jrfrmn
Rather than lug a heavy 454 or a 500 cal around,
Well, not to belabor my point ... I used to lug around a LARS Grizzly .45 Win/Mag and I
have a couple of .454's, too, BUT when I'm up at Talkeetna, AK ... it's my Smith 500 alllll
the way! 4" barrel and I can hit accurately at 50 yards every time ... the DA's been worked to
perfection and always filled with our Max. reloads ... and only NOW do I feel 'adequately protected'
from a Grizzly charge ... I think!
Armed only with a .45 ACP you'd probably have to ram it down the griz's throat and empty the
magazine for good effect - maybe even TWO!
A grizzly's skull is nicely armored at 1 1/2" in places. He's strong enough to (literally) knock a
horse's head off with one swipe. He charges with head down making for a much smaller target
than you'd think and he can run through you as easily as an F-150 can in a 45Mph. zone! He is
also a smart and wary stalker and can come up on the careless city slicker just as quietly as a
pussy cat.
I once was told a story, in a bar, by the local RCMP officer - in Dawson, YK - who was chased around
his living room - he and the wife - by a big grumpy griz who had come out of hybernation early - Feb. I
think - because of a mouth of abscessed teeth (bears don't die of old age, they die because of bad teeth)
and the ONLY thing that saved him (Mr. RCMP) was a ricochet off of one of his huge canines up into the
soft pallet into the bear's brain by the last of six .44 Mags. fired into his pursuer at close range! One shot in
a billion as the officer was fully airborne ... sailing across the kitchen towards a closed back door! His
story, already heard by his fellow knucks in the bar a thousand times, brought the house down ... and
impressed yours truly, into buying a 500 just as soon as it hit the market!
During the summer I never 'leave cabin' without it! ... and ... you know ... for the good feelings of well being
and self-preservation ... it ain't
THAT heavy!
