"Will a .45ACP kill a Grizzly?"

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The worst thing a .45ACP can do is leave your wife with a false sense of security. Certainly having a gun is better than not having one, but though a .45 has a tough reputation as a manstopper, it simply lacks the penetration and the power to reliably do the the job.

For black bear, it would be kind of like using a .25ACP against a large, aggressive man.
 
Having spent a couple of weeks in Alaska courtesy of Uncle Sam, I was told the best thing to bring along on a fishing trip for such emergencies is a 12 ga. shotgun loaded with slugs. I also met a guy who put one down with the last round from his .303 as it charged him.
 
Although, if limited to pepper spray, I'd hose my hiking partner, and while he was thrashing and behaving like wounded prey, I'd high tail out of there and arrange for flowers for his relatives.
LOL The visual that gave me was hilarious :D
 
It might but not before the Griz kills you...

There are .400 CorBon barrels available for drop in
on the 1911 platform. 155 gr. Hornady XTP JHP at
1350 fPS - let's see 8 rounds a clip maybe 4 clips
if yhou're in a tree stand... you might live and the
Griz dies some day....
 
Nothing like a little dose of reality to test your ideology on ecology!!!
That's the best one I've heard in ages.
I may have to steal it for a signature line:D
 
originally posted by rp88
I'd take a 9mm hi-cap gun like a Glock over a .45ACP., and just unload into its underside and face. IMO, possibly hitting it 17 times beats hitting it 6 times then realizing that you need a couple seconds between reloading and getting eaten.

hi-cap 9mm only have 15 in mag and one in pipe that would equal 16. sorry to be a jerk but your math is wrong.
 
hi-cap 9mm only have 15 in mag and one in pipe that would equal 16. sorry to be a jerk but your math is wrong.
More than a few 9mm pistols come from the factory with 15+ magazines (i.e. Ruger SR9 - 17rds, S&W MP - 17 rds, Beretta PX4 - 17rds) and there are many after market magazines that hold more than 15 rds available.
Regards,
Greg
 
BlindJustice's quote:"Let me make a wag, the original poster never posted again right?"

*Wrong*. See posts #1 and #57. And thanks for your input. Some of the comments and especially the pictures of the "Bear Attack" were quite informative and unsettleing (to say the least). This reality check is just what is needed for those of us who are not as experienced in the woods as some of you. Many novices to the woods believe almost everything they hear from "anyone" who says it. I most certainly assure you that this thread has done a great service in "wakeing up" the community at large.
 
Penetration is going to be effected by your choice of load also. The 200gr +P XTPs from various makers are very deep penetrators.
 
I asked this question a few months ago, except my question asked it in regards to a PA black bear. I got similar answers.

I'm pretty much stuck with a .45 for now, so I went and picked up some ammo for this purpose. I was told "penetration and limited or no expansion", which makes sense to me. I was recommended some high velocity FMJ from Double Tap, but I couldn't find them in stores. I recently found some +p flat-nosed FMJs from Buffalo Bore. Haven't had a chance to run them through my P90 yet, but I'm sure they'll be fine.
 
Personal Defense TV

Personal Defense TV had an interesting episode about predator defense.

Their strong suggestion (I believe they were at GunSite) was to use a long gun (shotgun with slugs, etc) if at all possible, but that a .44 Magnum or S&W 500 would be an acceptable alternative "if you had no other choice."

Shoot in the "triangle between the eyes and the nose" was the suggestion, especially if you are using smaller caliber.

Anything less than that and I think you are rolling the dice.
 
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I've sworn by 1911 .45's for over 30 years. My all-time favorite handgun and handgun cartridge.

However, I have no desire to run into a black bear or any kind of bear, when that's all I'm carrying. For that matter, I wouldn't want to be carrying ANY type of handgun, if I only had the choice of one weapon.

If I'm going into bear country, I'll be toting a 5+1 semi-auto shotgun loaded with 00 buck or slugs---or a semi-auto rifle chambered for at least .308, but preferably .30-06.
 
This reminds me of a Far Side cartoon:

A group of cavemen stand around a woolly mammoth they have just killed. The creature is staggeringly bigger and more powerful than their little band armed with sticks and stones. But a single wound from a single stick felled the monster. One of the cavemen points to the wound and says to the others, "Let's remember that spot."

If you hit that spot on a grizzly, even a pointy stick will stop it. My uncle, an Alaskan bear guide in many of his younger years, carried an original Casull .454 for, as he put it, 'Last ditch, up the nose', if that tells you anything about caliber choice and belief regarding how much good it might do.
 
i used to spend quite a bit of overnight time in bear country...we had been advised by the helpful rangers and their well written pamphlet that while nothing is guaranteed to stop a charging griz, the best primary defense weapon was a 12 ga w at least 5 rounds....personally i have heard several testimonials about the bear mace. apparantly it works ...
 
hi-cap 9mm only have 15 in mag and one in pipe that would equal 16. sorry to be a jerk but your math is wrong.

Actually, he's right. The Glock 17 comes with 17 round magazines! You're most likely thinking of the Glock 19, with 15 round magazines. The Glock 17 would then have 18 shots altogether, with 1 in the chamber. You can always buy 1-2 round extensions, as well, for the magazine. Then you can buy "true hi-cap" Glock 18 magazines (which can fit in all the other semi-auto 9mm models: Glock 17, 19, 26, 34), which hold 33 rounds of 9mm. They're so hi-cap, because the Glock 18 is a fully automatic pistol.

Anyway, if I had to pick a handgun for outdoors, it'd be the 10mm Glock 20. Again, many hunters use this for medium and big game. Ted Nugent goes hunting for big game all the time, including in Africa, taking down 1000+ pounders with his Glock 20.

Again, I'd strongly suggest you test the Glock 20 out, with hot Double Tap ammo (200-230 grain FMJ, for bears or hunting in general). The Glock 20 holds 15 in the magazine, and 1 in the chamber.

Of course, a shotgun and/or AK-47 (;)) is always best, but pistol only? Glock 20 for me. It's good for backup, even if you have a shotgun / rifle / assault rifle on you (ALONG WITH YOUR PEPPER SPRAY - DON'T FORGET!)
 
This 45 will stop a Grizz-its called the 45-08-and its pretty ridiculous, but awsome for 1911 fans-

AS for all this talk about what will kill a grizzly, when i was 19 (7 years ago) i killed a grizzly at 25 Metres with a single 30-30 shell to the neck, with two more on principle...at dusk, from my grandfathers Model 64-there is a hole in the skull, behind his eardrum where i think a piece of his vertabrae broke into the brain case...he didnt move, just rolled over...

SO THE LESSON IS-SHOT PLACEMENT and being calm are key in my opinion.

The 45-08 seems like an interesting idea-
His website is here- http://www.armco-guns.com/what's new at armco.htm

Posts regarding the 45-08 are here-

45-08 update! Actually, nothing really new, except it is working out really well with more and more wilderness guys & gals having occasion to use it. Reports are very encouraging :) We still haven't found a better powder than Hodgdon Longshot, but testing is ongoing. I'm playing with a bottleneck version (200 grain 10mm bullets), as well as looking for a good hardcast flat point 220 to 240 grain bullet. 250's are an option, too, at about 1150- to 1200...
This is essentially a .308 case cut down to .45 ACP length and neck reamed to make room for a Nosler 230 grain FMJ flat point bullet (and as much powder as we can cram in behind it. Alternately a 200 grain hard cast SWC bullet beautifully cast and sized by Smart Bullets is used, at higher speeds, of course. Results? So far, almost 1200 FPS from the 230 grain bullet with a 4 1/4" barreled Springfield Armory Defender with a 2 port compensator and a 22 pound recoil spring. That will translate into well over 1200 with a 5" barrel (testing soon) and starts to get REAL close to what you get from a 4" Model 29 in .44 Magnum. 50% (at least) more rounds and twice the controllability. Recoil is absolutely nothing compared to the big magnums, although it IS noticeable! Testing is ongoing and will include a .40Super barrel with 200 grainers at around 1300 FPS. Should be fun. I still like the .45/08 version, and even at the speeds we've achieved, see no excessive pressure signs with Federal 150 (large pistol) primers, which are notoriously soft. The cases, of course, are made to withstand pressures we'll never encounter without actually blowing these pistol primers to smithereens! I really think that a standard 5" 1911 or Para Ordnance, set up with the heaviest recoil springs that Wolff makes, will push 230 grain bullets past 1250, without being anywhere near as punishing to shoot as a hot heavy bullet .44 Magnum load in a Redhawk, a much bigger and heavier gun.

The idea came from the need for a "Bear Gun" for the north where a lot of people who move about in the woods for a living are now getting licenses to carry a handgun. Traditionally it's been a .44 Magnum or bigger, but some of these are a pain to carry comfortably all day, along with a lot of other necessary gear.

I ran into a prospector who insisted on carrying a Colt Officer's Model loaded with 230 grain hardball! Another carries a Ruger Super Redhawk in .454 Casull and has a permanently disabled shooting hand and the biggest flinch you ever saw. Somewhere in between there has to be a gun that has the penetration and sheer bullet weight to take down a bear, even a grizzly, and still be shootable by the average person.

There are, of course, others like this, such as the .45 Super, touted by Ace Custom .45's out of Texas, the .451 Detonics Magnum of some years ago, and the new Triton .450SMC, as well as the .460 Rowland pushed by Clark, and sold only as a compensated gun. It gets to 1300 FPS, but probably needs the comp! All these, by the way, are the same overall length, although case lengths differ. The problem, as we've discovered, is to find a powder that will give us the velocity we want without compressing enough to start pushing the bullet back out. That lets out the old magnum standby, Hodgdon H110, and actually all its contemporaries, such as N110 Vihtavuori, 296, 2400, 4227 IMR, etc. N105 seems to compress at about 1200, so may be OK - and as is usual with this excellent powder, shows no more pressure than an ordinary IPSC load. Others hit the "wall" at 1050 and 1150, and we're currently playing with Tite Group, which is compact enough, and has shown nice results in some reasonable .44 magnum loads.
 
Grizzly

Rely on a handgun to stop a "charging" Grizzly roflmao > A handgun is your best defense against an unexpected attack, only because you have it on you. But a Grizzly the best "most common" would be a reliable .12 Ga Shotgun loaded with Brenneke Slugs.
 
too easy.

last summer,

i blinded Mr. Grizzly Bear w/ my streamlight tlr-1 and unloaded 33 + 1 of 9mm speer gold dot and ate the bear for dinner.

no pics of the bear, but it was very tasty. HAHAHA

g17.gif
 
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