Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2019/08/handgun-or-pistol-defense-against-bear-at

[M-Tecs]

https://www.ammoland.com/2019/08/handgun-or-pistol-defense-against-bear-attack-73-cases-96-effective/?fbclid=IwAR18lVV_eTvzWRYY7vbke21MFn8l6-ehwZdGcojkyONDZOnPAt--QjhiBtc#axzz5wPzoRHcw

[JBinMN]

Thanks for sharing the article.

[RJM52]

..saw that a few months ago....bottom line appears to be, any gun is better than no gun....

[M-Tecs]

This version is an updated one that covers about double the cases. It was published on August 12, 2019

[trapper9260]

Thank you for posting . I was wonder about of what I hear some say will not or will work. From this it show what ever you got use it and place the shot right.

[onelight]

Thanks for the link .
Scary stuff, would have had much different outcomes if the people were unarmed .
We take family vacations once in a while to hiking areas with large animals with 3 to 4 generations of family have had a close surprise meeting with a black bear at about 20' in the dark right beside the cabin we were staying in . That was the last time I carried a 3" 9mm there . 4" 357 and up for me in the mountains. We have also had many encounters with Elk in tight quarters great to see them like that but I don't trust any wild animal they can be very unpredictable . I always relax when we get a little distance between the animals and the grandkids .

[Drew P]

Wow very interesting thanks. Kinda one of those “of course it does” moments for me. I’ve heard the “bounce off their skull and piss them off” silliness and I’d thought, well, what about body shots? Yeah a bear has thick skin but an FMJ 9mm will penetrate that skin and surely either force a reconsideration, or worse, harm the bear fatally and as it turns out this is true. I’m especially impressed by the 22lr cases, and noted that the one that didn’t work was against a polar bear, known to be the biggest and scariest of all bears.
So the take away is that I will be more comfortable with my 9mm now, but I will load it with FMJ when in bear country.

[Drew P]

Now we need this same study with moose.

[Art in Colorado]

We are having more and more Black Bear attacks in Colorado. I would be carrying either my 44 Special or 45 ACP Sig. Both with stout loads. These libs just don't want to admit that hand guns are useful tools for self defense.

[charlie b]

What bothers me is the number of people who will use this data to go into bear country with smaller calibers and not know how to use them to stop a determined bear attack.

Yes, just as with people defense, any gun is better than none, but some are much better than others and the person using it is key to an outcome.

[DougGuy]

I always say a person should use and carry the biggest caliber they can shoot accurately.