Can we all agree that a double-action revolver is best for bear defense?

[Lloyd Smale]

Sure it would but it also is pretty stupid to grab a 9mm when you have even a slight chance of a bear encounter. I don't take my 458 out when I want to pot a couple squirrels either. I guess my opinion is if you cant at least handle a 44 mag with factory loads then take a 12 guage. He can haul his glock 43 around in bear country. ME? Id rather your 629

As Phil Shoemaker proved, a 9mm you have is better than a .44 you don't.
The 10 days I spent in the Bob Marshall Wilderness had me wearing a S&W 629 loaded with 310 grain wide flat nosed bullets at true magnum velocities. If I left the sleeping bag it was on me, if I was in the sleeping bag it was in reach. I figured the best way to not see a bear was to be prepared at all times.

[pmer]

Attachment 240168
After trying a lot of different shootin' irons, I have settled on this one. 4" 629 with 275 gr cast boolit over 2400 and CCI mag primer. I tried bumming around the fishing streams in Alaska with a shotgun, then a 358 BLR Browning but the long guns get in my way and if it is uncomfortable or cumbersome, sooner or later you are going to put it down or leave it at the cabin and you will be defenseless. I know all the downsides to a revolver as opposed to a 15 shot whatever, but I have shot this gun a lot and I am very familiar with it. It has been in the bottom of the Kenai River (while attached to my clumsy butt) 2 times and I just took it back to the cabin and dried it out by the wood stove and shot it a few times just to be sure. Whatever you decide to carry, remember to practice , practice, practice. Oh yeah, leave those candy bars at home, ole' smokey has a sharp sniffer.

This setup seems pretty hard to beat. A little more velocity than the Alaskan and 10mm's get quirky before the 44 even breaks a sweat.

[Ozark mike]

44 mag or 45 colt Ruger loads is the least id recommend

[bedbugbilly]

All I can say is that I'm glad I don't live where I have to deal with grizzley bears . . . heck . . I have enough trouble dealing with woodchucks!

[Ozark mike]

All I can say is that I'm glad I don't live where I have to deal with grizzley bears . . . heck . . I have enough trouble dealing with woodchucks!

Try pepper spray

[outdoorfan]

So you feel comfortable placing a bullet in the eye socket of a bear as it is bounding over blowdowns and around bushes on a deliberate charge? You are a better man than I

I would prefer a little more margin for error in shot placement and opt for a large bore heavy hard slug in front of a fairly stiff charge of slow burning powder and hope I can at least change his attitude if I don't kill him.

Lol! Not many people would be confident in a charge. But somebody who is well familiar with their gun stands a better chance, even if it is only a 9mm.

I am questioning the idea that having a bigger caliber or cartridge really is more margin. The way I see it is that the bullet has to find the cranium, otherwise it's a bad day, 9mm or 500 linebugh.

And remember, this not in a hunting situation, but a self defense situation.

[Ozark mike]

I only know one person who shot a aggressive bear it was a blackie who was advancing slowly swinging it's head back and forth. the fella shot it in the head with a single 45 colt in a Ruger bh I can't remember the whole story it's been a few years ago. If a bear charges at full speed you won't have any time to take a good aim. you'll be lucky to get a shot off if your gun is holstered let alone get 10 solid hits with that auto. that's why I said I carry mine ready to go and want to have as much penetrating power as possible. my load will travel all the way thru even a quartering shot. I was in Libby sports the other day and a fella came in with his boy and he was trying to get him to look at the higher caliber revolvers this kid who was probably barely old enough to buy a gun wanted a little 9 mm that would fit in is pocket I said something can't remember what and he replied the boy wanted it for hiking I was stunned. Well good luck with that I replied.

[M-Tecs]

Lot of actual examples here for those that make the effort to read it.

https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/def...#axzz5lg8n7VNb

https://www.ammoland.com/2019/03/out...#axzz5lgY3m2vJ

[Ozark mike]

The gun? A nine-millimeter Glock. It might be common to read on the internet that you need a huge revolver chambered in an impossibly powerful caliber to stop a bear, but based on real-world experience with bear attacks, Tactic teaches that it’s modern firearms and the modern shooting techniques they make possible that are most effective.


I'm just saying that more puts the odds in your favor. most people can handle a 44 mag or hot 45 colt at least. I don't expect everyone to shoot 500mags and the like I don't let anyone shoot my bfr because it has already sprained a wrist. Just take the biggest gun you can handle reliability and accurately. And if you like little guns bring a friend who likes something with more oomph. Remember these are huge killing machines. You're in there house they have the element of surprise

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Thanks for the informative post/links, M-Tecs. Some surprising info in there. I'm kind of surprised that some of the cartridges worked as well as they did. I had completely forgotten about the .41 Mag. as being a good possibility. Seems as though the .44 Mag., with a 100% success rate in the cases cited is a very good choice. And the first example of a 9mm being FMJ ammo -- whooda thought?

[rintinglen]

i live in So Cal, at least for 8 more months, I find distance works the best for me. Haven't been bothered by a big bear in over 40 years.

[M-Tecs]

Thanks for the informative post/links, M-Tecs. Some surprising info in there. I'm kind of surprised that some of the cartridges worked as well as they did. I had completely forgotten about the .41 Mag. as being a good possibility. Seems as though the .44 Mag., with a 100% success rate in the cases cited is a very good choice. And the first example of a 9mm being FMJ ammo -- whooda thought?

Like you I was very surprised by the effectiveness of the 9's and 40's. The other thing that surprised me was the number of times warning shots that were fired. What we don't know is how many times the warning shot ends the encounter? Personally if I was carrying one of the large calibers in a 5 shot revolver I am not sure I would take a warning shot. After having and using S&W X frames I find them to heavy and bulky for long term daily carry. Standing in a stream fishing for a week is one thing but living and working grizzly country carrying a X frame, shotgun or rifle daily gets to be a bit unrealistic.

Something like a Blackhawk, 629 or HiCap 10mm's can be carried without impeding your daily routine. It's good to know that the 10mm, 41's, 44Mag and 45 Colt class cartridges are more effective than most believe. In a HiCap 10mm these have a lot to offer https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...t_detail&p=219

A very good friend has owned a grizzly and salmon fishing guide service in Alaska for 40 plus years. He has stop numerous charges after clients wounded bears. He started using a 300 Mag than 338 Mag. Neither were as effective has he wanted. He has used a 375 H&H for the past 20 plus years and he has 100% confidence in it. He did have two clients that used 338 Lapua's. He stated they seems to do more damage than the 375 H&H.

Never hunted grizzly bears but I have taken a couple of black bears. Closest I have been to a grizzly in the wild is about 60 yards from a 9 feet male. That is an impressive animal.

[mattw]

The few times my wife and I camped off the beaten path in big bear country, she always packed a 44 mag 3" Smith and I had a 41 mag 3" Smith with WFN 260 grain lead in mine. Hers was loaded with 300 grain OWC lead. They were not fun to shoot, but if **** hit they fan, they would do the job.

[Cold Trigger Finger]

Every time I see one of these legitimate bear threads that gets overrun by the shotgooners my head want to start blowing steam out my ears.
Shotguns SUCK for killing brown bear.
A fowling piece is not what is needed when a bear is inbound.
I've dug shotgun slugs out of smallish(7') brown bear that hadn't penetrated 8" into the chest. Didn't even break the closest bone.
Before making a statement, posters should get some experience with the subject.

An 18-20" barreled 416 Remington, Taylor, Ruger or 458 Win mag is just absolutely the ticket for stopping a bear charge. With the dead bear in a big pile right where it was shot. A large caliber handgun is only limited in it's effectiveness on bears by shooters accuracy. And load selection.
For a bear belly gun its hard to improve on a 4ish " or shorter da large revolver. However the gun Must be fully controllable with 1 hand shooting.
For me that rules out the 460 and 500 s&w . A Ruger SRH Alaskan in 480 , 454 or 44 mag has been a good working gun. And they have saved several people from getting mauled at close range.

A fowling piece will often turn a bear. But then there is a wounded bear to deal with.

The 45/70 and 450 Marlin Guide Guns work well with a big bullet at a moderate velocity. Like a 405 gr @ 1500-1700 fps.
No sense trying to load them hot. It causes reliability problems with them.

There is a case to be made for single action revolvers. Once the bear fight has begun, if you need to top off the cylinder , its Easter to do with a S.A. than a da. At least that has been my experience.

The other thing that will save your bacon when dealing with a bear is a good dog or 2.

Come on folks bears ain't revinuers or zombies.
I would much rather have a 10 mm autoloaders loaded with a mono metal or cast solid bullet @ 1100+ fps than a fowling piece loaded with Anything!

Never think you can rely on getting anything accomplished other than dying once a bear has got you !!!!!!!!!
It may not be God's time to call you to your final reward. Which is the about the only thing that will save you.
A 200 lb bear can rip the arms off the toughest ultimate fighter on earth.
Imagine what a 700-2000 pound bear can do.
Good dogs can be worth their weight in gold !!

[Ozark mike]

I would like to hear more about underpenetration with slugs that's the first I've heard of that. As far as hot loaded 45-70s I've never had problems from my loads being unreliable 500grns @1750fps. So any specifics would be nice

[M-Tecs]

I have shot one medium sized black bear with a copper slug and it worked lights out however not all slugs are created equal.

A very good friend of my dads safari hunted big time in the 70's and 80's. On one of his lion hunts another hunter wounded a lion. It was one camp with two PH's and two hunters. Both PH's and both hunters plus trackers went after the wounded lion. Both PH's switched to shotguns with slugs. Not sure what type of slug but back then you didn't have todays choices. The lion charged and multiple hits with the slugs failed to penetrate adequately or stop the charge. My dads friend stopped the charge with a spine shot with a 458 solid. At first he though he shot through one of the PH's taking the shot. The lion did knock the PH over but no serious damage other that maybe needing new underwear. After skinning the lion out both PH's stated they work never use slugs on lions again. Claim was the slugs looked like silver dollars. Foster slugs tend be soft so that would be my guess on what they used. I do know some of the ammo in Africa was not to our standards and hard to get. The PH's requested to bring extra ammo and or rifles to be left as part of the tip.

With todays options slugs should be a very good choice for stopping power. The only issue I have with shotguns is slung across the back they are slow to deploy. Front slings or hand held are quick but they get in the way of daily activities.

[35remington]

I am not sure how a 10mm with a solid bullet at 1100 fps can garner praise while a 12 gauge with far more projectile weight at considerably higher velocity with a wide selection of slugs available that are known for penetration (Brennekes, anyone?) can be derided as a worthless fowling piece when “loaded with Anything.”

Methinks someone needs to look into the matter more. Very relevant 12 gauge ammo choices are clearly being overlooked by anyone advancing such a notion. I can list a great many should anyone have difficulty understanding what they are missing out on when making such pronouncements.

[Ozark mike]

I always figured 10 ga rb would work well as long as it wasn't to soft that's one hunk of lead screaming along I would not want to be standing in front of

[jmort]

Few firearms have the terminal effect of a well constructed 12 gauge slug. Nothing living on earth will survive a solid hit from a Brenneke Magnum Crush or even better, the Dixie Dangerous Game slug. The Dixie Tri-Ball is a 1,000 grain freight train.

[M-Tecs]

Few firearms have the terminal effect of a well constructed 12 gauge slug. Nothing living on earth will survive a solid hit from a Brenneke Magnum Crush or even better, the Dixie Dangerous Game slug. The Dixie Tri-Ball is a 1,000 grain freight train.

These sound wicked.

http://www.dixieslugs.com/products.html

The Dixie IXL-DGS is .730" and weighs 870 grs. It is designed for rifled barrels and .729"/.730" bore smoothbore with cylinder chokes. The velocity in the loaded rounds is 1200'/" from 20" 12 gauge 3" Hastings rifled barrels. Dixie designed his slug as requested by experienced shooters in Alaska. It is a true Dangerous Game slug/bullet that will stand up against the most severe tests! It is cast from our standard bullet alloy and heat-treated.There are other offerings that call themselves DGS (Dangerous Game Slugs) that are nothing more than swaged lead. They will never stand up to the severe situations that the Dixie IXL-DGS is designed for. These slug/bullets will be offered in loaded rounds on the specialized order form and as components.