I did not post this earlier because I did not want to take the time to type it, but here goes.
About a year ago I did some penetration testing w/ a 20" bbl 12g and a 5 1/2" .44 Mag. At about 30 yds I shot a 7" spruce log. The first shot was 00 buck, and it penetrated about 1". The second shot was a 600g hardcast slug. I don't remember the brand. Maybe Rottweil? They have the black and yellow box w/ the blue grizzly on the front. The second shot penetrated 5 1/2". The last 4 shots were 300g hardcast slugs @1370 fps out of the .44. All of the .44 blew completely through the log. I had to split the log open to dig out the slug and buck. There were no obvious knots to stop them.
My point is that a proper load in a bigbore handgun can do more than a lot of people think. With those same .44 loads I generally get complete pass through on 12-14" logs.
If you don't shoot the gun well, than none of it really matters. I know one guy who says he would rather face the bear than have all his partners shooting handguns.
Like was mentioned by Luopo, face shots could make a bear slow down. With some more horsepower though, some of those same shots could be kill shots. If you are using buckshot, the only option you have are shots to the face/nose/eyes. The rest are worse than useless. Similiar w/ auto pistol rounds.
As far as a handgun vs. rifle, it seems like the first thing a brownie does is swat the thing closest to it. If your long gun is sticking out, it is now broken and useless. It is also useless if something is on top of you or it is slung over your shoulder.
I think it is really a matter of figuring out what you are comfortable with, what kind of shots you will be able to take with it, and how it figures in w/ the rest of your plan( survival food procurement, etc.), and how much you can/will carry for these purposes.
About a year ago I did some penetration testing w/ a 20" bbl 12g and a 5 1/2" .44 Mag. At about 30 yds I shot a 7" spruce log. The first shot was 00 buck, and it penetrated about 1". The second shot was a 600g hardcast slug. I don't remember the brand. Maybe Rottweil? They have the black and yellow box w/ the blue grizzly on the front. The second shot penetrated 5 1/2". The last 4 shots were 300g hardcast slugs @1370 fps out of the .44. All of the .44 blew completely through the log. I had to split the log open to dig out the slug and buck. There were no obvious knots to stop them.
My point is that a proper load in a bigbore handgun can do more than a lot of people think. With those same .44 loads I generally get complete pass through on 12-14" logs.
If you don't shoot the gun well, than none of it really matters. I know one guy who says he would rather face the bear than have all his partners shooting handguns.
Like was mentioned by Luopo, face shots could make a bear slow down. With some more horsepower though, some of those same shots could be kill shots. If you are using buckshot, the only option you have are shots to the face/nose/eyes. The rest are worse than useless. Similiar w/ auto pistol rounds.
As far as a handgun vs. rifle, it seems like the first thing a brownie does is swat the thing closest to it. If your long gun is sticking out, it is now broken and useless. It is also useless if something is on top of you or it is slung over your shoulder.
I think it is really a matter of figuring out what you are comfortable with, what kind of shots you will be able to take with it, and how it figures in w/ the rest of your plan( survival food procurement, etc.), and how much you can/will carry for these purposes.
