here is a link to my Youtube of a test firing of the blanks and bear rounds. i did not want to do the test in the canoe wilderness and disturb anyone who might be in hearing range,plus that might attract unwanted attention.
so when the week long trip was over and i had a swim to wash up and change into my driving clothes i pulled off the Echo Trail and up a logging road to this old cutting to take a few shots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEZUXhvhhjo&list=UUw_6IX2Lurj33HDAyz7BIXw

Nice! But you, um, didn't leave the spent brass laying there did you?

Full-house .357 Mag stuff really does have a kick! Looks like the blanks worked fine but the real stuff sounded a lot louder on camera. Is that your perception hearing them live?

after i turned off the camera i policed the area up.
i will admit the first bear round caught me off guard.the blank had no recoil and when i squeezed off the first 180 Gr the kick flipped my wrist around a bit.
the blanks had enough of a blast that i'm sure they would work as a scare round.
they make a "cowboy round" that has more smoke so i might give a bag of those a try.

What alternative noisemaker options might there be to a 357 blank round? I, too would be a bit concerned about blanks right next to the real thing in a revolver - too many opportunities for something to go awry. But a 357 is a marvelously versatile mechanism, isn't it? I have owned one for more than 50 years.

I also watched your video on total knee replacement, a procedure that might be in my future. Thanks for the info!

You know, I didn't think of this before but you might want to try a .38/.357 "Snake Load" ie shot cartridge. It would have basically no chance of actually injuring a bear (save maybe a lucky strike to the eye) but I would think they're probably more water tight than a blank round.

Glad to see you picked up your brass!

hike..another noise maker would be the small air horns that are sold to attract attention or warnings when power boating.
canoe trippers have taken to attaching them to a PFD as part of a ditch kit. i have been told that just the WHOOSH!! of a pepper sprayer will chase a bear.
however as long as i have the 357 i may as well find a way to use it as a non lethal bear defense with the lethal one as a last resort.
about that knee of yours.the best real bit of survival advice i can offer is not about 357's,fire lighters,water filters or BOB's and EDC's it's that getting a painful knee fixed could be a life saver.
on my last canoe trip i felt 20,ok 10,years younger.i could carry 35-45 pound packs over portages without rest stops and was pain free.
faced with a real survival problem like a ditched canoe and swim to shore doing that without the nasty/severe pain in my knee joint could make a huge problem a doable one.
always dealing with the knee was like dragging a cement block around and trying to run from a pack of zombies or climb over earthquake damage could make survival iffy.
i would get it replaced sooner than later.

Thanks, CD. I am told I am a great candidate for KR, and it looks like it is something that is in my future. I really appreciate your information and insight

The blanks didn't sound as loud to me, either...but that may not be an issue.
I would be inclined to carry only live ammo, giving me the option of putting the first round into the dirt...or the bear, if need be.
Some years ago, I was instructed to always shoot the same gun, with the same ammo: reducing what variables I could, would reduce what liabilities I would encounter after a shooting. This instruction was delivered to me--as an LEO--with the consideration that I might strike an unintended target. In the backcountry, the liabilities are different, but the outcome, not so much...

I'm completely horrified at the idea of carrying blanks in a defensive gun. What if you think you're shooting a blank when you aren't? What if you think you're shooting a live round, when you aren't? What if you need your first round to be a live round?

As UncleGoo says you can choose to put a live round into the dirt, if your plan is to try to convince the bear that you are not food. This strikes me as a much better idea. For me, I carry a pistol loaded with live rounds and bear spray.

Ditto UncleGoo and Chaos. If you don't want to hit the bear, shoot dirt or water. The idea of mixing ammo loads is simply not a good one.