What's a good caliber for bear?

[davemata]

Heh, I kid, but I don't.

Since we're moving out west, I don't have to worry about MA compliant lists and such. I'm thinking of a G21SF, in OD.

Since there are brown bear in that region, while highly unlikely, is the g21, and more particularly the .45 a good response to bear aggression?

Will it provide the needed punch if I can stay on center mass?

Also, is there much of a difference between .45 Auto and .45g.a.p.? (Price, power, access, reloading)

 

[glockstar]

Ive never had any experience with bears or bear worthy calibers but for my peace of mind bigger is better! I would think a .44 Mag in 4inch would do the trick. Like you said shot placement is everything though. Good luck and remember " dont run "

 

[n1bsbri]

Good idea on the hardcast bullets, you would probably want to go for penetration, so HP would not be a good choice.

 

[highlander]

Not a hunter but minimum 357 mag with a heavy cast SWC bullet,better still 41 mag,44 mag,45 Colt. Best possible 12 gauge or lever action 30/30 caliber or bigger.

 

[EddieCoyle]

Brown bears sprinkle .45 ACPs on their breakfast cereal.

 

[Deer Slayer]

I would say 44 magnum.

 

[Cerfur]

In black bear hunting here in western ma and vermont I know alot of folks who hunt with 30 30 that being said its not a grizzley! I know a fella who lives in fairbanks alaska he says alot of guys while in the woods or fishing have a s&w 500 with the short barrel however he feels its way to heavy and carrys a 357 mag while fishing and alot of old timers do the same.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Handgun for brown bear? Ask my son in AK who put 5 .300 Win mags into a brown at close range while his wife put 5 .30-06s into the bugger at the same time. The last shot was to the head and put him down. Both guns were traded in for a .338 mag and a .375 H&H. Jack.

 

[Rugerfan]

Others will chime in with all sorts of answers, but my opinion of a .45ACP against bears is save one round to shoot yourself with after you have pissed off the bear.

If you can shoot well enough with a pistol under the stress of a bear encounter, you will still need something big: 454 Casul, 460, 480 Ruger, 500 Smith, maybe a 44 mag with full house loads, but maybe this is too small.

Brown bears are big, big animals, and not easily distracted from a fight or food.

A large rifle is better, followed by a 12 ga with slugs, a 10 ga would be better. Bear spray is most likely better than a pistol in most encounters, as it will deter most bears from pursuing you.

These are my opinions, only arrived at through reading of bear encounters and the outcomes there of.

 

[jefftk]

I seem to recall hearing 10mm is popular against bears, don't know if that means its actually any good....

If I was expecting to encounter bears, I would carry bear spray and a rifle/shotgun.

 

[carbuncle]

Whatever handgun you get, shave the front site off so it hurts less when the bear shoves it up your ass (old AK saying about handguns for griz).

But seriously: something like 85% of the 10mm Glocks are sold in AK, but the handgun I keep seeing popping up in various outdoors shows is the S&W .500, which was made specifically for the AK market.

 

[JuergenG]

For hunting .338 Win Mag, 9.3x62 or .375 Hot&Horny come to mind, 12 ga slugs for "close quarters".
I wouldn't want to encounter a brown with any handgun.

 

[ColdDayInHell]

.458 win mag, because taking down rhino's and elephants is too easy.

 

[JuergenG]

To each his own and I sure don't have Elmer's qualities.

 

[Admin]

Handgun for brown bear? Ask my son in AK who put 5 .300 Win mags into a brown at close range while his wife put 5 .30-06s into the bugger at the same time. The last shot was to the head and put him down. Both guns were traded in for a .338 mag and a .375 H&H. Jack.

+1

I don't think .45 is going to cut it vs a brown bear.

 

[Mike S]

9mm, just ask Timber.

 

[Cerfur]

Sent a face book message over to my fairbanks buddy and he surprized me and as a earlier poster said that bear spray is really effective!

 

[MisterHappy]

Ok....I'll say it.....

Nuke it from orbit - it's the only way to be sure.

 

[lupis42]

I would go with a .500 S&W mag, but that's only because .600 nitro express handguns are heavy and hard to control. Better to get a light, handy, big bore repeating rifle though.

If you want something popular that's enough like a normal duty gun, look at the G20 - they sell a lot in AK, and IIRC Finnish long patrol guys still carry them too. Better than nothing, certainly better than .45. Also, consider staying the hell away from the bears.

.45 GAP is like .45 ACP, but vastly more expensive and neigh-impossible to find. Don't do it.

 

[dnepro-mike]

fisherman guides in Alaska mostly carry .44 mag revolvers although i've heared some of them carry of .357 mag.
if it was up to me i would probably get Taurus Judge Magnum. It could chamber .410, .45LC and wait for it .454Casul
.454 puts out 2400+ Joules of energy which is 30-75% more than .44mag loads.
which would be sufficient to put down any kind of 2 or 4 legged animal

 

[davemata]

Wow guys, you are moving much much faster than me this morning.

Ok, so .45 isn't going to cut it. I'm not going to be going out to throw rocks at bears to create an "incident", I just don't want to be caught high and borked while hunting for something smaller, or fishing.

Sounding like this is a good time to go full Dr. Strangegun (or How I stopped worrying, and learned to love recoil) and look at the S&W 500s. I figure with the kick on those I can get one for short money, and with a chest rig keep it out of the water while fishing.

Would a factory .500 load work well enough? (Wife might kill me if I buy a reloading rig as soon as we move.)

Now 10mm, that's something I know zero about, it's a little bigger than 9mm, right? A semi auto in 10mm would have enough ammunition to allow some missing in a bad situation, but is the 10mm going to be enough of a persuader?

I know this is planning for an edge case, but I like the idea of an "untracked" WA handgun. Now the mags (41 and 44) have higher speed, even though the bullet is of a smaller diameter than a .45, right?

 

[Obie1]

First, always pair up with someone who runs much slower than you. Second, get a .454 Casull.

 

[davemata]

First, always pair up with someone who runs much slower than you. Second, get a .454 Casull.

Well if I'm pairing up, I just need a .22.

 

[dnepro-mike]

.500 S&W IMHO is a bit too much, at least for me, especially for daily carry.
.44mag or .454casul will be uncompromising compromise.

note to self. if you didn't love recoil up to this point in time then you will NEED to practice your new big bore handgun to really make it a savior not just a loud noice maker.
ACCURACY first AND following shot(s) is a must for bear encounter.
Although repelent sprays do work as well *for the most part*
that's another thing I saw Alaskan guides carry, although not all of them

 

[KirkVN]

45-70 will get it done! Just my 2 cents

 

[jefftk]

http://missoulian.com/news/state-an...cle_b0d338b6-7638-11e1-b809-0019bb2963f4.html

University of Calgary bear expert Steve Herrero was involved in two separate studies that looked at the effectiveness of bear spray and firearms in bear attacks. The bottom line: Ninety-eight percent of those who used bear spray walked away from their encounter unharmed, and none of the people or bears involved died. With firearms, 56 percent of the users were subsequently injured, and 61 percent of the bears died.

Herrero said he frequently encounters people dousing their tents and packs with bear spray like it was mosquito repellent. But while bear spray’s irritating chemicals will make an attacking bear break off its charge, the oils and solvents that keep it liquid are a food source in more relaxed situations.

 

[davemata]

45-70 will get it done! Just my 2 cents

I've never seen that in a handgun that wasn't a 10" long revolver.

- - - Updated - - -

.500 S&W IMHO is a bit too much, at least for me, especially for daily carry.
.44mag or .454casul will be uncompromising compromise.

note to self. if you didn't love recoil up to this point in time then you will NEED to practice your new big bore handgun to really make it a savior not just a loud noice maker.
ACCURACY first AND following shot(s) is a must for bear encounter.
Although repelent sprays do work as well *for the most part*
that's another thing I saw Alaskan guides carry, although not all of them

This won't be everyday carry. I get something small for that. This will live in a chest rig or on my hip while hunting and fishing. Big guns are big weight, but w/e. The issue I'd currently have with the 500 would be getting back on target for a follow up shot.

I'll have to check out the 44 mag and research this 454 casul too.

 

[BOBKATT]

.44 mag is a little light for my comfort zone with big browns. Remember, you're not hunting something that doesn't know you're there. You're trying to kill a pissed off animal whose adrenaline is through the roof and its trying to kill you.

.44 mag in a rifle is a little light for big brown bears. .44 mag in a handgun doesn't make me comfortable.

When I lived out west I carried a 45 colt that was hard cast lead 330 grain bullets loaded up to surpass the .44 magnum in every way. These loads approached .454 casull power. The reason I did not carry a .454, was because it was far too much gun for me to handle and get a follow up shot with. (your miles may differ).

I basically loaded up extremely heavy and hard .454 caliber bullets past .44 mag ballistics, but less than .454 casull balistics.

Now, you can buy a very similar load from buffalo bore ammunition. They make a 325 grain +p load for the .45 colt.

Beware that you can't shoot these in colt revolvers or anything but heavy duty revolvers like rugers, freedom arms, etc.

 

[CAESAR]

Why not 500?

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[BOBKATT]

And, don't overlook bear spray either. I've seen Fisherman carrying 12 ga shotguns with a can of bear spray on their hip tell me that their first defense is the spray, the gun is for shooting at the bear if its attacking their buddy, if their buddy's spray didn't work.