Poll: Best hand gun cal. for bear

[Gunner3456]

Some people have been charged by bears in such a way the the bear spray might be too late IMHO. Bears can really move, and when they run their head doesn't hold still. They kind of lope.

We also have cougars around here and I simply don't go for a walk in the woods behind the house (wilderness area) without my Remington 1100 with the fully rifled barrel and the Accutip bonded sabot slugs. I also always have my Glock in .40 SW but I don't know if it would do any good soon enough to stop the bear if it grabbed me. Probably not.

 

[Sabertooth]

Loaded with 1.5oz rifled slugs. Although I do like the bear mace idea best. Keep you CCW for the two legged assailants.

Where can I get one??

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Where can I get one??

Serbu Shortie

 

[Hook686]

.357 magnum with Buffalo Bore 180 grain hard cast.

 

[BANE]

357.......

 

[BLUE COLLAR IRONS]

500 s&w magnum. its the side arm of fisherman and hunters in alaska. pretty much made for bear..

 

[DonovanJay]

Fish a handgun bullet out of a bear a few times and then you'll see how important shot placement is over caliber. People will tell you that you can fire a cannon at black bears and it will just bounce off, but lead fired at high velocities will penetrate the skull of anything that walks north america. 22lr will penetrate a bear skull, but keep in mind that people rarely get attacked by black bears in the lower 48.. People in Oregon NEVER seem to get eaten by black bears.. go figure.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

The best caliber for bear is a 1 OZ shot of your favorite hi test at home in your man cave looking at pictures of bruins

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Fish a handgun bullet out of a bear a few times and then you'll see how important shot placement is over caliber. People will tell you that you can fire a cannon at black bears and it will just bounce off, but lead fired at high velocities will penetrate the skull of anything that walks north america. 22lr will penetrate a bear skull, but keep in mind that people rarely get attacked by black bears in the lower 48.. People in Oregon NEVER seem to get eaten by black bears.. go figure.

Wrong.. black bears attack a LOT of people in the lower 48

 

[wired]

The black bear in the east are a hell of a lot bigger than the little guys around here. The ones Ive seen in Oregon and Washington look like big dogs.

 

[2506]

The best caliber for bear is a 1 OZ shot of your favorite hi test at home in your man cave looking at pictures of bruins

1 OZ is a little light, don't ya think Blitz?

 

[Blitzkrieg]

1 OZ is a little light, don't ya think Blitz?

Just an opening salvo

 

[DieselScout]

What's the best hand gun caliber to put this thread down?

 

[langsethnw]

Hunters with dogs kill treed black bears all the time with a .22 magnum pistols and rifles so I don't think caliber size is as critical as you think. Shot placement and high velocity probably is best answer. That would be your .357 Magnum wheel gun that you can practice with .38 special loads but when it comes to hunting, use the .357 Magnum 158 gr. semi-jacket soft point, not hollow point. I knew a few Alaska hunters that only used .44 magnum 300 gr. solid's for backup. One guy carried a 12 gauge pump shotgun with slugs as his big bear medicine. But they grow some pretty big bears up north. Hornady's new "Critical Duty" ammo just might be the trick for ya. Tested well on car doors, glass windshield and thick heavy clothing so unless the bear is in a pickup truck wearing a leather biker jacket, you should be OK:~)

 

[AIRASSAULT18B]

500MAG with this round. The 700 gr. Hardcast is now part of our permanent line-up, and the response has been TREMENDOUS! This will handle any Tyrannosaurus in your back yard. This is the LARGEST COMMERCIAL LOAD AVAILABLE, and the only place you can get it is right here. Our standard loading for best accuracy and all-around knockdown power is 1200 fps with 2240 ft. lbs. of energy and a Taylor KO Factor of 60. The Taylor Factor places this between a 375 H&H Magnum and a 458 Win Mag. If you plan on shooting more than one or two of these in one session, we recommend wearing a padded shooting glove. If you are into maximum recoil and self-abuse, this is the round for you. The bottom line is - You've bought the Biggest and the Baddest Revolver out there and this will demonstrate it's MAXIMUM CAPABILITY!! Permission to lock this thread now granted

 

[OFADAN]

Man survives struggle with black bear in Oregon - seattlepi.com

Oregon black bear shot in shoulder with .338 and still lives plenty long enough to chew on an arm of hunter and go on the attack. Multiple shots fired into bear before finally stopped including a .45 pistol malfuncting and owner doesn't know how to do a single handed malfunction clearance under deress...this is better than a made for TV movie!

Bears unlike deer have an innate drive and will to survive. They are not impressed even with large caliber rifles. Tree'd bears behave differently than bears on the ground under attack or whom are threatened. They generally are subdued by the dogs whom they're terrified by and hold still for a fatal shot. On the ground they're fuel by the need to fight back with a vengeance.

While infrequent bear attacks do happen in the NW - http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-n...attack_in_ne_washingtons_colville_forest.html

In the wild the preditor order of potential attack in the wilderness is 1. Cougar, tied with 2. Human, then 3.Bear.

 

[nitestocker]

you said you have a 45, 40 and 357 of those id use the 357 with double tap 180 gr hard cast i have a glock 23 i use the 200 gr hard cast but i wish i had a 10mm

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Hunters with dogs kill treed black bears all the time with a .22 magnum pistols and rifles so I don't think caliber size is as critical as you think. Shot placement and high velocity probably is best answer.

This is silly.. there is a HUGE difference between a treed bear with dogs and one angry and coming at you to make you a snack

 

[Tacreloader]

.44 mag or bigger for me.