Bear Defense Penetration Standards

The real quality you'll need will get you laughed at by your peers for being "jumpy". Its the preset instinct to pull your pistol and fight when surprised and under threat. It's knowing both consciously and subconsciously that there is no "flight" possible so "fight" is the response you've trained for on the range, but also as you lie in bed. Forget perfect scenarios, you're thinking about the worst: You think, "It will be terrible, horrifying, and there is no escape. Draw, shoot, repeat. FIGHT! With gun, or knife or fist if need be, but fight!". Repeat this thought over and over until one day the rustle in the bushes makes your pistol appear in your hand as if by magic, and then, guts shot through with fear, your response is to face the threat squarely, knowing your life is already forfeit, and think "come on you S.O.B!".

You can't say when you've reached that point, and neither will anyone else know, but one day the brush will rustle...and you'll know you were ready. You can gain it, and you can lose it.
 
Shoemaker has spent a lot of time testing handgun rounds lately and has concluded that a 357 mag loaded with heavy hard cast bullets is more than up to the task on brown bear. In fact last month he killed a large adult male brown bear attacking a fisherman he was guiding with 147 gr 9mm hardcast bullets.
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I am not sure of the relatively of 9mm to 357 magnum. Yeah, he killed a grizzly with a 9mm, but that isn't the whole story. It makes it sound like he shot it and the bear died. He shot it a total of 7 times at very close range and had the benefit of being able to shoot a bear that was initially going after somebody else.

You pump enough shots into an animal and it will die. So I don't know how will to consider the 9mm for grizzly defense. Of course, Shoemaker isn't your average hiker or gun carrier either.
 
I remember the mounted brown bear in the anchorage air port. It would definitely be some thing to avoid at a charge.

The way I was told was a 870 on a sling with a full load of slugs is standard for salmon fishermen.

When guiding a hunt make sure your backup rifle is at least a 375 WM>.
 
Very excellent advice from Wyosmith. Poking a browsing bear and a charging bear are vastly different. I would be very comfortable with my 45Colt with 286 SWC at 1060 for browsers, but would want a 45-70 throwing 405s at 2000 for the one coming to eat me. Hope I'm never in that predicament.
 
I remember the mounted brown bear in the anchorage air port. It would definitely be some thing to avoid at a charge.
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That one was the runt of the litter, Longshot. Run by Dimond Shopping Center, next time you're up there, for a look at some full growed ones.
 
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