Bear Defense 45ACP

[44man]

Problem with big caliber handguns starting at the .44 is always complaints about recoil. Go through posts and see how many want light loads. learn larger and the .44 is easy. You CAN hit with the one shot needed.
Too many come here with nines and ACP's, many shots that make noise. You might feel good with all those shots but you just lie to yourself.
I still prefer a .475 BFR. Hang it from a sling or shoulder holster. easy to hand, sling best.
Carrie a 12# rifle all day, up and down steep hills. Rifle or shotgun best but it must be in your hands. Gutting and the rifle will be out of reach.
Knowing a big revolver will save your butt. you hunt, not some gay guy that can't carry a few candy bars, too much weight. I feel for those that can't carry a few pounds. Girly men!

[Outpost75]

Tell your friend he had better research the stupid gun laws we have here in Canada! Even if he is immigrating here and he is going to OWN a huge tract of land, the only place he will be able to shoot anything with a handgun is within the confines of whatever property he OWNS! There are NO handguns allowed for hunting (or to be carried "just in case")! Gray Wolf has given some good advise on the use of a 12 gauge. I have hunted northern BC since 1956 and I have never come into close contact with a Griz (thank God). Personally, If I were choosing a defence "Bear gun" I would likely opt for a 4570 "Guide gun", and I would practice with it! A LOT!!!

+1 on what Blackthorn said!

My school classmate is an Alaska native who works with the US Army Corps of Engineers in bear country and has for 25 years.

In all the years they have kept statistics on nuisance bear shootings the most effective weapon has been a 12-ga. shotgun and this is what USACE issues for bear defense on their wilderness work crews. No handgun is as effective. Educate yourself!

http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/safety/bears.htm

http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin...huly_Vol_7.pdf

http://www.bearbiology.com/fileadmin...row_Vol_11.pdf

[TES]

I know about the DE...I was thinking a semi auto as in the HK PDW 9mm but it would shoot a full size .50 round as in out of a ma deuce.

[M-Tecs]

No gun defense http://news.msn.com/staging/alaska-a...bear-near-base

[tazman]

About 20 years ago my good friend went bear hunting in one of the western states(I believe Wyoming but I am not certain). He had a tag for a grizzly and used a professional guide. He carried a 375H&H and so did the guide. They spotted a bear below them in a draw about 60 yards away. The guide told my friend to shoot him through the shoulder which is what he did. The bear then turned and charged the pair. Both guide and hunter emptied their rifles into the bear during the charge(8 round combined). Both men reloaded one round from a pocket since they were rapidly running out of time. My friend fired his last shot into the bears skull at about 15 feet dropping him there. He has never been back bear hunting since that I know of.
My point being even the big guns can fail to stop a bear when he is seriously upset. A 45acp at close range is a whole lot better than nothing and a properly placed shot(in the skull) will do the job.

[44man]

Maybe, if it penetrates! I have no bear experience but can tell you a .475 and even my .45 Colt with the right boolit will penetrate a deer end to end. Never a worry about a boolit glancing off a skull.
All I read suggests shooting a bear in the nose and there is a lot between it and the brain to stop a boolit. Penetration of a revolver is amazing with a lot of damage in between.Attachment 111373 I shot this deer at 76 yards, right below the chin, took out the spine and a whole row of short ribs yet still exited here. 420 gr from my .475. Near a hole in one guys!
My 330 gr .44 boolit will not stop either.

[M-Tecs]

Two different guns and two different outcomes.

“Grizzly Guns” by H. V. Stent
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2846837/posts
“Grizzly Guns” by H. V. Stent
If you are planning a grizzly hunt or only dreaming of one, a big question is which rifle to use.
On that fascinating subject, I’ve been amassing information for some 40 years of living as a teacher, fruit grower and hunter in that bear paradise, British Columbia, where stories of encounters with grizzlies and brown bears are enjoyed where ever sportsmen gather and are often headlined in newspapers and television newscasts.
Such meetings sometimes result in a mauled man or shot bear, or both. A recent one ended with both man and bear dead.


Rolf Voss of Surrey, British Columbia, had shot a caribou near Fort Nelson, in the north-central part of the province, and was carrying parts of the carcass back to his camp in wooded mountain country when a grizzly, perhaps smelling the meat, attacked him. Voss got off two shots with his .270 that proved fatal to the bear, but the grizzly bit Voss about the head – they usually go for the head – and killed him. The two bodies were found side by side.
This is no reflection on the .270. That cartridge has killed many grizzlies and browns. In 1985, a fine 27-incher (total skull measurement) fell to a .270 in the hands of Roger Pentecost of Peachland, BC. In 1986, another record-class grizzly was killed by Alvars Barkis of Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, with a .300 Magnum; and a medium-size one, about 500 pounds, was killed by 12-year-old Gary H. Holmes of Kimberly, BC, with a .25/06. Back in 1965, the world-record grizzly fell to one .30/30 bullet fired by Jack Turner. And before that, the world-record grizzly succumbed to a .22 Rimfire!


Bella Twin, an Indian girl, and her friend Dave Auger were hunting grouse near Lesser Slave Lake in northern Alberta. The only gun they had was Bella’s single-shot bolt-action .22 Rimfire rifle. They were walking a cutline that had been made for oil exploration when they saw a large grizzly following the same survey line toward them. If they ran, the bear would probably notice them and might chase, so they quietly sat down on a brush pile and hoped that the bear would pass by without trouble. But the bear came much too close, and when the big boar was only a few yards away, Bella Twin shot him in the side of the head with a .22 Long cartridge. The bear dropped, kicked and then lay still. Taking no chances, Bella went up close and fired all of the cartridges she had, seven or eight .22 Longs, into the bear’s head. That bear, killed in 1953, was the world-record grizzly for several years and is still high in the records today. Which only goes to show that in an emergency, strange things are possible, but who wants that kind of emergency?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Based on the recent performance of a light 44 mag load that came pretty close to a 45 ACP load(200 grains @900 fps or so) on a farm hog, it would certainly not be my first choice for bear protection. But something is better than nothing and a 45 certainly better than many others.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...covered-Boolit

[cwheel]

I've carried a 1911 for a backup while hunting for more than 30 years. Feel lucky that up to now it has not been called upon, but sure have run into some critters by surprise. Handgun part is for working through tight brush and working through choked stands of timber. In those situations in close quarters a handgun for personal protection is good where the barrel length keeps you from being able to use your rifle. In the various areas I hunt in you could run into griz, lion, wolf and what ever else lives in the forest. I hunt with a 300 Winchester mag so the only thing the 1911 would ever be used for is very up close and personal. Sure a 44 mag or something with more energy would be better, with all of the gear I'm packing up the hill I don't want a handgun that weighs twice what a 1911 weighs and don't want to have to pack that cannon in a chest rig. Doing experiments with friends with 44's on close in targets, I can empty the 7 round mag into the targets kill zone faster than they can get the first 2 shots off. The friends with the Red hawk and the smith 29 had switched to liter pistols within 2 seasons of doing this experiment at the range. 1911 sure isn't better by a long shot, but if you have it with you and can use it, it sure beats one that is better that you can't deploy or get shots off fast enough with.

[JSnover]

The man did say he would carry a 45-70. The pistol was the backup gun, as in: when you rifle empty and you backup inna tree.
Ive seen a cornered bear spin 180 degrees and leap 15 feet, literally in the blink of an eye. They are fast. ​Carry whatever you want, but move carefully and make every effort to see the bear before it's too late/too close.

[Bardo]

What about pepper spray? When i lived in alaska in the late 90s they sold it at costco For bears and there was a video playing showing them spraying it 30 feet. i would hate to be down wind.

[Airman Basic]

What about pepper spray? When i lived in alaska in the late 90s they sold it at costco For bears and there was a video playing showing them spraying it 30 feet. i would hate to be down wind.

[MT Marlin Shooter]

The 45 ACP IS NOT A BEAR DEFENSE ROUND.

Tell your friend to get a 22lr pistol: a Bushmaster, or a Ruger Mk III. Best Bear Defense gun in the world. Make sure to always go into the woods with a friend or two. If you see a charging bear, shoot one of your buddies in the knee and RUN LIKE HELL!

Seriously, by the time you get a heavy enough projectile going fast enough to reliably penetrate a Kodiak's skull (heart shots just make them angry), you will have destroyed your semi auto pistol, which was never designed to handle those types of pressures. Or you will have to replace the spring with a really stout spring and then you can't shoot ACP from it. Bite the bullet (so to speak) and either get a Super Redhawk in 45 lc or 44 mag, or move up to the 460 or 500's. If your friend is recoil adverse, tell him to stop kidding himself. Use a rifle. Really, killing the big browns is a job best left to a rifle. Better yet, just avoid them by being aware of your surroundings, talk to the rangers before you head out, keep a clean camp, etc. I agree with the Blackfeet: It's bad ju-ju to kill a bear.

Greg