|
[ Return to Contents
| Post a Reply
| Post a new message
]
Study of pistol effectiveness against bears
Posted by Xtroll on Nov 16 2004
Excerpts from 1983 Study by the US Dept of Agriculture
"Safety in Bear Country: Protective Measures and Bullet Performance at Short Range" by William R. Meehan and John F. Thilenius
.44 Remington Magnum. - The .44 Remington Magnum load fired from a
handgun ranked 32 compared with loads fired from rifles and the 12-gauge shotgun but ranked first compared with other handgun cartridges (table 1). It was included with the rifle cartridges for
comparison purposes only and was ranked by the rifle and shotgun attributes. In overall performance it was similar to the 8 mm Remington Magnum 220-gr bullet and the .300 Winchester Magnum 180-gr bullet. The 240-gr lead gas-check bullet held together well, penetrated more than 11 inches, and expanded moderately well.
Only the low energy value reduced its ranking in the rifle and shotgun category.
The .44 Remington Magnum was by far the best handgun cartridge. Two
bullets (240-gr lead gas-check; 240-gr jacketed soft-point) were tested in revolvers with 5, 6.5-, and 7.5-inch barrels. No substantial difference was observed between the velocities of the
two bullets in the same length of barrel. but the lead gas-check bullet ranked higher overall in ballistic performance than did the jacketed soft-point bullet. The lead gas-check bullet ranked 1, 2,
and 4. Generally, the lead gas-check bullet expanded well and retained almost all its original weight. The jacketed soft-point bullet had somewhat greater average penetration, but also much greater variation in penetration than the lead gas-check bullet.
It also had slightly greater striking energy.
The superiority of the .44 Remington Magnum makes it the cartridge choice for a backup weapon. A revolver using this cartridge should not be considered a primary weapon for protection from bears.
The slight difference in overall ballistic performance between long and short barrels makes a revolver with a short barrel just as effective as one with a longer barrel. A short-barreled revolver
is lighter, easier to carry, and may be drawn from a holster more quickly. Carried in a cross draw or shoulder holster, a short-barreled .44 Magnum revolver is at hand at all times. When work requires both hands, a rifle is often put aside. A rifle a few feet away is useless for protection from bears, but a handgun can be useful. Although much practice is necessary to become
proficient with a shoulder arm, even more practice is required to attain competence with a handgun.
.357 S&W Magnum, .41 Remington Magnum, .44 S&W Special, .45 Auto,
.45 Colt.
The overall ballistic performance of these handgun cartridges
was much poorer than that of the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge. They
were included in the test because they are commonly owned by many persons working in coastal Alaska and might be carried in the field. With one possible exception, we do not recommend them, even for backup protection. The exception is the .41 Remington Magnum. We
were unable to obtain the high-velocity, jacketed 210-gr bullet factory load for our tests. This loading may be suitable for backup use because its ballistics are closer to those of the .44 Remington
Magnum than are any of the other cartridges The .357 S&W Magnum was the best of the other handgun cartridges, but it was much less effective in all categories than the .44 Remington Magnum. The factory bullets of the .44 S&W Special, the .41 Remington
Magnum, and the .45 Colt were nonjacketed lead. At their low striking
energies, these bullets did not expand. Consequently, penetration was relatively deep. The full-jacketed bullets used in the .45 Auto also penetrated deeply but did not expand.
Based on our tests, four cartridge-bullet combinations appear superior for protection against bears:
* .458 Winchester Magnum, 510-gr soft-point bullet.
For a shooter who can handle the recoil of this cartridge, a bolt-action rifle in .458 Winchester Magnum is the surest weapon available.
* .375 H & H Magnum, 300-gr softpoint bullet. The recoil of a rifle in this caliber, although considerably less than that of the .458 Magnum, is still severe for many people. Our tests indicate that the 270-gr soft-point bullet in this caliber is only slightly less effective than the 300-gr bullet and has only slightly less recoil.
* .338 Winchester Magnum, 300-gr bullet.
This combination appears to be a good choice. Recoil is somewhat less
than that of the .375 Magnum, and our tests indicated that effectiveness would not be much less than that of the .375 Magnum. If the 300-gr bullet cannot be obtained, the 200-gr bullet should be
used.
.30-06, 220-gr bullet.
Mild recoil, compared with that of the large- and medium-bore cartridges, even in a lightweight rifle, makes this cartridge a
strong contender for shooters who are sensitive to recoil. The .30-06 also has other advantages. It can be found in several rifle actions - bolt, pump (slide), semiautomatic - and can be obtained as, or customized into, a short, handy, lightweight weapon.
Our tests of the performance of bullets at short range were conducted by shooting into a uniform test medium, not into brown bears. The medium did not have a thick, wet coat of hair; thick,
resilient skin; dense muscle tissue; or heavy bones; and it was not angry and excited. Consequently, the validity of the tests may not be directly applicable to a real situation involving a bear. Nevertheless, we believe the tests were a good relative evaluation of bullets shot at short range and can be used to compare different cartridges and bullets Two major points can be inferred from our tests: (1) none of the many different types of bullets tested was
completely adequate, and (2) high striking velocities may not be particularly beneficial at short range. The best results were from bullets relatively heavy for their caliber fired at moderate velocity. Many experienced people have also observed this: we have verified their observations under controlled conditions.
Previous: Bear pistol PatrickH Oct 15 2003
Next: Wife Protection Joe Oct 18 2003
 Message Thread:
|
