Greg Koziol
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smith and wesson .500 would work fine, .45 ACP is better then your pocket knife obviously but your still gonna walk away with some scars
What Bullets for bear?
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KodiakBeer
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Which is the easier target, the head or the shoulder?
Purgatory
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Heaviest Hard cast you can find in whichever handgun you choose. If that happens to be .45 make sure they cycle in your auto. Revolver would be much better.
-And........PLEASE throw a 12 gauge with 3" Brenneke Black Magic magnum slugs in the mix.
"I" will sleep much better.
-And........PLEASE throw a 12 gauge with 3" Brenneke Black Magic magnum slugs in the mix.
"I" will sleep much better.
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sonier
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ha just for kicks ive been pondering finding some .357 caliber FMJ in 158 grains, wonder what that would do.
375shooter
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nobody.special:
"I'm thinking my .45 with FMJ round-nose or maybe semi-wadcutters.
My thought behind this is that hollowpoints are going to open and slowdown too much, whereas the FMJ would penetrate deeper though the hide and/or skull".
I agree with your choice, over "the guys at work", and also with your reasoning behind it.
"I'm thinking my .45 with FMJ round-nose or maybe semi-wadcutters.
My thought behind this is that hollowpoints are going to open and slowdown too much, whereas the FMJ would penetrate deeper though the hide and/or skull".
I agree with your choice, over "the guys at work", and also with your reasoning behind it.
Shadow 7D
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For anything in the lower 48, sure, have fun.
Greg Koziol
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Thats a still frame bro, you can't judge by that, his head is bobbing up and down 1 foot with each stride he takes...I would put by bead on his mouth to cover the center mass of head/shoulder area, but i wouldn't try to go right in between the eyes cause the fact that his head is bobbing up and down it's not as easy as it looksWhich is the easier target, the head or the shoulder?
Shadow 7D
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How bout a skull that can bounce most pistol rounds like a tank glacious?
KodiakBeer
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Your instincts are correct because if you shot "between the eyes" then you'd miss the brain anyway. The brain is low in the head behind the nose and mouth.
The whole animal is bobbing up and down, so you might as well go for the killing shot instead of the might-slow-him-down shot.
Cosmoline
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That's a myth that comes from people shooting the hump of muscle and sinew on top of the skull and *thinking* their bullet bounced off the skull itself.
Greg Koziol
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Did not know that, well even if you miss the brain your atleast gonna hit something important like its neck or chest area.
tcsnake
Member
A .44 magnum loaded hot is a good choice for bears of all sizes when discussing defensive situations. I would make the .44 your starting point and work up from there for more options.
other good choices
.454 Casull
.460
.445 supermag
.480 Ruger
.500S&W
.440 cor-bon
.45-70 (Magnum research makes a revolver in this caliber last I checked )
.50 AE
other good choices
.454 Casull
.460
.445 supermag
.480 Ruger
.500S&W
.440 cor-bon
.45-70 (Magnum research makes a revolver in this caliber last I checked )
.50 AE
scythefwd
Member
Kodiak - how far would you guess that bear is away from lunch? 30-40 ft? To be totally honest, I'd probably freeze if that was the first I saw that bear and be dead a few minutes later. If that bear was moving full tilt, that guy has 1-2 seconds to get a bead and shoot... I hope he's already drawn. I'd have to go with you and Greg and shoot for the mouth.. repeatedly. I'm not a quick shot, so hopefully the 3-5 shots I get off work. I'd probably discharge more into the lake than into the bear 
thaumaturgist
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tcsnake has the right idea. Anything is better than your finger nails, but if you are actually looking to buy a stopper handgun, do the research and don't go with something that will only work if you get lucky (.357). As far as the picture of the charging bear, get real guys, Grizzly and Brown Bear can outrun a horse in short distances. That bear would be on you in about 3 - 4 seconds. If you are this screwed, unless you've done this a dozen times and survived it, you're going to do what we all would do and aim for the center of the moving bear. That's exactly why you need as big a gun as you can carry and need more than one shot.
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Bad news...
There is not a single pistol round that will reliably stop a large fast moving animal. There are very few people that can reliably hit a predetermined spot on a fast moving target with a hand gun. I've personally known two folks that have failed to stop a running towards them bear (not charging but running full speed towards them after the shot) with a .375H&H. I have seen a bear that was shot in the nose with a .300 WM and a 180 gr bullet which they killed several days later. That bear was walking towards the hunter who popped it head on at like 15 yards. The bullet entered the center of the nose and went in about three inches then made turned 90 deg and exited straight up out the top of the snout.
I've been involved in at least one serious determined charge not from a bear, but a cape buffalo. And I've killed dozens of feral hogs that were running straight at me. Stopping a determined large fast moving critter with a handgun is a pretty slim to none chance it's tough enough with a good well fit heavy caliber rifle or shotgun.
A buddy of mine who fishes and hunts AK every year since he was a kid has the best idea on a pistol for bear defense. A pistol is primarily used to get a bear off of your buddy. But it's still better than a sharp stick.
There is not a single pistol round that will reliably stop a large fast moving animal. There are very few people that can reliably hit a predetermined spot on a fast moving target with a hand gun. I've personally known two folks that have failed to stop a running towards them bear (not charging but running full speed towards them after the shot) with a .375H&H. I have seen a bear that was shot in the nose with a .300 WM and a 180 gr bullet which they killed several days later. That bear was walking towards the hunter who popped it head on at like 15 yards. The bullet entered the center of the nose and went in about three inches then made turned 90 deg and exited straight up out the top of the snout.
I've been involved in at least one serious determined charge not from a bear, but a cape buffalo. And I've killed dozens of feral hogs that were running straight at me. Stopping a determined large fast moving critter with a handgun is a pretty slim to none chance it's tough enough with a good well fit heavy caliber rifle or shotgun.
A buddy of mine who fishes and hunts AK every year since he was a kid has the best idea on a pistol for bear defense. A pistol is primarily used to get a bear off of your buddy. But it's still better than a sharp stick.
KodiakBeer
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The mouth and nose area directly cover the brain. If you miss left or right, you might take out a shoulder. Low, you hit the chest... You really want that CNS hit though, because that will put him down right now, before he makes contact with you.
Shotguns are all the fashion here, or the Marlin Guide Gun. Newcomers tend to buy heavy revolvers (as did I when I first moved here twenty-some years ago). But once you have a few run-ins with the big brown things and realize how incredibly fast it all unfolds, you tend to graduate to something with express sights that fires from the shoulder.
Shotguns are all the fashion here, or the Marlin Guide Gun. Newcomers tend to buy heavy revolvers (as did I when I first moved here twenty-some years ago). But once you have a few run-ins with the big brown things and realize how incredibly fast it all unfolds, you tend to graduate to something with express sights that fires from the shoulder.
Ridgerunner665
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Hornady TAP 230 grain +P ammo...the XTP bullet does expand, but its also a very good penetrator (it doesn't open up real wide, and only expands so far back)
In a mercy killing on an injured deer that was trying to run away (gut shot with an arrow)...I shot the deer through the pelvis at about 20 yards (at a slight angle), I found the bullet lodged under the shoulder blade on the right side....it went through the pelvis, guts, liver, and lungs.
It was one of my reloads using the 230 grain XTP, but that load duplicates the Hornady factory load.
Its far from ideal for big bears...but if I had to carry a 45acp, thats the load I'd use.
In a mercy killing on an injured deer that was trying to run away (gut shot with an arrow)...I shot the deer through the pelvis at about 20 yards (at a slight angle), I found the bullet lodged under the shoulder blade on the right side....it went through the pelvis, guts, liver, and lungs.
It was one of my reloads using the 230 grain XTP, but that load duplicates the Hornady factory load.
Its far from ideal for big bears...but if I had to carry a 45acp, thats the load I'd use.
thaumaturgist
Member
Of course KodiakBeer and H&Hhunter are right. Carry a large rifle or heavy loaded shotgun when you can. However, there's always going to be a time and place where that isn't feasible. Handguns have typically been a backup choice in battle and other sticky situations not because they are as effective as rifles, but because they are more portable and conceilable. They certainly are more affective than just using your charm and good looks. Also, the power level of handguns today (.454, .480, .460, .500, etc.) exceed many loads in the .444 Marlin and .45-70.
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