Bear gun

[SciFiJim]

With all of the talk of bear attacks lately, I would like to see a discussion on the best handgun to carry while tramping through bear country. Caliber and ammo vs. weight of carry. I for one would not like to add several pounds to my belt while hiking, I am already the family pack mule.

[SeekHer]

Well the weight factor is there for a good reason, the heavier the caliber, the more recoil and weight helps tame recoil...

Absolute minimum would be a .357 mag although I think it should be my favourite caliber the .41 mag all things considered...

.44 Spec, .45 LC are other calibers to consider then the .44 mag and on the high side you have the .454 Casull, .460 Win, .476 Linebaugh, .500 Win and a host of gunsmith specific calibers by the likes of Gary Reeder et al...

As to bullet weight, if it can't shoot a 220 gr to 240 gr bullet--minimum--then don't even consider it and yes you need it for even the lowly black bear which will be around 400+ lbs. of dense muscle in a very squat frame...

All the old timers I’ve talked to—trappers and guides—all say the same thing, if the bear is front on and down on all fours then aim for the tip of the nose as a bear usually attacks with its head slightly raised and if you shoot low you hit the mouth and maybe the brain and if you hit high you might get the brain where the nose meets the eyes…If you shoot really low then a chest cavity shot might be achieved but it’s risky because front on not much of the chest is exposed…

Web info on shot placement and bear anatomy...

Where to Shoot A Bear

Bear Anatomy

[Achilles]

With all of the talk of bear attacks lately, I would like to see a discussion on the best handgun to carry while tramping through bear country. Caliber and ammo vs. weight of carry. I for one would not like to add several pounds to my belt while hiking, I am already the family pack mule.

What kind of bear country?

[Bullspit]

Fortunately, it is a rare event to need a gun to protect against a bear. Unfortunately, if that event happens, you need a big gun rather badly, and quickly.

I have never shot a bear. I have never seen a wild bear, despite spending a lot of time in areas with plenty of bear sign. My opinions are just that, opinions based on reading other peoples opinions about bear protection and giving some thought to what is reasonable based on my experiences with guns over the last 20 years.

This is why the handgun is often chosen over a shotgun with slugs or a large caliber rifle. It is just too easy to set the long gun down and then you don't have it when you need it. The handgun is, hypothetically, always carried at hand.

As with many things in life, balance is key here. Choose the biggest caliber you can shoot well in the most carry friendly package. In general the more carry friendly a gun is the more it hurts in recoil thus reducing the power of the cartridge you can handle.

Unlike the situation for carrying for defense against human attackers, where some prefer smaller bullets going very fast, when equipping for bear protection, big heavy bullets going at a reasonable rate are to be preferred to a light bullet going fast. Hard cast lead is going to work just fine although you could also use a full metal case bullet. Assuming you are in black bear, and not grizzly country you have options such as:

.357 magnum 180 grain would be the bottom end of the spectrum. I believe there is at least one custom loader that gets 1200 to 1400 fps with a hard cast lead bullet in this weight. Recoil would be painful as would the muzzle blast!

.41 magnum with a 210 bullet or heavier at 1200 or more would be a better choice. However the .41 isn't as easy to find ammo for.

.44 magnum with 240 grain bullet or heavier at 1200 fps or more would be where I would start.

.45 Colt or .454 Casull with a 250 or heavier at 1200 fps or more would also be a good choice. The .454 Casull with a 300 grain bullet at 1500 fps is where I would start for Grizzly, but frankly this round has more recoil than I can comfortably shoot for practice.

.475, .480 and the .500 flavors with bullets over 300 grains moving at over 1000 fps would also be good choices.

As to guns, most guns that are chambered in the .454 Casull or larger will be fairly heavy and large so unless you are in Grizzly country you can probably skip these and concentrate on the .357 through .45 Colt options.

Single action or Double Action? If you are more comfortable with one or the other choose it. Guns in either action type of various sizes are available.

In the .357 you have a variety of choices. I wouldn't go with the K frame guns from Smith, but the larger frame sized choices would work. Ruger makes some good .357 guns, both single and double action that would be good choices. If I had to go with the .357 I would choose a Ruger single action like the Blackhawk with a barrel around 5 inches. Easy to carry, pretty light and plenty strong. I prefer the shorter barrel for ease of carry and draw.

In the .41 - .45 Colt you could use any of the Smith and Wesson products, the Mountain gun is on the light end of the possibilities but a good choice. Ruger makes several single actions in these calibers and a couple of double actions too. The Redhawk and the Super Redhawk are great choices, but on the heavy end of what you might want to carry. I would again go with the single action, but I prefer single actions.

Casull makes great single actions in these calibers too. These are very nice guns, but you pay for the quality.

Bottom line, you probably won't even see a bear in the wild much less need to shoot one. But if you need to shoot one you have to have the gun with you. That means an easy to carry gun or you won't want to add it to your load. Look at the Ruger Single Actions if you are comfortable with them. If you want a double action and still want light weight choose a Smith N frame. I personally would choose the .44 magnum or .45 Colt with a 240-250 grain bullet or heavier at 1200 fps. That is the recoil level I can shoot enough to practice enough to be confident with the gun and load.

You need to practice. Plan on drawing from holster and hitting a paper plate at 10 yards in under 3 seconds. Under 2 would be better. Even better would be hitting that paper plate at 2 seconds and again at 3 seconds. Even better would be hitting a saucer sized target as it moves towards you at 20 miles per hour!

[Bob K]

I've never gone bear hunting, so I have no direct experience.

I have, in years past, done a fair amount of boar hunting. Weights ranged from 200-500+ pounds. Boar are probably more aggressive, and more heavily "armored" (the gristle plate) than bear.

I am reminded of Robert Ruark's line, "use enough gun".

To me, the absolute minimum against any potential aggressive quadruped is .44 Magnum.

Personal favorites are: .45-70, heavy handload in a Ruger #1; 12 gauge Brenneke slug (my experience is with the older style, with the wad screwed into the slug); and .30-06, with 180-220 grain soft points.

If something is charging me, I want to drop it in its tracks with one shot.

Your mileage may vary.

[Rod]

I thought bears would go for the larger calibers, with modifications to the trigger guards. Or are they following the AR-15 in .22LR ideas and sticking them where the sun doesn't shine?

Y'all KNOW someone would hijack this thread fast.

[Whirlibird]

The greatest power to weight ratio also falls to the worst weapon to fire with full power loads (except maybe CC's little .357 snubby) the Smith 329 and .44 Mag loads.

Stick to hard cast bullets at moderate to high velocities.
The Keith SWC and LBT designs are popular in areas where the bruins roam.

http://www.gunblast.com/SW329PD.htm

Personally if I never fire one of these again, it will be too soon. I'll stick with the 629 Mtn Gun, it's enough for me despite weighing a bit more.

[HTRN]

The 329 has a well deserved reputation for being the most brutally recoiling DA revolver on the market - it has an even worse reputation than the .500S&W(although, that was with the long barrel, I imagine the 3" version is pretty bad).


HTRN

[Aglifter]

I have a Ruger Alaskan in 454 Casull. It weighs 2 oz more than a 1911, and I can shoot it pretty well, and don't mind the recoil. If there is one/you're willing to have one made, a 4" barreled version might be a better choice.

[arctictom]

I have hunted bear and taken a couple , I would suggest a couple things, carry a rifle or shotgun in areas you expect to see bear,or have seen bears. A handgun is a weapon of opportunity and I can guarantee you will always prefer your long gun if you can realistically carry it. A hand gun is better than no gun, I carry a 4" Colt Anaconda 44 mag with 300 grain solids.
They have some really good self defense courses ,here, specifically for bear defense ,such as when and how to shoot and what seems to be the most effective.So a good suggestion might be to check your local Fish and Game office to see if they have anything similar.