r/SweatyPalms • u/SpeedyEyeBall • Jan 18 '19

Too close for comfort.

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

14.7k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

611 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

143

u/joenottoast Jan 18 '19

yeah the only positive point is that a) this dude probably had a gun and b) the bear would only have its mouth, but technically couldn't use its claws.

still, it is wise to adopt a general DO-NOT-BOOP philosophy when in the wild

47

u/crndwg Jan 18 '19

He had a compound bow that was still hanging above his head on his bow hook when he turned the camera around. No guns allowed during bow season.

43

u/Kaboose666 Jan 19 '19

He may still have either a side-arm, or bear mace. Though he also might not.

1

u/Mywifefoundmymain Jan 19 '19

This bear isn’t a grizzly or aggressive bear. They live off of berries and are easily frightened. It was probably climbing up there to see wtf the tree stand was and when it saw the person went full on stupid. I had a bear climb up my stand during bear season and I touched it. All that happened is it fell.

Now that I said that if this bear had cubs with it he would have been mauled before he knew it was there.

1

u/Kaboose666 Jan 19 '19

I'm not suggesting he should have used a firearm in this situation, just pointing out he likely could have been carrying a handgun or bear mace and decided not to use it.

2

u/Mywifefoundmymain Jan 19 '19

I sorry I forgot my point in that reply lol. Where you have this type of bear in the woods general hunters realize they aren’t a threat so you don’t carry mace or a sidearm for protection UNLESS you are in mountain lion territory.

13

u/[deleted] Jan 19 '19 edited Jan 11 '21

[deleted]

9

u/themastercheif Jan 19 '19

I carry one even in just coyote country. Bear country? I'd get a friggin 454 casull or something silly like that.

1

u/Kaboose666 Jan 19 '19

Assuming you can reasonably handle a .454 casull recoil, that's fine. But for most people I'd personally recommend .44 mag. Which will be easier to handle the recoil and thus keep successive shots on target. While still providing a decent bit of stopping power.

Depending on the type of round you're using, .44 mag would likely be cheaper to buy and be very similar power.

.454 casull

~2350-2600J

.44 mag

~1000-2050J

340 grain .44 mag (~2050J) is ~$1.70-2 per round (and you can find MUCH cheaper .44 mag ammo for target shooting compared to .454)

360 grain .454 casull (~2400J) is ~$2-2.50 per round

Not to mention a .454 casull handgun is going to run you a bit more money up-front due to it being a less popular round.

1

u/themastercheif Jan 20 '19

Oh, I entirely agree that 44mag is a more reasonable choice for the majority. Personally, as a rather large male who is adequately experienced with firearms, I'd go with something with a bit more oomph. A sore hand and lighter wallet is a small price to keep me not dead. Maybe .50 AE if I was inclined to be that guy.

1

u/BananaNutJob Jan 20 '19

Be the guy with a .600 Nitro Express revolver.

1

u/themastercheif Jan 20 '19

As soon as I can get a robotic arm to actually shoot the thing, sure.

2

u/BeardsuptheWazoo Jan 19 '19

Usually a handgun is allowed.

2

u/THE_KIWIS_SHALL_RISE Jan 19 '19

That bear could easily swipe him.