Bear Gun for Wife

[treillw]

Hello,

I'm researching bear handguns for my wife and I was wondering what caliber you all would suggest? She is a smaller girl, so something without crazy recoil is preferred. I'm going to borrow my buddy's 10mm and let her shoot that to see how she likes it. That might be a little high on the recoil scale though - time will tell.

What caliber would you go to from there? Somebody suggested .40 S&W. I also have a 45 ACP that she would be able to use. Looking up two buffalo bore loads for .40 and .45, they both have 484 ft*lb of energy. So I guess the 40 would have the advantage due to increased mag capacity? I guess the .45 would have a bit of a wider wound channel and I would think it would penetrate better with the heavier bullet.

Buffalo Bore Ammunition | Strictly Big Bore - Strictly Business
Buffalo Bore Ammunition | Strictly Big Bore - Strictly Business

She always carries bear spray. We just want her to have something extra along for if the bear spray decides to not work for whatever reason.

Thanks for the help!

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I have my wife on a Glock 29 10mm. It took some practice but it’s good for her. In the winter when bears aren’t a concern she likes to carry a Glock 43 with underwood peneteator bullets. Prior to those I had her on a ruger sp101 357 magnum.

 

[huntsman22]

The recoil impulse on the higher velocity 40, is sharper than the lo-vel 45, to me.....

 

[hwy1strat]

Bear spray

 

[treillw]

Bear spray

Reading comprehension

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Bear spray

Nah.

 

[Scoony]

Bear spray

You seemed to misspell 44 mag.


Really just kidding, no experience dealing with bears.

 

[missjordan]

Ruger GP100 in a 357 mag. Great bear gun for a female!


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[Fourth_Horse]

A .40 has more “snap” to it where as a .45 is a little softer on the wrist

 

[treillw]

I guess the energy data I got is pretty accurate as far as stopping power between the .40 and .45 goes - they are pretty much the same?

 

[skaldugwas]

Ruger GP100 in a 357 mag. Great bear gun for a female!


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Or a male... my wife has one and I am pretty envious of that “little” gun.

 

[Mike7]

These will out penetrate even the Underwood Penetrators by a good margin through a hard substrate and are pretty comfortable to shoot from a Glock 19, which has a grip that seems to work well for someone with smaller hands.

9mm+P 147gr FMJ Flat Point 20rds.

 

[Wapiti1]

My wife carries a first edition Colt Trooper .357 with a 4" barrel. I'd go with what Jordan said, and look at the GP100. A Taurus Tracker, or Smith 686 would also be on the list. My wife likes revolvers, so I have no suggestions for pistols.

Jeremy

 

[Xxtavixx]

Disclaimer: I'm not in grizzly area, but we have a ton of black bear.

Anything she can shoot well, and practice with. a 9mm would be the lightest round I'd consider, but if she would practice more with than than a 45 then the shots will matter a lot more.

 

[jm1607]

I vote a 9mm or 40 auto.. I'd rather get an extra couple shots off on target

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I vote a 9mm or 40 auto.. I'd rather get an extra couple shots off on target

That’s why I like the 10mm. 16 rounds on tap, very controllable, lighter than my redhawk.

 

[treillw]

Some food for thought:



I just used the stoutest loads off of Buffalo Bore's website as a starting point. I'm sure there are some other good cartridges out there that I'm missing.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Im in an area with a lot of blackies and my wife loves to walk on trails.... she carries and shoots well a snubby sp101 357. It's a nice gun, especially for the price but I don't like a 5 round cylinder on a wheel gun personally. I'd have a tough time talking her out of that gun however....

Its a security blanket for her.... She shoots often but she doesn't practice drawing proficiency enough to make me confident in her ability inside of 21'.... but she has it on her and she feels safe which is half the battle.

 

[marktripp]

I though by the topic thread you where looking to trade your wife for a bear gun. *


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[Fourth_Horse]

I love the debate of more rounds vs. knock down power. A good buddy always has his 9 with him because it has 15+1. My question to him is always how many effing rounds are you going to get off in under 3 seconds including unholstering. I take a six gun in the back country as I don’t plan on getting in a shootout with the bear. Most often it’s a snub nose 41 over my full size 357 or 44. It just seems to be a little faster off the hip and feels good in my hands.


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