Bear Defense....legalities notwithstanding

Status
Not open for further replies.
vikingocazar

vikingocazar

Member
Rating - 100%
5   0   0
Location
Kootenays, BC
Okay, so this is one of those loaded questions: I have a lot of experience with 9mm's, awesome, fun, effective yaddah yaddah. I want to know from the pistol gurus who have shot all sorts of calibers what, if it were legal of course, automatic pistol you would carry if you were bowhunting and wanted something handy for bear defence. I don't want to get into a wheel gun and I don't want an ungodly heavy thing like a Desert Eagle .44.....so I'm thinking 9mm, 10mm (expensive ammo though), .40 and .45...would any of you gurus carry any of these in bear country and what pistol brand and model would you recommend as well?

Thanks folks.
 
I have heard that either .40 or .44 is the minimum allowed for ATC wilderness protection, probably for a reason. Now, if it were legal, I think sales and ownership of a 1911 in .45 ACP would explode in a dazzling rainbow of dollarsigns.

Really though, for me personally I would want something special to compensate for my many failings. I'd jump the shark and get a Door Knocker in 13x70mm or something equally preposterous that's guaranteed to kill not only him but all his direct relatives as well.

Why an automatic handgun though? Why not some super short 12 gauge shotgun or something?
 
10mm
.357 sig

but just buy a shotgun until we can legally take our handguns in the bush!
 
If you where carrying 9mm for bear, i'd be tempted to suggest rn FMJ, you need to penetrate heavy bone. Possibly some of the FBI rated stuff would do. Given a choice i wouldn't go lighter then 10mm in a semi, or 357 in a wheel gun, with heavy bullets (175's)
 
Even 10mm on a big enough bear might have issues getting through all the layer of hide bone muscle flesh that a bear has. Bigger isntt always better. U need best of both worlds. Penetrations and expansion/fragmentation. Shotguns are great for sheer knock down power yes but lack the penetration needed. If we could run a pistol I wouldn't even look at anything smaller than 44 mag. But since that isn't an option my super short and legal 45/70 govt loaded with 400 grain ballistic tips is the best bet. Second choice would be my short grizzly shotgun with slug/000 buckshot mix.

If u have to have one of the round u mention what about a +p 40 round. Get some penetration happening
 
For some odd reason, the BC CFO seems to think semi-auto's aren't reliable, so will only approve revolvers for wilderness carry.
 
That would depend entirely on which bears you're talking about.

Matchlock


vikingocazar said:
Okay, so this is one of those loaded questions: I have a lot of experience with 9mm's, awesome, fun, effective yaddah yaddah. I want to know from the pistol gurus who have shot all sorts of calibers what, if it were legal of course, automatic pistol you would carry if you were bowhunting and wanted something handy for bear defence. I don't want to get into a wheel gun and I don't want an ungodly heavy thing like a Desert Eagle .44.....so I'm thinking 9mm, 10mm (expensive ammo though), .40 and .45...would any of you gurus carry any of these in bear country and what pistol brand and model would you recommend as well?

Thanks folks.
Click to expand...
 
If my life absolutely depended on it, I would not take a semi-auto. Against another human, sure. I can take cover and fix it. A bear won't stop chewing long enough for you to do the tap and rack drill IMHO. I'd use a revolver in 454 Casull.
 
Id probably go with a revolver in .44 mag or .454 casull if I was licensed to carry in the wilderness. If it had to be an auto for some reason, I'd go with a Glock 20 in 10mm.
 
I have no opinion, as I've read a "Bear Defence" thread every 3 days or so... but I can copy and paste another guy's answer on the internet to this question:

"An enraged bear is hard to stop with a high powered rifle. A 9mm will likely just enrage it more. That said a several years ago in Anchorage a fellow found a large black bear in his home and emptied a 9mm into it and was able to get outside the home. It took some time but the bear died in the house. He was lucky. In Oregon a man was mushroom hunting and was charged by a small black bear, he emptied the magazine of his .45 acp pistol into it. Gravely wounded it still tried to reach him but died minutes later. In both those cases what killed the bears was not head shots which glanced off their skulls but heart lung shots. A bears skull can deflect many handgun rounds because its thick and has a steep angle to it.
A 9mm has about 400+ foot pounds of energy a factory 44 magnum round has around 800+ ft lbs of energy and yet the 44 magnum has glanced off bears skulls also.
So what I am getting at is the 9mm is NOT good bear protection but if you have no choice don’t aim for the head aim for the boiler room.

If it’s a grizzly or brown bear your dead meat if you shoot it with a 9mm. I hunt bears here in Alaska and also have hunted them in the Rocky Mountain States. I have had some real spooky bear encounters. And I was among several men who opened fire on a charging brown bear with high powered rifles. That bear took several rounds from a 30-06, .338 win magnum and 45/70..and another rifle I can’t recall, before it was stopped. That bear took about 8 rounds, each hitting him with about 2000 ft pounds of energy. A 9mm wouldn’t have fazed him.
Get a bigger handgun for bear protection if you value your life."
 
vikingocazar said:
Okay, so this is one of those loaded questions: I have a lot of experience with 9mm's, awesome, fun, effective yaddah yaddah. I want to know from the pistol gurus who have shot all sorts of calibers what, if it were legal of course, automatic pistol you would carry if you were bowhunting and wanted something handy for bear defence. I don't want to get into a wheel gun and I don't want an ungodly heavy thing like a Desert Eagle .44.....so I'm thinking 9mm, 10mm (expensive ammo though), .40 and .45...would any of you gurus carry any of these in bear country and what pistol brand and model would you recommend as well?

Thanks folks.
Click to expand...

Kind of funny that this thread is so ridiculous and the OP is worried about the expense of ammo in a fictional life or death situation. I'd have the best and most expensive (effective) ammo money could buy if I was in this situation. But that's just me. A gigantic thick skulled bear is charging at you... Pray.
 
st1264 said:
Kind of funny that this thread is so ridiculous and the OP is worried about the expense of ammo in a fictional life or death situation. I'd have the best and most expensive (effective) ammo money could buy if I was in this situation. But that's just me. A gigantic thick skulled bear is charging at you... Pray.
Click to expand...

Maybe to the OP, his life is worth 30¢ in a fictional scenario but I fear what it may be worth in real life. If ya gonna dream, dream big! :p

In a fictional scenario, a 9mm can work provided you're hunting with a buddy. If a bear is chasing you both and all you have is a 9mm, well the only option is to shoot your buddy in the leg and keep on running.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom