Wounded Bear & the .41-cal; Jackets, velocity & Hard-Cast... the retrieval effort

[725]

A few years ago my friend was mauled by a griz. After she worked on him for awhile, she turned to her cubs and that's when he was finally able to bring his .41 mag Ruger single action forth. DRT. He was very lucky to survive.

[RJM52]

Very nice job and a great story...

Was wondering, and maybe I missed it, what gun were you using?..

Bob

[ranchman]

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[RJM52]

Nice... I have one like it. David Clements made a 7.5" USFA Shooting Master in .357 into a 5.5" .41 Special.

Have only been running the Lee/Keith 250 grain bullet with 8.0 of Unque. Have not clocked it yet but should be around 1050 fps.

Bob

[popper]

Friend immobilized a 100# pig but it took 3 40SW shots to the head to keep it from watching us. He did 2, I did one in the ear to finally stop the wiggling. It's just a pig but?

[ranchman]

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[ranchman]

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[missionary5155]

Greetings
Read it again and still... well done.
I understand the issues with 41 Special and the loss of case capacity. What you have seems to work real well so as the ol' fruit farmer in SW Michigan told us over and over "if it aint broke don't fix it sonny" .
But in real 41 mag I am gonna stick to the 265's and up as the Blackhawks and Dan Wesson do so well with them. 280-285 is what I would want to go brush hunting things with teeth and/or claws. Actually the BFR in 475 would give me that much more peace.
Mike in Peru

[popper]

Ranchman - That's the number 1 thing going against the 40's in my opinion. Not from 2' away, makes NO difference. My point is some animals just don't know how to quit. Nothing against the 41, just don't have or need one. We only get tail end shots on a 20mph target but he did change from 115gr 9mm to 180 40SW for better performance.

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

I believe the .41 mag has long been underrated, and living in the shadow of the .44 mag. I'm not sure the bear in this case could have told the difference.

If I ever have to crawl into thick brush to follow up a black bear or feral hog, I would prefer to have my EAA Witness 10mm. 14 in the magazine and one in the barrel. Additionally, it has night sights that also pick up more light in the daytime, making it much for my aging eyes to see.

[ranchman]

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[missionary5155]

Good morning
Well wrote ranch man !
Years back all we had was a couple 38 specials and a RBH 44 mag. Happy as could be ! Then found our first Dan Wesson 357 mag. What a fine revolver. Then DW made the excellent 41 mags. Most accurate revolver we have yet ever owned.
Got comparing real Chrono veleocities with 240 grainers and 265 grainers in the 41 Mag (.410) Dan 8" and the .44 Mag (.43 actual) and realized there was no difference. Out went the RBH as a friend wanted our 44 Mag and the 8" 41 Dan still is with us.
US Army conducted pendulum tests (real impact on target.. no math) and flat proved bullets of equal weight traveling at the same velocity smack with the same force. Dwell time does come into play. The narrower slug with penetrate farther. The fatter slug will dump energy faster. But when dealing with a diameter difference of .20 (.430 - .410- = .20) there is little practical difference.
Jumping from .41 to .45 does show gains faster. WE shoot 45 Colt and 454 Casull. Another reason we have no need for the good .44 (.430) Mag. But when a .475 Linebaugh BFR came available used and well priced... there was no hesitation to have a revolver that goes well beyond.
Tiger hunters in India understood this simple issue. The caliber.62 Howdah double pistols were excellent for shooting unhappy tigers at 10 feet.

So again as Ranchman so finely wrote... Whatever you have in hand.. just be sure it can get the job done under the worst conditions.
When we enter those bushes looking for a critter that hurts real bad and wants to exert revenge on anything that moves there is no "pause" button to push. It is you and beasty and at least one must die... just be sure it the total is not two.
Mike in Peru

[popper]

Whatever you have in hand.. just be sure it can get the job done under the worst conditions. 100% CORRECT.

[rbertalotto]

GREAT story...Love it!

I've shot three bears in my life. One with a 270, shot right through the shoulder, ran about 50 yards and died. This was Manitoba CA and very open landscape so easy to track. We started hunting Bears in Maine and in extremely thick vegetation. I saw friends shoot bears and lose them in this thick stuff. I decided head shots were the answer. I shot one with a 454 Casull with 240g XTP, right in the back of the head. Totally blowing his scull apart. He didn't move1
The next one was a 375 pounder and he looked right up into my tree stand, 83 yards away. I shot him right between the eyes with my own cartridge, "30 Something" out of my 14" Contender. He didn't go anywhere....

[ddixie884]

I don't know how I missed this. Good story jt..........

[Tripplebeards]

No matter what pistol boolit/bullet you use for self-defense on a Bear if you don’t hit in the head or the back bone it’s not gonna stop it imo. I’ve seen ALOT of black bear, small and large, run with lung and heart shots like they haven’t been hit even at magnum rifle velocities. For Self defense you better hit it right square in the head if you plan on dropping it. If not it’s gonna run just like the op experienced.

[rbuck351]

Have had a 41mag since about 1984 and have been wanting to try it on a bear or moose but never got the chance. Use to load a 225gr cast at 1480 but have been making 270gr jacketed bullets from 40 S&W cases that I load to 1200fps. Might try one on a deer but I don't expect any recoveries from any angle.

[Three44s]

I am a 44 guy, but I have a couple of 41’s I kind of fell into. You could say the cartridge found me!

As for 44’s I have two now, a Smith 4” MG and my original 44, a Stainless Redhawk 7.5”. My third 44 was a 9.5” SRH that got traded for a 7.5” SRH in 480 Ruger.

It is said that the 41’s have a bit tighter dimensions and may give it an accuracy edge but thousandths count. A bit more diameter and a bit more slug weight with the same pressure means a little more wound channel and horsepower. IMO, the 44 Mag has an edge.

I do not have a wheel gun in the 45 LC but if I did I would chose the classic Blackhawk or the tank built Redhawk. If I had began with a .45 LC in a 5.5” Redhawk I likely would have become a one large bore handgun owner. I went into the 40 something handguns looking for the ideal self-protection firearm for bears. My 7.5” Redhawk 44 was too long so my next was the Smith Mountain Gun in 44. Now I had a most packable gun but I was also bitten by the big bore revolver bug thanks to my Redhawk.

Then there is my 480!

The 475 bore revolvers are only surpassed by the 500 bore guns and they hurdle a 420 grain slug just as easily as a 44 does 280 grainers. We are talking going from a fat 1/2 oz of lead switching upto just shy of 1 oz. The 475 Linebaugh takes that bore size in a revolver to it’s pinnacle of performance.

You do use what you have when trouble hits. Every time you go to pack a gun you make a calculation of what the threat could likely be vs the job of packing what you chose for that journey.

Three44s

[sixshot]

Enjoyed your story, you stayed as calm as possible & you were focused, pretty important! That 41 magnum is under rated by a lot of people but not by those who use one, they are very effective with correct loads. And I also kind of went off the rails when you said your friend was unloading his gun, yikes! I kind of like them dead before I tag them.
Almost any hit seems to knock a bear down, don't know why but they go down & then bounce back up & then you just might have a rodeo on your hands, it's best to kill them before photo's & unloading the guns! Great story!

Dick

[41mag]

Been a fan of the 41 magnum since before I was old enough to buy one. Purchased a 3 screw flat top on my 21st BD from a pawn shop and had a ball. I traded it off on a RH and never looked back. It has worked its magic time after time on feral hogs and white tails.

Your adventure is so close to what my friend and I did for years with multitudes of hogs I was literally thinking ahead as I read your account. Thick overgrown river bottom is a hogs Disneyland. They have everything they need to thrive. We have literally gone through the tunnels they made in an effort to reduce the population as much as possible. There's no room for running, or maneuvering in there, you stand your ground and you shoot straight or get run over, cut to pieces or both.

We've pulled out some that were over 400#and a lot that were 250-350. Most who went with us thought we were nuts or worse but it was a need that had to be fulfilled in order to help curb the damage being done.

My standard load used 20.5gr of 296 under the Remington 200gr JHP for just over 1300fps from the long barreled RH. Only recently in the past few years have I been casting for it. I have to say though, the moderate velocity of that load those Rem bullets have never let me down. Up close or out past 100yds they just work.

Those hogs are real similar to those bears, most times the hide and fat plug entrance and exits for little to no trail. They also have a bad habit of looking real dead but only waiting for a chance to get away. Throw in a half dozen or so of juiced up dogs and things can get really crazy and over penetration becomes a real issue. That's where the handgun really shines, quick to aim, point, or shove right up against if necessary and not have collateral damage.

Glad everyone came through with only a lesson learned verses what could have been a painful experience.