Pistol

What bear? If it's black bears you're worried about, 357 would be OK, 44mag would be better.

If it's grizzlies you're talking about, I wouldn't for a second be happy with anything handheld anyway... 12ga with slugs or better yet a rifle.
 
Honestly, people in my company carry four tools.

a 12ga in grizzly country (the extreme bring handgun too)

10mm or better in every other situations

Plus usally always carry spray and bangers

each has its own application.


Yes, some may say its over the top, but we increase our risk everytime we enter the bush.

New York fireman used to never wear breathing apperatus fighting fires and now they don't dare go near fire with out it. It's not a macho thing anymore. Do what you feel is the best level of protection for yourself.
 
I would suggest you do some research on the ballistics of the calibers you are considering. All the advice on here comes with varied experience and can be very subjective. Go to a couple of ammunition websites and check out their ballistics and aplication suggetions. Federal site is good.

This comes down to what you will be most comfortable shooting without hesitation and with accuracy under pressure.

Definitely for medium game and larger a .357 mag is minimum. From there stick with magnum rounds like .41 mag and .44 mag. Fro these go to the monsters like .454 or .500.

9mm, .40 S&W, .45ACP are all specfied for personal defence against humans.
 
Calum said:
Yup nothing like being chased back to your truck by a Bear. :eek: :runaway:

It was those close grizzly encounters where they are trying to decide if you are prey that convinced me that the hassle of getting an ATC and carrying the weight of a good handgun and ammo were worth it.

Black bears only, a .357 magnum with heavy hardcast bullets is OK in ideal conditions but a .44 magnum would be better.

Brown or polar bears, .44 magnum with heavy hardcast bullets or better.
 
Thanks for all of you who gave me some pointers
much appreciated
I am more towards a semi auto rather then revolver the way I look at it is like this. Revolver holds 8 rounds on average semi auto carries 10 plus one in chamber if you willing to go that way. So my analogy is like this if I can bring down a bear with one to two shots GREAT and if for some reason I need to put more in I think loading semi auto is a bit quicker not to mention 2 more shots. I was going to get a desert eagle .357 however its a bit heave about 10.5 lbs without ammo

If someone could recommend a reliable gun which will give me perfomance under extreme cold conditions I would be interested to hear from them
For now I only have the .45 so I was exploring to see if I should consider to take it out with the thinking of either have one gun or none at all
Wad cutters or semi wads will have a better penetration and less of a chance to bounce off the head
As to hollow points hummmmmmm not entirely convinced and full metal jackets have the cutting throught age however you have to consider whats beyound a target

Again any input would be appreciated
 
^you probably wouldnt have time for multiple shots anyways. The Desert Eagle is buggy without proper ammo selection in .357. IMI even has a specified ammo selection list for it. Have you thought about a Glock 20 in 10mm? some of these super hand cannons look nice, but I wonder how many people could hit anything with a fast fired second shot.

I always like the numbers from the .454 Casull.
 
colinjw said:
If I encountered a bear & had to get into a shooting situation, I would want as much power as possible. 44 magnum or more. If you have to go with a 45 auto then make sure that you get good ammunition. High speed hollow points would be my suggestion. Avoid the standard 230 grain round nose.
How fast can you run ?


A high velocity hollowpoint would probably be about the worst load you could use. On a dangerous animal with thick skin, muscle, and bone, you would want the maximum penetration possible. You WILL NOT achieve that with a high velocity hollowpoint. You need hot loads and hard cast bullets, which dont lose energy to deformation but keep on plowin' right through.
 
USP said:
^you probably wouldnt have time for multiple shots anyways. The Desert Eagle is buggy without proper ammo selection in .357. IMI even has a specified ammo selection list for it. Have you thought about a Glock 20 in 10mm? some of these super hand cannons look nice, but I wonder how many people could hit anything with a fast fired second shot.

I always like the numbers from the .454 Casull.
Hey thanks for advice I will try to look up info about the glock 20 see what specs I get
 
glock 20. enough said. 10mm power with the reliability of a glock. And its fairly easy to carry. Not too heavy etc. When i get my ATC for wilderness that will be my weapon of choice. Hope that helps. Due to cost of ammo, its not a gun I would go shooting 1000 rds a month with. If you want to do that buy a glock 22 or 17.

cheers
 
Luger9 said:
Welcome to CGN!

Good on you for getting your ATC. Alot of people here will envy you because of it.

My suggestion would be the Smith & Wesson 500 Magnum...Go big or you might not make it home.

S&W 500MAG
GAgrab_071405A.jpg
X2!!! http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n45/GroveCDN/Real Steel/?action=view&current=MVI_0112.flv

Shizzzzzzzzzzzaaammmm!!! It's already claimed all sorts of bears and much bigger game. ;) I'd like to see an animal that would survive that beast.
 
Cocked&Locked said:
No, high speed hollow points would be the worst choice in .45acp. Bear is much more heavily built then people, and the bones are thicker. Few hollow points will penetrate well on anything other then small black bear. This may be the one case where your best off with 230 grn hardball. Just about any other caliber in this range would be a better choice though, .357 with 158 SWC or 44mag with 240-300 grn hard cast would be better if you could deal with the recoil, 45 colt warmed up a bit if you can't.
Wow, I've learned from yet another bear defense thread. For years I have been packing a 357 in the bush when fishing or mushroom picking. ( My Marlin carbine of course not my Model 19 prohib) The gun was loaded with full house loads and Gold Dot hollow point bullets. Before the next time out I will be loading up with hard cast bullets. It would never have occured to me that hard cast would be better than hollow point. I hope this is information you can take to the bank.
 
Hornady XTP hollow points are an excellent choice, they hold together very well and have excellent penetration. That said, pretty much any other hollow point bullet will be a POOR choice for use in a defensive situation.
 
Do not take a normal .45 ACP for Bear

painperdou said:
Thanks for all of you who gave me some pointers
much appreciated
I am more towards a semi auto rather then revolver the way I look at it is like this. Revolver holds 8 rounds on average semi auto carries 10 plus one in chamber if you willing to go that way. So my analogy is like this if I can bring down a bear with one to two shots GREAT and if for some reason I need to put more in I think loading semi auto is a bit quicker not to mention 2 more shots. I was going to get a desert eagle .357 however its a bit heave about 10.5 lbs without ammo

If someone could recommend a reliable gun which will give me perfomance under extreme cold conditions I would be interested to hear from them
For now I only have the .45 so I was exploring to see if I should consider to take it out with the thinking of either have one gun or none at all
Wad cutters or semi wads will have a better penetration and less of a chance to bounce off the head
As to hollow points hummmmmmm not entirely convinced and full metal jackets have the cutting throught age however you have to consider whats beyound a target

Again any input would be appreciated



Please look under WILDERNESS CARRY MIN.CALIBER from 11-25-06.
Quite some good advise from people who "have been there" !!!
Myself included.
A Glock 20 in 10mm or a Colt Delta Elite is an outstanding performer.
And, yes, you do have time for multiple shots if needed at all.
Deep bullet penetration is a must for bears.
Cast bullets "perform" also very well.
The only "advise" I can give is : Practise..practise under time pressure !
Shotgun with 00 Buck at close range can not be beaten by any handgun,
 
The quick and easy answer:

10mm for semi-auto (and this would be iffy... but the absolute minimum)
.44Magnum for Revolver (best choice - ammunition is plentiful and it is powerful)
 
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