Let me be right up front about this. I don't want to attempt to stop a charging bear with any handgun. Come to think of it I don't even want to attempt to stop a charging bear with a long arm. I prefer not to be on the receiving end of a bear charge.
However I think we have, as hunters and shooters as a whole, gotten so caught up in the tremendous numbers put up by whatever cartridge we have awed over that we forget the power to cause serious injury or death of our other cartridges. I get, in a world where we can reference and discuss the numbers put up by a .500 S+W, a .458 LOTT, or a 12 gauge, the numbers of everything else look a little suspect. We forgot that those that came before us managed to survive with far less.
Even with a relatively small caliber pistol like a 9MM you are still able to put a projectile into important parts of an animals anatomy. While I get that many animals can ignore pain and continue an attack many will chose not to. Bees did not develop the ability to sting solely to keep away humans.
However I think we have, as hunters and shooters as a whole, gotten so caught up in the tremendous numbers put up by whatever cartridge we have awed over that we forget the power to cause serious injury or death of our other cartridges. I get, in a world where we can reference and discuss the numbers put up by a .500 S+W, a .458 LOTT, or a 12 gauge, the numbers of everything else look a little suspect. We forgot that those that came before us managed to survive with far less.
Even with a relatively small caliber pistol like a 9MM you are still able to put a projectile into important parts of an animals anatomy. While I get that many animals can ignore pain and continue an attack many will chose not to. Bees did not develop the ability to sting solely to keep away humans.