What is the smallest pistol caliber you would carry with you in bear country?

I"ll make a short list of what I'd carry (including what I do carry) from least desireable to most.

1-pepper srpay (wife carries it)
2-44 magnum loaded heavy
3-454, 460 etc.
4-.500 S&W or 12 ga w/slugs (have both)
4-.30 cal bolt rifle
5-large bore lever gun loaded heavy (I have a 45-70)
6-Magnum rifle (I carry a .338 RUM)
7-huge elephant gun of some sort
8-common sense seasoned with a little luck plus any of #'s 1-7

To the O.P., do a search for 9mm for bear, there was a pretty decent debait on this subject...
 
to Jack

I'd carry a 12 ga full of slugs any day, but I hate shooting those shotgun/handgun conversions. I'd go with the longun or carry the biggest dang pistol I could handle.
 
DR. Strangelove wrote:
Sure, you can conceal carry as long as you aren't on National Forest land.
Click to expand...

I may be wrong, but I thought carrying a firearm was prohibited in national parks, not national forest. I know in NH it’s perfectly legal to carry in the White Mountain National Forest.

I think any descent SD handgun will do in a black bear attack. Especially with the smaller black bear we have in the east. It’s been pointed out that even a .12 ga slug doesn’t guarantee an immediate stop. No matter what your carrying sometimes it’ll work, sometimes it won’t. No guarantees. It’s likely that even with a .454, 45-70, or .12 ga slug you’re still going to need, at the very least, some patching up if the bear is determined. There is no magic bullet or gun. I recently saw a video on one of those “When animals attack” show where a guy merely fired his rifle in the air and scared off a charging mother grizzly.
 
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from my recent checks for my own situation(i go thru both multiple times daily), national forests use the state guidelines. so here in VA it is ok concealed if you are permitted.

national parks...are a totally different thing, they use the federal law. no concealed in a national park.
 
Here in TN you currently can not carry outside hunting season in National Forest land. That needs to change. As said, whether or not it is legal to carry any firearm outside of hunting season depends on State regulations.
 
Many years ago I took my family to Hiden Lake fishing and camping, on the kenai Penn, Sought of Anchorage. There were a couple of rather large brown bear near the camp ground but didnt seem close enough to bother much. That is until wife started diner, frying hambuger.

One of those suckers flew into camp fast as a cat and started tearing up the food box eatin' my dinner. I got between the bear and my family as wife got my small kids into the truck. I was the lenth of a picknick table from him but he was more interested in my dinner then me.

I had two 44s, A ruger black hawk and a model 29 in my hands, both loaded. Turns out as soon as wife fired up the truck he fled.

I looked at the size of that bear, and down at my 44s. I said screw this, from that time on, when I went into bear country I carried my 375 H&H.

Since, I have retired and moved back to wyoming. In my part of the state we dont have many bear and no grizzlies. The northwestern part of the state does. I do most of my back country trips on horse back. When in that area I dont normaly carry the 375 unless its hunting season. If not hunting and I am in big bear country, My 870 with slugs is what I carry. Its faster and easier to handle then the M-70 375, but I believe is just as effective at close range.

When a bear is close enough you can smell his breath, and shakes his head slinging slobber on you while he eats hot grease and hamburgers out of a frying pan, no pistol dosnt give me a safe feeling. I think there is a reason Game Wardens in NW Wyoming carry shotguns with slugs for critters and 40 cal pistols for people.

Do what you want, but if its my family I'm protecting its gonna be a shotgun w/slugs or a heavy rifle defending on weather its hunting season or not.

JMHO
 
My weapon of choice would be the ...........field telephone! To call in artillery fire. :D

I would feel safe with my Glock 35 .40S&W, the .40 penetrates good and has plenty of power for a handgun, and I can fire it very fast.
But I would rather choose my .454 casull redhawk 8.5''. With a rifle I wouldnt go below .308.
 
Just a point here...

The bullet you choose to fire will often have a greater effect on penetration, than the caliber of the firearm you launch it from. The .357 is a good example. There is no way I would load it with 125 JHP's in bear country; but when loaded with a hot 180-200 grain SWC or LBT, the pentration can rival many centerfire rifles when used with conventional hunting bullets.

Use your head always, and your gun when you have to.
 
Whoops!

Fivepaknh & Alloy, you are both right, I should have typed National Park land instead of National Forest. There is indeed quite a difference.
 
I carry bear spray more often in the woods than a centerfire handgun. I usually have a .22 on my hip though. We don't have grizzlies or brown bears here though..
 
Not trying to be an a**, but I am curious and trying to help the OP along. Is anyone here with direct bear experience comfortable with a pistol at all. How 'bout vs. a shotgun or LC rifle given weight considerations.
 
Moloch

You said... "I would feel safe with my Glock 35 .40S&W, the .40 penetrates good and has plenty of power for a handgun, and I can fire it very fast.
But I would rather choose my .454 casull redhawk 8.5''. With a rifle I wouldnt go below .308."


I'd take a .308 over ANY pistol, I'd take a .270 over any .40 S&W (look at the reloading data & do the energy math, a .500 S&W loses out to a .308). That high capacity magazine will not do much good when you'd be lucky to get one shot if a bear really decides he wants you. Sometimes I carry a revolver, but if I ever needed a gun and was lucky enough to bring it to bear before the bugger was on me, I'd probably be wishing for a .460 NE to make my one shot REALLY count. Food for thought.
 
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