Alaska Bear Guide with Spomer

kneedeep

kneedeep

Hammer Time Executive member
I ran across this discussion this morning with Ron Spomer and an Alaskan brown bear guide. With the recent discussions about the brown bear hunts underway, I thought some would be interested. It’s long but a great interview. I didn’t make it through the entire thing yet. This bear guide would be a great candidate for hammers @Steve Davis


Kneedeep
 
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I listened to this as well. It verified something that I have thought for some time, and should probably reevaluate my handgun choice. I currently carry a S&W 329PD 44 Mag. It is light and nice to carry, but DAMN does it have some recoil! I'm sure I'd be more profeccient with a lighter recoiling hand cannon.
 
All of you who are thinking of hunting an Alaskan brown bear need to go to a museum or someplace that has one on display. Those suckers are huge. I was in a pickup truck and we accidently drove to about 200 yards of one rooting for a marmot. When it heard the truck, it backed out of the hole it was digging, turned around and stood upright. Since we were weaponless and in a 'tin can' of a truck we could hardly get it into reverse fast enough.
Moose, caribou and black bears...ok but I then developed the greatest respect for and no desire to try to down an Alaskan brownnie.
 
Nothing spectacular. They flopped onto the ground and waited for us to leave (we were between them & the river that they eat salmon out of)
 
spokenfly said:
I listened to this as well. It verified something that I have thought for some time, and should probably reevaluate my handgun choice. I currently carry a S&W 329PD 44 Mag. It is light and nice to carry, but DAMN does it have some recoil! I'm sure I'd be more profeccient with a lighter recoiling hand cannon.
Click to expand...
I just bought a graduation gift for a friend moving to bear country. His choice, but my input. Pick what feels good in your hand, something with a variety of loads available, especially less expensive practice rounds to go with "bear loads".

Choice a new model Colt Python .357.

I've seen a few black bears shot with a .44 it's definitely lethal, but a living few seconds in retreat is different than a few seconds in your face.

I don't think the time to tip over is more with a good load from a .357.

The last one I bought was a .44, but that fellow is a very accomplished hand gunner, and that was his choice. Still packing it in Alaska.
 
epags said:
All of you who are thinking of hunting an Alaskan brown bear need to go to a museum or someplace that has one on display. Those suckers are huge. I was in a pickup truck and we accidently drove to about 200 yards of one rooting for a marmot. When it heard the truck, it backed out of the hole it was digging, turned around and stood upright. Since we were weaponless and in a 'tin can' of a truck we could hardly get it into reverse fast enough.
Moose, caribou and black bears...ok but I then developed the greatest respect for and no desire to try to down an Alaskan brownnie.
Click to expand...

While I don’t doubt their size or that you are in awe of them I for one are fascinated by them.
It would be my dream trophy if I were prepared to brave the cold and part with the money required to hunt ann Alaskan Brown bear.
Something about dangerous game appeals to me and I don’t know why it just does.
 
Nobody ever wants to take a 30-30 on a brown bear hunt but have their bear stopper handguns. Don't get me wrong, the handgun is better than a knife! I'm not so sure the 9mm with deep penetrating bullets wouldn't be the best. Easy to shoot and lots of shots before you run out.
 
Steve Davis said:
Nobody ever wants to take a 30-30 on a brown bear hunt but have their bear stopper handguns. Don't get me wrong, the handgun is better than a knife! I'm not so sure the 9mm with deep penetrating bullets wouldn't be the best. Easy to shoot and lots of shots before you run out.
Click to expand...
And lots of practice to be GOOD with any handgun that is for personal protection.
 
The amount of ammo in any handgun is irrelevant IMO. Everything I have read from documented attacks is you have maybe 1-2 seconds before brownie is on top of you both distance and literally. Maybe 1-3 shots tops. At what efficacy? That translates to the best deepest penetrating cartridge I can carry reasonably.

Seems hard cast is preferred no matter what you choose.

Me? These are a few I would consider in a cross draw holster for easy fast access. There are obviously other big bad boys.
.44
.454
10MM
500S&W
500Linebaugh

I don't truly understand the thought concept of needing large magazine to stop a charging bear. These scenarios are 99% in extremely close dense cover without warning. If it's in wide open, rifle. If you are fishing, WTH are you walking thru this type of cover. I have cousin in AK, you stay the heck out of it in bear country. Walk extra distance to avoid. Making noise stated from a local is not always the best option from someone that has 3 .375's in his cabin. Sometimes alerting territorial bear can be dinner bell. There are NO hard and true tenets to follow except the one he follows. Stay out of dense cover. If blood trailing, he wouldn't unless at least 3 people. 2 at 100% ready 100% of time. No time off until you are back out in wide open. You just cannot take 1 second off, just remember they can hit 35-40 in close quarters.

IMO you need a cartridge that just has the juice to drive deep into the critter. This is a really good simulation of an attack.

 
@Muddyboots

You make some great points. Except the extra shots in a magazine, other than possibly the first or second shots, are for when the bear is on top of you. Depending on the situation, you most likely won’t have time to draw a pistol from a holster. Especially considering interior grizzly and the habitat they live in. The guide’s account in the podcast is an example. He didn’t shoot a charging bear, even with his gun in hand, knowing it was coming. He shot a bear that was stopped and already on top of people. His account is unique to other accounts I’ve been told during my travels in Alaska because the bear wasn’t chewing on the people.

Below is a grizzly charge I filmed many years ago.
We had a great guide that knew the likelihood of a charge in this situation and had his gun in hand. If this would have been a surprise charge, my guess is we’d have all been swimming when the claws hit the rubber raft. Well some of us would have been swimming.

Kneedeep
 
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