.357 mag on Grizz?

I know this is a handgun thread and all - and I have fired everything up to and including .308 win and 45-70 from a handgun, with stops at .50AE and 454 Casull along the way - but in Grizzly country it would be nothing less than Brenneke slugs from a shotgun. You've got to be alive to work, and given the size and power of the Grizzly the 12 guage shotgun is not too much to carry to stay that way, especially with a short barrel (12.75 or 14")
 
crazy_davey said:
WTH! A bear deffense thread stopping at 4 pages :eek:
Does not sound like CGN to me :D
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OK We'll keep it going a while longer.....:rolleyes: ;)

popcan said:
1. - What's the minimum cal in a pistol that would do a number on a big grizz?
2. - Would you go semi auto or revolver, and why?
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Based on a lot of experience with large coastal grizzlies, for me the 44 mag is the absolute minimum caliber and even then it is still borderline enough gun in a defensive situation. The larger calibers like the 454 Casull are better as long as you can shoot them effectively.
The revolver is the only realistic platform, the only easily available semi that can handle 44mag or larger cals. is the DE but is too damn big to be practical.
Cheers
 
Pff, your all thinking small arms... 454 Casull... HA

Id be picking up a revolver chambered in .30-30 or .45-70. The .45-70 will also take .410 shotgun shells, that would work too if loaded with slugs.

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www.magnumresearch.com/Expand.asp?ProductCode=BFR45-70
 
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PErsonally if I was inclined to carry a bear-defense handgun, i'd go for the plain jane 9mm pistol. Logic being that I could spray all 11 shots (10+1) and have the thing reloaded in the same time that I could aim and fire 2 or 3 shots from a large, heavy, hard-kicking magnum-caliber revolver.

Ammo would be alternating solids and good quality HP (best of both worlds), either commercial stuff (as heavy and hot loads money can buy), or reloads that are loaded with the heaviest projectiles and the biggest powder load I dare (probably as far above the max load as I dare, safety isn't a major concern here, just as long as it doesn't blow up the gun, it'll be just fine) ! The goal here is to survive an encounter with one of North-America's largest carnivorous mammals, even if it means chucking the brass (or the pistol) after the incident.
 
PErsonally if I was inclined to carry a bear-defense handgun, i'd go for the plain jane 9mm pistol.
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Uh RobSmith, I hope you stay outta bear country. I'm sure that a 9mm with IDEAL placement would do the job.

I'll stick with my .454 Casull.
 
I carry the 454 Casull, it has been proven to stop Grizzlies. Anything less is a little more risky than I am willing to chance. Although a 44 mag. loaded with 300+ gr. Hard Cast bullets should in theory do the job as well.
 
I think i'll stick with my AKS-74. It shreds face, and I feel safe in bear country. No bears will be attacking me with me and my 75 round drum AKS-74. I don't compromise in a compromising world.
 
geologist said:
Uh RobSmith, I hope you stay outta bear country. I'm sure that a 9mm with IDEAL placement would do the job.

I'll stick with my .454 Casull.
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Well, if I could be confident i'd be able to bring such a beast to bear and fire it accurately, repeatedly (2-3 shots minimum), without ear protection, in less than 5 seconds, I'd take one too, but i'm well aware that my skill level doesn't suit itself to it, that's why i'd go for "spray and pray".

Mind you, there are no grizzlies in Quebec, only black bears, which have vastly different behavior patterns than grizzlies, i've had plenty of encouters with "blackies" while out on fishing trips, in fact I saw some almost every year that we went (I haven't been for a few years now), two such encounters were well below 50 yds, which is WAY too close for comfort
IM(not so H)O, I have never felt the need to have a firearm handy during such encounters.

As long as you follow basic common sense rules regarding food and such, as well as always keeping a safe distance with them, they won't bother you. Sure there is the odd "rumor" of "grizzly" sightings in Quebec occasionally, but I call B.S. on it, I've actually seen one such "brown" bear once, but it looked like an odd colored blackie, NOT a grizz, although it was quite large for a blackie, the shape of it was all wrong to be a grizz.
 
RobSmith As long as you follow basic common sense rules regarding food and such said:
No! No! No! All North American bears are dangerous! Grizzlies and polar bears don't kill or injure a fraction of the people mauled by black bears. Sure I'll buy into 9 out of 10 bears won't bother you - but that's 10 out of a 100 that will.

How can you be sure you are a safe distance from a bear if you are in thick cover? The answer is you don't know, but if you end up in a bear encounter at 20', you'd better have a plan, cause sure as s**t he does, and his choices are fight or flight, (assuming you have not run into a preditory bear). If you run into a preditory bear and you don't have a gun you're dead. Given thick cover, and the fact that he's hunting you before you know he's there - you might be dead anyway. The only thing that might save you under these circustances, if you have a gun, is that a bear is not an effiecient killer, and might not disable you on the first contact. The bad news is that if you don't kill him, it will take you along time to die.

Even on open ground, a bear is difficult to see, especially if you do not expect to see one, and you are not alert to the possibility of a bear being there.

We are born with a brain, and we had better have it in gear when we go into bear country.
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What do you think of a glock g20 for Bear protection? That's 10 rounds of 10mm. Better or worse than a .357 magnum (6,7 or 8 rounds)?
Thanks!
 
vitriol said:
What do you think of a glock g20 for Bear protection? That's 10 rounds of 10mm. Better or worse than a .357 magnum (6,7 or 8 rounds)?
Thanks!
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I think the choice of 10mm is dependent on bullet construction. If the bullets are hollow points intended to open rapidly on soft targets, there could be better choices despite the impressive ballistics. If there is a nonexpanding 10mm slug available it should do well.
 
What do you think of a glock g20 for Bear protection? That's 10 rounds of 10mm. Better or worse than a .357 magnum (6,7 or 8 rounds)?
Thanks!
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Revolvers are better for bush use as they are less prone to jam and cannot come out of battery like a semiauto might. If you are down and jam your muzzle into its neck, a semiauto might have its slide pushed backwards taking the pistol out of battery, this can't happen with a revolver.
 
In my opinion a .357 with keith bullets would work OK but you'd probably have to change your pants afterwards. A handgun for any bear is a little risky in my opinion but is a nice back-up to a rifle or shotgun.

Having said that, if the beast is on top of you ripping away and in the process of disemboweling you then a guy wants a double action revolver at close range and in that circumstance the .357 magnum will work just fine.

You don't want a .454 casull that, by recoil at arduous angles, will end up flying out of your hand and into the bushes. In this circumstance I think I would actually prefer a .357 Magnum with successive extreme close range shots as a last ditch effort to save your life.
 
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