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More than one guide/hunter/fisherman has found that bear skulls are thick & hard, and there are reports of witnesses seeing .44 mag projectiles "bounce" off their skulls when hit dead on.That's one of the things I love about NWFA. Its great that I can come here and ask a question, and however weird or specialized the question, so many people here will know all about it and are happy to share.
The 45 Redhawk is akso a good option. There's much to be said for a less powerful caliber than .454 Casull for SD against bears including grizzlies. Or even the full power 45+P, which is basically equivalent in power to a .44mag but with a fatter and maybe heavier bullet. In fact, one line of argument goes that the optimal .44mag load for defense against grizzlies isn't even a full 1100 - 1200 full power standard hunting load but instead a toned down .44mag bullet at about 800 - 1000 ft. lbs. All this assumes a proper bear load, a heavy hard cast bullet with a wide flat nose with sharp edges. The argument goes, all handgun loads are wimpy compared with a high power rifle load. Even a heart shot with a high power rifle that completely shreds the bears heart is not instantly incapacitating. It takes the bear a few seconds to die, and if he is close he can be on you and kill you with those few seconds. You need to instantly incapacitate the bear. And only a brain or spine shot will do that. The spine is a small iffy target. So basically you need to hit the bear in the head over the brain. And if the bear is charging, what you need is a gun/caliber that you can shoot with either hand, since the bear may be chewing on the other arm. And the bear loads are all heavy hard cast bullets with wide flat noses and sharp edges because that is what will penetrate the thick sloped plate of the skull as a grizzly charges you without deflecting off. If there is time its also nice to have fast follow-up shots. All the .44mag commercial bear loads I've checked in 44mag are about 800-1000 ft. lbs. And I also know that I can easily control a standard 6" .44mag with either hand with loads up to 1000 ft lbs. But at 1100 I need two hands. Using that approach the best thing to carry for bear defense if you had a Toklat would not be .454. It would be a somewhat watered down .45 +P.
The other approach to bear SD is: Many bear attacks are so fast and such a surprise that one shot is all you're gonna get. So it better be the most powerful possible.
I believe in what some guides have advocated due to the difficulty of killing a large charging brown bear:
With the right ammo, fire into the front shoulder(s) to break those bones, then the rear hip(s) to break those bones/joints. The goal is to slow down or even stop the charge by making it hard for the bear to move.
Then once that is done, you can concentrate on hitting the vitals, depending on your location relative to the bear.