10mm for bear country?

[rooster]

I’m in the process of planning some western hunting trip and my array of 9mm and 380 pistols leaves me feeling, well a little underpowered for bear country.

Anyone have any experience with 10mm pistols they care to share? I’m looking real hard at the g20sf if glock extends the blue label to vets again this year. Also looking at 44’s but I haven’t really ever handled any revolvers.

This is for a sidearm in conjunction with bear spray and the rifle/bow I will be hunting with.

 

[ECS686]

I was stationed in Montana in the early 1990's when 10mm was popular the first time. (Never really fell out of favor there) Several LE agencies use it and Yellowstone county SD (Billings) still does in Glock 20 as of last couple years unless they've switched.

Pros on 10mm you can get a Glock for 5-600. There are different power loads from original loadings to watered down almost 40 .holds 15 rounds Downside Ammo can still be iffy on supply/offerings/variety on store shelves anyway and runs more than traditional popular cartridges.

44 mag more powerful period Ruger Blackhawk is around 550-6 but 6 rounds and slower to shoot , Redhawk 750 ish S&W N frame 800 plus. Follow up shots quicker. And when your not packing for bears 44 special is a joy and easy to reload when back here. but some folks get fixated on the lower round capacity.

Ubness you want a 44 mag down the road If you have to buy a gun for the trip I'd lean towards the Glock 10mm simply for cost.

10 mm as far as shooting is a good round and like I mentioned you have an array of power levels that while is not a 44 mag it is above nost others and would be just fine if you do your part.

And while bears are a concern your chance of contact is really low if you take precautions. I've been all over the Bob Marshal Wilderness hunting and while I saw a few I was able to stay way clear of them. The biggest issue is if you get up into the timber areas where you don't have a clear areas and can be on top of them or them you before you know it. And take precautions when you field dress your game if you are in fact up in the wilderness areas. That can attract them as well.

Good luck

 

[sugarcreekbrass]

A few yrs ago hunting in Colorado, we ran into another hunter who was carrying a G20 for back up. I have been told that revolvers are better for back up in hunting situations because less can go wrong. You don't have to worry about FTE or FTF. If you get a light primer strike, just pull the trigger again for another round. As far as round limitations, if you have a bear or another animal charge, you won't have time to dump a mag and load another. I bought a Smith 629 with a 4" barrel for hunitng/hiking protection. It seemed like a lot of people like the 44 mag for that purpose.

 

[AGarbers]

The experts claim pepper/bear spray is the best choice. Yes, you may kill a grizzly with a handgun, but they won't die before they kill you. Pepper spray can stop them right in their tracks.

 

[two70]

The experts claim pepper/bear spray is the best choice. Yes, you may kill a grizzly with a handgun, but they won't die before they kill you. Pepper spray can stop them right in their tracks.

Experts recommend bear spray because it is faster to deploy if carried properly and for some other very questionable reasons. The second part is not at all correct. Based on research of bear encounters where handguns were actually used, handguns are 95% effective at successfully stopping bear attacks. Even 9mms have been used to successfully stop grizzly attacks without injury to the person. I'm pretty sure the author, Dean is a member here. Pepper spray can stop a bear attack but it can and has failed miserably as well.

To the OP, having a handgun that you can draw and place accurate shots with as rapidly as possible is far more important than having a large caliber. A more compact 10mm may serve you better in that regard than a full size G20. As usual, bullet/ammo selection is more important than caliber. Having pepper spray properly mounted on your belt so that it can be sprayed without drawing as a backup is also a good idea.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Get and carry bear spray regardless of which firearm.

I've said here several times before, but a friend of mine used to be stationed on Kodiak Island, AK for us USCG duties. He bought a S&W 686 for his woods gun. I asked him why not something...bigger. He said that most folks around there carry .357s vs. larger .44s.

If you already HAVE a .357 - I say use that.

But if you're just jonesing for a new G20... I say buy that and utilize the 2x capacity vs. a .357.

 

[AGarbers]

Get and carry bear spray regardless of which firearm.

I've said here several times before, but a friend of mine used to be stationed on Kodiak Island, AK for us USCG duties. He bought a S&W 686 for his woods gun. I asked him why not something...bigger. He said that most folks around there carry .357s vs. larger .44s.

If you already HAVE a .357 - I say use that.

But if you're just jonesing for a new G20... I say buy that and utilize the 2x capacity vs. a .357.

While I was in the USCG I heard many stories from those that had been stationed on Kodiak Island. The standing joke was to get a .44 magnum revolver but file the front sight off. That way it wouldn't hurt so bad when the bear shoved it up your behind. I read an article many years ago about what park rangers prefer to carry while in grizzly country. Their weapon of choice was a 12-gauge loaded with slugs. The last time I was in Yellowstone I watched a park ranger as he tried to get a grizzly to move away from a crowded area. He was carrying a shotgun. I don't know if it was loaded with bean bags, rubber bullets, or something more lethal. He was staying a respectable distance away while gently herding the bear.

 

[walleyepw]

Carry a .22 lr and make sure you have a friend you can shoot in the knee!

 

[medcoxo]

I was thinking 357 too, I would definitely want a revolver.

 

[Vigilant]

In various trips to MT, I’ve always carried a G20 with Buffalo Bore 220gr Hard cast, the locals I’ve been there to visit use the same or more, mostly .44 Mag, and 12ga, but a good many are sportin’ G20’s and BB 220. I’ve also read that BB220 only dumps about 5-600 ft/lbs of energy, “not near enough for grizzly”, but ive read of 9MM stopping frizz attack’s as well as guys with knives and arrowheads? I posit, that if confronted, after I crap myself(or during who’s really paying attentions?), I will pull the trigger until it’s dead, or I am. As long as I get rounds on target, I’ll come out on top. It make take one, two, or the whole ****ing magazine, but if you face shoot ANYTHING enough times, they WILL change their mind.

 

[Brad69]

I will just leave this here!

https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/de...s-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz5jF9uGYjf

BTW
Buffalo Bore has “bear” ammo for most handguns.

Note:
Seems like a quite a few failures of bear spray?

 

[two70]

While I was in the USCG I heard many stories from those that had been stationed on Kodiak Island. The standing joke was to get a .44 magnum revolver but file the front sight off. That way it wouldn't hurt so bad when the bear shoved it up your behind. I read an article many years ago about what park rangers prefer to carry while in grizzly country. Their weapon of choice was a 12-gauge loaded with slugs. The last time I was in Yellowstone I watched a park ranger as he tried to get a grizzly to move away from a crowded area. He was carrying a shotgun. I don't know if it was loaded with bean bags, rubber bullets, or something more lethal. He was staying a respectable distance away while gently herding the bear.

I almost applied for a job with the USFWS based in Alaska back when I first graduated college. The primary requirements included: 1. Must be familiar with firearms. 2. Must be able to handle a 12 gauge shotgun with slugs or a .375 H&H.

In most cases a shotgun would obviously be a better choice than a handgun for dealing with a bear but sometimes there is simply not enough time to get a long gun in play. I have read reports of rifle armed hunters being killed by bears. Sometimes the barrels on the rifles are bent by the force of the attack. The myth that handguns are completely ineffective is just a myth though.

 

[Hohn]

DA revolver, end of story. I don't care much which caliber, as long as it's .357 or bigger and loaded with appropriate hardcast. But you definitely want a DA revolver. You need to be able to deal with a bad primer (or other ammo malfunction) with just a trigger pull.

Also, while you can get hardcast bullets in a semi-auto, you can't get high sectional density ones. There's nothing in a 9mm, 45, or 10mm that's comparable in sectional density to a 180gr .357 or a 340gr .44.

Personally, I'd be carrying a Super Redhawk in .44 with the Buffalo Bore 340gr +P+ load. Yes, it's nuclear hot. NO, you don't want to practice with it.

 

[Route 45]

I've read that a lot of guides in grizzly country carry the Glock 20. Any hardcast 10mm load will penetrate just fine, and I'd certainly rather have 16 rounds than 5 or 6, not to mention the far better trigger in the Glock. A good 220 grain load in 10mm is not that much different in sectional density than a 180 grain .357, certainly not enough to make any difference. They make similar power, in the 700 ft. lb range, depending on barrel length. I'll take a chance for 3 or 4 shots to the face/neck of a grizzly over 1 "nuclear" .44 load with a double action gun that I never practice with and can't get the muzzle down fast enough for a follow up shot.

 

[Expat]

DA revolver, end of story. I don't care much which caliber, as long as it's .357 or bigger and loaded with appropriate hardcast. But you definitely want a DA revolver. You need to be able to deal with a bad primer (or other ammo malfunction) with just a trigger pull.

Also, while you can get hardcast bullets in a semi-auto, you can't get high sectional density ones. There's nothing in a 9mm, 45, or 10mm that's comparable in sectional density to a 180gr .357 or a 340gr .44.

Personally, I'd be carrying a Super Redhawk in .44 with the Buffalo Bore 340gr +P+ load. Yes, it's nuclear hot. NO, you don't want to practice with it.

I would carry my .45 Colt unless I could convince myself that I really need to get the .454 Casull. You can load them just as hot as the .44 mag.

 

[Hohn]

I would carry my .45 Colt unless I could convince myself that I really need to get the .454 Casull. You can load them just as hot as the .44 mag.

The particular load in question-- the BB 340gr load has no 45 colt equivalent. You'd need to step up to .454 and the stiff recoil.

 

[teddy12b]

I recently went through this mental exercise prior to a backpacking trip in Denali Alaska last year. I went with a buddy who's much faster and in far better shape so I paid extra attention to this topic. The bottom line of the discussion as I see it is what's the biggest gun that you can draw fast enough like your life depends on it, fire and hit a moving target with when you're tired and having a bad shooting day accuracy wise. I know it's the internet and everyone here is bigger, stronger, and a better shot than myself, but here's what I tried and ultimately decided.

We were flying, with a connecting flight through Chicago. Even though I've heard from many people it's easy to fly with a gun I still didn't want to risk something happening to a flight, me having to take possession of my firearm for any reason in a state as unfriendly to guns as IL is. With that in mind, I went with a 4" S&W 44mag with the 5 shot cylinder. Capacity wouldn't turn any heads if I did have to take possession, revolvers are seen as more "classic" and less menacing in case I did have to take possession. The problem with that gun was that I couldn't draw and fire accurately while all loaded up with my gear on (as I would be in the wilderness). It's easy to talk about hitting targets at the range laying a gun on the table and then picking it up to shoot, but how are you going to actually carry it. For me, I was backpacking so hip carry was out, drop leg was out, and I ended up getting a hill people gear chest pouch with the kydex trigger guard type holster for the S&W. Fully loaded, moving, and drawing from the pouch really wasn't easy and I did very poorly with it. All my daydreams of being able to go full commando at the drop of the hat with that revolver were very far from the reality of my performance. Most of that is because a 44mag is more powerful than I like to shoot or am capable of shooting under stress. I know everyone on the internet is a tougher guy than me and I'm fine with that.

I/we ended up just taking bear spray and avoided the 8 grizzly bears we saw in the park. Grizzly's are no joke. The way they move through thick brush is something amazing to watch. The speed they move at casually is like a powerwalk for humans. I have no illusions in my head about being able to outrun or out maneuver one of those critters. They are awe inspiring and I have zero desire to shoot one outside of saving my life or someone else's. The bear spray was what I'd call a better than nothing compromise because it was certainly the easiest solution all the way around. Even in Denali, we had to have a little reality check, while it's every bit of wilderness there's still thousands of people who go there every year without incident. We didn't need to go with full tactical loadout.

If Denali had been 3 hours down the road, I'd have probably taken a lightweight lever 44mag rifle that I've popped a lot of deer with. If I were to chose a pistol to carry, I'd absolutely buy a full size glock 10mm because a 10mm semi auto is the most powerful gun I can draw and shoot accurately. I've owned a G20SF before and the only reason I sold it was because at the time, I couldn't hunt with it in Indiana and there wasn't a much for less expensive factory ammo out there to practice with. If I were to buy a handgun for bear protection, it'd be some kind of a 10mm and would not feel undergunned at all. Keep in mind with full power loads it's got more horsepower than a 357mag.

One thing I haven't noticed mentioned yet is the weight. If you're going to carry this a long ways, compare the weights of everything you're looking at fully loaded. There's a reason the guys in Alaska carry glock 10mm's. The weight is about the same as a 44mag revolver but you have more rounds to problem solve with. When we stopped by local gun stores, we asked what the locals were carrying and what the real people really doing the Alaskan life were using and the overwhelming response was that more people are going to the 10mm and it's gaining popularity every day. Only the old timers are still stuck on their revolvers up there. Oddly enough those same local gunstore guys were saying the 6.5 creedmoor was really gaining in popularity up there too as a great hunting round but that's a whole other can of worms.

 

[Hohn]

I miss my G20. You really can draw it quickly and hit with it. It's a really good firepower-for-the-weight option.

I still think it's not a good choice for bears, however. A striker gun with no restrike capability is to me a deal breaker.

And I'd certainly not feel undergunned with a .357 and the appropriate load (hardcast, loaded hot).

 

[Route 45]

I miss my G20. You really can draw it quickly and hit with it. It's a really good firepower-for-the-weight option.

I still think it's not a good choice for bears, however. A striker gun with no restrike capability is to me a deal breaker.

And I'd certainly not feel undergunned with a .357 and the appropriate load (hardcast, loaded hot).

A bad primer is about as likely as the cylinder locking up on a revolver when you need it. I know which one I'd rather deal with in a battle with Smokey.

 

[Viking Fires]

I tried out a G29 and was pretty pleased with it. I carried Hornady XTPs in mine and it was pretty fun to shoot. Ammo was a little pricey though and like someone else mentioned a lot of the commercial ammo is not much hotter than 40S&W. I ended up selling mine just because it didnt really make sense for concealed carry against 2 legged critters when there are so many great 9mm ammo options out there. Buffalo Boar is probably your best bet for ammo.