jmden
WKR
Heard a recent podcast on bear protection. They said you want a fast round that penetrates well (to travel through a bear skull). Their research indicated a 10mm was ideal and then second choice was 9mm with hard cast rounds. The one specific ammo mentioned was Buffalo Bore 9mm +P. Apparently the larger calibers like 44 and so forth are just too slow to achieve the penetration needed.
With Buffalo Bore .44 Magnum 340 grain +P+ Hardcast load doing 1425 fps MV...that's alot of ummph with good bullet construction for the job and I doubt any one bone in any bear will stop it. Do some penetration testing with hardcast bullets...it's an eye opener, not to mention the tissue damage a flatnose causes along the way. If folks can shoot a .44 accurately and quickly, that's a hard load to beat for the job. Probably too much power for many.
Heavy 44 Magnum +P+ Pistol & Handgun Ammunition