Best bear defense gun

[cosermann]

Crossposting this relevant article I came across today.

I found the apparent efficacy of handguns very surprising - https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/def...#axzz5UFScHWeC

 

[Hohn]

Crossposting this relevant article I came across today.

I found the apparent efficacy of handguns very surprising - https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/def...#axzz5UFScHWeC

Very interesting.

It really underscores the value of the #1 rule of gunfighting: bring a gun.

 

[BluedSteel]

If you are seriously worried about a bear encounter you need to avoid the most common and dangerous pitfall -- fuzzy thinking.

You are not looking for a handgun to hunt bears with. You are looking for a handgun to keep bears from hunting you.

It doesn't matter if it will drop a grizzly at 5 yards, It matters if it will keep the grizzly from crossing that last five yards to get to you. People have successfully done that with .38 Specials and 9mm's.

So what you are looking for is not a model, or a caliber, or a revolver or a pistol......
What you are looking for is the biggest RELIABLE handgun that you can shoot accurately and will actually carry everywhere you go.

Nothing else matters. To you, or the bear.

 

[Crandall Crank]

Bear spray in an outside holster and a .460, also in an outside holster. With the .460, you have the choice of shooting either .460, .454 or .45 LC after your trip. Whatever you carry,
it must be accessible.

 

[Charleybravo56]

Don’t discount wolf packs. Glock 20 with 3 mags gives you 45 rounds to take care of business.

 

[edporch]

Don’t discount wolf packs. Glock 20 with 3 mags gives you 45 rounds to take care of business.

Speaking of wolves.
Reminds me when we were up in the woods in NW Wisconsin less than two weeks ago.

Out of nowhere, we were momentarily startled for a few seconds by what we thought was a wolf came running at us out of nowhere.
Ended up being a friendly playful dog.
Must've been somebody's pet in the area.

 

[croy]

If you're hunting with a buddy. A 22lr pistol would work. Shoot him in the knee cap while you can walk comfortably away.

 

[teddy12b]

What you are looking for is the biggest RELIABLE handgun that you can shoot accurately and will actually carry everywhere you go.

Having gone backpacking in Denali National Park just this last Aug '18 I recently went through the whole thought process of "what to carry in bear country". I can't agree with the statement above more. I've shot a few obnoxiously powerful handguns at the range and I really can't hit targets with them well. Maybe I'm turning in my man card here, but I don't even like shooting a 44mag revolver. The most powerful handgun I can shoot accurately with was a Glock 20 10mm. Second would be a 4" GP100 357mag. Pound for pound, I'd rather have a G20 in 10mm because for the same amount of weight it holds more ammo.

While backing in Denali, we ended up not taking guns and took bear spray. With flying and being non-residents traveling through different state and federal parks we opted to not mess with guns and went with the spray. It was a compromise and I know a lot of experts who will never do this kind of trip in their life will tell me I'm wrong, somehow I'm alive to type today.

Anyway, if you were seriously going into bear country a few hours down the road or in thick heavy stuff. Then I'd recommend a light handy rifle. Ego & Pride of pistols aside everyone shoots better with a shoulder fired weapon. If Denali were a couple hours drive down the road, I'd take a light lever 44mag rifle. If I had to chose a handgun, I'd get a G20 10mm.

I've hunted black bears in Maine once, Ontario 3 times at two different oufitters. Black bears are so timid and quick to run away it's not even a concern in my head. Having seen 8 grizzleys in the wide open park in Alaska I was amazed at easily they covered lots of ground and moved without any hurdles. I watched them from a mile out and for the most part all bears want to do is eat wild berrys, sleep, and poop. Bears really aren't the man hunting ferocious blood thirsty killers comic books would have you believe them to be. If startle one, sure. If you get between any wild animal mother and her children, duh that's everything. Really though, if you keep your head on your shoulders, bears can be avoided or enjoyed from a distance pretty easily.

 

[Hop]

It doesn't matter how many rounds you have when a 30 mph bear is charging and you have 2 to 3 seconds to react and fire the weapon. The extra rounds in your pistol will just break a tooth on the bear as he's snacking on you.

The park rangers do not like when you hurt their bears. That's why they discourage people carrying guns and even label the tour buses with no guns signs (not illegal. you can take them anyways, unloaded, in a box).
I don't have much trouble shooting my 44 Mag quickly but have never fired my expensive hard lead cast "Bear rounds". Maybe I should try a couple before I go back up to AK.
Hiking AK with the Shockwave was HEAVY. I had other gear + the 44 Mag with me. The extra weight was tiring. I lightened my kit for the 2nd weekend in Juneau.

 

[engi-ninja]

FWIW, I went to WY a couple of years ago and took a .44 Redhawk loaded with Buffalo Bore +P+ hard cast rounds. 340 gr, 1300 fps out of a 5" barrel. I fired 6 practice rounds just to make sure I could shoot them as accurately as normal .44 mag. I could, and it also increased my confidence that they would stop a bear; those rounds are intense.

 

[teddy12b]

Nice!

How did you carry up there? Before I left for AK I looked at a lot of different options for carrying before i went. I ended up with a hill people gear chest pouch and when I practiced drawing and firing from it I just really didn't shoot well. I also didn't like the weight of the gun right in the center of my chest. Just makes breathing harder when I've already got a backpack on.

 

[engi-ninja]

I wore it in an inexpensive but surprisingly functional shoulder holster I found on ebay. It wasn't too bad; the shoulder distributed the weight fairly well on both shoulders. I wore it for a 4 hour stroll up to the top of Mt Washburn, and it never became uncomfortable.

 

[Hohn]

FWIW, I went to WY a couple of years ago and took a .44 Redhawk loaded with Buffalo Bore +P+ hard cast rounds. 340 gr, 1300 fps out of a 5" barrel. I fired 6 practice rounds just to make sure I could shoot them as accurately as normal .44 mag. I could, and it also increased my confidence that they would stop a bear; those rounds are intense.

Those BB loads are infamously hot. Like "don't shoot them in just any gun" kind of hot.

 

[engi-ninja]

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I didn't get a 629 (along with the stupid lock thing); you can't fire the BB loads in it.

 

[Trigger Time]

If you're hunting with a buddy. A 22lr pistol would work. Shoot him in the knee cap while you can walk comfortably away.

Mental note, we arent going bear hunting together

 

[Hop]

A new-ish 629 should be able to handle the Buffalo Bore +P+. Mine's a 629-4 with a lot of forged parts. Ammo box says - "Use in all S&W revolvers made since 1989".

I got this 44 Mag load at Cabela's in Anchorage: https://www.cabelas.com/product/sho...o-bore-handgun-ammunition/740558.uts?slotId=0

I need to buy a shoulder pad for my chest rig. The regular 1" wide straps were digging into me. I borrowed my laptop bag shoulder pad for my 2nd hike. Effective but ugly.

 

[Amishman44]

Bear spray in an outside holster and a .460, also in an outside holster. With the .460, you have the choice of shooting either .460, .454 or .45 LC after your trip. Whatever you carry, it must be accessible.

Bear spray...100% recommend this option...and carry a gun as a back-up to spray. As a Volunteer EMT, of 24 years, we've studied animal attacks and the use of bear spray has a much faster 'deterrent' response than a bullet, abeit a 'kill-shot', which isn't all that common in a bear attack. The drawback to using bear spray is the distance or proximity in which bear spray is considered to be highly effective.

IMO, the use of a heavy-penetrating bullet that creates an effective wound channel is a another key point in stopping a bear attack...and I'm not a supporter of 9mm, .40 S&W, or even .45 acp as an effective defensive caliber against a bear...I lean more towards .45 Colt +P, .454 Casull, .460 Ruger, .500 Magnum, etc.

Maintaining a safe distance in the first place, or being prepared to respond effectively if necessary, is key to preventing or surviving a bear attack!

https://above.nasa.gov/safety/documents/Bear/bearspray_vs_bullets.pdf