I have to work in bear country, work supplies firearms training, the firearm and we get refresher training on bear awareness and behaviour.
Work furnishes 12 gauge slug guns.
We have to be proficent in marksmanship order to go out on the tundra with a firearm.
Pistols are allowed but must meet a minimum requirement of .44mag 300gr.
I knew one coworker was allowed to pack a .454 Casull.
His first time qualifying was a wash as he used up all his ammo as he had to shoot the same course as the shotgun shooters (timed event on moving target) he had a hard time hitting the target's vitals zone to qualify, we have to qualify using what we would use in the case of actually being attacked so we dont use lower power practice ammo so he couldnt qualify on the course firing .45 LC!
We are only to use factory ammunition due liability/reliability.
Many years ago one the old guys that worked there before I got there was the reason they changed the factory ammo rule, he had brought his favorite rifle and handload to work, Murphy was winging his way over our corner of Alaska when his rifle blew up.
Today he is fine, has some awesome scars and false teeth.
Full power .454 casull on moving targets (can only score in vitals area) is allot harder than it looks.
Bears dont sit still like a bullseye target waiting to get shot, you have to practice on moving targets.
Like the charging bear target.
The vitals area on a charging brown bear bobbling around as it bounds twards you is pretty darn hard to hit.
With a .32 youd have to have a clean shot to get past bones and sinue to stop a bear.
A 12 gauge 1.1/8oz lead slug just bashes its way through bones and sinue into vitals like a D-9 crawler in your vegitable patch does some damage.
Anybody can kill a bear with a .22 revolver if you gut shoot it, it might take a few days to happen.
Will a .32 have enuf mass to smash through hide, muscle and heavy bone to reach vitals areas to shut down a pissed off grizzley?
I heard first hand about the government ornitholigists in Yukon Delta that encountered a young grizz that was not scared off by non leathal deterants like cracker shell and beanbag round.
It charged the crew and both 6 shot 12 gauges opened up on that bear.
12 shots, 9 hits and only 3 enterd the vitals area, the State later examined the carcass, they noted the sabot 12 gauge rounds impacted vitals areas but sprued off course when hit heavy muscle and bone.
They also noted the bear was starving.
The take away was to use a different type shotgun slug.
My friends in govt say shotguns are a pain to lug around but very easy to score hits on a charging bear without a ton of training that even a college grad student can hit a bear with a 12 gauge slug.
Only one time in 18 years have I encountered a pissed off grizzley bear.
Luckly I was in the boat with the gear and not on shore.
That young male grizz followed along the river bank for over 3 miles wanting a piece of us.
That would have been a very bad day if we ever stopped to cut wood on that side the river.
Back in my aircraft mechanic days Id flown to Point Hope from Kotzebue to fix a plane.
On trip back pilot spotted brown bears eating dead seals that washed up not far from Chariot Creek(*note Project Chariot).
They spotted our cessna and took off accellerating up a 24° slope, due our slow ground speed that day we could watch two bears accelerate up one slope on what would have been a 3 mile long ravine, by their speed Im guessing it had to been 15-20 mph.
Imaging gaining speed going up a 2 mile slope!
In a relaxed state a bear can be hurt.
Like the Alaskan that shot a young bear with a .38 special off his front steps.
A adrenaline charged bear on the attack other hand is a totally different story.
Can a .32 magnum revolver cartridge shut down a bear?
Given your shot placement is good right off the bat, yes.
A charging grizzlie bear hopped up on
adrenaline?
Shooting and hitting the a charging grizzly vitals?
Well if you have nerves of steel and a clear shot the .327 on a charging brown bear could be like fly fishing version with a firearm, hooking a 11lb Arctic Char with a 3lb leader.
That would be a bet the bookies would love.
