what caliber for side arm during bow hunt

daddio · Dec 21, 2009

I'm saving up for a new pistol to carry for protection against bears during the next elk/deer bow hunt. I was looking to get some advice on which caliber of revolver or semi auto I should look for. I wanted to stay in the $750-$850 range. Please help.

MarkSBG · Dec 21, 2009

Check out this thread where this topic was discussed.

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14018

branchbuster · Dec 21, 2009

Personally when I bow hunt I carry a 3" 357 with hot 180gr handloads. It is light and has a good punch. I tried packing my redhawg for about a week but the weight made my back hurt, I don't even notice the 357.

dirtysteve · Dec 22, 2009

I carry a 357 taurus while i bowhunt. It has a 6 in barrel. A little long but its what i got. ammo is available and its easy to shoot. with that cash, u could get whatever u needed + some. Sometimes i also carry a colt 1911 just cause i like it and u can carry multiple clips. A buddy of mine was finishing off a black bear in reedsport and hit it 3 times in the face with a 45. none of the rounds penetrated the skull. He later shot it with an 06 after he caught back up with it. It really comes down to what you want to carry as a side arm. I see a lot of bears at that time of year because of the berries and apples. Because of that reason, u probably wont have a confrontation with one because of the available food source. Most all that I see run off like scared dogs. Now if you are hunting them with your bow....thats a diff story entirely. I only hunt rifle for bear because they get angry when you poke them with sticks.

Gunner69 · Dec 22, 2009

I haven't bow hunted in years.. But my woods gun is my Colt 10mm.

Phillyfan · Dec 22, 2009

Ok, I get ripped every time for this, but I carry a Kahr PM40 when I bow hunt. It is small enough that it allows free movement without constantly jabbing me in the leg or ribs, which is nice if you are climbing in and out of a tree stand. It is loud enough to scare off just about anything, and at close range (which is the only way I would be able to hit anything anyway) with multiple shots, I feel OK about its power. It won't stop a black bear dead in it's tracks, like some of the hand canons that some carry, but its convenience of carry insures that I will always wear it in a place that is easily accesible.

Phillyfan · Jan 4, 2010

Wow, can't believe it. I get lamb-basted at other sites for carrying a PM40 bow hunting. Usually get the .357 or .44 snubby arguement (which are great choices, just bought the PM40 before I started hunting), followed by the "a bear will laugh at your mouse gun," kind of replies.

terrylf72 · Jan 4, 2010

In my oppion, nothing less then a .357 mag. But with the size of the cat i saw this last summer where I go hunting, I'd say more of a 44 mag.

roguebowhunter · Jan 5, 2010

been bow huntin for yrs .. bears have always ran If i saw them. MT.lions have been know to stalk people ... main reason i carry is for the 2 legged animals ... just my opinion ..Don

parsons_12b · Jan 5, 2010

roguebowhunter said:
been bow huntin for yrs .. bears have always ran If i saw them. MT.lions have been know to stalk people ... main reason i carry is for the 2 legged animals ... just my opinion ..Don

I agree with you bears are not a issue around here cats are starting to get bad. Two legged animals are the issue. I carry a XD 45 in a leg rig and have full confidence with it in the areas I hunt. My advice would be to get something that you can shoot well and shoot often at least 357 or bigger.

theLEMband · Jan 5, 2010

I think 10MM is acceptable if you want an autoloader. I don't know what you have to do to make it legal or if you can even carry it on a bow hunt, but a friend of mine uses a short-barrelled pistol grip shotgun when he is prospecting. You might also consider the bear spray canisters.
I had a nightmare once where a bear was charging friends. It was running perpendicular to me and I was shooting it with a rifle :gun18: with repeated hits to the head, (in dreams, I guess I'm a great shot) but they were ricocheting of it's skull. Fortunately, a log cabin appeared beside them and they ran inside.:nuts:

AWS44 · Jan 5, 2010

I carry ether P22 For rabits, GP100 w/4" or 44mag w/6" for just in case. For bears i prefer my bow!

North Bender · Jan 5, 2010

I worked in Alaska with a bow hunter who went up to the Brooks Range on the weekends to kill a grizz. Walking creeks choked with bear brush where you couldn't see 15 feet. I finally talked him into carrying a pistol - didn't matter what the caliber was - so he could shoot himself in time of need.

Gunner3456 · Jan 6, 2010

MarkSBG said:
Check out this thread where this topic was discussed.

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14018

Some friends and I went king salmon fishing on the Kenai near Soldotna. Must have been really close to where that brown (grizzly) bear was shot. Off topic - there's a Fred Meyer in Soldotna - it's where we bought our fishing tags - .

We had grizzlies wander up and down the bank quite a bit, but we were in a drift boat. A couple of days later we were taken by float plane to a more remote river to fish for silver salmon and then were were on the bank. Again, several grizzlies were fishing but they left us alone. They were well within 100 yards of us. The guide had a .44 mag and that was it.