No.would this be a use case for one of those mossberg shockwave thingies? I mean hickock45 easily dual wields these things and knock up his gong with one.
Are you going to hunt them or just be in the area where they are? If your going to hunt them you need a big bore. If just in the area, pepper sprays work or let them have their space.
SA, SA. SA. You use it, at the gas station, or going to an ATM at night. Be aware of what you are doing, and what's going on around you, in bear country.
While I personally prefer a S&W 629, I'm a big old Fudd. There's many
fine choices, just don't skimp out on holster gear, if things head south, you'll need that pistol quick. IMO, 44 Magnum is the minimum caliber for bear.
I think by "SA" in triplicate he meant situational awareness.
A Ruger Blackhawk with heavy load Colt 45 bear loads should do the trick at least as a back up but still I would want rifle horsepower if I could, that being a 45-70 for defense/stopping or for hunting them, a .338 Win Mag.
For blackies, a .357 revolver ought to do just fine or the aforementioned Ruger in 45 Colt and a 30-30 Marlin rifle for a hunting or defense, either, rifle.
3C
Bear Defense
I've heard that the US Park Rangers were armed with 12 ga. pumps shooting slugs, for Black Bears.
Rangers use 12 ga for Black Bears because they very often use less lethal rounds. There has been occasion when they mistakenly fired lethal slugs, and they endured the scorn of the public for having shot Yogi. This example involved a Sheriff deputy rather than a ranger: http://www.kolotv.com/content/news/...round-instead-of-rubber-bullet-421537543.html
Generally speaking, Black Bear don't present a lethal threat nearly as often as they present a nuisance. It is exceedingly rare that they're dangerous except to the stupidest people. Deer are easily a much greater threat than Black Bear. But nuisance bears are often shot with less lethal rubber or bean-bag type rounds and flash-bangs are used to attempt to change their behaviors before the greater expense of trapping and relocating them becomes necessary.
If a person is say in Alaska and hunting big bears, any number of 30+ caliber hunting rifles will do, but if you want protection, a much bigger more powerful rifle would be wise. H&H Hunter, I'd bet, would just take a 375. Some guides use big bore lever guns, some use shotties with buck and slugs. I've had guides up there that used both these options.
Most black bears don't take much to put down.
Craig, the only issue I have with the .44 mag for brownies is the range. The country where browns are often hunted, I would feel undergunned over 100 yards. It would break my heart to turn down a shot on a trophy bear
At 200 yards because i brought my .44 mag instead of my .375. Drawing a tag for kodiak is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity unless your rich and can buy one. Theres alot of places there and on the mainland you just cant get closer, especially on a spring hunt. Under 100 or maybe 125 im all for the .44. Theres a few game management units on the mainland that allow baiting for browns now, that I would like to try with my .454 carbine. Anyhow, Ive strolled about kodiak island a few times, you always think you have plenty of gun until your neck deep in tall grass around a salmon creek and hear something else in the grass with you.
Ive always entertained the idea of a .450 marlin levergun and very nearly purchased one twice! I like the cartridge, Im just not quite convinced that its not a dying caliber. I think since im a reloader that .45-70 may be a better choice as i can push the pressures up to similar performance yet still have the ammo availability. I envy your polar bear hunt, its on my bucket list for sure and im certain they are the most dangerous bear. I too would enjoy hearing your experience or tips on where to start for a polar bear. I have friends and relatives that have put in for the kodiak drawing for 10+ years to no avail. I was lucky enough to draw a spring hunt. My brother and i were dropped off by airplane alone and after 4 days we finally spotted a large brownie 2 river valleys over. When we got to the edge of the last valley we were 130 yards away. I anchored him through both front shoulders with the first shot, and then hit him 3 more times. I didnt want to risk having to track a bear through thick alders, and my bro kept yelling “keep shooting!”.300 grain nosler partitions did a fine job. It squared 10’ 3 1/2” and the skull was over 29”. When we got back to town we weighed the pack frame and hide on the scale at the private airport. 166lbs without the skull! I packed it out over 3 miles! My knees and back still hurt 2 years later. If you look to the right of the tree in the picture you can see the bear on the far side of the valley. My coworkers wife has a spring tag for 2019 and I plan on tagging along as backup, cant wait!