Sunday, September 6, 2020

ICE Fishing for Survival

Alone season 7 demonstrated the importance of survival fishing skills, and in the Arctic region, ice fishing may be the only option for several months of the year.  So here is what you need to know.


Using "Tip Ups" and fishing multiple holes spaced about 10 yards apart will increase your chances.  Primitive Tip Ups (video) are fairly easy to make with a pocket knife and small saw as shown above. 

Multiple interconnecting squares are a good fishing hole pattern to use.  Start with the center 4 holes and then expand to the X shape.  Drill & try just the far hole on the second set, then just the far hole on the third set, then fourth & fifth. Fish these holes with Tip Up's and then drill more holes in the areas that catch the most fish. 

 

You want a weight at the bottom of the line, and one or more hooks coming off at different depths. The example #2 below (from: www.bcfishingjournal.com) shows one hook, but if fishing in deep water, you could use multiple hooks at different depths, although one (1) foot above the bottom or above the vegetation on the bottom is usually the best place to start, as fish stay deep in cold weather. But try a few lines at multiple depths to see what works best.  Bobbing the line up & down about 1 foot can attract fish to your bait.

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Saturday, September 5, 2020

Fabricated Coin Shortage

Its the year of COVID-19, a deadly virus imported from China (like most goods we buy), and there is reportedly a "Coin Shortage."

Are you hoarding coins?  Do you know anyone who is hoarding coins?  Then why are businesses requiring we use a credit card, or have exact change, under the guise of a "Coin Shortage?"  There is clearly something they are not telling us. 


 

The Washington Post, one of many extreme Left leaning Propaganda machines for the Globalist Democrats says the following: 

Americans don’t have to look far to see the damage wrought by the pandemic and recession. Car cup holders, sofa cushions, piggy banks and maybe even wallets laden with pocket change are fueling the nation’s great coin debacle.

Is your car cup holder, or sofa cushions suddenly full of coins like never before?  This is because it is a HOAX, with a hidden agenda, controlled by the very richest Globalist, who seek to transform America into their possession.  They already control our foreign owned Media and Democrat Politicans like puppets, and now want to eliminate cash, so they can monitor every financial transaction we do.

Our only recourse will be to Barter with others, but then selling food with out a government license or USDA inspection, is illegal (in most cases), so they can control our food supply (and us) in the name of consumer safety, despite the fact that all the contaminated foods are coming from commercial producers that already comply with these requirements.

 After 20+ years of Americans spending a Billion dollars per day more on foreign goods) like oil from the Middle East and electronics and toys from China) than we sell, these foreigners, rich with US dollars have bought and own over 60% of our country.  

They have a huge vested interest in how our country is ran as they seek to control it through their biased media and businesses who mislead Americans while also donating massive sums of money to Democrats, who want open borders, to Take our Guns, de-fund our police, and eliminate Tariffs, that didn't destroy the US economy like they said it would, but rather boosted to to higher levels than ever before.  

Absolute Free Trade is not fair to US Businesses and is NOT healthy for America.  China, our biggest threat (not Russia) has been cheating Americans with our governments blessing for years, and taking our jobs.  How many things do you buy that say "Made in Russia?"

IF this Coin Shortage does not make you suspicious, then nothing will.  Don't get me wrong, there IS a coin shortage, but it is not because of you or I are hoarding them, but someone else is hoarding a lot of them for some strange reason.

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Sunday, August 23, 2020

Day 100 - 1 Millionaire remans

 In the 11th episode of Alone Season 7, we go from 3 very tough survivalist to just one, who WINS 1 MILLION DOLLARS.  

Before we get to the conclusion, you might want some background on what they carried in their packs, and what happened during the first 10 Episodes; if so, click HERE.   You might want to read a summary of the Lessons Learned from mistakes made on the Alone Survival Show; if so, click HERE.  Read on to hear about the 3 hour Episode 11, which concluded with a Million Dollar prize for staying 100 days.

Episode 11 (Final)

Day 64 – 3 Remain in pursuit of the Million Dollar Prize.

10:32 AM – 16 F

Callie is remarking about the volume of snow that has been falling for several days.  She heads out for fire wood as she checks her trap line. She is expected to burn 400 calories per hour walking.  Her traps are all buried with snow, with nothing caught in them.  She has lost 10 pounds in the past 2 weeks.

She has not decided whether to eat the diseased porcupine meat or not.  Freezing the meet, followed by thorough cooking (well done) should minimize the risk.

 

Day 65

12:11 AM 

We see Kielyn digging and transporting gravel out of her shelter, as it acts an obstruction in draft tubes causing fire pits to draw air poorly.  It seems much better afterward.

9:12 AM

Kielyn has a nose pain, likely from inflammation after smelling all the smoke.  Then she heads out on the ice to fish when she sees fox tracks and the fox out on the ice.  She is determined to push on, so that a woman will win.

10:55 and she is fishing.

11:26, she catches a large fish (6 lb) with her hand fishing line.  We don’t see her trying to catch any more.  It appears she stopped fishing, and didn’t try to catch fish again until this fish was fully consumed, although we don’t know for sure.  IF so, this would be a huge mistake on her part, although it is very cold out on the ice. 

 

Day 66

9:22 AM

Roland is talking about hot and rare and rock house & singing a song.  He is screaming like rock fans… He goes out for rose hips which is rich in vitamin C and sees a large porcupine.

 

11:57 AM

Roland clubs the 25 pound porcupine to death in a single stroke.    His stick has quills stuck in it.

 

Day 67

5:07 PM and it dark out.

Kielyn is in her shelter eating her fish, and then making snow shoes.  The first one really looks good.

 

Day 68

8:27 PM

Callie is in her shelter working with a hide.

 

Day 69

10:01 AM

Callie is having a fashion show with her rabbit hides.  She checked her trap lines and caught nothing.  She decides to eat the diseased porcupine cooked very well, which is probably ok.  She cooks it in her pan to capture all the fluids.  It really tastes good as she eats a chunk of fat, and feels energized.

 

Day 72

9:29 AM

Roland is eating and snarling, again raising questions about his sanity. He starts a fire and burns the porcupine quills off to preserve trap the fat inside, vs skinning which looses a lot of it.

5:22 PM

Roland is eating Porcupine for Thanksgiving; it has a tremendous amount of fat which he relishes.

 

Day 73

7:11 PM

Callie is sewing it appears, or working with porcupine quills.

 

Day 74

10:24 AM

Callie is showing porcupine quills in her boots.  She is feeling no problems from eating the porcupine and is feeling strong.  Gathering firewood, her shoulder is hurting.   It looks as if there is a quill in her skin.

1:04 PM

Callie is examining her injured shoulder and there is in fact a quill, which she is trying to cut out, which is very difficult to do.  But she is determined and gets about a 1” quill out.  At this point we don’t know how it got in her shoulder.

 

Day 75

11:10 AM

Roland is at the icy lake shore to get a pot full of water.  It is frozen and very hazardous, but he manages.  We see his camera lens is iced over. Getting water is becoming a problem he says.

He is planning to cook a brisket and finds mice have been eating the fat, so he checks his fat store.  He could kill and eat this mouse, but thinks better of it, as killing this bachelor mouse could allow a whole family to move it.  He puts his fat in his musk ox head pouch and stores it in his shelter.

 

Day 76

9:55 AM

Kielyn is eating the last of her fish and dreaming about being home.  She plans on going to try and catch another fish.  She should have been fishing every day, if she wasn’t. She has lost 50 pounds since day 1.  She can fish for 2 hours max before she must go warm up.

12:16

Kielyn is pulling a fish in, but looses it and starts crying.  Despite the best fishing location now, I expect she will be the next to tap out.  We see her back at her cabin talking about quitting. 

 

6:21 PM – very dark out

Roland is out listening to the ice freezing which can make loud noise at times.  He enjoys the music of the wilderness.

 

Day 78

9:38 AM

Callie is thinking about buttered popcorn.

Temperature is -17 F, as she goes down to the lake for water, which will require busting the ice.  You can hear the ice creaking as it rises and falls with the water.

Between 0 and -20 F, ice can grow 1-4 inches thicker in 24 hours.

She is happy the ice is forming as she will be needing to ice fish for food soon.  She fills her rain boot with lake water and carries it back to camp.  And her toe is hurting, so she takes her boots off.  Frost bite is a hazard that will get your toes first and it looks like she has it on her big toe.  This could take her out of the competition.

4:26 PM and it is totally dark as the days are short

Callie continues examining her right big toe, which is purple and is likely frost bite, but it could have been burned from being hear the fire.  She is tough, but struggling to stay warm, so it sounds like she is considering tapping out. Staying warm is becoming a challenge for everyone.

 

Day 80

10:01 AM

Kielyn is tying to figure out what she wants from this experience…. To win.  She is talking about her family.  Sounds like she is going to tap out.   She is walking in her fine snow shoes toward the lake and begins crying again.  Glad to see the lake one more time from here.  She calls to tap out on day 80. After as hard as she worked to get here, it is hard to imagine tapping out 20 days before winning a million dollars.

 

Day 81 – 2 Remain

8:59 AM very dark outside

Roland is working with a multi-tool to make a fishing lure.

9:52

Roland puts on his black bear mitts and an artic wolf parka as he goes to the lake with a long pole.  The pole helps if he falls through the ice which is frozen over now.   He begins to chop through the ice so he can fish.  He begins fishing using a hand line.

Day 82

11:54 AM – 29 F  The days are short.

Callie is happy the lake has iced up as she heads out to go ice fishing.  She has made her own lure and clay weight

1:01 PM and she is fishing.  It is cold and windy out on the ice.

2:23, no fish and her toe is cold.  She walks around to warm up her feet.

 

Day 83

10:12 AM – 26 F

Roland is putting on his heavy clothing and going down to the ice to get water.

1:27 PM  (average 5 hours of daylight in the artic)

Callie is warming her feet back at her shelter.  The frost bite on her toe is hampering her.

She heads to the lake at -28 F for water.

 

Day 84

9:47 AM and still dark

Roland is working to keep enough fire wood

10:21 PM -27

Callie is gathering fire wood, but has to stop and warm her toe,

 

Day 85

1:06 PM

Roland is fighting the cold and can’t get ahead on fire wood.  He works all day light to get enough fire wood to last the night.

3:02 PM

Callie is cold and trying to keep dry & warm

8:47  -31 F

Roland is by the fire trying to stay warm.  He doesn’t know why he keeps trying.

Day 86

10:06 AM

Roland is eating the last of his berries, and craving carbs.

His berries are more than a little moldy.  He may have lost the berries as they were in his ceiling and never froze.  He decides to eat the stomach contents from the musk ox, which is mostly grass.

The sour smell tells him it is a nutritious meal.  We see him eating it.

 

Day 87

10:23 AM

Callie is still in good spirits it seems.  She has maintained a positive attitude through out the event, which has been an advantage for her.   She heads off to check her trap lines as her porcupine will not last forever.  She finds a 5 lb rabbit in her snare trap  that will provide over 3,500 calories.  She is tough and could make 100 days if her frost bit toe doesn’t prevent her.

Day 872 contestants remaining and 13 days to go.

1:07 PM and a calm -33 F day at hand.

Roland is sitting by the fire after sleeping short spells and waking up every few hours to put wood on the fire and keep the shelter warm.  The battle is at hand.  He heads out for water as the snow starts to fall with a -52 wind chill factor, getting 7.5 inches per day of snow on average.  It is becoming a full blown white out.  He seems lost.

 

2:23 PM

Roland is trying to find his way back to his shelter in white out conditions.  Following his tracks before the snow covers them, he makes it back to the timber, where it is easier to see, with more landmarks to show the way.

 

Day 88

10:10

Callie is facing -32 degrees and going out to set her gill net below the ice.  Even her camera screen is frozen.  She chops her fishing hole open.  She needs 1 fish to stay 12 more days.

12:39 she is fishing, but nothing.

1:54 her frost bit toe is getting cold so she has to walk and get some circulation.

Back at camp she cooks bone broth for dinner and is hungry as she drinks from a pot full of bones.

 

Day 89

10:39 AM

Callie said her feet were cold most of the night.  She gets an alert that its time for a medical check, which is early indicating they are worried about something.  They arrive and examine her feet.  They walk off to discuss their findings as we go to a commercial break.

1:29 PM

The medical team are checking Callie’s frostbite toes and talking.  There is spreading second degree frost bite, you are malnourished. She is being forced to tap out immediately for medical reasons on day 89.  She loves this place and doesn’t want to leave, but also doesn’t want to lose a toe.   She leaves with 5 of her 6 arrows in her quiver.

Now the question is will Roland last 100 days

Day 90 – 34 F

12:28 PM

Roland has a big fire burning and is planning to eat his musk ox hoof after cooking it in the fire. There isn’t much musk ox left and he must use every piece.

Sitting by the fire, Roland talks about not having any friends.

Day 92 and -40F

12:27 PM

Roland, the only contestant left, is going ice fishing, but nothing.

 

Day 94

1:24 PM

Roland talks about his recently departed mother.

 

Day 96

3:02 PM

 Roland is still talking about his mom

 

Day 97

11: 41 AM

Roland is in his shelter and wants to do right by his family in the future.

 

Day 99  Christmas day

12:12 PM

Roland sticks a small Christmas tree in the snow and puts a wire star on it.  He thought nothing could ever change him, but this did.

 

Day 100 -  1 Millionaire remains

12:28

He carves his initials & 100 in calendar tree, and poses beside it. He is listening to the wilderness sounds.  Silence is soothing.  He begins humming… he can hear his departed mother singing in church as tears comes to his eyes.   He has a nice fire outside his shelter.  Back in his shelter, he shows us his moms picture.  His Sister, Megan, is coming to greet him.  She calls for him from outside… they hug in excitement.

2:08 PM

Him and his sister celebrate and she tells him that the whole family is proud of him.

 

During this 3 hour episode, we went from 3 outstanding contestants, to 1 millionaire winner - Roland

Kielyn talks about not seeing the sun for a month being depressing.  She was the most disappointing tap out for me, because, her ice fishing resource had the potential to get her to 100 days, but she lacked the mental toughness and cried often.  Not saying I could have done it myself, as I know it is not easy, and judgement is impaired under such severe conditions.  I believe her mistakes were only using one fishing hole, and not fishing every day, to build up a reserve.  Fish are often territorial, and may move less in cold weather, and after catching a few from one hole, it likely becomes less productive.  Using multiple holes might have improved her food harvesting advantage even further.  She might also find one fishing hole that was notably more productive than the others.  From what the Alone producers showed us after the lake froze over, she only went fishing when she was out of fish (probably busy getting fire wood to stay warm.  She could have used set lines and left them out to catch fish, while she was cutting fire wood. There are several ways to do this, including “Tip Ups.” She also came within 20 yards of a moose and didn’t have her bow with her.  With a moose, she could have easily made it 100 days, with her survival skills.  

Callie talks about having ice on the inside of her fire place as the cold sets in and the difficulty in deciding to eat the porcupine which she knew was diseased. She was already exposed from butchering the animal and that was a factor in moving forward eating.   She talks about finding a porcupine quill in her shoulder.  It took months for her toe to get better.  She might think of her right big toe, as a million dollar toe.  Callie was a mentally tough participant, with a positive attitude, and good survival skills, and with warmer boots, she could have easily made it 100 days.

At the end, Roland had a huge stack of fire wood, a big rack of musk ox ribs for food. He could have lasted much longer.  His survival skills were masterful, and clearly as good, or possibly even better, than any contestant so far.  As a hunting guide and second generation student of survival, he didn’t exactly prosper, but survived longer than any contestant in Alone show history, in part because of the show target of 100 days.  What will they do next season?

Most contestants struggled to stay warm in the Arctic, emphasizing the need for extreme clothing, and raising the question as to whether an underground den or deep cave might have proven warmer.  Clearly a good supply of fire wood built up in advance was a necessity.

There is no doubt that these final three had excellent survival skills, and working together, they probably could survive indefinitely, especially in a better habitat, or living a nomadic life style.

 

After 100 days and a million dollar winner, we still have 703 of meat harvested with a bow, and a key factor in determining the winner in two Alone shows.  Then 315 pounds with a gill net, now 113 + 5 pounds added this episode, of food captured in a snare trap, 62 + 6 pounds this episode with a fishing line, 25 pounds this episode with a stick, and 1 pound of squirrel with a rock.


I’m looking forward to the next Alone season, and to taking my own Survival Test, to see how long I can stay out.

JR


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Sunday, August 9, 2020

Best Handguns for Bear Country

Best 6 Handguns for Bear Country

Another great article from Cheaper than Dirt, a great source for your shooting needs.

Before I get into what guns are great for bear country, we really need to discuss the competing ideas of what is important in that arena. There are two main camps.

  • The first is, carry a huge cannon that will do massive damage. Those who are in this camp believe that a bear encounter usually happens at very short range. This means you get one, maybe two shots and they need to count. For these people, a large-bore revolver is usually the “best” option.
  • The other camp believes the best choice is to carry a bear gun that you can get off many rounds with quickly and accurately. Their theory is that you should use a gun you are comfortable with and that many entry wounds do more damage than any single massive wound. This mindset tends to come from the idea that many people freeze up when they utilize a firearm with a non-practiced manual of arms.

Both groups have anecdotal “evidence” to support their concepts and they also have some truth in each argument.

I will state categorically there are choices that are not the way to bet. I am not limiting that to very under powered rounds like .22 LR and .25 ACP.

Even the ubiquitous 9mm Luger is not a good choice, especially when using hollow-point rounds.

What works and penetrates well in a thin-skinned human will not do nearly the job on a much thicker-hided bear, with much thicker bones and a much deeper vital zone.

If you do choose to run a 9mm in bear country, at least choose heavy for caliber, truncated cone/wide meplat hard-cast projectiles.

However, these projectiles are still too narrow for massive damage and still unlikely to penetrate the 18+ inches to reach the vitals of a bear.

They do have much more potential to shatter bone and they will retain their entire weight while tumbling. This creates more damage potential than a JHP, JSP or FMJ projectile.

Underwood .460 S&W Ammo
Underwood makes extremely powerful .460 S&W ammunition that is great for use in your bear gun.

Large-Bore Revolvers:

1. Smith And Wesson 460V

Smith and Wesson call this pistol the most versatile large-bore revolver, and there is a lot of truth in that statement. The five-inch gain-twist barrel provides for an excellent trade-off between velocity and handiness.

The cylinder can be used for .460 S&W, .454 Casull or .45 Colt rounds. By having these three options available, the cost to practice is much lower, which translates to a much more refined manual of arms for the shooter.

The .45 Colt rounds are much (over 50%) lower in recoil, which also aids in practice. Running 100 rounds of .45 Colt in a day is a very doable and fun thing, as well as being perfectly serviceable for lesser threats.

The .454 Casull is a marked step up and is vastly superior in stopping power to the older choice, .44 Magnum. For the ultimate in stopping power from this platform, the .460 is yet another quantitative step up.

It does, however, come with significant recoil and muzzle blast penalty, even in comparison to the .454 Casull.

The standard-pressure .45 Colt recoil will feel like a .380 ACP from a full-sized gun due to the size and weight of this revolver.

Ported barrel for recoil reduction, 61 oz. weight unloaded, five-round capacity, stainless frame and cylinder.

JR Note:  S&W is top quality, and this is a versatile gun that is on my wish list.

 

2. Ruger Super Redhawk – .454 Casull

This Ruger revolver is a tank of a firearm, so much so that there are higher-pressure loads that are only safe to shoot in it. I also like this revolver in the five-inch variant for the same reason as with the Smith.

It is a good mix of utilizing the gunpowder and being handy. This also has the option of using .45 Colt rounds and even the high-pressure option listed in the chart below.

Although, not up to .454 Casull statistics, it is a significant uptick from standard .45 Colt loadings.

The standard-pressure .45 Colt loading will recoil like a soft to moderate 9mm from a full-sized GLOCK.

Non-ported, 47 oz. weight unloaded, six-round capacity, stainless frame and cylinder.

Ruger Super Redhawk bear gun
The Ruger Super Redhawk is an incredibly powerful bear country gun.

3. Taurus Raging Judge – .454 Casull

The Taurus is usually a significantly lower-priced option for similar capability. The Raging Judge is capable of running standard .45 Colt rounds, as well as .454 Casull.

They offer five-inch and 6.5-inch options, which are fairly handy for anti-bear usage. Both have top relief porting to help fight muzzle rise and mitigate recoil.

Similarly to the Ruger, .45 Colt rounds will feel like a moderate loading of 9mm from a full-sized GLOCK or M&P.

Ported, 51 oz. (five-inch) or 53 oz. (6.5-inch) unloaded, five-round capacity, stainless frame and cylinder.

 

JR Note:  I personally don't care for Taurus brand guns but S&W, Ruger & Glock are some of my favorite brands.

4. Smith And Wesson Model 29 – .44 Magnum

This Smith comes in tons of variations as it has a 50+ year production history. My choices for barrel length would be five, six or 6.5 inches.

These lengths use up a significant percentage of the powder and are still fairly quick to access with the correct holster.

By dropping down to a .44 magnum, you are certainly giving up some power, but you are gaining a fair amount of controllability and (in most cases) an extra round.

Like the more powerful rounds mentioned above, bullet construction is very important. Using a JHP or a JSP very much defeats the purpose of deep penetration and the ability to crush thick bones.

This is a classic bear gun and is sure to get the job done.

Ported or non-ported, depending on the barrel +/- 45 oz, six-round capacity, stainless frame and cylinder.

CaliberProjectile WeightVelocityMuzzle Energy
.45 Colt225-Grain HC960 fps460 ft/lbs
.45 Colt255-Grain HC860 fps410 ft/lbs
.45 Colt300-Grain HCGC1250 fps1090 ft/lbs
.44 Magnum270-Grain LFNGC1475 fps1160 ft/lbs
.44 Magnum340-Grain HC-FN1425 fps1530 ft/lbs
.454 Casull300-Grain WFNGC1650 fps1820 ft/lbs
.454 Casull335-Grain WFNGC1600 fps1920 ft/lbs
.454 Casull360-Grain WFNGC1500 fps1800 ft/lbs
.454 Casull400-Grain WFNGC1400 fps1740 ft/lbs
.460 S&W260-Grain FNHC2000 fps2300 ft/lbs
.460 S&W300-Grain FNHC2060 fps2820 ft/lbs
.460 S&W360-Grain FNHC1900 fps2860 ft/lbs

Semi-Auto Pistols:

Please note there is a huge step down in power when you chose to carry a semi-auto for your bear gun. There is also a huge step up in capacity.

I live solidly in the camp that you will (at best) get off two to three rounds in a bear encounter, but there is something to be said for not having to buy a bear gun that costs +$1200.

A gun, that (if we are honest) doesn’t have a lot of use outside of bear country or bragging rights. With that in mind, here are the two best (common) choices.

Also note there are a lot more options and I am picking ones to highlight that are fairly common.

5. GLOCK 20/40 MOS

These are very similar guns. The GLOCK 40 is the long-slide 10mm Auto option and an optic option, where the 20 is the full/duty-sized firearm.

I greatly prefer the longer slide of the 40. The 6.02-inch barrel provides a bit more velocity as well as helping to mitigate recoil slightly better.

That extra 1.41 inches of barrel does make it a tad slower to draw, but let’s face it, I like almost anything in a long slide. Having an optic on the 40 is also a great thing.

Most people are much faster acquiring the dot compared to aligning sights, especially in a panic situation.

That might mean the difference between two and three shots, or proper placement of the first shot. This is a great choice for a semi-auto bear gun.

Yes, GLOCK also offers a 29 (subcompact 10mm). It is a tough gun for most people to shoot and that just isn’t an additional handicap you want when facing an angry bear.

Non-ported, 30.69 oz. (G20) or 35.45 oz. (G40) mag out, 15 + 1 capacity, polymer frame and steel slide.

GLOCK 20 and 1911 Bear Gun Pistols - bear country
The GLOCK 20 and 1911 both make for a great semi-automatic option for bear country.

6. .460 Rowland Conversions

GLOCK 21, 1911 with a Five-Inch or Six-Inch Slide, or a Springfield XDM – All with a .460 Rowland Conversion

These conversions are for a round that ups the pressure of .45 ACP from under 20k PSI, to roughly 40k psi. Using the 255-grain hard-cast bullet, it generates roughly 50% more velocity and double the energy of the venerable .45 ACP.

With just under 1000 ft/lbs of energy from five-inch barrels, you are closely approaching .44 magnum energy. Running a six-inch barrel will get you about 50-100 more ft/lbs of energy.

The GLOCK and Springfield offer more than double the capacity (13+1 and 14+1) of any .44 Magnum revolver, and the 1911 with an aftermarket mag offers 50% more capacity.

CaliberProjectile WeightVelocityMuzzle Energy
10mm Auto200-Grain WFNGC1300 fps735 ft/lbs
10mm Auto230-Grain WFNGC1120 fps641 ft/lbs
.460 Rowland255-Grain HC-FN1300 fps960 ft/lbs

Not 9mm, but If You Do…

If you are going to insist on carrying your GLOCK, Smith, H&K… 9mm Luger in bear country, please do so with heavy for caliber projectiles, perhaps Seismic Ammunition.

Seismic offers a 185-grain 9mm round. This has a lot more mass behind it and will have a much better chance of shattering tough bear bones and continuing to penetrate.

CaliberProjectile WeightVelocityMuzzle Energy
9mm Luger124-Grain HC1125 fps330 ft/lbs
9mm Luger147-Grain HC975 fps310 ft/lbs
9mm Luger185-Grain Seismic950 fps380 ft/lbs

Remember although the 124-grain bullet’s velocity gives it higher energy than the 147-grain bullet, that advantage dissipates quickly when pushing through dense tissue.

In most cases, the 147-grain bullet will shatter bones better and penetrate deeper. The 185-grain bullet should penetrate almost as well a 147-grain HC despite being designed to expand.

The extra 38 grains of weight will tend to balance the inertia vs. the expansion drag and provide a wider wound path. The 380 ft./lbs. does not even equate to .45 Colt loadings, but this might be the best choice if you choose to be under-gunned.

Conclusion: Best Bear Country Guns

Bear country encounters are much like concealed carry encounters. The need for your firearm is exceedingly rare, but when you need it, you need it RIGHT NOW and you need it to stop the threat.

In my opinion, carrying a 9mm in the bear woods is pretty close to carrying a .22 LR for self-defense. Yes, it is better than nothing, but it really is more about feeling good than being properly prepared.

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