Moving to grizzly country

[Dozer99]

Now that I think about it, A Ruger GP100 in 44 special with hand loads would be my ideal backup gun.

However I will caution you whatever gun you choose, Practice, practice and then practice some more. Fire it while lying down. Fire it with your weak hand (a lot) and fire it from the hip. then when you think you've practiced enough, Practice some more. Practice so that you don't become Food!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

I'd wouldn't worry over much 'bout it...just carry some salmon Jerky in yer pockets...
Just kidding...
I would suggest whichever handgun you shoot the best with and with a good hard cast bullet.
Andy

 

[titsonritz]

I agree with your statement, however I have shot thousands of rounds through a Glock, and maybe a dozen with a .44. So its that familiarity or lack there of (.44) that weighs on my mind.

Familiarity and proficiency is a pretty big deal when dealing with dangerous game. Hits with a 10 will beat misses with a 44 and G40 will squeeze a little more juice out of the 10mm. That said, I'd put the time in on getting good with a 44mag or larger wheel gun, I want the power.

 

[turq]

Whatever gun you choose; when you get on a trail with huckle berries at eye level You will feel under gunned.
45-70 from the hip and a 15 round G-29 back up.

 

[joken]

I would carry my G40 in a chest rig with 16 rounds of hard cast. I didn't have much use for Glocks until I bought this one. Glock has tamed the recoil from the 10mm.

 

[Ura-Ki]

Or, Get your self one of these bad boys! RIA 10 mm Double Stack, 17 rounds of the baddest 10 mm ammo you can find!


Glock What? Supported/ramped barrel for your super stoked hand loads!

 

[Kruel J]

Or, Get your self one of these bad boys! RIA 10 mm Double Stack, 17 rounds of the baddest 10 mm ammo you can find!

View attachment 571348
Glock What? Supported/ramped barrel for your super stoked hand loads!

Yeahbut......I got nothing.

 

[jghuwe]

Shot placement. I grew up in the Flathead.

This story tells a lot. Lou was a good friend of my dad.
Grizzly Attack Caught on Camera

 

[OldBroad44]

Since you are much more familiar with 10mm I think that's the best choice for you. With a handgun you need to shoot the bear in the head to get instant incapacitation. A body shot may kill the bear, but not before it makes a real mess out of you. And getting a bullet through the hide and skull on a charging bear requires a non-expanding bullet. So go for hard cast or full metal jacketed, NOT any kind of jhp or soft point.

Sure a .44 mag would be more effective than a 10mm with a body shot; but neither would guarantee instant incapacitation. So you need to hit the brain. And if you hit the brain, its not going to make much difference whether it was with a 10 mm, a .44 special, a .45 Colt, a .44 mag, or a .454 Cassull. Assuming hard cast or metal jacketed bullets. The bullet type is probably way more critical than the exact caliber among those. No JHPs for defense against bears. And nothing round nosed. These are more likely to deflect without penetrating off the heavy sloped bear skull than a bullet with a flat nose and sharp edges.

(As for the lady who shot the bear with a .22-- its easy to get a .22 bullet into a bear skull from the side, where the skull is thin and the bullet is hitting perpendicular to the skull. Getting a small round nose bullet like a .22 or 9mm into a bear skull from the front is totally different. The skull is thick and sloped and the bullet can easily deflect instead of penetrate. And if the bear is charging, the latter is what is relevant.)

 

[tlfreek]

bear spray bear spray bear spray. but i know nothing about this except what I have read in several forums / articles. have a hard hitting round in a awesome gun is great, but bear spray is better. have both and survive. The below is from an ad, but the description here is similar to what I have read elsewhere.
The Results of Bear Spray VS a Firearm

Bear spray incidents involving 175 persons resulted in 3 injuries, all minor (<2% injury rate). Firearms incidents involving 478 persons resulted in 17 fatalities (15%), 25 severe injuries (22%), 42 suffered moderate injury (37%), 29 suffered slight injuries (26%), for a total 113 injuries (24% injury rate). Hence, firearms users experienced 12 times the injury rate of those using bear spray.Of the 71 cases where persons sprayed bears to defend themselves, 14% (10 of 71) of users reported the spray having had negative side effects upon themselves, ranging from minor irritation (11%, 8 of 71) to near incapacitation (3%, 2 of 71).Causal firearm failures were identified in 100 firearm cases, where users reported mechanical or physical issues with the use of a firearm, including lack of time (32%), unable to use firearm due to situation (21%), mechanical issues (11%), safety/ holster issues (9%), insufficient caliber/ no bullets left (9%), distance to bear (8%), missed bear (6%), or tripped and fell (4%).No bears were injured in conflicts involving bear spray, however, 23 bears were wounded and 176 killed in incidents involving firearms.

Why bear is spray better?

Bear Deterrent Pepper Spray works better in a bear attack situation because of its ease of use. Aiming is not a big factor like it is with a firearm and you are not relying on a bullet to stop the bear by hitting it in a vital spot. Even when this is the case, sometimes the bear can advance and attack if it does not expire right away. This can actually work against the gun user as now you have a wounded bear and this may intensify the attack. With bear spray you're not stopping the bear with pain necessarily. You might think this as it really is painful to be sprayed. However, what you're really doing is taking away the bears senses. The bear's sight is impaired, but more importantly its breathing and sense of smell are taken away by the spray. Anyone that has ever been hit with a fog pattern pepper spray can tell you how difficult it is to breathe when sprayed. It actually can be very scary. For a bear, this is certainly the case. The bear will have no idea what is happening and this changes the behavior the bear was displaying prior to being sprayed.

Bear Spray: A bullet to the brain!

What you're actually doing is putting a bullet right up the bear's nose and into his brain when using bear spray. I say this because a bear's brain is so geared for the sense of smell. A bloodhound can smell about a thousand times better than a human. A bear can smell about seven times that of a bloodhound. Basically, the bear malfunctions and his brain tells it to go the other way. With bear pepper spray you're truly packing heat!

 

[Alexx1401]

Or, Get your self one of these bad boys! RIA 10 mm Double Stack, 17 rounds of the baddest 10 mm ammo you can find!

View attachment 571348
Glock What? Supported/ramped barrel for your super stoked hand loads!

Hmmm, that looks interesting, price near me is in the $650 range out the door. Very tempting.

 

[Alexx1401]

Shot placement. I grew up in the Flathead.

This story tells a lot. Lou was a good friend of my dad.
Grizzly Attack Caught on Camera

DAMN!!! One VERY lucky guy he was. Damn shame they had to kill the animal. Bet they were a WHOLE lot more careful next time they went to release one

 

[mrblond]

reminds me of this

 

[CountryGent]

There are no grizzly bear that I know of in these parts, but there are black bear, many other creatures, and of course the two-legged problems. When working in the forest on or around our place, I often carry a Lupara. It is a 12-gauge (2¾"), shortened way back to 11" barrel. It packs easy and hits hard. Alas, this required some paperwork and a tax paid, but once done, well, it was done.



Beyond that, I've found the Model 29 a very versatile handgun, with loads ranging from very light to quite stout.



So, similar to your 629.

(Don't discount a light lever-action rifle in .44 Magnum or .30/30 WCF either. As long as it is close by.)

You live in some beautiful country now. Best of wishes, friend.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

My choice in .45-70...

 

[Ura-Ki]

If I carry a long gun, its one of these two ( unless I'm actually hunting) and ether option would be ideal!

 

[Ura-Ki]

As long as you carry something and know how to use it!

 

[CountryGent]

22 rifle.

Hunting: Bella Twin, Little Woman with a Little Gun, a Big Bear and a Cold Front - The Truth About Guns

(teehee) My penchant for the giggles aside, eh, no. I am thinking 12-gauge, .44 Magnum, and the rest is a little better, though less humorous in this discourse.

 

[JedB]

Who wants a gun from a manufacturer most folks can't even spell correctly?

It's Tanfoglio, BTW. Not Tangfolio.

Hey, I got the EAA part

 

[solv3nt]

Just make sure to shave off the front sight....