Buck13
Member
This is not precisely a "hunting" question, as I don't *want* to shoot a bear, but...For hiking in bear country, if you had a pistol that was generally considered inadequate for bears, would you use FMJ to increase penetration?
A lot of people seem to consider the .357 marginal for brown bears. That leaves the .41 magnum and bigger. I haven't shot a .41, but don't really want to own one due to relative rarity of ammo. I don't like the .44, as it's got more recoil than I enjoy shooting more than a few rounds per day.
I do like the .357, but don't own one now (currently don't own any centerfire pistols). I'm more interested in an automatic right now. My first choice would be a 9 mm for fun shooting. A .40 might make more sense, but most of my chances to meet a brown bear in the woods are in Canada, and I'm not going to be crossing the border with a handgun, so this may all be academic.
A lot of people seem to consider the .357 marginal for brown bears. That leaves the .41 magnum and bigger. I haven't shot a .41, but don't really want to own one due to relative rarity of ammo. I don't like the .44, as it's got more recoil than I enjoy shooting more than a few rounds per day.
I do like the .357, but don't own one now (currently don't own any centerfire pistols). I'm more interested in an automatic right now. My first choice would be a 9 mm for fun shooting. A .40 might make more sense, but most of my chances to meet a brown bear in the woods are in Canada, and I'm not going to be crossing the border with a handgun, so this may all be academic.