Handgun for bear defense

[Dorin62]

My son is going to be driving to Alaska from Co this summer to do some work for his company and not doing any hunting of any kind. He wants to do some hiking and just see the country while there. Then his question was-- I want a nice light hundgun for bear defense that I can put in my backpack I says .... where are your brains child of mine, the gun needs to be a lot closer than your backpack when out in the wild and there is no such thing like that for bears.

We don’t own any high power rifles of any sort so I told him nothing less than a 44 mag and a 500 smith would be better, plus a 12ga loaded w/slugs and 00 buck should be first and then the handgun as the last resort. He then after talking with me has decided on the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in 454 Casull and 45 LC with the 2in barrel.

Myself being from Mi and never ever been within any close proximity of a grizzly, I wonder if this was good advice. Please chime in with your comments about bears, the road condition from Co to there, cost of living up there and anything else that you think will help him out.

 

[TexasRifleman]

He's gonna have hell driving through Canada with a handgun.

Best to ship it to Alaska and pick it up there.

As for the gun itself .454 sounds like a reasonable choice though he should pay as much or more attention to bear avoidance practices as bear combat

 

[Mr. Designer]

S&W 460 or 500.

 

[drtworks]

I'd get at least a 4" barrel and probably a 6". You're going to need more than one shot to stop a charging grizzley, and maybe 5 or 6. I wouldn't want to wait until he's within range of a pistol with a 2" barrel.

But really, he needs a Mossberg 12 guage, alternately loaded with slugs and 00 Buckshot. That's what the locals carry.

 

[Dorin62]

What are the rules and regs for a person taking a hand gun throgh Canada, is it possible????

 

[OregonJohnny]

Nothing in the Continental United States really calls for a .454 in my opinion. That's why the Ruger model you're speaking of is called the "Alaskan". It might come in handy while he's there for a short time, but it seems a bit overkill for Colorado and the rest of the "lower 48". So my recommendation would be the 4" Ruger Redhawk .44 mag. The .44 is a much more versatile round, not to mention less expensive and more enjoyable to practice with. It might suffer a bit to the .454 in terms of energy against an Alaskan brown bear, but the Super Redhawk Alaskan in .454 with a 2" barrel can almost be matched by a 4 or 6" .44 mag shooting 340-grain +P+ Buffalo Bore rounds. Stay with Ruger, their revolvers are built for this kind of punishment. .44 would get a lot more use in his life than .454. Huge-bore pistol fans will no doubt say the .44 mag is not enough for brown bear, but it has been proven to work. Of course there are always reports of .22s killing grizzly, but that might just be urban legend...

 

[Neener Neener]

I always carried a Ruger Super Redhawk. Most of the people I went salmon fishing with carried .44s, as did most of the people I saw. Look at it this way: You might not even notice the bear until he is too close. What's going to be faster, pulling a pistol, or grabbing a shotgun off your shoulder or from around your back?

 

[stevelyn]

A .44 or .45 Colt loaded with 300 gr or heavier hardcast bullets.
Buffalo Bore Ammunition is found in most gunshops up here. Federal Castcore would be my second choice, but isn't available in .45 Colt.

A 4" barreled revolver offers the best balance between velocity and portability.

.500s and .460s are only found once you get into low orbit around Los Anchorage.

Awareness of your surroundings is your best defense.

 

[alaskagunner]

"But really, he needs a Mossberg 12 guage, alternately loaded with slugs and 00 Buckshot. That's what the locals carry."

The above really isn't true. Some locals do that. Some locals carry a big old can of pepper spray. Some locals carry a "bear gun" (rifle). Some locals carry... (name your big bore handgun). Some locals carry bear bells. (insert joke here) Some locals carry a 10mm. But from all the time I've spent in Alaska the most popular thing to carry is........ nothing. Just your wits. Many leave these at home too.

At various times I've carried a shotgun, rifle, bear spray, and nothing. I just purchased a s&w 500 that I'm really enjoying shooting. It isn't particularly light though. I reload for it to practice with. I do that to save beaucoup $ and lighten the recoil a bit.

The drive should be a lot of fun. My wife and I drove it 14 years ago and it was all paved except a short stretch through Canada which was under construction and sloppy with mud. I would have traded my little car for a 4 wheel drive in an instant if it was offered to me at the time.

Do some searches on "bear guns" on forums on the net. You'll find oodles of interesting reading and opinions.

He should have quite an adventure ahead of him!

 

[Cosmoline]

There are a thousand threads on this if you search. The bottom line from what I've seen is to have something you can shoot quickly and accurately, with sufficient penetration. Standard would be a .44 Mag, 10mm, .45 Colt and the like loaded with heavy hardcast. Not too compact or recoil will slow you down. The mega magnums tend to come in oversized platforms and aren't exactly fast in the hand. Your main defense if you're in serious bear country should be your ears and what's between them, with backup a long gun. The handgun should only be backup in case the brain, senses and long gun fail.

 

[Winchester 73]

A .44 or .45 Colt loaded with 300 gr or heavier hardcast bullets

Agreed.
And Garrett Cartridges has got the right load.

http://www.garrettcartridges.com

 

[NWdude83]

I read a story this guy wrote. He shot and killed an attacking brown bear with his .44magnum while fishing in Alaska. I believe he shoot it 2 or 3 times, but it shows you .44 magnum is good enough. Ruger offers their SP-101 in .44 magnum now.

 

[CountGlockula]

Encourage your son to read the park laws regarding self-protection.

I'd recommend a Glock model 20 in 10mm.

 

[Moondancer]

Canada

Bro, I still say it's better to ship any guns and pick 'em up once he gets to Alaska.

Here's a link for a web page talking about guns into and out of Canada. http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/#entering
Looks like it theoretically possible to take a handgun through Canada, despite what I've heard for years, but I'd still give Canadian Customs a call to make sure. You know what they say about trusting the internet, eh?

Tell him to get a stainless Ruger Super Blackhawk w/ the 4 5/8" barrel like that one I had! And then, practice with it a lot!

 

[DENALI]

Handguns for bear defense? I lived in Alaska for a long time and just a week or so ago passed along the only encounter out of dozens that left me wobbly enough to throw down and wave iron at old Mr. Brownie, but alas I was to scared, and to concerned with keeping my pooch well mannered than pulling my redhawk out of it's chest holster and shooting anything, let alone a bear that was awfully big looking at about 15-feet distance.
I'm no fool though, I'm fairly certain that had I survived the initial charge and mauling with enough physical ability to wield it, I would have.
All kidding aside, for fishing and hiking in the Alaskan bush country I'd recomend you aquire a good nylon chest or shoulder rig, I always prefered the chest apparatus as you had no problems with deploying your fishing pole because you really had nothing to interfere with the free movement of your arms. As to your sidearm, keep it as idiot proof and simple as possible, I'd go with one of only three choices, Ruger redhawk in .41 or .44 mag, or the S&W 386-PD .357 mag, or the S&W 329 .44 mag. Keep in mind you've got to hump this thing along with you all day, or like my brother and myself day's at a time.
IMO those three are superb choices in bush country defense guns with weight being the final choice to make. I always wanted a short barrel for this type of gun and actually carried the 3" barreled S&W model 66(treasury model)for a long time, but 5"or less should be fine. The idea is you want to be able to wield it while the critter is chowing on youat very close quarters.
Personally, I'd go with either of the S&W's because of their weight advantage vs the Ruger, but if you go with a chest rig this negates some of the feel of that weight as you hump it about the back country. If you choose the .44 mag I'd go with the hardest heaviest load you can handle. Garrett makes some excellent loads check with them first. If the .357 is your baby, nothing less then 158gr and again as hard and heavy as you can reliably shoot. No JHP's as you want as much penetration as is possible.
One last thing, it's always wise to have one guy hump a 12-gauge loaded up with a combination of slugs and 000-buckshot, yeah it's a bitch to pack but here you can trade off, and anyways it's to valuable to leave behind.
There you are, thats what I'd do and don't forget your digital camera...
P.S. If you're driving you can't transport any handgun through Canada and will have to work out some kind of shipping plan-B, perhaps you can forward them to an FFL who will hold them for you for a nominal fee.
P.P.S. I'm not kidding, don't try and sneak em through....

 

[MechAg94]

Sheesh, what you going to shoot that a bear would need defense against!

 

[springer7676]

Just recently there was a hunting program on hunting grizzly bear in Alaska. The guide carried a .444 Marlin lever action for backup to his client. He stated that it was short, 20 or 22 inch barrel, quick with lever action, and deadly with accuracy at 50 yards on a wounded bear coming toward you. I believe it had the 240 grain hard core bullet. (reload)

 

[shooter429]

You have a good handle on what caliber is needed

But like most, I think logistics is going to be a sticky point. Good luck with those left-leaning Mounties.

Shooter429

 

[Defensory]

He should be alright with a .44 magnum and a large cannister of bear spray.

Personally, I'd carry a semi-auto 12 gauge with 00 buck or slugs.