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frostop said:
Had an XD in my hands yesterday, felt a lot like the USP!!
Anyone got a RUGER?

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I had a M1911 .45 colt about 7 years ago but had it stolen from my car (it was a sweet gun). I later purchased a .45 P97 and a 9mm P89 and loved everything about them until I sold them. After spotting 2 bears and 2 cougars in a 2 month period late last year while fishing/hunting, I decided to get another gun since my son was going out in the woods with me often. I was looking at getting a revolver, either a 357mag or 44mag, but I decided to get a P345 for rapid fire and ammo capacity. I ended up settling on another P97 thought since I found a good deal on one in good condition. It was my favorite of the three I owned previously.

The colt 1911 was a good gun, but I really wanted something smaller in size but with power for protection (bears, cougars, home invading tweakers). I like the P97 because it has enough power to take down the black bears here in WA if needed, yet small enough that a woman could comfortably use it. Perfect companion when you are sharing a fishing hole with bears. Plus it is a very tough and affordable piece.

I was just reading about a mini 1911 style 9mm the other day. Much smaller than the full sized version. I wouldn't mind having a minisized 1911 .45cal.

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Atheism is a non-prophet organization
There's nothing quite as rewarding as teaching a poacher to swim with waders on!
Half-Time Student
Full-Time Employed
Double-Time Daddy
I miss fishing.....

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Tony1831 said:It has an ambidextruous de-cocking mechanism, so even Fishhog could shoot it, being wrong-handed and all.

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fishhog said:
I'm very good at "Multi Tasking". That and I use my weiner to move the mouse with a beer in one hand and my GF's boob in he other
PS: I can type 20 wpm with that thing

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Hmm.... I am also left handed, but I use right handed scissors, kick balls with my right foot, and reel right-handed (except for spinning reels. I use those left-handed).

I used to type and control the mouse with my wiener too, but I gummed up the keyboard and track-ball one too many times...

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Atheism is a non-prophet organization
There's nothing quite as rewarding as teaching a poacher to swim with waders on!
Half-Time Student
Full-Time Employed
Double-Time Daddy
I miss fishing.....

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NickVellios said: I like the P97 because it has enough power to take down the black bears here in WA if needed, yet small enough that a woman could comfortably use it.

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cupo said:After seeing several bears shot with typical duty calibers he concluded the .45 was worthless on bears.

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If a well placed 450 grain arrow at 200fps can drop a bear in a few dozen yards, a .45cal hollow-point is sure to do the trick. I know bears are tough, but vital organs are vital organs and bears are no super-creature. 8 rounds in 2 seconds, each expanding and destroying all tissue for several inches around the bullet will drop any animal. I've seen 1,000lb elk drop in 15yds from a well-placed arrow shot from a 1970's model bow that probably shot around 200fps.

Look at Fred Bear. Back in the 70's he was shooting a very primitive bow with no sights and no arrow rest and probably had a 45lb draw and less than 200fps. He had already taken almost every huntable big game species in the world and he was a very old man at that point. Think of what bow he was shooting when he was younger.

The point is, I can have decent rapid-fire power in a fairly compact and reliable package. If you had to choose between a .22cal, or no gun at all in bear country, what would you choose? I'd choose the .22cal and if it came down to me having 3 seconds until I got mauled, I would start firing rounds until the clip was empty, and would be glad I had something on me. Would I start firing that .22 if I had a feeling the bear may just walk away? No way, I would risk pissing it off. But you get where I am coming from.

A friend of mine, and property owner of some land I hunt in the Port Angeles area has had so many problems with deer that she got a cheapo little 275fps pistol air pellet gun to scare them away. She shot at one once and it ran a bit then stopped. She saw a small trickle of blood coming out it's ribs. She didn't think much of it until her husband found a dead deer in their field later that day. That pellet dodged the ribs and tagged the heart or lungs enough to kill the animal. 1 in 1,000,000 shot, but you would never believe it was possible.

A .45 has the power. One shot may have to be good/lucky to drop it, but single-action and a light trigger will be sufficient with several rounds.

I do agree a larger gun like a .44mag or bigger revolver would be a better bear gun, but I am partial to the semi-auto .45ACP for other reasons like target shooting and protection outside of the wilderness.



--------------------
Atheism is a non-prophet organization
There's nothing quite as rewarding as teaching a poacher to swim with waders on!
Half-Time Student
Full-Time Employed
Double-Time Daddy
I miss fishing.....