Has anyone actually USED a handgun in self defence against a dangerous game animal?

If so what cal.? where did your rounds hit? Did you actually get a 2nd shot off?

While I'm more interested in storys in the 1st person. Those A friend of Friend of a man that was hunting in the most remote place on earth with no witness told me....are always interesting to.

That depends on what you consider a dangerous game animal. If you accept a wounded warthog in dense bush than yes. Two shots with 44mag 240gr copperplated cast bullets loaded to 1400f/s stopped the charge immediately. Hits were in the head missing the brain but injuring the spine and in the shoulder. Distance was 5-7 meters.

I had a grizzly come in on me when I was cleaning a moose in 1987 and I shot him the secound shot with a 475 Linebaugh and it flaatened him

jwp - The 1st round? what happened? How close was the griz?

the first shot was fired by my hunting partner with a 338 from about 10 yards the bear went down and imediately got up and turned I fired and hit him behind the ribs on line with the off shoulder and all 4 leggs went strait out [spread eagle] and he never got up again The shot was quite impressive to say the least

not a game animal Shot a large pit bull with an attitude at close renge with a 10mm, in the head and out the rear leg, very dead. Also shot a 200+ pound boar in the shoulder and ribs,,,good instinctive shooting double tap at 20 feet without aiming,,,pig scared the shit outa me, I thought it was my cat making noise untill it was that close. The rib shot exited the other side and the shoulder shot lodged in the off shoulder after going through both shoulder blades. Pig was trotting toward me and turned when I drew so not really defensive

My first wild boar hunt at Tellico Jctn. with Joe Meeks. We were hunting with dogs. They got on a large boar (later weighed 291 lbs). The boar was fighting with the dogs. As I walked up the boar saw me and forgot about the dogs and here he came from about 20 yrds with his Irish up. I was using a Ruger 44 mag with 250 Keith bullet @ 1300 fps. In the time it took me to get a bead on the boar he was so close that I had to shoot almost straight down. I was going for a head shot but missed hitting the spine behind the head. The boar dropped at my feet. At the time I was kinda on auto-pilot, but once it was over a drink tasted pertty good.......JJ

I have drawn my handgun on several close encounters of the bear kind. In most of these cases, the encounter happened because I hiked around a bend in the trail and came face to face with a bear, or worse yet, momma bear and baby bear. Usually what happens is hiker and bear exchange pleasantries and then both decide to make a hasty retreat.

One time a bear kept me awake all night circling my camp and popping his jaws. I thought that was unusually aggressive for a black bear. I never actually saw him and wondered if I was imagining things but got my answer after returning from a hike the following day to find my sleeping bag and mattress shredded, and dents and scratches on the cab of my truck. Apparently the bear had used the cab for a trampoline. There was absolutely no food in the camp so to this day I don't know what that bear was up to. That was near an area that had been used for baiting bears (by someone other than myself) for many years. Maybe he thought I was trespassing on his property or maybe he had a score to settle with humans.

On several other occasions bears have destroyed my camp but fortunately for both me and the bear, I was not present to witness the event.

I've never had to fire a shot in these off-season encounters but it sure felt good having a 357 in my hand, and yes, the snubby was in hand before the bear could say "woof".

There was a hunter attacked by a griz last fall near Jackson Hole. He was carrying a rifle but never got off a shot when he encountered the bear at spitting distance. He never offered an explanation for why he didn't shoot, but if he was like most hunters he had the rifle slung over his shoulder.

When I am carrying a rifle I always carry it in my hands, ready to use. For protection during off-season hiking trips, I used to tote a 4" 44 in a hip holster but the 44 was always rubbing against the packframe, so nowdays I favor a 357 snubby carried in a hip pocket. Many people who carry a gun for bear defense make the mistaking of choosing a big, heavy gun that ends up in their backpack or in a shoulder holster that is covered by a jacket. A gun is not going to help you in a bear attack unless you can get to it quickly.

In 1964 my Dad's best friend, Toar Marston, got into a tussel with a medium sized black bear on the back stoop of our hunting camp. The bear was making off with our cooler and Toar grabbed the handle and yanked it away. When the bear came after it again, he hit it between the eyes with....get this...an APPLE!!

Bear ran like hell.

I would too. Toar served under Patton and is the sole survivor of 3 tank crews. He was never even a bit frightened by the bear and laughed loudly throughout the entire event.

God rest his soul...

An apple!!!! LOL!!!! Damn, Sabot, that obviously took some stones. I would pay to see something like that!

Yes in 2002 while my son and i were hunting Brownies. He had gotten his two days earlier, and we had spotted a large old boy while on our second trip back to his kill to bring out the rest of our hunting gear. We planned a hunt for him on our way back. The very next morning after a few hours of looking we saw him about 300 yds away. After a 4 hour stalk we got a surprise, he moved more than we thought he would have and was in the spot we thought he would be but much earlier than we expected. I got off two rounds and junior one.The .475 Linebaughs made quick work of old slewfoot. My first round hit him in his left shoulder, passed through and exited behind his off shoulder, the second round him him square in his left ear. Jr's first and last one hit about 1/2 inch to the left of my head shot.The firing started at about 30 paces and it lasted maybe 5 seconds. We got our moneys worth. It sounds more exciting than it realy was , the first round knocked the fight out of him long enough for the second to finish him and Jr's hit was the icing on the cake. If were a cape or hip i think it would have turned out much differently. Charlie

I was guiding a hunter in South Texas. He wounded a hog that ran into the brush. I was following the trail when I looked up and saw the hog coming at me. I did a quick draw and hit the hog square between the eyes while having jumped about three feet in the air. The gun was a 1911 style STI .38 super. Good thing I hit the first shot cause little did I know but the magazine had slipped out when I had been seated in the jeep. I can only guess that somehow the magazine release got pressed while riding around. Now I carry a revolver.

SHot a wild doberman with a 454 Ruger. I don't know if he was just thirsty or if he was rabid, but he was awfully mean and was drooling something awefull. I dug a trench with my backhoe about 8 feet deep and burried him within the hour.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Sabot:
In 1964 my Dad's best friend, Toar Marston, got into a tussel with a medium sized black bear on the back stoop of our hunting camp. The bear was making off with our cooler and Toar grabbed the handle and yanked it away. When the bear came after it again, he hit it between the eyes with....get this...an APPLE!!

Now I need to get a granny smith for a backup

here in Alaska I keep a Loaded 12 ga Ithaca 37 Deerslayer 20" loaded with brenneke Mag 1-1/8 oz slugs....for home and camping protection. Handguns for bear protection are for shooting over the bears head or the pistol stays under my pillow while camping/sleeping only.