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May only get one shot, make it count.
Of course you could follow the example of Gene Moe of Anchorage.
He and his friends hunt deer on the offshore islands.
He had one down, set his rifle aside to gut him out.
A bear smelled the offal and moved right in, no warning.
Gene fed his left arm to the bear and stabbed with his right hand.
When Gene's knife hit the Bear's spine, the bear collapsed.
Gene made his way to the beach where the group agreed to meet and collapsed.
Group called the Coast Guard, airlifted Gene to hospital in Anchorage.
Gene's left arm scars are very scary impressive.
 
I just did some research on the .460 Rowland. Holy crap, over 900 ft. lb. of muzzle energy. I think I need that one. Either a conversion kit for the 1911 I already have or a Glock 21 with a .460 barrel. That just might be the way to go.
 
I just did some research on the .460 Rowland. Holy crap, over 900 ft. lb. of muzzle energy. I think I need that one. Either a conversion kit for the 1911 I already have or a Glock 21 with a .460 barrel. That just might be the way to go.
Whichever pistol caliber you go find a hard cast bullet that will function. I have been told by bear hunters penetration is what you are after.
 
I stopped by a shop in Salem today looking for a gun that I had seen in the case a month or two ago, it was still there. The owner offered me a deal I couldn't refuse, the gun, holster and 55 rounds of ammunition. I couldn't help myself and went all the way, as big as I could get.





A S&W X-Frame in .500 S&W with a 4" barrel. Comes with two different muzzle compensators, one for lead and one for jacketed bullets. Fired casing has a 5/05 date, allegedly had only 5 round through it. Looking forward to my next trip to the range!

P1010952_zps092f94ed.jpg P1010951_zps7e542b57.jpg
 
A word to the wise - the first few times you shoot it only put one in the cylinder so you have an appreciation for what you are doing - far too many videos out there where the recoil gets the best of them on the first shot and the recoil ends up causing them to loose control and fire again - some ended up shooting themselves with the second shot. Not saying you can't handle it by any means but its a good idea. I've shot a few of those with the longer barrel and they are not what I would call comfortable though they are a great choice for your application.
 
A word to the wise - the first few times you shoot it only put one in the cylinder so you have an appreciation for what you are doing - far too many videos out there where the recoil gets the best of them on the first shot and the recoil ends up causing them to loose control and fire again - some ended up shooting themselves with the second shot. Not saying you can't handle it by any means but its a good idea. I've shot a few of those with the longer barrel and they are not what I would call comfortable though they are a great choice for your application.
Wise advice, I have a 500 and even I did this just wise to know what to expect
 
A word to the wise - the first few times you shoot it only put one in the cylinder so you have an appreciation for what you are doing - far too many videos out there where the recoil gets the best of them on the first shot and the recoil ends up causing them to loose control and fire again - some ended up shooting themselves with the second shot. Not saying you can't handle it by any means but its a good idea. I've shot a few of those with the longer barrel and they are not what I would call comfortable though they are a great choice for your application.

Absolutely my plan, one at a time until I get used to it. I've heard the stories of folks double-tapping themselves in the head/chest...

As an aside, I actually met this guy the other day:

 
First choice would be a semi auto 12ga with slugs. If I had to choose a handgun I would take a G20 with hard cast and a lone wolf 9in barrel0.

The only way to stop a bear with a handgun is to hit the CNS. It does not matter if it is a 10mm, .44mag or a .500mag as long as it has the penetration capabilities to hit the vitals. After that, I would want the capacity to be able to fire multiple shots in succession. For me, I would rather hit a bear 5 times with a 10mm than hit them once with a .500mag. When the adrenaline is pumping great shot placement is hard to come by. YMMV

 
I have no personal experience, but if I was in your shoes, I would pick up a Glock 29 in 10mm and load it with Doubletap, 200gr hard-cast lead gas check flat nose.

You know, 99% chance you never need it, so you might as well choose something as light as possible that could still do the trick if you need it. I'd take 10 rounds of 10mm before 6 rounds of .454 or .44Mag.
 
I had one of those 4" 500s a few years ago. Quite the powerhouse. Get a good holster for it and don't be afraid to look at a cross draw. Stays out of your way, but is right there when you need it. Stick with a 350gr or heavier bullet and you'll stop anything you're gonna stop with a handgun. Nice choice of handgun.

Whoever recommended a 10mm or a 44 Mag as "minimum", forgot about the 41 Mag. More power than a 10mm, and basically neck and neck with the 44 unless you're trying to shoot 300gr bullets. Ammo selection is not great, though.

But, it wouldn't be hard to go about your business with a good 12 gauge pump. Mossberg makes a few models with a 20" barrel that will hold 7 rounds of "fight stopper". A good sling will keep it handy. The biggest thing is to have it on you, not laying down somewhere.
 
I had one of those 4" 500s a few years ago. Quite the powerhouse. Get a good holster for it and don't be afraid to look at a cross draw. Stays out of your way, but is right there when you need it. Stick with a 350gr or heavier bullet and you'll stop anything you're gonna stop with a handgun. Nice choice of handgun.

Thanks. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get this holster:

http://www.diamonddcustomleather.com/Chest_Holsters.php
 
We had a 460 with a 8" barrel at the LGS up here. I had been looking at getting a 454,so this was interesting to me.I went on line to see all I could.Ran into a thread about how the 454 is a wimp and the 460,480 compared to the 500,blah,blah,blah.
Then a few guys who had tried most all of them,had gone back to a controllable caliber,a affordable caliber...the 44mag.
With recoil,second shot times and the expense of the ammo,they said there wasn't anything the bigger calibers did that much better than the 44 to warrant the negatives.
Now having a 2000 bear blowing snot all over you and looking at you like tomorrows turd,might be a little intimidating.Last thing I would want is a handgun that was intimidating also.
I would carry my g20 with hard cast and have a 12ga riot size shotty over my back

And the 460 that I was looking at buying next summer cause it wouldn't sell by then,sold about 3 days latter,lol
 
I stopped by a shop in Salem today looking for a gun that I had seen in the case a month or two ago, it was still there. The owner offered me a deal I couldn't refuse, the gun, holster and 55 rounds of ammunition. I couldn't help myself and went all the way, as big as I could get.





A S&W X-Frame in .500 S&W with a 4" barrel. Comes with two different muzzle compensators, one for lead and one for jacketed bullets. Fired casing has a 5/05 date, allegedly had only 5 round through it. Looking forward to my next trip to the range!


Yep that one is a winner:) About the same energy as the 12 ga slug, maybe a bit more.
When you shoot it you know what you have in your hand. That is a true definition of a hand Canon.
 
We had a 460 with a 8" barrel at the LGS up here. I had been looking at getting a 454,so this was interesting to me.I went on line to see all I could.Ran into a thread about how the 454 is a wimp and the 460,480 compared to the 500,blah,blah,blah.
Then a few guys who had tried most all of them,had gone back to a controllable caliber,a affordable caliber...the 44mag.
With recoil,second shot times and the expense of the ammo,they said there wasn't anything the bigger calibers did that much better than the 44 to warrant the negatives.
Now having a 2000 bear blowing snot all over you and looking at you like tomorrows turd,might be a little intimidating.Last thing I would want is a handgun that was intimidating also.
I would carry my g20 with hard cast and have a 12ga riot size shotty over my back

And the 460 that I was looking at buying next summer cause it wouldn't sell by then,sold about 3 days latter,lol

One nice thing about the .460 S&W is that you can shoot .454 Casull and .45 LC out of the same gun as sub-calibers, much like you can shoot .38 Special out of a .357 Magnum. I had considered it, but the .500 was calling my name.

Incidentally, while I was at the store pondering purchasing the .500 I was thinking in my head what I would have to sell to pay for it. The first gun that popped into my head to sell was my sporterized Schmidt-Rubin; as I was thinking that a guy behind me started talking about how he needed to find a Schmidt-Rubin. He ended up buying it from me today, I think it was meant to be!
 
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Absolutely my plan, one at a time until I get used to it. I've heard the stories of folks double-tapping themselves in the head/chest...

As an aside, I actually met this guy the other day:



The compensator and the shorter barrel will make it not quite so bad.
You definitely want a handgun bear stopper, you got one there.
Not for limp wristers ROFLOL
You might want a fire extinguisher nearby LOL.... kidding..
 

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