4 ms·

Perhaps more surprising is that they now use a 9mm sidearm for that role, at least according to the article's speculation. Good luck doing anything other than m

by teuobk 12y ago

Perhaps more surprising is that they now use a 9mm sidearm for that role, at least according to the article's speculation. Good luck doing anything other than making the bear mad with that.

grecy 12y ago
I live in the Yukon, and I can confirm that when confronted with even a medium sized brown bear the last thing the world you'd want to do is shoot it with a 9mm sidearm.
- Avshalom 12y ago
  While I wouldn't shoot one with a 9mm, just a warning shot is generally enough to get a bear to move on unless you've already deeply pissed it off some how.
  - hvs 12y ago
    Or the bear's cubs are nearby.
  - grecy 12y ago
    Haha, such a common misnomer. When you're dealing with a bear that has never seen people before, it has no idea that loud noises like rifles are dangerous. I've seen a friend fire a .375 right past a brown's head from 50 yards and it didn't even blink. The bear just kept eating berries sitting on his butt. You can lay on your horn in the car, fire bear bangers and smash pots and pans together - they don't care. I've also seen someone unload into one with 5 shots from a .303 - all shots hit home in the heart/lung area (later we found both lungs torn apart, though not the heart) and it kept running full speed for over 100 yards. If we had been closer than 100 yards, it would have had us.
bofussing 12y ago
The Sirius Sled Patrol in Northern Greenland use a Glock chambered for the 10mm Auto after experience showed that the 9mm Parabellum was insufficient in polar bear encounters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sl%C3%A6depatruljen_Sirius#Equipment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sl%C3%A6depatruljen_Sirius#Equi...
pandaman 12y ago
There is a text posted on many Russian gun forums (e.g. http://forum.guns.ru/forum/44/122597.html http://forum.guns.ru/forum/44/122597.html ) that alleges Russian Ministry of Justice statistics of handgun usage against bears for self-defense. I cannot say if it is trustworthy but here are some numbers: 26 cases with Mararov pistol using 9x18 ammo. 19 at distance over 2m. Out of these: 10 people unharmed, 5 wounded, 4 dead. 10 bears killed. 7 at distance less than 2m. 3 unharmed, 2 wounded, 2 dead. 3 bears killed. 17 cases with 9x19 Parabelum ammo (that was before Russia adopted its own 9x19 so it's all imported guns), 10 at over 2m, out of these: 7 unharmed, 2 wounded, 1 dead, 7 bears killed. 7 cases at less than 2m: 3 unharmed, 2 wounded, 2 dead, 4 bears killed. With these odds I'd rather shoot than let a bear maul me.

by teuobk 12y ago

Perhaps more surprising is that they now use a 9mm sidearm for that role, at least according to the article's speculation. Good luck doing anything other than making the bear mad with that.

grecy 12y ago

I live in the Yukon, and I can confirm that when confronted with even a medium sized brown bear the last thing the world you'd want to do is shoot it with a 9mm sidearm.

Avshalom 12y ago
While I wouldn't shoot one with a 9mm, just a warning shot is generally enough to get a bear to move on unless you've already deeply pissed it off some how.
- hvs 12y ago
  Or the bear's cubs are nearby.
- grecy 12y ago
  Haha, such a common misnomer. When you're dealing with a bear that has never seen people before, it has no idea that loud noises like rifles are dangerous. I've seen a friend fire a .375 right past a brown's head from 50 yards and it didn't even blink. The bear just kept eating berries sitting on his butt. You can lay on your horn in the car, fire bear bangers and smash pots and pans together - they don't care. I've also seen someone unload into one with 5 shots from a .303 - all shots hit home in the heart/lung area (later we found both lungs torn apart, though not the heart) and it kept running full speed for over 100 yards. If we had been closer than 100 yards, it would have had us.

bofussing 12y ago

The Sirius Sled Patrol in Northern Greenland use a Glock chambered for the 10mm Auto after experience showed that the 9mm Parabellum was insufficient in polar bear encounters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sl%C3%A6depatruljen_Sirius#Equipment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sl%C3%A6depatruljen_Sirius#Equi...

pandaman 12y ago

There is a text posted on many Russian gun forums (e.g. http://forum.guns.ru/forum/44/122597.html http://forum.guns.ru/forum/44/122597.html ) that alleges Russian Ministry of Justice statistics of handgun usage against bears for self-defense. I cannot say if it is trustworthy but here are some numbers: 26 cases with Mararov pistol using 9x18 ammo. 19 at distance over 2m. Out of these: 10 people unharmed, 5 wounded, 4 dead. 10 bears killed. 7 at distance less than 2m. 3 unharmed, 2 wounded, 2 dead. 3 bears killed. 17 cases with 9x19 Parabelum ammo (that was before Russia adopted its own 9x19 so it's all imported guns), 10 at over 2m, out of these: 7 unharmed, 2 wounded, 1 dead, 7 bears killed. 7 cases at less than 2m: 3 unharmed, 2 wounded, 2 dead, 4 bears killed. With these odds I'd rather shoot than let a bear maul me.