My Bear Medicine

Over the years, I've carried and shot many large caliber hand cannons in my quest to stay alive living in bear country. Usually, it was a .44 in SBH's or SRH's, .45LC in various forms, and sometimes a .454 in various models of Freedom Arms. I've shot 460SW's, .500JRH's and even the 500 Linebaugh once. But I never really felt that I was accurate enough, no matter how much range time I spent. And fast? Nope. Not. Nadda. Pathetic. And then I started getting older. Not old in years, I guess. I'll just turn 52 next month. But it's been a tough 52 years, and my hands are loosing there dexterity, their strength. Unsaddling horses in cold and rain at a mountain camp sometimes really hurts. My hands will be stiff claws, slow and painful. Not crippled, but not young. To pull a weapon and get off a good shot, then quick follow-up shots off from a short-bbl .44mag or .454 shooting heavy hard cast was not as sure as it used to be. And it was never sure.

Then I found the .460 Rowland. The 1911 has been my town gun for forever. It just points right for me naturally. The muzzle doesnt flip and spin out past my ear, and follow up shots are very, very fast. I carry cocked-n-locked, of course, so the safety is snicked down as the muzzle is coming up. Easy. With the addition of the .460 Rowland to the 1911 platform, I finally found my niche. Is the 460 Rowland as effective, round-for-round, as the hardcast .44 mag rounds? The .454? The .500JRH? No. Of course not. Was that gonna help me in a real world shooting situation? Nope. And 255grn hard cast at 1300 fps aint nothin' to sneeze at.

I faced an aggressive grizzly once in Alaska with a Freedom Arms .454 casull. Let me tell you, I felt terribly under gunned, and was extremely relieved when that hoodlum bear left. I faced it again the next night, but I had a 45-70 in my fist by then. If I ever find myself in the unenviable situation of facing a grizzly with a .460 Rowland in my hand, Im going to feel just as under gunned as I did carrying a .454. But I will feel much more confident in myself, and my ability to manipulate with skill and speed a weapon that is still proven deadly against bear. And how much is that worth?

The are some world-class hunters on here. And some of the finest big-bore pistoleers that have ever existed. But let's not forget that in the end, numbers are just numbers. And the world in all of it's chaotic beauty and brutal reality is actually not run on numbers. And for us guys that live in the lower strata of that reality, what makes an effective defensive weapon depends on much, much more than just a set of bigger numbers.

Can't argue with your logic or justifications. I'm a fan of the 45 Super for the same reasons. A hit with a less powerful round will always beat a miss with something heavy. Glad you found something that works for you.

Also, I've always felt under gunned when the situation arised. Even with an M249 SAW and 200 rounds of belt fed ammo.

I fully agree! While the chance of my ever running into a bear is close to zero, I had a custom 4" Redhawk made for big critter encounters, since I do hike in New Mexico and my part of Texas is covered with large hogs and the occasional mountain lion. After a while, I realized I wasn't as good as I wanted to be with it when shooting fast. I started a career in law enforcement with a revolver, but haven't practiced using one under stress in a number of years.

I realized I needed to find an auto and, since I carry Glocks for work, I bought a G29 10mm. As with your choice, it's no where near the powerhouse my Redhawk is, but it is a vastly better choice for me when it comes to fast use under stress. I have the added benefit of the G29 using .40 S&W in a drop in barrel and I have quite a bit of old .40 duty ammo laying around.

The biggest threat in the woods is two-legged, but that doesn't mean animals aren't dangerous. Having a fast shooting, powerful pistol for both kind of threats makes a lot of sense. As a plus, that G29 is much easier to carry and conceal than even a short-barreled Redhawk.

Had a wounded bear charge me a few years ago. Totally crushed him at 6 FEET with my .475 FA and 370 gr. cast. You'd be surprised how fast you can react when you know your knee deep in the crap. I had the cocked and ready instantly after the first shot by instinct. Never noticed the recoil or really remembering cocking the gun.
The relatively light weight FA .475 (7") is my standard "bear protection" anytime I'm in bear country. Never felt bothered by weight, speed of use, slightly large size of gun. Always felt if it was good enough for my rhino it would be OK for any 2 or 4 legged problems I might encounter. Peace of mind is a good feeling.

It?s all about muscle memory (instinctive reaction) and familiarity. I bet some of you guys could get a couple shots off with a Contender faster than many people could with a revolver

Very true.

This thread is a perfect example of what I always say - you need to find what works for YOU.

I?ll take you up on that! :-)

Seriously though, if you can?t shoot three rounds from a revolver faster than someone on a Contender, you need a new hobby - like knitting, or origami. Just sayin?!

Attend a CHL class and you'll end up disappointed in your fellow man

Oh boy I agree. Some folks just can?t shoot and many cannot handle recoil. Maybe these folks should carry bear spray!

I taught the CHL class in Texas for ten years and I can undoubtedly say this is...spot...on...

I second that. My wife has gone shooting with me a handful of times over the years due to our rather heavy load of kid responsibilities and the nature of my job. Everytime over the years she has had to requalify for her chl she has scored the highest in her class on the shooting portion. Dont tell her i said this but she is not that good. I feel she needs more practice. Much more. So does she and that has been a new years resolution to get her more practice this year.

I agree that some can reload a contender quicker than we would expect and ive seen it done. Im not that guy though. I would agree that if you cant beat a single shot in time over 3 shots just quit and sell your revolvers. Each type of platform has its advantages and the single shots have theirs. Speed isnt supposed to be one of them!!