guns

Ever run into a bear in the woods, a mama with two babies in tow? Ever had a bear wander in your dog door? Ever had a mad assed dog chase you down the street? I have experienced all these things and I like with odds better with a gun than without.

I have no illusions. My mother raised mountain lions from the bottle. I've wrestled them in her living room. And got my ass thoroughly whipped fasted than I could react. I get it.

And then there are the 2-legged animals. There was a hunter last fall that would have kicked my ass in a second if I hadn't been open carrying. LOL, he was so mad he was shaking, but he was also very polite.

I can't view your video, because YouTube has made a change that breaks all of the Invidious/Tubular clients I use.

You're so right, though. Handguns are almost useless against wildlife. They're good for one thing, and that's shooting people. It's what they're designed for. Much smaller, and you're lucky to hit it; much larger, and it's either an ambush predator you have no chance against, or something that's only going to get pissed off by being shot. The one useful thing a gun will do against wildlife can be done better with an air horn.

It reminds me of the old joke (which has nothing to do with guns): how do you tell the difference between a black and brown bear? The brown bear is wearing pots and pans and smells like bear spray.

There's a really good article out there about .357 magnum marketing from 50 years ago, and how it was pushed as being a "grizzly killer," but in reviewing the claims the authors found that the only recorded .357 grizzly kills were by hunters with specialized, long-barrel revolvers, hot loads, and on bears that were busy doing something else. The article claimed that, in most cases, even if you got multiple rounds into the bear, even if the bear died it would be long after it had finished mauling you to death.

I was backpacking in Northern Idaho for a few years running, which has both mountain lions and grizzly, and seriously considered bringing my 686+. After reading up on it to see if it were worth investing in a Pelican case and the TSA PITA, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't, for the reasons above.

I'd say it still has value against anything even up to a size of a bear- not because you could kill a bear with a handgun but because pretty much all animals are really scared of gunshots. Not that you would need a handgun, you could use a bear-banger or whatever.

Plus, the G27 has a comically small grip. If you're trying to pick a gun for machismo, that's like slipping into a rainbow mesh T-shirt before you hit the club to prove you're not gay.