Efficacy of Handguns for Bear Defense

[Wapiti1]

Update: Handgun or Pistol Against Bear Attack: 93 cases, 97% Effective

Three failures out of 93 cases where guns were used to defend against bears translate to a 97% success rate for the use of guns against bears.

www.ammoland.com

Interesting article. Haven't had a good which gun for bear while archery hunting thread for, I think, 6 days. Time for a new one. Only this time it has data. Read it and make your own conclusion. At any rate, it is a good read and the author put some time into it.

Jeremy

 

[Wassid82]

I carry a 45 acp or 9mm depending on my pack weight and distance I am planning on hiking. I've never had to use it yet and hope I don't. I've had more bear encounters at night at or near camp then I have in the field

 

[trophyhill]

Makes me feel better about the .45 I carry

 

[commandoNate]

I used my bow for bear defense (and to fill my bear tag) last year. Never took the pistol off my waist belt even as he walked straight toward us to 8 yards. He had no idea we were standing there, just dumb luck that we stopped for a piss break where and when we did. As my buddy and I regrouped I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. We froze as he walked into the clearing we were in. I was at full draw when he came into the clearing at +/- 8 yards, he saw us and kinda turned to skirt the edge of the clearing and he stopped at 16 yards broadside when my buddy made a deer grunt.

 

[Usi05]

Thanks for sharing. I bought a S&W .40 with some 180 grain FMJ’s last year. Wanted a 10 mill but spent so much on other gear I had to budget.

Lots of beliefs on caliber needed and what not. Just carrying the pistol made me feel better.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[stonewall]

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing

I’ve never hunted grizz country. Scared to frankly. I only recently started carrying spray for blackbears after hearing enough stories. Idk why didn’t before

being fairly ignorant on guns, any recommendations on a pistol for when I finally do hunt in grizz areas? Some sort of 10mm semiauto maybe?

 

[Huntnnw]

I have seen what a 9mm did on a black bear at 10 yards it was laughable. I would never ever pack a 9mm as protection against a bear. We pulled some rounds that hit the bear in the chest out with our fingers! skinned it out and look like it was shot with a paint ball gun.

I carry a ruger Alaskan 44 with 305 gr hard cast. I have shot 2 wounded bears with it.

 

[Wapiti1]

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing

I’ve never hunted grizz country. Scared to frankly. I only recently started carrying spray for blackbears after hearing enough stories. Idk why didn’t before

being fairly ignorant on guns, any recommendations on a pistol for when I finally do hunt in grizz areas? Some sort of 10mm semiauto maybe?

10mm is what people are moving to these days and I think it is a good choice. I know quite a few that carry .357 revolvers and a couple that are fine with a 9mm. Others carry bigger stuff. A .45 ACP with +P loads will work as well. The old school wisdom was a .44 Mag was the minimum. I think loads and bullets for the others have made the .44 less appealing. I think a 10mm is about the level of recoil most can live with and shoot well enough. You have to learn to shoot the hard kickers.

In black bear country I carry nothing most of the time, or sometimes a .357 Mag Colt Trooper. In grizz country, I always carry and it is either a Glock 21 .460 Rowland, or a Dan Wesson .44 Mag.

Two major considerations with any handgun for bear defense. It must be convenient and easy to carry. Or you will not carry it. If you know you should have it, and think, man I hate carrying that thing, get another sidearm, or a different holster. Be warned you'll end up with 14 holsters you don't like and one you do.

It must have suitable ammunition. With the right ammo a 9mm is adequate (not ideal, but it will work in a pinch). With the wrong ammo, it is more of a hazard than a help. The ammo must penetrate from any angle which means solids of hardcast lead, jacketed, or soild copper. Don't skimp on ammo in this case.

Jeremy

 

[stonewall]

10mm is what people are moving to these days and I think it is a good choice. I know quite a few that carry .357 revolvers and a couple that are fine with a 9mm. Others carry bigger stuff. A .45 ACP with +P loads will work as well. The old school wisdom was a .44 Mag was the minimum. I think loads and bullets for the others have made the .44 less appealing. I think a 10mm is about the level of recoil most can live with and shoot well enough. You have to learn to shoot the hard kickers.

In black bear country I carry nothing most of the time, or sometimes a .357 Mag Colt Trooper. In grizz country, I always carry and it is either a Glock 21 .460 Rowland, or a Dan Wesson .44 Mag.

Two major considerations with any handgun for bear defense. It must be convenient and easy to carry. Or you will not carry it. If you know you should have it, and think, man I hate carrying that thing, get another sidearm, or a different holster. Be warned you'll end up with 14 holsters you don't like and one you do.

It must have suitable ammunition. With the right ammo a 9mm is adequate (not ideal, but it will work in a pinch). With the wrong ammo, it is more of a hazard than a help. The ammo must penetrate from any angle which means solids of hardcast lead, jacketed, or soild copper. Don't skimp on ammo in this case.

Jeremy

good info, thanks. it sounds like I might need to just go to a store and get hands on a few options and see what might feel good.

i bought the AGC holster last year thinking I might end up in bear country in wyoming (ended up hunting elsewhere)

Is it possible to get something in the $500 range?

 

[Wapiti1]

Glock, EAA Witness, and Rock Island 1911 are probably the most economical in 10mm. Should be able to find a sale if you take your time and get into the $500 area. Or looked used. I would put them in the order listed in terms of which I would look for. I had a Witness 10mm, and really liked it. Better grip than the Glock IMO, but Glock's just work. That said, I never had any issues with the Witness.

Jeremy

 

[SWOHTR]

I read these posts and come away thinking there is only one good option, based on the experiences and opinions people have.

 

[rob86jeep]

I have seen what a 9mm did on a black bear at 10 yards it was laughable. I would never ever pack a 9mm as protection against a bear. We pulled some rounds that hit the bear in the chest out with our fingers! skinned it out and look like it was shot with a paint ball gun.

I carry a ruger Alaskan 44 with 305 gr hard cast. I have shot 2 wounded bears with it.

What rounds were they? That makes a huge difference in penetration. From some of the tests I've seen, 9mm and 10mm have similar penetration (with the correct rounds).

 

[Dustin the wind]

What rounds were they? That makes a huge difference in penetration. From some of the tests I've seen, 9mm and 10mm have similar penetration (with the correct rounds).

Ditto, if I had a 9mm with soft or hollow points I think it would be better to just throw the gun at the bear. But with hard cast +p ammo it is a totally different story on penetration.

 

[Wyatt.Carter]

Good read, thanks for sharing.

 

[Wmmichael20]

Can speak for caliber itself but with the post about holster is spot on if it's not convenient or comfortable to carry then odds are that you wont, I've been looking into some from alien gear and they have a few that offer multiple options for carry placement on the body, so only having to purchase one holster and have multiple options on which to use it sounds interesting,and I'm really looking into one of the chest placement type of holster for when wearing a pack.

 

[zog]

Great article; thanks for sharing. I posted a lot about a "Surviving the Grizz" spray and pistol class I took in a different thread, so I won't repeat here.

I did see in the article the range of calibers that worked. No different than big game - it's about shot placement!

Everyone is different in strength, skill, and especially in how much we practice. For me, I carried a 44 mag for years but after taking that class, I know I'm going to be more confident on a charging bear with my 9mm than with my 44. In a charge, I'm going for 3-5 shots to her brain (face), not one. My chances of that are far better with my 9mm. Hit a charging mother anywhere but in the brain, regardless of the caliber, she will only be more frightened and determined to eliminate the threat to her cub.

If he's not charging, the noise alone could probably scare him off, in addition to being hit, so bigger would be better even if not as well placed.

Many of you are good and well practiced with your big calibers; more power to you (pun intended). Be sure to choose your caliber based on your proven ability through practice under pressure.

 

[Roughwater]

I used my bow for bear defense (and to fill my bear tag) last year. Never took the pistol off my waist belt even as he walked straight toward us to 8 yards. He had no idea we were standing there, just dumb luck that we stopped for a piss break where and when we did. As my buddy and I regrouped I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. We froze as he walked into the clearing we were in. I was at full draw when he came into the clearing at +/- 8 yards, he saw us and kinda turned to skirt the edge of the clearing and he stopped at 16 yards broadside when my buddy made a deer grunt.

Am I the only one that thinks that making a deer grunt as the bear walked away may not have been the smartest thing to do? It just didn't seem like the ideal time to draw attention to one's self.

 

[Roughwater]

I carry a 45 acp or 9mm depending on my pack weight and distance I am planning on hiking. I've never had to use it yet and hope I don't. I've had more bear encounters at night at or near camp then I have in the field

I know some think a 9mm is a little light against a bear and it is, but with using something like the Lehigh defense penetrator round one can at least get a round into it's vitals. My plan is to carry a glock 20, 10mm Auto and use the 140 gn Lehigh penetrators. I think I can load them somewhere in the 13-1400 Fps velocity range.

I just bought a portable Electric bear fence as well for use in Montana. Figure it will let me rest a little easier at night with the big bears in the area. Here is a youtube of the set-up:

This is where I found the least expensive set up: http://www.opticsagent.com/Udap-Bea...Ih7ByySq3xCIRqeOMENkZ2MqKt8cVvBBoCZocQAvD_BwE

 

[Wiscgunner]

I know some think a 9mm is a little light against a bear and it is, but with using something like the Lehigh defense penetrator round one can at least get a round into it's vitals. My plan is to carry a glock 20, 10mm Auto and use the 140 gn Lehigh penetrators. I think I can load them somewhere in the 13-1400 Fps velocity range.

I just bought a portable Electric bear fence as well for use in Montana. Figure it will let me rest a little easier at night with the big bears in the area. Here is a youtube of the set-up:

This is where I found the least expensive set up: http://www.opticsagent.com/Udap-Bea...Ih7ByySq3xCIRqeOMENkZ2MqKt8cVvBBoCZocQAvD_BwE

I have been researching the same setup. You might want to reconsider the “extreme” penetrators. The Underwood Hardcast flat nose penetrate far better. The extreme penetrators don’t penetrate much more than other standard ammo and ball ammo can penetrate further. There are several videos on YouTube coving this exact comparison

 

[Dave0317]

Am I the only one that thinks that making a deer grunt as the bear walked away may not have been the smartest thing to do? It just didn't seem like the ideal time to draw attention to one's self.

It doesn’t look like he was trying to stop an attack, just taking advantage of a lucky opportunity while hunting for bears. Making the grunt and having the bear turn broadside within bow range seems like the ideal thing to do in that instance.