Dumping my 10mm & going 9mm

[RWT]

My biggest point is guys worry about all of the nonsense that doesn't matter then don't practice. Which is typical for most things. You can't buy skill.

Agree I got out of 45's due to cost. Much less expensive to practice with 9's. I shoot twice as much now that I am down to one centerfire that I carry. I still suck..... I just suck more often and can be twice as critical as I shoot twice as much. I really need to take a class.

 

[vladkgb]

I run the beast adapter behind my fhf bino harness https://savagethreadworks.com/product/the-beast-adapter/

Works great for me, even got my knife attached to it.

I agree with switching to 9mm in grizz country. I also carry a pmr-30, 22 mag, in non-grizz country.

 

[TaperPin]

Luckily, any gun is better than no gun. We read about the dramatic attacks and fatalities, but there are many more minor non injury encounters that are never reported, or if they are reported never make the news. If a bear is just looking at you from 50 yards away it’s nice to have something that makes noise to encourage them on their way without having to wait they are so close you have to shoot them. It’s been my impression young adult boy bears cause a lot of minor problems as they test boundaries, much like young adult humans. Of course walking into a mother with cubs is a common thread with maulings.

I never thought about this, but for you can shooters, since a Rokslide special barely makes the sound of a wet dog fart does that attract bears rather than scare them away?

I really enjoy this list of park incidents since it includes interesting descriptions of bear encounters. A lot of non bear stuff, but the four coyotes without rabies that were biting people made me chuckle.

NPS Incident Reports - Yellowstone National Park

 

[Yoder]

As @Tod osier stated, it's about what the evidence we have indicates typically happens, not what we "think" or "feel" might happen.

Handgun Defenses Against Bear Attacks - 170 Documented Incidents, 98% Effective

There are now 170 documented cases, with 146 of those cases where handguns only are fired in defense against bear attacks. Handguns are effective 98% of the time.

www.ammoland.com

I agree about the caliber/cartridge debates over it. There was time 44 Magnum was commonly considered the minimum and even "marginal". Now that same conversation often revolves around 10mm.

Maybe the majority of encounters people see the bear before it sees them or charges. Gun handling skills don't matter much for that, as long as you can shoot decent. Even if you can't the noise would be a deterrent.

 

[Yoder]

Agree I got out of 45's due to cost. Much less expensive to practice with 9's. I shoot twice as much now that I am down to one centerfire that I carry. I still suck..... I just suck more often and can be twice as critical as I shoot twice as much. I really need to take a class.

I don't know how deep you want to dive into shooting, but I got obsessed. I would check out some of Max Michel or Ben Stoeger's training videos. They were both world champions multiple times. See how your grip, stance and draw compares to how they do it. Dry fire way more than you actually shoot. Get a shot timer app for your phone. I used to set a par time and see if I could beat it doing various drills.

A couple things that helped me shoot faster:

Consistent setup of gear. Holster and mag pouches have to be in the exact same spot every time.

When you draw, don't move your head. Stand perfectly still and bring the gun up to your eyes. Practice it until you can draw with your eyes closed, open them and have a good sight picture on target. Watch how Max or Ben does it.

Learn what you need to see to make a shot. This is what I think gains the most speed. Most of the time, people try to get a perfect sight picture on every shot. At 25 yards it's important. At 3 yards, it's not that important. If it's close enough and you have a good stance and draw, you can start shooting before you get your gun up all the way.

Check and see if any of your local clubs have IDPA or USPSA shoots. You will learn a ton and I guarantee you will be a better shooter. IDPA requires a little less gear but tries to be more real world. You have to have your gun concealed when you draw and they require shooting from cover and some other "tactical" rules. I think each stage is limited to 18 rounds. USPSA is just balls to the wall shooting. Maximum 32 rounds per stage, moving targets, steel, plate racks, Texas stars it's awesome. IDPA does have some moving targets and steel but not nearly as much. They do have cool scenarios. I've shot out of a car, truck, one place had it setup like a shoot house. Both are a lot of fun. I have to start shooting again! I hope this helps.

 

[madgrad02]

I run the beast adapter behind my fhf bino harness https://savagethreadworks.com/product/the-beast-adapter/

Works great for me, even got my knife attached to it.

I agree with switching to 9mm in grizz country. I also carry a pmr-30, 22 mag, in non-grizz country.

This is intriguing... like the way this sits as opposed to below my FHF bino harness in a RAZCO... any issue shooting a bow with the additional bulk added to the bino harness sticking out?

 

[MuleyFever]

This is intriguing... like the way this sits as opposed to below my FHF bino harness in a RAZCO... any issue shooting a bow with the additional bulk added to the bino harness sticking out?

Your bow string shouldn't cross over the harness.

 

[Justin (Raz) Rasmussen]

Most likely the bear will be eating your face before you even start to grab for your pistol anyway. I don't think the caliber matters. If the noise doesn't scare them, you are screwed most of the time.

That is pretty false if you look back at all the negative bear encounters over the years. Folks with accessible handguns (of most all calibers) fair really well against charging bears. Folks with their gun slung or strapped to their pack not as well. Same goes with bear spray. Fast and accurate are the keys whether pistol long gun or spray.

 

[WCB]

Went to the 9mm years ago with Federal Solid Core.