Ruger Old Army

[Rat]

I think the goal would be to aim for the nose, and put one up the nasal cavity, into an eye, or down the mouth/muzzle. Low shot in the throat hitting the spine would be effective. Easy to say on a fast moving target coming at you!!! Kind of off topic, but since it's most likely one would only get one shot off, a Lyman Plains Pistol, loaded with a slug and 65 grains of fffg might be an alternative. I believe it would weigh about the same as a ROA. Mine weighs 43.81 ounces, in .50", a .54" would weigh a little bit less. Just a thought.

 

[M. De Land]

Grizzlies are a whole nuther ball game. I wouldn’t be interested whatsoever in dealing with those. Bear spray in one hand and something big in the other if I had no choice, with the spray deployed first!

Not really, a determined black is every bit as dangerous as a brown or grizzly and the simple truth is, when it comes to bear and human interaction, "size is irrelevant" as a 200 lb. black can kill you every bit as easily as a 1200lbs brown bear.

 

[rodwha]

Not really, a determined black is every bit as dangerous as a brown or grizzly and the simple truth is, when it comes to bear and human interaction, "size is irrelevant" as a 200 lb. black can kill you every bit as easily as a 1200lbs brown bear.

While true they just don’t get as big. And down here they don’t generally get really big for black bears with some exceptions of course. But on average nothing like a grizzly.

When I thought we’d be moving to VA, and having read so much about hunting black bears and eating them, I figured I’d have to give it a try. My .50 cal rifle would be plenty and my ROA running at .45 Colt performance levels with a conical would do well enough as a back up. I wouldn’t be interested much in hunting a grizzly, especially with BP guns.

 

[M. De Land]

While true they just don’t get as big. And down here they don’t generally get really big for black bears with some exceptions of course. But on average nothing like a grizzly.

When I thought we’d be moving to VA, and having read so much about hunting black bears and eating them, I figured I’d have to give it a try. My .50 cal rifle would be plenty and my ROA running at .45 Colt performance levels with a conical would do well enough as a back up. I wouldn’t be interested much in hunting a grizzly, especially with BP guns.

While not having a great deal of bear kill experience I have killed 6 blacks and have seen two eight foot Kodiak browns killed in front of me ( pardner won the toss and got to make the shot in both instances) so have some idea of how a bear dies with good high power rifle hits and none of them stop unless you cut their wiring ( spine or neck) Shoulder shots will stop a charge if you break it and an ear hole shot from the side will drop them like sash weight. Heart shots don't faze them initially and the brain is exceedingly hard to hit from the front is split seconds.
Pistols are OK if you are hunting from a elevated blind and using a center fire with good slugs. Shooting them with any muzzle loading pistol is asking for trouble.
Blacks will usually run when hit but don't count on it. A determined black can give a good account of himself with a brown or grizzly if they decide to and have listened to a detailed account from an AK guide of a black /grizzle fight he witnessed, to the death. The black died also but not before he killed the grizzle and the grizzle out weighed him by about a third.
We loose folks killed by bears almost every year in Alaska, some times several and the majority of fatalities are from black bears not Browns or Grizzlies.

 

[Bad Karma]

Monty Browning with his longbow Brown Bear. The bear ran over 80 yards after the shot, which was taken at a range of 9 yards. That’s 28 feet for those of you from Rio Lindo... our single shot Muzzleloaders ought to work as well... for those with the sand to take the shot.

 

[bigted]

Well i can weigh in on some instances where there are HUGE differences between the huge Alaskan grizz/brownie bears.

Alaskan grizz have actively stalked people. And successfully at that. Every year up there, the big grizz stalk folks along trails, bicycle runs, snow mobile trails and even down town parks.

While it is true a black bear can make you as dead, the mighty Alaskan grizzly takes the prize as America's largest and most tenacious predater ... predating on human beings yearly. Pepper spray just makes bear poop smell like pepper.

Anybody on the coast up there can tell you what the very best bear repellent is ... and it ain't a cap n ball revolver!!!

The way smaller lower 48 black bears can be determined but a well loaded Ruger/ Walker/Dragoon revolver can with correct hits, discourage them and take their life.

Would not be my choice to bet a mauling or death on a cap failure or bit of moisture or bled lube into the powder ECT. As a caution to pack along on a deer/elk hunt i can see.

 

[rodwha]

While not having a great deal of bear kill experience I have killed 6 blacks and have seen two eight foot Kodiak browns killed in front of me ( pardner won the toss and got to make the shot in both instances) so have some idea of how a bear dies with good high power rifle hits and none of them stop unless you cut their wiring ( spine or neck) Shoulder shots will stop a charge if you break it and an ear hole shot from the side will drop them like sash weight. Heart shots don't faze them initially and the brain is exceedingly hard to hit from the front is split seconds.
Pistols are OK if you are hunting from a elevated blind and using a center fire with good slugs. Shooting them with any muzzle loading pistol is asking for trouble.
Blacks will usually run when hit but don't count on it. A determined black can give a good account of himself with a brown or grizzly if they decide to and have listened to a detailed account from an AK guide of a black /grizzle fight he witnessed, to the death. The black died also but not before he killed the grizzle and the grizzle out weighed him by about a third.
We loose folks killed by bears almost every year in Alaska, some times several and the majority of fatalities are from black bears not Browns or Grizzlies.

The black bears down here just don’t seem to be AK-like. Maybe some of the Canadian bears, but that sort of stuff down here is uncommon. Both the aggressiveness and size.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Rowda, I have hunted bears in Canada successfully, A few years back my dad harvested one that tipped the scale at a bit over 500 lbs. My bear was around 250 lbs. shot at a distance of 15 ft. on the ground looking me in the eye. near the small town of Ramore Canada. These bears were harvested with high powered rifles. As stated blacks are shy but I would not want to corner one or come between a mamma bear and her cubs. A ways back while hunting deer in western Maryland a sow and three cubs wandered into to my area towards evening, the cubs were of a ways from mom as she was about 50 yds. from me, I made my self known to her took the safety off the ruger #1 and took the long route out to the truck constantly watching my back trail. And yes at the time there was a .44 mag. on my hip, but during Maryland's muzzle loader seasons it is illegal to have on your person a modern weapon. There is no where I go to include hunting I do not have a side arm, you never what kind of critters you will run into. Agreed that the R.O.A. may not be the best choice for a back up in a tense situation but it is better than a empty long rifle. You would never out run a bear so your choice is 6 from the R.O.A and then go to the blade if needed. If that does not work well I guess you wind up bear poop.

 

[Rat]

I kind of bounce back and forth between the two views, some years I carry an unmentionable #10 pistol, other years I'm thinking that I'll just trust in my rifle, and blade, since I'm more likely to die in a car-crash (or Jeep crash, in my case!) going to my hunting grounds, than being killed by a bear, and I think I'd rather become bear poop, or be found with my skeleton intertwined with a bear skeleton, with my blade in hand, than be extracted piece by piece from the wreckage of my Jeep, after that 18 wheeler pulverizes me. !!! Right now I am in the latter "stage" or state of mind, and trust in my rifle, and take a pistol that has a greater "cool" factor, and can still be good protection against wolf and cougar, and take small game. In Washington State, it is also legal to carry a modern pistol while ML hunting, or Archery.

 

[M. De Land]

I kind of bounce back and forth between the two views, some years I carry an unmentionable #10 pistol, other years I'm thinking that I'll just trust in my rifle, and blade, since I'm more likely to die in a car-crash (or Jeep crash, in my case!) going to my hunting grounds, than being killed by a bear, and I think I'd rather become bear poop, or be found with my skeleton intertwined with a bear skeleton, with my blade in hand, than be extracted piece by piece from the wreckage of my Jeep, after that 18 wheeler pulverizes me. !!! Right now I am in the latter "stage" or state of mind, and trust in my rifle, and take a pistol that has a greater "cool" factor, and can still be good protection against wolf and cougar, and take small game. In Washington State, it is also legal to carry a modern pistol while ML hunting, or Archery.

Sensible law!

 

[Rat]

I think they figured out that a bullet hole can be differentiated from an arrow hole, and that there's no advantage to laying one's rifle down, in order to shoot a deer with a pistol. (not to say there's not a bonehead, somewhere, that would do that) Also, pistols are legal to use during modern seasons, (meeting certain requirements) so if one wants to, they can, without cheating on the ML regulations.

 

[nightwolf1974]

I lost 3 of them in a fire.........BUT, I used 36grns FFF, .457 round ball, and a pre-lubed wonder wad over the ball in them. Nice SAFE and potent load.

 

[anaconda44]

I own a ruger old army I bought it used years ago. I was looking for the load data and max load I contacted ruger asking if they had a manual with what powders to use. they contacted me and said any black powder from 2f to 4f and max load was what ever would allow the ball to be seated under the mouth of the cylinder's but said most people use 3f grain size equivalent. I did shot 4f in it many times no issues .

 

[rodwha]

I own a ruger old army I bought it used years ago. I was looking for the load data and max load I contacted ruger asking if they had a manual with what powders to use. they contacted me and said any black powder from 2f to 4f and max load was what ever would allow the ball to be seated under the mouth of the cylinder's but said most people use 3f grain size equivalent. I did shot 4f in it many times no issues .

Did you find that accuracy suffered with 4F? Seems I often read that.