Here is a presentation from BYU Professor Tom Smith, he indeed a Grizzly expert. (As you watch, note the composition of the audience, their general character as well as where they will be working and with whom. All these people get to use is “Bear Spray” so to a degree the audience needs confidence in their one tool. You sure as hell wouldn’t want one of these people at your six during a fight.
Late in the program he discussed the use of firearms as defensive weapons and unlike the data tossed out earlier in this thread by some guy who referred to himself as “Griz” earlier, Smith’s data showed the success rate for the use of long guns during a Grizzly attack was barely over 60% for obvious reasons: the range at which attacks occur do not favor rifles, particularly since damn near everyone is adorned with glass these days. (My 45-70 Marlins are “unadorned” except the sights were changed out to Skinners (St. Ignatius, Mt.)
Au contraire to what “Griz” claimed, the evidence Dr. Smith presented for the success of handgun defense was well into the upper 80% range for obvious reasons. You can get it on target and you aren’t working a bolt for round two. By the way, avoid single actions. During an attack, you may be lucky just to keep pulling the trigger. My wife (of 39 years) and I carry .44 magnums loaded with 305 grain hard casts, with myself sporting a nickeled 4″ I bought “New in Blue Velvet Lined Walnut Presentation Case” for $255.00 in 1973 back when that caliber and model were playing “hard to get.” As you might imagine, that piece and I are close friends. We live in Griz country, are surrounded on all four sides by National Forest, have been charged several times but dead-serious charged once and that one I actually dropped literally at my feet using an 870 Remington w/short barrel-extended mag that I’ve had since 1980, loaded with rifled slugs with the Smith on my hip.
Nevertheless, the numbers “Griz” threw out are wrong. Big handguns and Hard Cast bullets. Period.
