BIG Bear Medicine

straitshot

straitshot

Joined
Mar 18, 2006
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I've read many things over many years about handguns for BIG (not black bears) bear protection. I have absolutely no experience, having hunted since I was a kid but have never even taken a shot at a bear.

What intrigues me on the subject is the popular chioce of heavy revolvers. First the .44 mag, now .454, .460, .480, and .500 in short barreled versions for handiness. The .44 mag is OK for me but slow to get back on target so those with significantly heaver recoil have to be even slower given the same basic design. Even the writers admit they are on the very edge of controllability with maximum loads.

These big boomers are still behind most rifles considered even marginal for BIG bears, yet the manufacturers even have BIG bear protection touted as a purpose for some of their models. They must be assuming one shot will do the job is the only thing I can deduce.

I can put a half dozen heavy load .45 ACP's reasonably on target in the same time it takes me to put two full power .44 mags even close together. The .45 has about the same penetration as the mag but with less expansion in my personal tests. I'm curious why one shot or so from a 'nasty' revolver rather than several from a .45 semi auto seems to be the popular answer. Interestingly, I can't recall a single article recounting how a BIG handgun was used to stave off a determined BIG bear attack. I would think the idea is to stop a charge, not make a one- shot kill.

Given a choice, I think I would be better off with a BIG cannister of pepper spray made for the purpose, but in a handgun a .45 ACP semi. Has anyone read a verified account or had personal experience? I've always been curious about the subject. Thanks in advance.:) Regards, ss.
 
No experience with bears but I would rather have any big gun over pepper spray.It seems to me that pepper spray would work well on a curious bear.

Unless you are lucky and get a spine or brain shot the only thing a handgun is going to do is to help the wardens track the bear that got you.

I read an interesting article about useing a flare gun to stop a bear charge.
 
Some people like the 10mm in semi because of what you pointed out, often faster follow up shots due to it being a semi and not a revolver.

I am curious that a 45 can penetrate as deeply as a .44 mag. Where did you find that out?

I heard a guy who went and shot game to see the performance of 45 acp and the 9mm. If I remember correctly, which I am pretty sure I am, the 9mm penetrated deeper and did a better job on deer than the 45.

I think the idea of a powerful pistol is to stop the charge, and a bear is big, so you got to break his shoulder or make a cns shot. That's why you want a more powerful gun.

I don't live in bear country, so I am curious to what others have to say. Ron's Hood's primitive weapons forum has a lot of smart people, you might want to ask there too.

Take care,
Scottman
 
I have very limited experience in big bear country. As far as I was concerened my first line of defense was my hunting buddies. The first time you run across brown bear tracks you get a sense of what you are up against. In many attacks the first sign of the attack was getting humped by a furry VW with claws and teeth. That's why we all carried guns, so we could get a bear off the other guy. The first gun you use is your rifle. I carried a .41 magnum in addition to my .30-06 (The peashooter rifle of the group). OK, so if a 30-06 is small medicine for a brown bear then where does that put all handguns?

Headed back to camp at night on the ATV's we would have to stow our rifles in the scabbards and ride home in the sleet. On such occasions it was nice to have the handgun right there but really who are we kidding? In our group we had my .41, a .44, and a goofy long barreled 8 shot Taurus .357. I like handguns, but give me a few friends armed with rifles or 12ga slugs for big bears. Mac
 
For furry VW's with claws may I suggest a 45-70 Marlin guide gun. Quite the boom stick in a small package :)

While I understand the purpose of a heavy caliber hand gun in bear country, I'd rather carry a few extra pounds and know I'm well protected.

Just my 0.02


Take care all,

Page
 
Scottman said:
Some people like the 10mm in semi because of what you pointed out, often faster follow up shots due to it being a semi and not a revolver.

I am curious that a 45 can penetrate as deeply as a .44 mag. Where did you find that out?

I heard a guy who went and shot game to see the performance of 45 acp and the 9mm. If I remember correctly, which I am pretty sure I am, the 9mm penetrated deeper and did a better job on deer than the 45.

I think the idea of a powerful pistol is to stop the charge, and a bear is big, so you got to break his shoulder or make a cns shot. That's why you want a more powerful gun.

I don't live in bear country, so I am curious to what others have to say. Ron's Hood's primitive weapons forum has a lot of smart people, you might want to ask there too.

Take care,
Scottman
Click to expand...

.45 LC can be loaded to hotter than .44 mag and always has been, its just a matter of the corporate loaders taking a chance. Take a look at the Garrett offering, CorBon hunting loads and maybe some handload data from any of the big manufacturers ie Speer.

I have always carried a .44 mag. anywhere I go, granted that is NV, OR and CA and it has great results on Boar and Black Bear. Recently I have sitched to a .454 and it has just too much god damn kick to be useful in a real SD situation.
 
An excerpt from an article on the subject.

45c04bc1.jpg




As someone who has, and who has had to backpack into remote areas and roam around in those areas for many hours a day, for days on end, working out of a base camp, and carrying various types of gear, etc., I assure you that any rifle or shotgun would be left behind at base camp after the first day, if not sooner. That pretty much leaves handguns, and this means large caliber handguns. I would recommend a .44 magnum at a minimum, or a .454 Casull loaded with the hottest, heaviest loads available. The newer .480's or .50's would also be a good choice. Of course, the problem with these large bore revolvers is getting use to the recoil, and learning to hit accurately with both the first and follow-up shots. Remember that if you are not good with it on the range, there is little chance you can handle it well in time of stress, with sweaty palms, adrenaline pumping through your veins and abject fear pumping through your brain. There are many advocates of the point shooting method, but I would raise the firearm up to my eye level, and remember "front sight, and good trigger". Then fire for effect (i.e., until a "stop" is achieved). Why all this? well see this article about a successful handgun (.44 Magnum) defense against a grizzly in Alaska:

"A massive male brown bear erupted from the forest less than 20 feet away, claws tearing up hard-packed earth as it charged toward the 57-year-old .

The bear, later estimated at 750 pounds, had apparently been guarding the remains of a moose taken in a Fort Richardson bow hunt in the woods about 75 feet off the gravel track used by hikers, bikers and dog walkers.

"I fired the first shot, and I aimed at its shoulders," Boyd said. "When the first shot didn't faze it, I fired the second time, and it turned into the ditch, and I shot three more times, and it went down."
 
I meant 45 acp, not 45 colt which yes, in modern revolvers (Blackhawk :))and loads from buffalo boar can exceed factory 44 mag loads. If anyone has info on the 45 acp penetrating as deep as a 44 mag I would like to read about it.
 
TheChef, I don't have a handgun, but if I did it would be my Grandpa's 44 mag. :) And that's a revolver, not a Desert Eagle auto.

From what I hear though, glocks, like the one in 10mm, are pretty reliable.

If I was traveling in bear country, my choice for right now would be 12 gauge, loaded with as many slugs that fit in the tube. :)
 
I heard this story about this guy up in Alaska. He carried a .44 Mag on his hip. One day, sure enough, a brown bear charges him (don't know the exact circumstances). He fires five rounds into the charging bear. He gets lucky, and the bear slides to a stop right in front of him. He allegedly said that he was saving the last round for himself...Now, he never goes anywhere out in the bush without a .338 Win Mag. Some sound advice. :thumbup:
 
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