Poll: Best hand gun cal. for bear

[MountainBear]

contrary to what most believe, bears are not out there looking for you. You smell bad, taste bad, and make entirely too much noise. Your best defense is "situational awareness", it's not hard, if you drive up to your delivery and see a big furry butt sticking out of a trashcan, well you figure it out. Bear attacks are not that common, and not always fatal, they will mostly avoid you. The statistics are out there, use google, Mountain lions are more unpredictable and of more concern to me.

People were killing bears long before monster calibers, I would take the .357

I do taste bad, I showered last week , so I don't smell bad, I am definitely too noisy. But bears where I hang out are usually VERY jealous fishermen. They don't take kindly to having to share a fishing hole, especially with salmon holding in it...

 

[Wenis]

Glock 20 or 29 (10MM)

agreed. Higher capacity than a revolver

 

[KomradRazvan]

I voted .40, but then thought about it some more, and read through what everyone is saying, and have changed my mind to the "other" option. "other" being the 7.62x25. It gives really good penetration. I was watching some outdoors channel the other day and they did a penetration test with different calibers. One of which was a 7.62x25, and it had the most penetration. You can get yourself a pps43 pistol or a sten pistol chambered in that round with a 32rnd clip. That should turn any bear into swiss cheese.

Another option would be a Draco pistol.... 7.62x39mm 30rnd mag.

 

[4Freedom]

I don't know why, but I just find these bear threads so humorous at times ..

Make sure to attach a grenade launcher to your rifle when in Black Bear country.. I hear sometimes they can camouflage themselves in trees and set out booby traps to catch you.


If you really want to know, most guns don't work on cougars, because, before you know it, they are already jumping on you and tearing open your neck.


Sometimes there is just not much you can do, but I think a .357+ penetrating,jacketed soft point or hard cast lead rounds will do the job in most of Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho.

Carrying around a Drako pistol, 12 ga, high cal rifle specifically for black bear defense is a bit overkill IMO. Of course, if it doesn't bother you to carry the extra weight, more power to you.


Remember, the worst bears in the woods around here, are the two legged ones without fur. I was told that smaller calibers are effective against them.

 

[KomradRazvan]

no such thing as overkill (and ofcourse the draco comment was sarcasm...)

 

[jarhead]

Hand-held gatlin gun baby

 

[MountainBear]

When you're staring at an unhappy bear, a howitzer wouldn't feel overkill.

 

[4Freedom]

So MountainBear, do you carry a howitzer with you when you go hiking or fishing here in Oregon? I have had more than a few run-ins with bears when living on the Oregon coast, one followed me on a trail for like 10 minutes, felt like 10 hours. Yeah, I would have been happy to have an M270 MLRS at that point to blow him out of the bushes he was hiding in.

If you can pack it along, more power to you. Just be sure not to be setting up your howitzer when the bear comes jumping out of the bush when you least expect it, and you have like 20 seconds to react. Thats what happened to me, except I startled the bear and he jumped into the bushes, rather than me.. LOL.. Then he began to track me down the trail and the sound of him rustling through those leaves was haunting.

I apologize, overkill was a bad word. It was a figure of speech. What I was meaning was its not really that practical for many places around here. However, if I was in Alaska, I would be packing more than just my .44 magnum, I think carrying along a 12 ga shotgun or high caliber rifle is essential.


I do think carrying a rifle in the woods would be useful for the two legged predators stalking people these days. It really does seem that you can never truly be armed enough because of the human threat. Yet, many people focus on the threat of black bears which have killed like a small fraction of what the rogue human beasts have in the wilderness, at least here in Oregon.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

Did we do that the last time we went up?

No but the thought crossed my mind. It's kind of like trying to stop a freight train with a handful of rocks.

 

[onearmedswordsman]

I admit I know nothing on the topic. What can I add that has not already been said? Maybe a real life story, well documented, would be of benefit. This is an article published last year in Field and Stream magazine, "Charging bear Killed in Alaska". Firearm? .454 Casull Ruger Redhawk.

The fellow said, "He was coming like a freight train...in total chase-mode", just like Taurus617 said.

 

[EMP9596]

I have been following this thread with intrest and finally decided to add a little input... I lived and worked in high remote Alaska for three plus years in the Aleutian Islands, Kaktovik, Barter Island and Barrow... I my opinion and my experience, and tips and info from the "old timers" and fish and wildlife officers there is not a hand gun or shotgun suitable for bear unless you can stick it in his mouth before pulling the trigger and by then you are in serious hurt... I carried the recommened 45/70 Winchester which a lot of the remote residents and natives kept handy, and a few carried the 45/90... I also saw a couple of 45/120's... these rifles are capible of breaking a hip or shoulder and penetrating thier skull which at low angle a 7mm mag sometimes will not... A bears heart / lungs are up higher and semi protected by his shoulder blades...

Just say'n, be careful...

Black Bear Anatomy & Shot Placement: <broken link removed>

Black Bear Anatomy & Shot Placement #2: http://www.inberg.ca/hunting_essentials/black_bear_anatomy_&_shot_placement2.htm

 

[rsmccsman]

Glock 20 or 29 (10MM)

+1

If I were backpacking in Bear Country this would be my first choice for defense from Bears and other wild animals. If I were actually looking to hunt a bear I would choose a rifle in a bear appropriate cartidge.

 

[captqc]

When in bear country I carry a can of pepper spray and my Dan Wesson 10mm with Buffalo Bore "Hot" loads. The pepper spray is so I will taste better to the bear when he is chewing on my carcass. I always say that the first 6 rounds are for the bear and the last round is for me if I don't kill him in time. A buddy of mine was hunting in Alaska when a grizzly charged him and his brother. His brother was out in front and froze as the bear charged, my buddy had to shoot past his brother (with his rifle) and the bear dropped dead about 10 feet in front of his brother. Talk about needing new underwear!

 

[4Freedom]

Black Bears in Oregon are not very large. I think the largest one i saw was about 400lbs. Not very small either, but this was a very large male black bear living on the Oregon coast, where they are even larger. Most bears in the valley or on the east side are not even larger than 300lbs. I just don't see why a .44 magnum is an ineffective round for a black bear. They are not that huge of an animal. There is a chance you can be killed, regardless of what caliber you use. Also, some people think they will have the time to pull out their shotgun or rifle when a bear comes out of the bushes from nowhere and charges. I know from my one experience, it can happen so fast you almost don't see it coming.

I think many skeptics of the handgun for bear defense are mistakenly thinking of the brown bear., which can weigh anywhere from 3-10 times as much as the average black bear.

Black bears have nowhere near the muscle mass , size, nor verocity that brown bears have. I feel safe with my .44 mag for black bear defense and my .45 on my hip for rogue human defense.

I am going to do some training with my .44 now that I can use the action range. I am planning on doing jump roping or some other activity to get my heartrate beating fast. This will be what it is like in real life. I will work on control the recoil of the .44 and increasing my accuracy at 10 yards or so. This would probably be the range I would start shooting the bear versus firing a warning shot.

 

[sports-shooter]

To label the bear 'black' would not be politically correct. It should be afro-american bear.

Now back to the subject...

I believe that penetration is the key here. All that fur and muscle will slowdown the bullet a lot. So, I suggest a fast bullet, with enough mass to still do some damage. Oh wait, I think I've just described a rifle round.

 

[TOVO]

My Uncle retired as a Forest Ranger in Glacier Park many years ago . But, if you want to void bears put a set of bells on your back pack or person. They will hear the bells and head away from you before you ever encounter them.

My Uncle used to carry a 44 Mag just in case. But, he used to tell us about the 5 shot bear rule. The first 5 rounds are for the bear and save the 6th for yourself.

 

[Father of four]

To label the bear 'black' would not be politically correct. It should be afro-american bear.

Now back to the subject...

I believe that penetration is the key here. All that fur and muscle will slowdown the bullet a lot. So, I suggest a fast bullet, with enough mass to still do some damage. Oh wait, I think I've just described a rifle round.

Bear of color?

 

[4Freedom]

using the term "brown" bear is also racist.. They are just bears.. LOL.

 

[Redcap]

I have a very good friend that is a trapper.
He traps bear for the logging companies since they do a lot of damage,he drops the bears with a .22 rimfire.
Before any of you decide to start popping off about how this isn't possible,he has been doing this for the better part of 30 years.
He has been the assistant to the wildlife commisioner,the head of the Oregon Fur Bearers Assoc.,a liscensed Falconer,the list of credentials is endless.
If any of you are trappers,you probably know whom i am refering to.
(A hint to who it is,he drives a Grn IHC Scout 1/2 cab,very modified.)
We did some experimenting with loads that would be used for bear,even the almighty 44 mag failed on our black bears.
If i can find the recovered slugs,will take some pictures to show the results.They even still have the hair and brain matter in them.
The wildlife biologists were nice enough to recover the bullets and give them back to me so i could analyze the results,i was surprised to say the least.
After seeing the results,or lack there of,he went back to using his Ruger Bearcat .22 revolver.
Just so there is no misunderstanding,these bears were in traps,but still very much alive. Shot placement is still important regardless of the situation,and he is quite good with what he uses.
RK

Bullbubblegum.

 

[TGRAHAM]

Nothing less than a 44mag,5o would be better.i have seen a 357 bounch of a skull.