Moving to grizzly country

[raylo]

I used to back pack at Upper Priest Lake's north side, Priest Falls at the Canadian border and surrounding areas. Not a heavy Griz population but they are around. Also moose and other large bears in the area. I carried a SW 629 on my thigh and speed loaders ready to go. I carried spray but I think they make better sprays today than they did 25 yrs ago. I definitely felt better with the 44 mag than the spray.
Bear can out sprint a horse in a straight line but they can't corner for schitt and they can't go downhill well. It's not uncommon for them to go head over from tripping on their front legs getting too much speed on downward inclines. Move sideways and try to get/be downhill of it, if instinct so guides you. Eat meat so you don't smell like prey. And pay attention to wind direction. They can smell you before you can see them.

edit: btw I never encountered a Griz but I did encounter other bears without incident.

 

[best defense]

Hey all, I'm moving to the Flathead County area of Montana and I was wondering what type of sidearm you would carry while hiking. My thought would be either a S&W 629 in .44 or a Glock 10mm. I'm leaning more towards the Glock due to my experience and training. However a .44 has its upside. Thoughts? Any response would be appreciated. Keys.

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I have a 10mm and a couple of 44s, and for my money I would take the 44 first. If you assume that you are not hunting with a handgun and only want something you can depend on for last ditch survival. you will probably be much closer to the bruin when the feces hits the fan than you would like to be. I am not knocking the 10mm at all and it will hold more ammo than the 44, but it is likely that you will only get one or two shots off before the bear is all over you, so at that point you want something that is not likely to fail to cycle in a close quarters battle for your life.
Glocks are good, don't get me wrong about that. I own more than one, but with a 300 pound or larger bear on top of you, the bigger the hole you can poke in him/her the better. A 500 S&W would not be too much at that point. You won't even notice the recoil in a life or death struggle. Carry it in a chest holster so you can reach it from a defensive position. Your belt is too far away to draw and shoot when the bear is biting at your face.
Draw, contact and put the muzzle under his chin. Don't stop pulling the trigger until the gun is empty. Assuming you survive, go wash your wounds and change your pants.
I hope you never find yourself in that position.

 

[Jason200911]

If you are looking at 10mm automatics, you may also want to look at the EAA Tangfolio Witness.
Some of their models are quite reasonable and have significant capacity.
LINK

2023 and it turns out they're all gone now.... use to only be 550 or 500 for a compact.
Wanted one because it's even smaller than my current 9mm compact and holds the same capacity while being 10mm
Research shows that the tanfoglio stock mags and polymer frame sucks. The stock mags hold 11 rounds and poorly made ones will hold 8 until you cut the grooves of the mag to fix up the bad machining. Mec gar says their's holds 14 true flush. Dang shame because the only other compact 10mm is the glock 29 and springfield