357 Mag and bear?

[Vern Humphrey]

Phil Shoemaker, who lives in grizzley country in Alaska and is a licensed guide wrote an aritcle in "Rifle" magazine (or maybe "Handloader") in which he advised a .357 with a heavy cast bullet for bear. His rationalle was that if you really need to stop a bear, you need to make a head shot -- and with a .357 you might get two chances, as opposed to only one with a .44 mag or similar hard-recoiling weapon.

He also pointed out that the most important advantage of carrying a gun is the effect on the person carrying it. It gives you more confidence, and the bear can sense that and realize you are someone it shouldn't mess with.

 

[481]

I like bear gun threads

Same here. Almost as much as mountain lion threads.

 

[Alaska444]

THIS IS AIMED AT NO ONE SO PLEASE DON'T COME BACK AT ME!

I have seen a trend over the past Decade. For some reason bullets must be traveling at the speed of light or the round is useless and the 30-06 has become a varmint rifle. On the handgun side the .357 Magnum has also become a plinking handgun not worthy of self defense duty.

Some bullets work very well and better at slower speeds than others. The 30-06 for over 100 years has been stopping man and taking all kinds of game feeding the owner and his family. Then all of the sudden your 30-06 is just no good! You have to shoot a 300 Win Mag or a 300 RUM or that game animal is going to laugh at you and walk away. I don't think so especially with all the great bullets we now have. The 30-06 will still take any animal in North America.

Then there is the .357 Magnum. Every bear thread that comes along the conversation always escalates to the 44 Magnum, then the 454 Casull, then even to the 460 Magnum and 500 Magnum. Sure, all the super magnum calibers make for very good hunting rounds but most people can't shoot a 44 Magnum well let along a 454 Casull of the 500 Magnum. In these threads most of the times the people asking about bear defense are not shooters and can't handle the super magnums or even the 44 Magnum when loaded with a proper round for hunting. (I know we aren't talking about hunting but those are the best bear defense rounds) In those cases it's much better the hikers carry a .357 Magnum with the proper ammo than a revolver they can't make hits with. Sure a 44 Magnum would be better but sometimes a compromise may work better than what's best. I'm so tired of hearing "you're going to die a terrible death unless you carry this cannon or that cannon" so you might as well leave that plinker .357 Magnum home!

This is just my opinion and I'm not looking to argue with anyone.

Actually, you should carry the largest handgun you can shoot accurately and with control. For me, the .44 magnum is a lot of fun to shoot and I can handle it one handed with ease. I don't go to the .454 because it makes my hand go numb when I shoot it.

On the other hand, there isn't any proven one shot stop caliber for the large bears. In that case, the same advice prevails, get the largest gun you can accurately shoot with control. However, the most important factor is shot placement making practice with whatever weapon you choose the most important element once you have a gun with penetration.

 

[dwo357]

I totally agree with the point that if you are packing a gun while in the woods it does give you some self assurance. So after reading about all the good and not so good input about my Ruger .357 I went ahead and loaded 100 rounds 158 gr. JHP WITH 14.8 grs. 2400 which put the velocity over 1200 fps. Ishot them into a butt end of a cut fir tree from 25 yds. and dug them out. They went in over 3 inches before shrooming. I think if I hit some big furry creature in the head /chest area it might think twice about coming after me. I will definately keep my eye out for a tall tree though.

 

[jack44]

I rather use my superblackhawk44 for bear a 357 might have alittle trouble getting through all that fat.

 

[stanmo]

On my way to Alaska I ran into this man eating beast, since Carrying isn't an option in Canada, I had to take him down the way my Grand-pappy taught me.

 

[CraigC]

The .357 from at least a 4" barrel should be enough for the average black bear. Loads should consist of a 173gr Keith bullet or 180gr LBT at 1200-1300fps. No need to burn the barn down. Personally, I would prefer a moderately loaded .44Spl, .44Mag or .45Colt but I prefer them for everything anyway. No, I do not believe +300gr monster masher loads are necessary for black bears. Although as with most things, proficiency is paramount.

 

[USSR]

Have never hunted bears, and have never played a bear. But, if I was restricted to carrying my .357 in bear country, it would be loaded with my hard cast 173gr 358429 SWC with 13.5gr of 2400. Since I quit hunting deer with the .357 due to it being what I consider a marginal deer cartridge, my .45 Colt with a hard cast 275gr SWC and 18gr of 2400 would get the nod where bears are involved. Still, the .357 is better than a sharp stick.

Don