Handguns vs. Bears

[Lohman446]

Let me be right up front about this. I don't want to attempt to stop a charging bear with any handgun. Come to think of it I don't even want to attempt to stop a charging bear with a long arm. I prefer not to be on the receiving end of a bear charge.

However I think we have, as hunters and shooters as a whole, gotten so caught up in the tremendous numbers put up by whatever cartridge we have awed over that we forget the power to cause serious injury or death of our other cartridges. I get, in a world where we can reference and discuss the numbers put up by a .500 S+W, a .458 LOTT, or a 12 gauge, the numbers of everything else look a little suspect. We forgot that those that came before us managed to survive with far less.

Even with a relatively small caliber pistol like a 9MM you are still able to put a projectile into important parts of an animals anatomy. While I get that many animals can ignore pain and continue an attack many will chose not to. Bees did not develop the ability to sting solely to keep away humans.

 

[OzeanJaeger]

Ask yourself this:
What do people seeking to shoot a bear use? What do the guides who encounter them all the time, and have to defend themselves and their clients use?

When I go fishing in places with lots of bears I sling my .444p. It's short, fast, ported so the recoil doesn't throw the barrel up, and the boolets go deeeeeeep. I also bring a change of under ware in case I actually have to shoot a bear!

 

[hardcastonly]

what a great many of these discussions lack is details on what projectile was used and where it impacted, how deeply it penetrated and what vital organ was missed or destroyed..
anyone who has a decent quality 357 mag or larger bore revolver, with the correct ammo and the ability to place shots precisely has the required tool to kill any bear, elk, deer or hog, based on the fact that a properly loaded hard cast bullet, of the proper design, from a revolver like a 357 mag will without any doubt punch through a bears, elk, deer or hog,skull into the brain or through the chest wall into the heart/lung area.
thats not the same thing as saying a 357 mag will instantly stop an infuriated bear full of Adrenalin,who might see your destruction as his only goal at that time.
But if you start randomly punching holes in his anatomy.
only hits to the brain,or forward central spine,from behind the head to the area between the shoulders will be likely to provide a nearly instant mobility stop, you can randomly punch an infuriated bear full of Adrenalin,as full of holes as a colander, used to strain water off spaghetti, if you don,t destroy the vitals and that bear will want to discuss your lack of proper marksmanship up close and personal, with you for well over the time he requires to bleed out.
now a larger handgun caliber like a 44 mag, 480 ruger, 454 cassul, 500 S&W, will without doubt destroy far more tissue, with each shots impact, this does increase your odds of creating significant and lethal damage , and inflicting pain that may cause the animal to retreat., but the fact still remains that the vitals must be hit to provide an instant mobility or lethal damage stop.
most people under stress can,t hit crap, and just shoot in the general direction of a threat, and you'll be lucky in most cases to get off more than one or two shots on a charging bear.

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6584676#post6584676

 

[bassJAM1]

97% success rate? Isn't the success rate of handguns against criminals only like 85%? Are humans really tougher than bears? Especially when brown bears are in the equation?

 

[agtman]

More and more indigenous Alaskans, pilots, work crews, and fishing & hunting guides, while out in the bushy boonies of AK, are carrying 10mm Glock 20s in a center-chest holster, and "loaded for bear" too, which is to say, 15+1 of some hot-n-heavy 10mm load.

The days of Alaskan's toting a 5- or 6-shot, boat-anchor weight Mega-Magnum wheelie on their hips are quickly dwindling. And most of those get taken off the belt anyway after the first hour or so and tossed into the bottom of the back-pack where the weapon's exactly useless when Mr. Bear 'rounds the trail.

 

[CalmerThanYou]

Bass, bears typically are not on meth.

 

[wild cat mccane]

It took a person and "staff" to find 37 incidents of a bear getting shot by handgun?

37?!

How many millions of wasted US dollars have been spent on huge caliber revolvers in America from fear of a bear?

I mean dang. The gun industry couldn't have an easier job in selling a more useless product if it tried.

 

[agtman]

* * * 37?! How many millions of wasted US dollars have been spend on huge caliber revolvers in America from fear of a bear? I mean dang. The gun industry couldn't have an easier job in selling a product with zero real world need.

Strangely, you're generally correct, ... with the exception of geographical context.

If you live in one of the lower 48 states, you're right. A 9mm pistol could handle most threats or problems in the boonies here.

But if you live up in AK, that's quite different - depending on how far UP & OUT you are in the wild & wooly boonies ... Think 'Last Alaskans', or 'Life Below Zero.'

You need to be prepared with firearms for both the long haul and for the worst case scenario you might encounter.

 

[Ricklin]

Only time

Only time I was ever close to a Grizzly I did not see him or her. Could sure smell him tho. He was close the grass was really high, and we got the heck out of there.
Not even sure it was a grizzly, but the area was full of them.

One of the coolest places I had ever been. Was on the North side of Cook's Inlet near where the inlet enters the ocean.
We were commercial fishing for Salmon. We had a couple days to kill till the next fishing period, we took our boat as far up the river as we could go and beached it. It was a little after high water and the next tide was higher so we knew we could float back out and down the river.
This was around 1971, before the area became a National park. It was the coolest thing walking where it was unlikely any human had ever walked before. It was that remote an area.

We knew the area was rife with big Grizzlys as we saw them on the river going up. We were very happy we were in a heavy Aluminum boat with a solid cabin.

We took naps after getting back on the boat and headed down the river when the tide came up. Dumb ass teenager that I was I did not bring a camera. Also failed to renew my non resident commercial license and be grandfathered....that was a several hundred thousand dollar mistake.

Ahh a misspent youth....

 

[wild cat mccane]

Alaska is included in the 37 instances.

 

[bassJAM1]

Bass, bears typically are not on meth.

Neither are most criminals at the time of the crime.

 

[Dragline45]

I camp and hike in Maine and Vermont where there are black bears, and have on a couple occasions seen a bear off in the distance. I carry a 3” S&W 686+ with 180gr .357 magnum Buffalo Bore hard casts and at least one person in our group carriers bear spray. Hiking with a long gun sucks, and I feel fully confident in a 357 with that loading for black bear.

 

[spacemanspiff]

The first one in their list, I grew up around those guys. What is NOT divulged is that a rifle was also being fired at the same time, a SKS. And what dropped the bear was not shots to vital organs, but a lucky hit that shattered the bears shoulder.

It was three guys fishing during the night. (Alaskan nights in summer are not truly 'dark' its more like dusk to you southerners). One guy was hip-deep in the river, the other two were not too far away. A sow came up behind, surprising the fisher in the water. He had a 12 gauge but in his panic could not remember if he had a shell chambered, so he screamed, threw his shotgun at the sow, and dove under the surface of the water.
His two friends, heard the scream and turned around to only see the bear, but not their friend. They opened fire. I wish i kept the news article from that, I probably have it somewhere on my computer at home. But I do not recall it being a close encounter of 4 or 5 feet away. My best recollection is that they were 7-10 yards away, the bear was closer to the guy in the water, and in fact, the bear had to have been in the water, because the shot gun that he threw was not recovered until a week or two afterwards by another fisher who snagged the trigger guard and fished it out. (There did happen to be a shell chambered)
So the sow was probably 20 feet away from the two who were shooting at it. Though it was ruled a good defensive shooting, locals were not pleased as this sow was not known to be aggressive, and was on the smaller side as far as bears go in this state.

 

[hardcastonly]

now this observation has very little to do with the handgun or caliber you decide to carry, but I find it rather amusing when I see guys state something along the lines of
"well, Id prefer a glock with 13-19 cartridge capacity over a 5-to-6 shot revolver"

yeah I can easily see that thought process, but I've actually been charged by a large very vindictive hog, one of my friends wounded..... your issue is with time and distance, and if you think your going to have the time available on a rapidly charging hog, or bear, too place your shots, precisely or have that set of teeth/tusks/claws in your sights for more than at most a couple seconds your in for a rude awakening.
yeah, you can pump out several shots a second at the range on a stationary target , but in close cover you'll be lucky to have 3-to- 5 seconds to react, and on a fast in-coming target
that's not a great deal of time.
I used to shoot bowling pin matches double action with a S&W 44 mag revolver,
(where you try to knock several bowling pins off a table against a stop watch)
I think I'm at least above average in both skill and experience, you might have more than 3-4 shot capacity but your unlikely to have the time to place even 2-3 shots.

while these may not be most peoples choice in hunting handguns I can assure you that in practiced hand's
Ive found both choices are quite effective
the 44 mag silhouette with adjustable front site and 10 5/8" barrel

how far away do you think youll see a hog thats at most 28"-32" at the shoulder

 

[jmr40]

I've been carrying, and advocating a Glock in 10mm loaded hot for quite some time. I have several 357 and 44 magnum revolvers that I leave home when in bear country. The slight increase in power doesn't offset the greater weight to lug around and the reduced ammo capacity. I've camped in Yellowstone, Wyoming, and Montana where grizzly live on several occasions and never felt under gunned. While this is the 1st time I've seen it documented, I've long felt that a handgun was a much better choice than most gave it credit for.

I also live in north GA, and spend a lot of time outdoors in TN and NC. Particularly the Smoky Mt NP and areas just outside the park. Black bear are all over the place here and I've had many close encounters over the years both as a hiker and hunter. Killed one and been present when others were taken. And by close encounter I don't mean a threat, simply that I was able to observe bear in the wild and up close on many occasions. I've never felt threatened, but do choose to be prepared.

 

[Hal]

It's too early in the year for a bear thread.

 

[agtman]

It's too early in the year for a bear thread.

Not if the bears are emerging from a long winter's hibernation.

That's exactly when you need to be 'loaded fer bear.'

 

[Hal]

The thread started back in the beginning of Feb....