shoot a lot and are confident in your equipment, always check!

 

[Sheltowee]

That’s it, that’s the message. However much help you think your gun is going to be you are likey wrong. I shot mine some yesterday and wasn’t impressed with myself LOL. Spend some time shooting and make an honest decision about how effective you think you can be with a bear running at you.

Even better: shoot a defensive pistol course with your bear defense gun. I’ve shot them with my G20 and had a blast. Train how you fight.

 

[std7mag]

How's your shooting from the hip?

If you're caught unawares up close, you might not have enough time to get a proper two hand grip and sighting.

I've been in the circumstance of surprising a bear within 20 yards. Both of us surprised, actually.
Luckily it gave me enough time to get my pistol out and get a good two hand grip.
I put a round in front of the bear, and it paused long enough for me to back out of the situation.
But it could have gone much differently.

I've since started practicing shooting from the hip.
Not worried about hitting an index card. But hitting a 18" target within 20 yards.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Had this discussion yesterday about carry guns and I need to shoot more…

 

[PRO MO]

that's not how you do it. you keep that gun in it's holster tucked away until hunting szn comes and you lug it around for the first weekend wondering if it would even fire. then go shoot it once after your hunt to confirm your suspicion. clear all the debris out, splash some oil on it, carry it the rest of the season, and repeat.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Pistoleers, the reality is that most bear encounters involve encroaching in the bear's space in heavy foliage or coming around a blind corner or stumbling on a carcass site, during which there is barely enough time to pull bear spray, let alone unsnap a holster and quick-draw a pistol. The reality is that in most cases it is the person following or nearby who sprays the bear or uses a firearm to try to stop the bear attack. You'd better make certain that your hunting pal is a proficient pistolero or bear sprayer.

The case where a bear has charged and is put down with a firearm by the person being attacked are always very questionable.

A friend once told me of hiking into archery elk hunt and hearing his partner behind exclaim, "Bear!" He looked up and saw the griz coming at him through the brush above the trail. By the time he unsnapped the holster right on his chest and began to pull his pistol, the bear had come within arm's distance and then bluff charged away below the trail. He said his pistol was about as useful as "tits on a boar! It's so quick that you'd better file the front sights off the pistol so when the griz shoves it up your behind it won't hurt so much!"

 

[mtmuley]

that's not how you do it. you keep that gun in it's holster tucked away until hunting szn comes and you lug it around for the first weekend wondering if it would even fire. then go shoot it once after your hunt to confirm your suspicion. clear all the debris out, splash some oil on it, carry it the rest of the season, and repeat.

This is what I do. mtmuley

 

[WanderWoman]

242 | How To Make A Good Shot When It Matters Most

Podcast Episode · The Hunt Backcountry Podcast · August 5, 2020 · 1h 20m

podcasts.apple.com

I listen to a lot of podcasts this time of year. This was a good/interesting one that went a little into bear self-defense. Starts out as open vs. closed loop trigger pulls around 21:00-25:00 but then gets more specific into bear charges/personal defense with some practice techniques from 29:00-40:00.