Pistol for bear protection

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Fred S

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A friend of mine has property in bear country. He has had two encounters while walking the property. (In both cases,l he and the bear went separate ways quickly) he asked me which pistol he should get to carry while out walking. I recommended a .44 magnum. He doesn't plan to use this gun for anything else. Any suggestions?
 
Do a search using Bear as keyword here on TFL. The subject has been beat to death IMHO.
see Keith's site on bears [Link to invalid post]

See also previous threads: [Link to invalid post] [Link to invalid post] [Link to invalid post] [Link to invalid post] [Link to invalid post]

Perhaps it should be added to the FAQ?

A 44 with Federal CAstcore would be fine.
You will get following responses: pepper spray; no pepper spray, 45-70 or 12 gauge (slugs for the 12), 44 mag, 45 long colt, 475 Linebaugh.

[This message has been edited by Glamdring (edited August 03, 2000).]
 
Glamdring-

After awhile a lot of the topics are re-runs. Mini-14 vs. AR-15, "Best gun for Home Defense", Shotgun vs. Handgun, .308 vs. 30-06, etc.

Thanks for doing the search and posting the links. I am sure that FredS will find plenty to answer his question.

We need to remember that new members, or others who may have missed a thread or two are bound to come up with duplicate questions- no problem.
 
MountainGun44, you bring up a very good point that new members might re-ask a question that was already once or twice covered in the past and while existing members may get tired of posting their comments a second, or third (or fourth or fifth) time, newer members who might have missed the original topic will offer their points of view and the knowledge fountain on TFL will continue to grow.
 
Well, I think birdman at www.birdman.org
has or had a .50 caliber pistol, no not that weenie .50 AE, a .50 BMG!

I think a 750 grain armor piercing incendiary tracer projectile at about 2500 fps or so would probably ruin the bear's day :)
 
The best advice regarding handguns for angry bears I heard was "Whatever handgun you choose, make sure you file off the front sight real well. That way, when the bear shoves it up your b*tt, it won't hurt so bad."

Good advice for the money.
 
Sorry I didn't mean to sound short.

I do think that perhaps a FAQ for these types of threads might be a good idea.

Or maybe a Forum for frequent questions?

[This message has been edited by Glamdring (edited August 03, 2000).]
 
Take a look at the howdah pistols the British
used to use for back-up in tiger hunting. Some were double barreled sxs .577 caliber if I remember correctly. Of course they had elephants to carry the weight.

Thanks, Glamdring, went back and reread the original question - the guy was serious, I should have replied seriously instead of a snide remark. Apologies. Search for a 348 lever gun or an 1886 ( the Japanese mfd replicas )and have it sent to be rebarreled into 450 or 500 Alaskan.

[This message has been edited by Rusty S (edited August 03, 2000).]
 
I think once again it depends on where you live and the average size of the bears where you frequent. IMO, I think there is a big difference between a 450 lb. blackie and a 200 pounder. I think GENERALLY speaking you can't go wrong with a .44 mag in the lower 48 states. Has your friend shot .357 mags or .44 mags before? Would he be comfortable with the recoil? .44 mags can be shot well but it takes some practice. There has been alot said on these bear posts and most of it is pretty beneficial. Good Luck, J. Parker
 
.454Casull should do the trick. .44mag might do it for small bears(cubs? :)) But .454 should take care of daddy bear so he wont eat ya', or maul you to death, either way...
 
I guess I would say to carry the heaviest artillery you can shoot well. Rifle wouldn't be a bad idea. 12 gage with slugs would be good too. Pistol wise the big bores in .44 Mag, .45LC or .454 Would be the best.
But I think that the key here is what ever he picks he needs to be proficient with it or the size doesn't mean a thing! A wounded bear is a nasty critter ta deal with! Just my 2 cents worth.

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***Torpedo***
It's a good life if you can survive it!
 
Thanks to all for your help. I checked out the previous threads and the links and got some good information.

For where he has his property and what he will be doing I recommend the pepper spray designed for bears and a .44 magnum double action.

Fred
 
From everything I've read, the best bear stopper, in a pistol, would be the .500 linebaugh. With 440 gr.s of 50 caliber bullet coming at you at 1300 fps is something to behold. Didn't Guns & Ammo do a feature on this recently?

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Guard Freedom from those that "want to do it for the Children."
 
Recommend 45LC 5.5" Redhawk using 300-360g lead WFN/WLN at 1200-1300fps.

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"All my ammo is factory ammo"
 
This will do fine.
Ruger454.jpg
 
Hell, IMHO, if you are walking in bear country with anything less than a 30-06, you are crazy!!!! But, if you are crazy, then any brand of .454 Casull MIGHT do the trick. Personally, I would leave with a .375H&H, or .300 Winchester Mag. ;)

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Yeah, I got a permit to carry,it's called the friggin Constitution.---Ted Nugent

"Glock 26: 17 rounds of concealed carry DEATH comming your way from out of nowhere!!! THAT'S FIREPOWER, BABY!!!"
 
Please.


Hyperbole aside, a well-made .452" lead bullet of 300-360g, delivered with sufficient velocity (1200-1400fps), will through-and-through a bear.

It's up to the shooter to aim it so it stops the bear.

454 NOT required. The 45 does fine.

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"All my ammo is factory ammo"
 
I live in black bear country, and they've been coming down into our subdivision (right by the mountain in Albuquerque) for the last couple of weeks. (Lots of "Missing Cat" and "Lost Samoyed" signs on the lightposts, BTW.) Anyway, when I hike back in the hills I feel totally happy with my Glock 33 in .357 Sig - black bears are basically giant raccoons that don't want to bother anyone. If one got crazy, I think 10 rounds would change it's mind, and there's nine more where that came from in my other pocket. I suppose I'd be better off with my Ruger .41 mag. Blackhawk, but it seems like a lot to schlep.

Grizzly country? 12-ga. pump with slugs. Seriously, though, you can usually avoid an attack (there's lots of info out there on how). Even in the part of Glacier where they warehouse the "bad bears", they're training the things to avoid people. If a "bad bear" goes recidivist and comes near people, the staff lock it up in a cage and harass it for a couple of days - the bear associates people with being harassed and begins to avoid them.
But, if I *were* attacked by a griz, I'd be with denfoote. I've carried my .41 in griz country before, and haven't felt too secure about it. When I had the Mossberg pump with the slugs, I felt secure. That's a lot of lead.
 
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