Actually, I have no idea of what the best gun for dinosaurs is – the closest thing I could find to a dino would be a Komodo dragon or a crocodile, and neither species hangs out in my part of Montana. In any part of Montana to be annoyingly specific.
This time, after a bit of dental surgery, I wound up listening to some experts discussing the best sidearm for a Grizzly attack. Speechless, I could only listen to the relative advantages of a 10 mm versus a 44 magnum. And I couldn’t help thinking that the conversation would be like me recommending a gun to use on a T. rex. There is not handgun nor rifle that I consider adequate for a T. rex. On the other hand, the T. rex fossils found in Montana’s Hell Creek formation date back 66 million years before my time. If it’s been that long since a T. rex lived in Montana, I don’t expect to see one in my neighborhood.
Griz and black bear are something else. Fortunately, there are a lot of experts out there to tell me what to pack. Some claim my old 1911 Colt is just too underpowered for the real bear. The couple of times when I’ve held a fist full of Colt pointed at a Grizzly, I’ve agreed. Once it was a 45 auto, once a 357 magnum, and each time I was relieved when the bear decided that neither of us wanted a fight that day. Some of the experts suggest that I need a 500 magnum Smith and Wesson. From the ballistic tables they may be right – I get the impression that it has about as much power as my old 03a3 Springfield. I also get the feeling that the damn thing would kill whatever was in front of it while crippling whoever was behind it.
So I think the most valuable defense against a Grizzly – or a black bear – has been my blue eyes. The times when I’ve been close to a bear, I saw them before they saw me. Some of those times, it helped to have a little black and white dog looking for them along with me. At any rate, seeing a grizzly is much less exciting when you see him first.
So my considered view of the situation – from the first grizzly I encountered at 13 to the present – is that the most effective thing I have for safety in bear encounters, be they black bear or grizzly is my mark one, unassisted eyeball. I suspect there are a lot of times when the bear saw me first, and just moved away. In times when I saw the bear first, I could calmly stand my ground, inadequate pistol in my hand, calmly talking to the bear – something respectful, like “Please Mr. Bear, I don’t want any trouble, but if it comes to it, I will put five of the best through you. Please be a good bear and walk the other way. We will both be a lot happier that way.” It’s not a particularly heroic speech, but a little courtesy isn’t misplaced when I’m a few feet away from my area’s apex predator.
That said, when you’re maybe a dozen feet from 400+ pounds of Grizzly, you know something the ballistics tables can’t tell you. If you can carry it on your hip, your revolver isn’t adequate for the encounter. Still, I’ve always been a slow runner – my revolver, or my 1911, has given me something to hold in the times when I didn’t know how the bear was going to respond. I knew I would stand my ground, and push come to shove start putting bullets into the bear. Generally that has been enough.
It is probably the same for dinosaurs. So long as I see the potential threat first, my inadequate Colt lets me face it calmly. My first protection from the bear is seeing it first. The Colt helps me stand my ground – even if the 38 cartridges in it aren’t enough for Grizzlies or Dinosaurs.
Leave a Reply