this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2025
24 points (74.0% liked)
guns
1509 readers
99 users here now
Keep it civil.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Very sensible points all around.
The world is full of dudes who are overly confident about their ability to defend against a charging animal with a handgun. If anyone is interested, this is a pretty good video that dispenses with the macho bullshit and presents some level-headed perspectives.
https://youtu.be/FDGM7QgxuWw
I can't view your video, because YouTube has made a change that breaks all of the Invidious/Tubular clients I use.
You're so right, though. Handguns are almost useless against wildlife. They're good for one thing, and that's shooting people. It's what they're designed for. Much smaller, and you're lucky to hit it; much larger, and it's either an ambush predator you have no chance against, or something that's only going to get pissed off by being shot. The one useful thing a gun will do against wildlife can be done better with an air horn.
It reminds me of the old joke (which has nothing to do with guns): how do you tell the difference between a black and brown bear? The brown bear is wearing pots and pans and smells like bear spray.
There's a really good article out there about .357 magnum marketing from 50 years ago, and how it was pushed as being a "grizzly killer," but in reviewing the claims the authors found that the only recorded .357 grizzly kills were by hunters with specialized, long-barrel revolvers, hot loads, and on bears that were busy doing something else. The article claimed that, in most cases, even if you got multiple rounds into the bear, even if the bear died it would be long after it had finished mauling you to death.
I was backpacking in Northern Idaho for a few years running, which has both mountain lions and grizzly, and seriously considered bringing my 686+. After reading up on it to see if it were worth investing in a Pelican case and the TSA PITA, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't, for the reasons above.
My coworker has a similar "joke": Why do you hike with a handgun in bear county? So that, when the bear charges, you can shoot yourself and not have to experience being shredded to death.
The video is by a guy who runs a hunting channel. He dives into the old gun-versus-bear-spray question by interviewing attack survivors and game management personnel, getting some formal training, running through simulated attack drills, etc. The results are sobering. I appreciated his humble approach to the topic. I've heard too many people confidently say their 10mm Auto is all they need.
Or, the other, darker joke about two friends going backpacking, and one has a .22 "bear gun." When his friend says, "a bear gun? What's that going to do to a bear?" And his friend replies, "Oh, it's not for shooting the bear. It's for shooting you in the leg, so the bear gets you and I can get away."