All comes down to personal preference and comfort factor. I'm a handgun hunter and would be carrying a 44 mag on my person but a rifle close by and if It was grizzly country it would be 12 gauge and slugs not a rifle. If all I had was a 30-30 it would be along, close by and I would not be thinking ballistics but aiming point. The only bear in my credits is a 250 pound black bear taken with a 32 Win special. I was hunting and it wasn't a grizzly but it boosted my confidence in the gun with its near identical ballistics to the 30-30. Go with your comfort zone because there is no single right answer.
30/30 or large caliber handgun for bear defense?
- Thread starter lawnboy
- Start date
In each case there are two critical components. What you load them with, and how well you shoot them in a hurry.
There is no shortage of heavy cast bullet ammo for revolvers in 44 caliber and up; similar handloads are well established.
Really deep-penetrating loads for the 30-30 however, are pretty scarce. Bullets for handloaders, suitable to this application, are equally rare and load data don't grow on trees. The basic 30-30 has proven adequate under most circumstances.
In either case I load up with the deepest penetrating ammo I could get and practice like my life depended on it.
There is no shortage of heavy cast bullet ammo for revolvers in 44 caliber and up; similar handloads are well established.
Really deep-penetrating loads for the 30-30 however, are pretty scarce. Bullets for handloaders, suitable to this application, are equally rare and load data don't grow on trees. The basic 30-30 has proven adequate under most circumstances.
In either case I load up with the deepest penetrating ammo I could get and practice like my life depended on it.
Since I "hand carry" (slings and scopes are hideous, blasphemous abhorrence on a lever gun to me) lever guns and can point shoot with one with a quickness, I feel I could easily bring one to bear (pun not originally planned) faster than a holstered side arm... And follow ups are a natural and still on target (little muzzle rise when forcing the issue) with the .30-30... I am goin' with that gun with your limitations in the OP...
Brent
Brent
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
The reason I keep hollering "Situational" is that not all that many people go fly-fishing one-handed. Or just use one hand when taking a picture. Seems to me that a fella's gotta figure out what will be handiest, depending on what he's doing out in the boonies.
on me for not lookin' past the walkin' the bush part of the outdoorsmanship... And there ain't always a nice rifle leanin' tree/post where you are actively pursuing what ever entertainment or task at hand...I've heard this from others. They basically described it that you're better off defending your actions in a self defense shooting against a human bad guy than defending yourself in a self defense shooting against a bear.
I've found this true too. One of my friends has never bothered with it. The other does. For me it's more psychological than anything. The closest I've ever been to a live brown bear was in a parking lot in Chugach State Park in about 2005. A large bear walked right past my car so close that I could have rolled down my window and touched him. I don't really know how big that one was, but he looked gigantic to me. With dangerous animals of that size around I have a hard time going completely unarmed, but I also have a hard time relying on a handgun. Like I said, it's psychological.
Later that year I was waiting in the drive thru at McDonalds in Anchorage (near the airport) and two moose walked right between my car and the one in line in front of me. Those were gigantic too. I think those startled me more than the bear did. I saw the bear coming. I didn't see the moose until they were RIGHT THERE.
I guess I'll decide which to take when I actually have to decide.
Wyosmith you seem hung up on penetration. I agreed with you that a HC 44 Magnum load would outpenetrate a 170 gr SP fired from a 30-30.
However, in your first post in this thread you said the 44 Magnum was ballistically superior. That is patently false. Don't try to change what you first said.
I even said that given the choices I would take the 44 Magnum revolver because its adequate for the task and you would be more likely to have on you at the time.
There is a difference between a HC handgun load that punches through an animal and makes a .43 caliber hole and a deep penetrating 30-30 loading that punches a .60 or better caliber hole in an animal. The classic 170 gr 30-30 load is a good penetrator. When you say that there is a difference in killing an animal and killing it fast, the wound channel is everything. Punching a .43 hole clear through an animal will certainly kill it but it might not happen right away. The 30-30 with expanding projectiles is simply going to provide a bigger would channel. Handgun projectiles don't provide much shock to the animal. They pretty much just punch holes in things. A rifle loading going well over 2000 fps is going to expand and cause more trauma than a HC handgun load.
However, in your first post in this thread you said the 44 Magnum was ballistically superior. That is patently false. Don't try to change what you first said.
I even said that given the choices I would take the 44 Magnum revolver because its adequate for the task and you would be more likely to have on you at the time.
There is a difference between a HC handgun load that punches through an animal and makes a .43 caliber hole and a deep penetrating 30-30 loading that punches a .60 or better caliber hole in an animal. The classic 170 gr 30-30 load is a good penetrator. When you say that there is a difference in killing an animal and killing it fast, the wound channel is everything. Punching a .43 hole clear through an animal will certainly kill it but it might not happen right away. The 30-30 with expanding projectiles is simply going to provide a bigger would channel. Handgun projectiles don't provide much shock to the animal. They pretty much just punch holes in things. A rifle loading going well over 2000 fps is going to expand and cause more trauma than a HC handgun load.
Tom Matiska
New member
IDB0412
Penetration is the issue of the day with brown bears that have large bone, heavy fur and lots of fat and muscle before you hit any vitals that will kill the animal. An expanding bullet that is small and lightweight is notorious for not making it throught the fur, fat, muscle and bone in these beasts. That is why I would choose a .44 magnum over the 30-30.