Effectiveness of a 357 mag bear load on a bear or large animal

It is a short range caliber. The shot needs to be placed well.under those circumstances do you really want to be that close to something that is wounded
 
About a month ago a bear was hit by a car on hwy 69 in Ontario. The police were called as the bear was still alive and suffering on the side of the road. The police used a 40 cal into the bear (200 pound animal), and at close range these bullets didn't penetrate as deeply as I thought they would have. I skinned the bear and found three bullets that had mushroomed as one would expect but not very deeply at all... Having seen that result I wouldn't find myself hunting bear with a handgun cartridge. I have also hunted deer with someone who was using a 357 lever gun and he pumped 3 bullets into a doe at 20 yards before it went down. I wasn't impressed with the results. I have also shot a really large black bear (estimated over 500 pounds) while caribou hunting in the NWT with a 300 WSM at about 80 yards and the bear didn't drop as I had expected. The only reason I shot this bear is because i was bent over gutting the caribou and the bear was advancing towards me and wanted my caribou. So my conclusion is more gun and more bullet should be considered to be applicable in most circumstances. The poster in this thread who carried a 45-70 double had the right cartridge for the situation. Bears are not predictable and need to be respected for their potential harm.
 
I have shot a few bears in my life ,, some over bait .. some over dogs and one that was too close for comfort .. the bear that was close was a big one .. 652 pounds .. I had a 300 win mag ,, That bear took a 300 Mag and did not fall off it;s feet .. it was going no where of course .. but walked about ten feet before falling ; I chambered another round but did not need it .... A 357 and bears should not be used in the same sentence when it comes too self defense.. If you are shooting a treed bear a 357 will do the job as you have TIME too get a head shot .. If you are over bait you will have time too get a proper shot and over bait you will be shooting 40 - 50 yards at most .. if you are being charged .. that 357 is not enough in my opinion .. If you get a Head shot .. you may be fine ,, But if you do not .. the out come will not be good ..
There was a large bear about 20 miles north of where I live .. he was marking Hydro poles as high as i can reach and higher ,, He got too not fear humans and would stand right on the road and people would stop because he would just stand there .. One evening a hunter that was deer hunting was walking out and walked right into this bear .. he was armed for deer and shot it because it was getting aggressive. so this was close too dark .. a big bear .. and it was not acting nice .. I talked too him and he was glad he had a big gun .. As stated before .. the chances of having a bear encounter is slim because they will run away most often and a 357 is better than nothing ,, But there is way better choices for sure
 
Just retread an article in an 80s gun mag. They were shooting hogs with handguns. 2 were shot with a 357 and they took 9 hits in lungs shoulder and a spine. ( second one also was hit with 2 223. They used 45 auto, 45 colt, 44 special, 44 mag and 41 mag, only the 41 & 44 mag produced humane kills. I don't think the carbine will give that much more. ( these were 20-50 yds range ). I don't like using minimal cartridges. IE: my dad killed an elk in the early years with a Savage hi power, not enough gun but it worked. JMHO but both you and the bear deserve more power.
 
There used to be an old joke about filing off the front sight of a "bear protection .357 pistol" so it wouldn't hurt so much when the bear got REALLY MAD and stuffed it up "where the sun don't shine" on ya...?????
 
If you are serious take the pistol grip off and put on a real stock on it
Get a hold of sumone that into cowboy shooting and learn the the art of shooting fast and accurately at Close range
One good thing with a MaresLeg carbin in 357 is you can run cowboy action 38 special ammo the ones with the wax bullets for practice by top feeding them into the 92 action
In my personal opinion the skill Learned from cowboy action shooting will out way the disadvantages of 357 plus it will be a lot of fun

Sum info on cowboy shooting and reloading 38 with wax bullets for safe and cheep practicing in the link below

https://ca.video.search.yahoo.com/v...35qer&age=1338410225&fr2=p:s,v:v&fr=ipad&tt=b
http://www.gunfighter.com/waxbullets/cr-faq.html
 
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I have to agree with replacing the original stock with a full length stock. A huge improvement in handling the rifle and accuracy both iron sights or a low magnification scope within 100 yards.

My 44 Mag I carry around with me when out and about up at our cabin especially come spring and early summer.

1" group at 60 yards with a 3x - 9x scope with handloads.

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