Some guys up here routinely use 10 gauge if they can get it. A .338 WinMag is not uncommon when hunting moose or bears though.
We just bought a MidTen 9mm Bore Sight Red Dot Boresighter on Amazon for $19. Will see how it works for our Smith & Wesson 9. If too much trouble or just don't like, will either return or keep and buy a $40 Boresight/and Adapter that goes into the front of the barrel. Another brand of boresighters is Sightmark. But, the Reviews for both MidTen and Sightmark are almost identical.
Here is a 2020 article titled Handgun or Pistol Against Bear Attack: 93 Cases/97% Effective. It's a short article on Ammo Land and makes for an interesting read. I would not hunt bear with most handguns, but these are instances of small calibers successfully fighting off surprise encounters.
That strikes me as cheap, but I guess there's not really much to it. What are prices from a Sportsman's Warehouse kinda place? Frankly, with my self-defense handgun, I practice Point-and-Shoot drills and only use the front sight, if I use any sight at all. When I was searching for a daily carry gun, I went thought a bunch that I bought (sometimes used) so I could try them out over a period of time to see how well they carried, how naturally they aimed in my hand, etc. I like punching paper as much as the next guy, but the fact is that in a self-defense situation, I'm not gonna get a clean sight picture.
We don't have brown bears here in Maine, and I am not particularly concerned about the black bears that I know are on my land up north. After learning that the larger one had been following me around the woods one day (as he showed up within moments of my leaving a camera site), there were times when I considered that maybe I should be concerned. In reality, I'm not going to walk around the woods carrying a long gun, and there would be the added complications of possibly being arrested for hunting out of season and without a license (even though I don't hunt). So anyhow, I sometimes carry a handgun, but more as an excuse to bring it with me and to do some shooting while I'm up there.
I don't know anyone who hunts bear or moose with a handgun, but they are used as personal defense against large critters when in the field. Take note of the idea that some cases of failure could be lone individuals who were never found. I wouldn't hunt anything larger than a hare with a .22, and it is illegal in many places to do so. Handguns are just used as they are easy to carry and more likely to be at hand if attacked.
We got the MidTen 9mm Bore Sight Red Dot Boresighter in from Amazon this past Saturday. I was truly wondering (worrying) if it would fit into our Smith & Wesson 9mm sd9ve and if the slide was close with it in there. Well, it fit perfectly and the slide closed and opened perfectly. However, it wouldn't come out of the bore/barrel after the slide was opened. So, I used our 9mm cleaning rod to get it out. Put the cleaning rod down the front of the barrel, tapped it slightly and the Boresight slid out. Next is to find out just how good it will work on "sighting in" our Red Dot Sight mounted on the top. At the local indoor range, we pay for an hour of shooting, so don't want to waste that time "sighting in" any of our firearms. So, I'm going to do this at home. Just put up two, one for sitting, one for standing, Winchester Shoot-N-C Reactive Targets on the one wall by our front door. I'll be at the end of our living room doing the "sight in". Both standing up and then sitting down on a foldup chair with a small table and fairly hard pillow on the table for stability. This last Sunday, we bought a Bushnell Laser .22 Boresighter (barrel) to use on our Sig Sauer Mosquito .22, our Henry Lever-Action .22 and our Ruger 10/.22. It was $40 at local Sportsman's Warehouse. Looked at a Sightmark Boresighter w/battery pack, but didn't like the wire that attached the boresight to the battery pack. That would mean the handgun slide wouldn't go all the way closed, due to that wire. And, I wouldn't like the slide staying open to try and "sight the firearm" in. Now, if this Bushnell doesn't work for us, we will return and look for the same thing we got from Amazon, but for a .22 caliber.
I eagerly await a range report. Having the bore sight that snug is [obviously] a good thing, as not as it's not damaging the rifling. So did you measure the distance to the target when you're sighting it in at home? ps: How do you like that Sig? My Bersa .380 also uses blow-back action, and that seems to cause frequent fouling. If I don't clean it after every range visit, it will jam up on me.
First, John, haven't done any sighting in yet. Only set up the two targets and pinned to wall. Just measured and it is 4 yards from the front of the Smith & Wesson (in hand) to the target. The 4 yards is the most I can have the living room to the wall (straight ahead) where both targets are pinned to. When I called the range last week, they told me the closest target from where a person is standing is 3 yards. It states that on the wall next to where a person is shooting. We got the Sig as a first handgun. A guy at the last range we went to (in northeastern Florida) had one and let us try it. We use Mini Mag .22 Target in it, but there are times that it does jam. When that happens, I pull the slide back/lock, get a small screwdriver and, very so lightly, pry the bullet out. Have never had a problem prying one out. We have a Rail Laser on the Sig. When we decided to get a bigger handgun, wife wanted a 357 or 44. Way to much recoil in either one. At a gun show, she picked up both and didn't realize just how heavy each was. So, we settled on the Smith & Wesson 9mm sd9ve. She can shoot it, but still has some recoil. We have the Red Dot Laser on top of this. What do you think of Federal ammo? We have a box of .22's that we are using in the Henry. They work fine.
Federal ammo is fine. Honestly, the only ammo I've had issues with has been the cheap Russian stuff with steel cases. Regarding the Sig jamming...I bet it's the same issue as my .380. Blow back actions require more frequent cleaning. They just get fouled quicker. The .380 will start jamming at the end of a range session even if it started out with a fresh cleaning. As I recall, 100 rounds is about the threshold. I've never had another gun jam so quickly/so often.
John, just used the MidTen 9mm Bore Sight Red Dot Boresighter and aligned our Red Dot Laser Sight (on top of the 9mm) with it. Got both Dot's to align perfectly on both targets (sitting one and standing one). Had my wife take a look and she could hardly believe it. We are planning on going to the range this coming Saturday, so I'll check out both the 9MM handgun and the Sig .22 on Thursday or Friday. Haven't done the Sig Mosquito, Henry or Ruger yet (all .22). That is next. Will be using the Bushnell Laser Boresighter for those three. That is the one that fits in the barrel w/an adapter.
John, returned the Bushnell Laser Boresighter to Sportsman's Warehouse. It was the only boresight they had. Couldn't get the boresight adapter to screw onto to boresight. So, went back to Scheels and bought their Sight Mark .22LR Laser Boresight. Actually, it wound up free, because my wife applied for, and got, a Scheels credit card. A sign stated said, "apply for and get a Scheels credit card and receive a $70 discount on what you buy. The boresight cost $40, so we got it for free plus a $30 Gift Card to make up the $70. Pretty darn good deal. But, have to be careful, because the boresight is run with a battery pack that is connected to the boresight with wires. So, have to be very, very careful when closing the slide/breech of either the Sig, Henry or Ruger. Closing it slowly and, perhaps, putting some thin, like the edge of a dime, so the slide/breech doesn't close on the boresight battery wires. IOW, if too many people cut the wires, when closing the slide/breech, these boresights wouldn't be sold. I couldn't find a boresight, shaped like a .22 bullet, without the battery pack hooked up to it. Will let you know how it goes.
Sounds like you got a good deal, but what a strange design. I wonder if there are any vids on line of folks using it. Regarding that credit card: I have a Tractor Supply credit card I got the same way...had a large purchase I wanted to make, so the card put money in my pocket the first time I used it.
John, now we are looking at getting this: Amazon.com : Caldwell Steady Rest NXT Adjustable Ambidextrous Rest for Sighting in Firearms, Shot Stabilization, and Target Shooting : Archery Rests : Sports & Outdoors Currently using a small table and place a fairly hard pillow and a cushion we use in our computer chairs, on top of the pillow. The combo seemed to work fine for sighting in the 9mm, but don't think it will work that good for the Ruger or Henry Lever-Action. A picture of this Caldwell, with a lever-action rifle sitting on it, look good for sighting in. Enough room for the lever to be down. BTW, we have a Tractor Supply here, but it isn't nearly as popular as the JAX Ranch and Outdoor stores here are.
I picked up a rest New-in-Box at a yard sale a while ago, but because of my "Critters-Trump-Firearms" policy, I've yet to use it. (I saw a falcon in my front yard early this morning.) Tractor Supply is popular here because it's the only game in town, except for one independent place on the other side of the county (which has a larger selection of parts, but no bird seed or horse salve.) My county got a Tractor Supply maybe 3-4 years ago. Before then you had to drive to the next county north or the the next county west.