We seem to have an inordinate number of bear around this year for some reason and my wife has been cautioning me to be on the look out. I've been packing a Glock 43 with an extended magazine and 147 grain flat point loads when going out of town on heavy equipment jobs which are almost always in remote areas.
I got a call yesterday to do a top light in a Matowick 140 ton crane up the road in Eagle river which is only ten miles north. About 1pm this afternoon I got back to the crane for the glass install at the highway bridge, put the ladders in place and prepped the hole. I went to the back of the truck where I was working on the tail gate and saw something move out of the corner of my eye and there stood a mature black bear looking me over at not more than 30 feet. I turned to face him and he evidently didn't like what he saw as he wheeled and slowly angled back down the bank he had just climbed to get across the four lane highway.
I'm glad of his decision as my armament consisted of an electric chalking gun at hand! NO Glock this time, me thinks I should listen better to Momma's advice! But it was certainly a most unlikely spot to run into a wild bear. I should know better after living here so many years.
I agree! When I hunt in Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Montana my sidearm is a S&W 629 magneported 4 inch barrel with LBT hardcast 300 grain flying trashcans! They make me feel safe FWIW! I am a revolver guy!
Yeah, my regular carry gun when in the wild is a 629- 4 inch I've worked over with Keith loads but for social stuff the little Glock is a big stick in a very small and reliable package.
Mike,
I agree. I carry a SW BG380 or my Kahr CM40 for "Sunday go meeting" and other social stuff,BUT
I would not call being in the great outdoors, with chances of encounters with Bears "social stuff"
beltfed/arnie
The best sidearm is the one you have with you when the SHTF. My EDC is a 43 for all the reasons Mike mentioned. That being said the .44 with hard cast 300 grain LBT WFN or 240 grain Keith style semis loaded stiff in my Ruger Red Hawk would be my choice if I knew I was going to have a social encounter with a bear.
I have encountered several black bear here in NE Wisconsin over the years. All have turned and run when they realized I was there and I have always provided them that opportunity. That includes the one I watched as he tracked me for 200 yards while I sat in a tree bow hunting for deer. He followed my every step right to the base of the tree I was in, stood up and sniffed. At that point he was only about 10 feet directly below me. He got that "Oh Sh*t" look on his face, turned and ran off through some heavy brush without making a sound. Amazing to see.
I never had one take exception to my being there, but if they did I wouldn't have much time to react!
I need to take my own advice about not trusting any bear to be where or behave in a usual way because they often do just the opposite. They are just as individual as people are when it gets right down to it and their behavior is influenced by the environment they live in.
About 15 years ago a large Brown bear was killed in Eagle River and when they opened him up they found 9-10 bullets in his carcass , mostly .22's where folks had run him out of their yards and chicken coupes. They said he was about 20 years old if I remember correctly.
Fish and Wild Feathers said some years back that there are about 60 mature Browns that live in the Anchorage area regularly and up to twice as many Blacks, when you count cubs and juveniles that amounts to a lot of wild bear running around locally. Still for that mature (I think boar as he would go about 300lbs I'd guess) black to show up right in the middle of a big construction site, next to a four lane highway, with heavy equipment and workmen all over the place, was very unusual.
He did decide to go back in the brush along side the river where he came from but was in no great hurry to do so which made me a bit curious about their usual fear of humans.
I always tell folks that they are usually timid but don't ever bet your life on it!
Well, I have to head South this AM to put some glass in a Cat front end loader in Portage. Me thinks I'd better throw a belt gun in the pickup this time !
As Distant Thunder said about having one. I found that I was carrying less often, although I usually would have one in the vehicle with me. In warm and humid Southern Indiana, my Colt Officers in .45 ACP was a bit hard to conceal and uncomfortable. Since February, I've been carrying a Smith Airweight J frame in .38 Spl +P. I also carry a speed loader in my pocket. With the leather inside the waste holster, it's comfortable against the skin and conceals with a loose fitting T-shirt. The first I want someone to know that I'm carrying is when I say, "Smile, wait for the flash."
The little revolver was new to me, as for the most part, I've always been a 1911 guy. Being left handed, the speed loader took some practice too. When I qualified under LEOSA, I didn't drop any points.
Woody
Richard A. Wood
If you are surrounded. You are in a target rich environment.
Woody,
Colt makes a compact 1911 in 45 auto called a Defender model. After reading the reviews I got one recently and they are the real deal. Very reliable and accurate. It will fit in my pants pocket and recoil is not bad.
Keith Lay
Does that model have a steel frame or alloy? I think all Commanders have alloy frames but might be mistaken on that . I said I'd never have a black gun and I do have and love a full size target grade 1911 but after carrying and shooting this little Glock 43 for the last two years I have to say there is nothing more reliable or accurate in such a small package. In my opinion the P-365 Sig, which I almost bought, has more capacity but is not as reliable.
I have and carried a Colt series 70 Commander for 21 years on one kind of Law Enforcement or another. Mine was a steel frame. So yes they did. My Officer's model is what predated the Defender. Mine is a series 80 stainless model. Very reliable and accurate, I'm just wanting something lighter and more concealable, hence the Airweight Smith. It too will disappear inside a pants pocket, although I prefer a inside the waist holster for either.
Woody
Richard A. Wood
If you are surrounded. You are in a target rich environment.
I have and carried a Colt series 70 Commander for 21 years on one kind of Law Enforcement or another. Mine was a steel frame. So yes they did. My Officer's model is what predated the Defender. Mine is a series 80 stainless model. Very reliable and accurate, I'm just wanting something lighter and more concealable, hence the Airweight Smith. It too will disappear inside a pants pocket, although I prefer a inside the waist holster for either.
Woody
Richard A. Wood
If you are surrounded. You are in a target rich environment.
I have a close friend that carries scandium framed, titanium cylinder-ed model 342 Smith ( Airlight PI) in an ankle holster. I don't know about ankle holsters but that's what he wears.
Woody correct me if I've got it wrong but I think it was Combat Commanders that have steel frames and the Commanders with the alloy frames, no ?
