Tragic bear attack in Wyoming

[Muddyboots]

I guess this says it all.

 

[Vortex!]

Dinner Bell!

 

[Wedgy]

In case anyone else is interested in donating to Mark's wife and 5 children;

https://www.gofundme.com/mark-uptain

 

[nmbarta]

Revolvers are plagued with a number of problems just like every other firearm.
None of them are 100% reliable.

A couple of these problems I think should be considered by those who choose to carry one for bear defense.

1. Lightweight revolvers using "hot" loads can set the bullet forward of the crimp. This will pretty much render it useless until you have the tools to fix it.
2. "hot" loads can cause the primer to flow into the firing pin hole. Cylinder will no longer rotate. This happened to me shooting +p ammo out of my wife's .357.
Both of these issues apply to bear defense ammo and revolvers.
3. loose ejector rods.
4. Dirty revolvers have plenty of problems, and my sidearm gets pretty dirty at times.
5. This is debatable, but imo, revolvers won't take the abuse that an auto will, either way, revolvers can be damaged and rendered useless if dropped.
6. Some people tend to buy into the myth that revolvers are fool proof marvels of engineering that don't fail. So they fail to test them. I was guilty of this myself.
I won't carry an automatic without firing 400 rounds without failure, but I carried a .357 mag on the blackfoot river while fishing, without testing the ammo. This is the gun that failed on shot 1 when I fired it later. A stupid mistake on my part, but on that can be learned from.
7. Look at an exploded view of a double action revolver, and you'll see that there are more moving parts than you'd think. Several of these parts can and do fail or wear out.

Revolvers are very reliable, but not infallible.

There is no such thing as a 100% reliable firearm of any kind.

Sorry for the long winded post.

 

[Pdvdh]

They don't need to be infallible. They only need to be more reliable than the other available options, to be the best for the job.

Neglect any tool and the tool can fail you.

 

[Muddyboots]

Thank you for the go fund me link. We sometimes get so deep into a thread we forget the actual tragedy and impact upon so many other people. I apologize for overlooking the root thread and hope my contribution will help the family.

 

[Wedgy]

Thank you for the go fund me link. We sometimes get so deep into a thread we forget the actual tragedy and impact upon so many other people. I apologize for overlooking the root thread and hope my contribution will help the family.

I would hope others would do the same if it were my family.

 

[Vortex!]

Try single action revolver. You should be able to operate one handed unless you have a small or weak hand.

Revolvers are plagued with a number of problems just like every other firearm.
None of them are 100% reliable.

A couple of these problems I think should be considered by those who choose to carry one for bear defense.

1. Lightweight revolvers using "hot" loads can set the bullet forward of the crimp. This will pretty much render it useless until you have the tools to fix it.
2. "hot" loads can cause the primer to flow into the firing pin hole. Cylinder will no longer rotate. This happened to me shooting +p ammo out of my wife's .357.
Both of these issues apply to bear defense ammo and revolvers.
3. loose ejector rods.
4. Dirty revolvers have plenty of problems, and my sidearm gets pretty dirty at times.
5. This is debatable, but imo, revolvers won't take the abuse that an auto will, either way, revolvers can be damaged and rendered useless if dropped.
6. Some people tend to buy into the myth that revolvers are fool proof marvels of engineering that don't fail. So they fail to test them. I was guilty of this myself.
I won't carry an automatic without firing 400 rounds without failure, but I carried a .357 mag on the blackfoot river while fishing, without testing the ammo. This is the gun that failed on shot 1 when I fired it later. A stupid mistake on my part, but on that can be learned from.
7. Look at an exploded view of a double action revolver, and you'll see that there are more moving parts than you'd think. Several of these parts can and do fail or wear out.

Revolvers are very reliable, but not infallible.

There is no such thing as a 100% reliable firearm of any kind.

Sorry for the long winded post.

 

[nmbarta]

I've never donated on there before. I usually keep my donations to local causes.
It didn't take 5 minutes to make a donation. Thanks for the post as well.

 

[Pdvdh]

Try single action revolver. You should be able to operate one handed unless you have a small or weak hand.

Or your hand's been crushed, or is in a bear's jaws...

I started out with a shot single Ruger Blackhawk in 1976. Strong functional pistols, but slower in repetitive fire. Good for hunting. I prefer double actions for bear defense and protection. A single action revolver with both hands on the weapon was still too slow compared to a double action at close contact ranges.

Double actions are plenty reliable. The failures listed for double action revolvers applies to single actions also. Use the double-action revolver single action-style if you believe that's more reliable. If a quality revolver fails you, you likely failed it; either in maintenance, practice, selection of loads/ammo (crimp jumping), or field testing with your selected bear loads. Firearms need well proven with the loads that will be employed for bear defense. Not the pipsqueak plinking loads. Also to develop operational familiarity that minimizes error, hesitation, and confusion when your life's on the line.

 

[milkie62]

I wonder if the outfitter has changed his SOP in grizzly area as to what is carried. I will be with my son so if we connect on an Elk, one of us could be helping the guide while one stood guard.

 

[gjk5]

I own numerous DA revolvers, including .44 mags. Owned a Super Redhawk for a while. The S&W Mountain Gun has to date been my 2nd most frequent.....well: mountain gun. Usually it is a 4" S&W M28 (.357) though. We have only black bears here so not apples to apples.

Recently my thought process has changed a little and I am going to buy a G20. After having run well into the boatloads of rounds through various Glocks in IDPA and just range time, and having lots of time shooting one handed, weak side, strange positions induced by sadistic stages; I have decided that the muscle memory and practice with that platform trumps the extra oomph of the DA magnums.

It would take years of practice to be able to shoot a revolver as proficiently. If I were to be stuck in brown/grizzly country and NOT carrying a rifle, rangefinder, binoculars and could concentrate solely on managing that pig of a sidearm (don't get me wrong, love it) then I probably would. But for hucking around in the mountains with all my crap I want to be able to draw and present quickly and confidently and fire from multiple positions/stances etc, I think I'd feel more comfortable with a G20.

Just my 2 cents

 

[WildRose]

I have all 3 calibers,so maybe I may change my mind before going.

Fill up a toe sack with wood shavings/chips. Imagine yourself in such an emergency and shove your semiauto deep into it like you would a bear and pull the trigger.

That will be enough to convince anyone. If the slide is pushed back even a fraction of an inch it will not fire.

 

[WildRose]

If a situation increases the odds of a nasty bear assault (such as returning to kill site) I'm gonna choose a pump shotgun when available. Next a rifle. Next a revolver.

True, but in an emergency you don't get a lot of time to make choices and few people are going to be carrying an extra long gun around unless they have pack/saddle animals.

Especially with all the good paddle holsters available today it's real easy to carry a large caliber revolver so there's always a capable weapon on your body.