Bear attack in your tent

I've encountered bears on a half dozen trips into the back-country. I've never felt threatened.
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Reminds me... you guys will have to ask Timothy Treadwell, 46, and Amie Huguenard, 37, both of Malibu, California. No wait, you can't ask. Bears ate them both in Alaska. The guy was a 'self-taught bear expert' who said brown bear were 'harmless'.

http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/articles6/bear_attack_leaves_two_dead_in_a.htm

Yes get your wife gun, and something to add to that Glock 20, like a 12 guage or AK-47 (serious... I like the AK for such.)
 
could have been careless with any food smell inside the tent, etc.; but that is not my question. What would be my best carry of the above three pistols to effectively kill an attacking bear?
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Many attacks inside tents are referred to as predatory attacks. You are the food they're after.

As far as what pistol to stop a 400 to 1000 lb. critter is't something I know how to answer. Maybe one so powerful I'd be afraid to shoot it except in a life or death situation.

Don't like your chances of getting to it anyway, in the middle of an attack, in the dark, trapped like a sardine, disoriented, in your sleeping bag, when the gun isn't even on your person.
 
If they scare you that bad there is a back packers bear fence out there ,only a couple pounds and about 50,000 volts guaranteed to get any night time trespassers attention,As for me the trusty 44 with 300 gr hard cast stays with me hiking ,fishing ,camping. I've had many bears walk by or through camp,while disconcerting, these events are what makes it wilderness. I have killed one black bear with my 44 the 300 gr hard cast passed all the way through front to back.In the one event the group I was hunting with had to kill a brown bear Two members were charged by a sow with cub in an alder thicket, she was hit with a 220 gr 30 cal round from a 300 win mag at less than 20 ft, knocked her off her feet than was finished as she got up with a standard 180 factory load. The Aprox. 300 lb cub was going crazy in the brush so the guys backed out. I was the first in the next day when we went back to salvage the hide an skull as required by Alaska law.[tends to keep you on you toes] But the story was all plain to understand by the tracks bullet holes Etc. Is the 44 or any pistol Ideal no I'd love to have my 45/70 guide gun, but in a tent, or while field dressing an animal I'll take my 44 ,45 ,454,500 whatever you got that you are willing to carry every time you go out cause you never know when am I going to meet that one bear that doesn't follow the rules.
 
This has all been interesting reading.
.357 loaded with Buffalo Bore 180 hard cast.

When I lived in Alaska my brother and I went blackbear hunting in the heart of prime brown bear country on a couple of occasions. While we didn't have any kind of alarm system, [which by the way is a good idea for two reasons, letting you know something's coming and scaring off a nosy intruder] we did several things to help insure a chance encounter with a bear came out in our favour.
1-slept fully dressed with sleeping bags fully unzipped but covering us
2- slept with rifles loaded and safety on, one pointed above our heads and the other pointed below our feet
3-knives opened and located where they could easily be reached
4-flashlights same as above
5-food stored well away from camp as well as the actual location we cooked at
6- we pee'd and s*** in a twenty or so yard radius around the camp so any bear coming in would know what we were ahead of reaching us
7- while not exactly comfortable, we wore our .44's to bed so if we had to cut our way out without taking our real bear guns, we could still defend ourselves as best as possible

Before I get a bunch of you telling me we were stupid to keep loaded rifles next to us, we had enough room in the tent that we weren't laying right on top of them. My brother has lived there for something like 20 or so years and had several close calls with bears. One of his good friends who is now a master guide there practiced the same things we did when I was living up there.
The rifles were kept in that position, to be able to have one pointed in the right direction as quickly as possible.
We were both experienced in the outdoors and in the handling of firearms.
Make fun if you like, but as we say in the martial arts- A person who is prepared, is rarely a victom and a person who is a victom, is rarely prepared.
 
since the original OP asked about an attack. i would say something fast, short, that sticks in your hand like glue, and big caliper, because if its an attack...he will be on you like stink on a ****. how many rounds will be able to get off?
 
True story

A WV coal mine dumpster was being frequented by several bears. A guard obtained some rubber bullets to chase them away. He shot one in the butt with the rubber bullet. The bear turned and charged him. He ran to his vehicle in the nick of time. Conclusion - rubber bullet no good for chasing away bear.
 
Innerestin thread.
Eternally thankful we don't have an over abundance of bears the the Tx Panhandle (only ever heard of one being seen here).

The thread makes me think about things like kevlar sleepin bags, hangin "No Bears Allowed" signs on the tent flap, give the tent and fart sack to whatever critter wants it, and sleepin in the truck.
 
Meanwhile...back to the OP...

1) He did not say he was in Grizz country. Most areas with black bear the weight is more like 150 - 300 lbs.

2) He has a G23, G26, and a .357 mag. He cannot afford to buy another handgun.

3) For HIS situation, and given HIS available handguns, which would we recommend?

My ideas: No hand gun less than a .454 is going to deliver any kind of shock effect to tissue in a bear, so you want penetration more than velocity. My preference would be a .44mag with 300gr JSP. BUT THAT IS NOT AN OPTION HERE.

I hike in black bear country and carry my G23 with DoubleTap 200gr load (about 1050fps). Ballistically it may be a toss up between a heavy loaded .357 180 gr (like Buffalo Bore) and a heavy loaded .40 in 200gr. Since the G23 gives you more than twice as many shots I would favor that. Or you could have both in the tent with you.

Not an ideal bear handgun but not unreasonable for the smallish black bear either. If you were in Grizz country or in Canada where black bear can run 300-500lbs then you might want to sell a couple of your handguns and get a .44mag.
 
I've camped in one are of northern California for a number of years and we've had 2 bear attacks near our camp. For a while they were releasing Yosemite problem bears up in this Wilderness area.

One was a couple who were off by themselves. They camped late so they cooked, then ate dinner inside their tent. Bad idea. The bear came in one side and luckily they had another door to exit from. The bear rummaged around and ate what was left before leaving.

The other was a guy who put his tent up right in the middle of a bear trail. The bear jumped on his tent twice: Once in the night, and once in the morning. Nearly crushed the guy inside but didn't do more than jump up & down on the tent & swatting it.

I've been going to this area for 26 years and while I have seen many bears, and seen tons of scat, I've never had a run-in.

Many folks have stated that they keep their food away from their tents, but it's just as important to cook/eat it away from the tent too, and to not have clothes with food smells on them inside the tent if possible. I know the OP asked about defense only, however a good pre-plan can save you a world of hurt later.
 
If that's all you got, I would suggest the .357 with a solid nose instead of a JHP type round.

Keep in mind that many years ago, Larry Kelly of Magnaport fame was in a cabin in Alaska and a bear barged in. Kelly emptied a .44 magnum into the bear and had to dive out the back window to get away.
A .41 or .44 or a .480 or .454 would be a better choice for Ursine animals.


The .40 short and wimpy won't stop a man, let alone a bear. We had a guy shoot himself in the leg with his own .40 here awhile back and DROVE himself to the hospital.
 
probably beaten to death... but... offensive weapons vrs defensive weapons... you are not hunting here, you are defending your life...

sure it would be great to get the extra velocity of the longer barrel... but if the tent is crashing down around you, the shortest most powerfull, highest capacity ( double action ) you can get is going to most effective... that 12" barreled ( exagerated for effect ) 44 mag / 454 Casull has much better killing power than a 40 S&W Glock, but if the barrel is too long to get pointed in the right direction, the gun is nothng more than a club, or worse yet, likely to get shot towards another person trying to figure out how to help you...

you may feel that single action revolver is quite a natural fit in your hand ( I do ), however, in extreme pain of broken bones & ripped flesh of a bear attack, it is feasable that you could "forget" to cock the gun before trying to pull the trigger ( I watched a show on bear attacks, & in this one story, a woman was attacked in her tent, & had a revolver, but was unable to fire it... the gun they showed may have just be a representation, but they showed a 6" barreled 44 Mag Blackhawk single action revolver )

... many years ago, I built a full sized Dan Wesson 44 Mag into a snubbie with a barrel nut compensator... & I reciently bought a stainless Ruger Alaskan in 454 Casull both have between 2" & 2.5" barrels OAL ( the Dan Wesson was blued, & I wanted a stainless gun ) for me a full 6 shots of magnum big bore out of a snubbie is enough... but don't think that 15 rounds of 10mm out of my Witness, wouldn't be reassuring if I didn't have one of my snubbies...

... for "in your tent" self defense, I'd rather have that high cap .40, than that 6" barreled 357...;)
 
Had a black bear shot and killed with a .40 S&W (one round) that invaded a house just last year Mark.....bias maybe....;)
 
I don't believe a handgun is a reliable defense against a bear, it can take several seconds or even minutes to kill a bear, , if you are in bear country you should know better.
12 gauge shotgun loaded with #00 buck or even slugs is your best bet to stop an attack and stop it fast, handgun ammunition won't neutralize the animal fast enough IMO, it will only tickle the animal or **** him off even more, in these kind of situations every second counts, so why take a chance with a handgun?
 
I don't believe a handgun is a reliable defense against a bear, it can take several seconds or even minutes to kill a bear, , if you are in bear country you should know better.
12 gauge shotgun loaded with #00 buck or even slugs is your best bet to stop an attack and stop it fast, handgun ammunition won't neutralize the animal fast enough IMO, it will only tickle the animal or **** him off even more, in these kind of situations every second counts, so why take a chance with a handgun?
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Because most people do not care to lug a 12 gauge shotgun around in their backpacks?

Black bears, are usually timid, but occasionally they can be annoying, and on rare occasions they may be aggressive. A .357 or better is plenty of handgun to deal with an aggressive bear situation, and yes there is a risk for the shooter to be injured, but without a weapon that risk of injury factor is significantly higher. In fact, I can never recall reading or hearing of an incident where an armed hiker was mauled by a black bear. I can recall reading many incidents where unarmed hikers were mauled and injured by aggressive black bears.
 
I've read accounts of people having been awakened by the grunting of the bear while the bear was still outside their tent, and I think chances are fair that you would have time to get your blaster ready. I know that I am a very light sleeper, especially when I'm sleeping in the woods, and the sound of a bear rummaging around the campsite would definitely get my attention in the quiet of the night.
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Having guided in grizzily country, I've had a few run ins with griz. Once, he woke me and another guide in a wall tent, grunting and sniffing around. A blast of a shot gun out the tent flap scared him off. To be honest, a handgun is about a smidge better than not being armed at all. A shotgun stuffed with slugs is best, provided there's room and time to get it into action. These days, I canoe in bear country, and my choice of a side arm is Remington Marine Magnum 12 ga.
 
50Casull or bigger

In Grizz country first off, sleep in a wall tent, have a lamp burning on low all night throwing some small light into the tent. You sleep in a wall tent so you have room to move around, real fast. You keep your firearms loaded and close and if you are using a handgun you are behind the 8 ball from the get go, I don't care how big it is or what cal a handgun up against a grizz is a very bad bad idea. A 12gage 3 inch slug (sabot copper) is the best medicine for close up and personnel encounters with the grumpy old man in the fur coat.
 
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