Post Columbian Grizzly Killing Equipment: Muzzleloaders and Horses

Cowboys roping a bear by Walker, 1877 Copyright expired 

There have been few studies of how effective firearms are in defense against bears. This may be because the early experience of people using modern firearms against bears showed them to be incredibly effective compared to muzzleloading firearms. Muzzleloaders were far superior to bows and spears.

Before Christopher Columbus pioneered a regular and profitable way to travel to the Caribbean and the New World, Amerindians had a difficult time defending themselves and their food against grizzly bears.

Grizzly bears migrated into the area occupied by the 48 contiguous states a bit after humans, about 12,000 to 16,000 years ago. The bears originated Europe and Asia, and had colonized what is now Alaska and some of far north Canada. Glaciers prevented them from migrating further south. They had co-developed with men in Europe and Asia, and had evolved strategies to deal with humans. In the Americas, Amerindians did not have firearms, or horses. They had a difficult time dealing with grizzly bears. Grizzly bears are much more aggressive than black bears and tend to be larger. A closely coordinated group of men could kill a grizzly with bows and spears, but were likely to suffer casualties.

This changed when firearms and horses were brought to the Americas. 

Grizzly bears were encountered early in Canada. Henry Kelsey, a British Explorer, made a name for himself in 1691, by killing two grizzly bears in what is now Canada. Kelsey was accompanied by an Indian companion. In 1691, Kelsey would have been armed with a flintlock musket. From The Great Company, 1667- 1871:

His companion made his escape up a tree, while Kelsey, his retreat cut off, hid himself in a clump of high willows. The bears perceiving the Indian in the branches made directly for him, but Kelsey, observing their action, leveled his gun and killed one of the animals. The other bear bounded towards the place from which the shots came, and not finding the explorer, returned to the tree, when he was brought down by Kelsey’s second shot. Good fortune attended this exploit, for it attained for the young man the name among the tribes of Miss-top-ashish, or “Little Giant”. 

The large bears became a serious problem as the Spanish colonized California, starting in 1769. From A Description of Distant Roads Original Journals of the First Expedition into California, 1769-1770, by Juan Crespi, p. 485:

The scouts had reported to us that they had come upon a great many large bears in this level. With this in mind, our Captain and five or six soldiers were riding their horses. On coming down to the plain we at once spied some seven of them in two or three different spots. They fired at one, which it took seven or more shots for them to kill, each shot wounding it in the body. They slew it finally, and the rest went galloping off.

Six or seven mounted men, armed with muzzleloaders, were able to kill a large grizzly bear, without a casualty. In 1769, these would be flintlock muskets of 71 caliber. Horses were an essential element. They negated the speed of the bears, at least in open terrain. In California, as large ranches developed, bears were killed to prevent depredation on cows. Groups of Californian cowboys were able to capture bears with horses and lassos. The horses made the difference.

In the Journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition, in 1806,  Clark noted the Indians were able to kill bears in the open with horses and bows.

The Indians of this Country Seldom kill the bear  they are very much afraid of them and the killing of a white or Grzley bear, is as great a feet as two of their enimy.    the fiew of those Animals which they Chance to kill is found in the leavel open lands and pursued on horses & killed with their Arrows.

Lewis noted that competent riflemen could kill grizzly bears, but the grizzly bears had a serious reputation for ferocity and tenacity. After numerous encounters with grizzly bears, Lewis noted how difficult they were to kill.

   I must confess that I do not like the gentlemen and had reather fight two Indians than one bear; there is no other chance to conquer them by a single shot but by shooting them through the brains, and this becomes difficult in consequence of two large muscles which cover the sides of the forehead and the sharp projection of the center of the frontal bone, which is also of a pretty good thickness.

The Lewis and Clark expedition varied from about 50 to 30 members. Members of the expedition killed about 33 grizzly bears, along with at least 10 grizzly bears which were wounded and escaped.  In spite of the number of bears taken and wounded, not one person of the expedition was killed by a bear. Reading the journals, many of the men shot bears, and had to run, jump into water, climb trees, ride horses or otherwise escape the bears, but none were mauled by a bear. 

With cartridge firearms a single man could reliably kill grizzly bears. Sir Samuel Baker noted the combination of a cartridge pistol and a horse in the killing of a grizzly bear, in Wild Beasts and Their Ways, in 1881. The cowboy chased the bear, on a moonless night, keeping it in the open. Both bear and horse became exhausted. The cowboy fired eight shots; two to turn the bear from heading toward a forest, and six shots at the bear after it was exhausted. On examining the bear, Baker found the cowboy had  hit it with one shot which went through the heart from the back to the front. From the account:

Eight shots had been fired from the commencement, to the termination by the last fatal bullet; but, although Texas Bill was an excellent shot with his revolver, he had missed seven times, and the eighth was the only bullet that struck the bear. This had entered between the shoulders vertically, proving the correctness of his description, as he must have shot directly downwards. The bullet had passed through the centre of the heart, and had escaped near the brisket, having penetrated completely through this formidable animal.

Baker was so impressed with the Colt revolver and cartridge combination he ordered one for himself when he returned to England.

©2025 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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