Next week is my yearly trek above tree line in the Rockies to do some solo mountain biking for several days...historically I borrow an AK-47 for protection, (I sleep in the bed of my truck) but that resource is gone....which leaves me with my .38 and I have wadcutters for ammo. If it comes down to it, and I meet Mr. Bear. in the middle of the night..how fvcked am I????
Will a .38 stop a bear?
- Thread starter litespeedhuskerfan_rivals19671
- Start date
Let me clarify imo. A .38 won't kill a bear but could stop him/her but then again maybe not. Is a gun legal to carry where you are??
I wouldn't want a bear close enough to me where a .38 would kill it because it would at close range in the right spot.
Again, my opinion
I’m thinking 30-06 or 30-30 or bigger rifle possibly a 10mm hand gun or 44 mag. I have a 45 acp I don’t know if I’d try it. If that’s all you have is a 38 you go down swinging
Was in Glacier NP in June and was charged by a grizzly. Wife deployed bear spray and it stopped him. I'm a big believer in it now. Black bears in Colorado are usually hauling *** away from people as fast as they can on the trail, but love to dig through trash if you leave it out
I was in Cabela's last night looking at some tactical 20 gauges...would go slug, shell, slug, etc in the chamber...I may still get one before I go. Thoughts on a 20 slug??
there are no brown bears in CO
*please ignore mid-summer vids in Northern and Northwestern CO literally showing brown bears charging
generally speaking, above tree line (10k ft+), shouldn't be an issue. black bear ever present. mountain lions are the most dangerous but you'll be dead before you know they're after you, so that's nice.
Colorado bears are much smaller.
Some carry a hand cannon with ,410 slugs.
In all seriousness though, bear spray is widely used up here as first line of defense.
Black bears are much different than grizzlies. More inclined to mess with humans.
Most dangerous animal in the CO mtns in my opinion is moose, and they are very common.
I run into them but they seem to have no interest in mountain bikers to date...or at least me anyway.
Had a black bear in my camp in RMNP about 20 years ago. Was 3am, I am a light sleeper, especially in the woods. Heard it as it walked by my tent and its fur brushed the tent next to my wife's side. Heard it go over to our packs and start smashing them around. It booked it out of there once my buddies unzipped their tent. We were dumb and hung our bear bag too close to our camp because there was already a log stuck up in a tree for that purpose, and we opted to go with that one, even though it was too close. Also had sugary crap in our water bottles and the bear made quick work of those by climbing the tree they were hanging on and biting into them. No guns allowed in National Parks. Id say stick to the bear spray, and make sure you have ALL your food put away or stored away from camp or in really good coolers. Maybe borrow a truck shell?
having that bear in our camp has basically ruined me for life for sleeping in bear country. I will and can still do it, but I dont get much sleep.
having that bear in our camp has basically ruined me for life for sleeping in bear country. I will and can still do it, but I dont get much sleep.
Depends on where the bullet hits and how many time you hit it. Black bear it would probably discourage. Grizzly it might just piss off. Bear spray is probably a better deterrent. We usually carried a 44 in grizzly territory. Solo I’ve just carried a .38 more to scare the damned things off than to kill them. Never had to use one. 30 years ago in the boundary waters I would have used one if I had it. Toooooo close with a 5 year old in my tent.
Personally I wouldn’t bike in known bear and lion territory unless it was on major wide open trails. A moving bike is just a cue for a predatory animal to chase.
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Was just hiking in CO, and saw 2 moose about 20 feet from the trail in the trees just walking around eating plants. They acted like they didn’t even see us. I told my son who was filming them, “if the bull turns towards you acting irritated, move away slowly. If it charges run and try to climb something to get out of its way”. We didn’t stick around and watch them very long.
I used to have an AWD Toyota Sienna I slept inside of...always felt plenty safe inside a van, with an AK...dang I wished I still had that van. It was badass...installed a HUGE stereo system in it...moonroof...it was pretty sweet. I miss that van so much, especially when I do this trip.....beats the heck out of this set up, especially if it rains////hahaha
When you read some of the replies/advice here, you won't be able to sleep anyway.
if a moose charges, run in circles around trees
they don't have much of a turn radius but they're fast as hell in a straight line
no.
but, then again, they usually aren't around after to tell their tale like people who are mauled by black bear.
mtn lions will drag a 200lb man straight up vertical cliffs.
I'm sure you already know, but you do not have to worry about brown/grizzly bear in CO. wolves are back, though, if you're anywhere north of Long's Peak
Im good. I'm 210 now.no.
but, then again, they usually aren't around after to tell their tale like people who are mauled by black bear.
mtn lions will drag a 200lb man straight up vertical cliffs.
I'm sure you already know, but you do not have to worry about brown/grizzly bear in CO. wolves are back, though, if you're anywhere north of Long's Peak
.38 so I'm assuming you have a 6 or 7 shot revolver.
Would work if you empty the cylinder in vital areas. Otherwise, you're food.
Would work if you empty the cylinder in vital areas. Otherwise, you're food.
There have been only 25 known mountain lion attacks on humans in CO since 1990. Risk of animal attack while biking is tiny. Risk of crashing due to encountering stupid or inconsiderate people is a different story
You will be fine. This looks amazing BTW. Never done mountain biking on those trails but did a couple trips to taylor park riding dirtbikes up there. pretty gnarly stuff. Had to push the bikes up some trails, never been so sore in my life. Wish I had the money and time to get back into it before Im too oldI used to have an AWD Toyota Sienna I slept inside of...always felt plenty safe inside a van, with an AK...dang I wished I still had that van. It was badass...installed a HUGE stereo system in it...moonroof...it was pretty sweet. I miss that van so much, especially when I do this trip.....beats the heck out of this set up, especially if it rains////hahaha