Tragic bear attack in Wyoming

My "Go To" Bear Spray is made by S&W. 4" Barrel with a 50 Caliber hole in it. Sprays 375 gr Barnes X Pistol Bullets as fast as you can pull the trigger. These Bullets out of this Gun have shot through a Bull Bison's shoulders and exited. It takes a lot of meat & bones to stop them! I carry it in a chest holster and it can be deployed in seconds. At least as fast as pepper spray
 
You really need to step up to at least a .41 magnum.

Even more important would be your ammo selection, no personal defense rounds designed for maximum expansion and minimum penetration.

A heavy plus p jacketed hollow point that gets maximum penetration and delayed expansion is pretty well essential for such purposes.

An Alaskan Brown Bear Boar, in full blown Charge mode, was stopped and killed by a few taps from a 10mm earlier this year. Don't sell it short. It IS a 41 Mag for all intents and purposes. Having said that, I have a Ruger SBH 44 Mag with a 4 5/8" Barrel and of course my Brown Bear Spray; a S&W 4" in 500 S&W for when I'm in Alaska. Most of the Guides we saw in Alaska carried a 12 Ga or a big Smith or Ruger. 44 Mag, 454 Casul, 460 S&W and the .500 S&W. Also saw a few Marlin 45-70 or 50 Alaskan's too.
 
An Alaskan Brown Bear Boar, in full blown Charge mode, was stopped and killed by a few taps from a 10mm earlier this year. Don't sell it short. It IS a 41 Mag for all intents and purposes. Having said that, I have a Ruger SBH 44 Mag with a 4 5/8" Barrel and of course my Brown Bear Spray; a S&W 4" in 500 S&W for when I'm in Alaska. Most of the Guides we saw in Alaska carried a 12 Ga or a big Smith or Ruger. 44 Mag, 454 Casul, 460 S&W and the .500 S&W. Also saw a few Marlin 45-70 or 50 Alaskan's too.

The 10mm is impressive, but no it doesn't equal the .41's energy or performance.

It is a great round for semi auto pistol hunting on medium sized game but when your life is on the line, more is better particularly with respect to energy and penetration.

I have Taurus 444 and 425 titanium models in both .41 and .44m. They are five shot, five inch revolvers that weigh in around 30 oz so they are ideal sidearms when packing or hunting.

Any of the three beats the hell out of bear spray.

"It has been done with a 10mm doesn't mean that it's a good choice over more powerful rounds.

The number of hits is secondary to the number of accurately placed shots that penetrate deeply with delayed expansion.

Not knocking it if that's all a guy has got but there are better options.
 
They've been killed with .22 Mag rifles too.
Just means somebody, somewhere, sometime, killed a bear with a pipsqueak.
I think it was a guide that killed a brown bear with a 9mm. He would never guide me, not even for groundhogs. Lacks common sense and needlessly placed his client's well being at risk.
 
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They've been killed with .22 Mag rifles too.
Just means somebody, somewhere, sometime, killed a bear with a pipsqueak.
I think it was a guide that killed a brown bear with a 9mm. He would never guide me, not even for groundhogs. Lacks common sense and needlessly placed his clients well being at risk.
Sheer, utter desperation using a .22 on a bear.
 
That is a very small bear too.

bear_9mm_f.jpg


The bullet wounds also do not match up to his story, they had to be taken when the bear was standing on it's hind legs.
 
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.....but I don't think I would plan on being that lucky. After seeing 9mm bullets stuck to the skin of bowling pins from a short barrel pistol, I hesitate to even conceal carry that round in town, let alone the woods. I remember reading that handguns aren't carried to be comfortable, but rather for the comfort they give.....
 
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.....but I don't think I would plan on being that lucky. After seeing 9mm bullets stuck to the skin of bowling pins from a short barrel pistol, I hesitate to even conceal carry that round in town, let alone the woods. I remember reading that handguns aren't carried to be comfortable, but rather for the comfort they give.....
I like that.
 
If you shoot your 10mm better than a larger gun, the 10mm is a better option. I personally have no problem de-seeding a watermelon with my 4" S&W .500 at 50 yards. Most are afraid to try it after watching me shoot it. But when you drop the Hammer on 40-49 grs of W296, you are "Riding the Lightning". My 4 5/8" Ruger SBH in w 44 Mag 300 gr Hardcasts seem mild in comparison. But I'd prefer a 10mm to Bear Spray, AKA: "Bruin Salsa". They say a Grizzly can do much damage to you even when mortally wounded. Never made sense to me that they couldn't wreak even more havoc on you with irritated eyes and nasal passages!
 
Each time I've read the story around the 9mm it has seemed to me the bear was just confused. It had opportunities to inflict damage and didn't.

Too close to wait for someone to get hurt before engaging, but it sounds like it woke up surrounded by human smell, and couldn't find the exit.

Bear and humans legitimately scared s@#$!less for a bit.
 
The 10mm is impressive, but no it doesn't equal the .41's energy or performance.

It is a great round for semi auto pistol hunting on medium sized game but when your life is on the line, more is better particularly with respect to energy and penetration.

I have Taurus 444 and 425 titanium models in both .41 and .44m. They are five shot, five inch revolvers that weigh in around 30 oz so they are ideal sidearms when packing or hunting.

Any of the three beats the hell out of bear spray.

"It has been done with a 10mm doesn't mean that it's a good choice over more powerful rounds.

The number of hits is secondary to the number of accurately placed shots that penetrate deeply with delayed expansion.

Not knocking it if that's all a guy has got but there are better options.
I think you need to check the statistics of the hotter 10mm rounds which are about equal to a middle of the road 41mags ballistic power in ft lbs. So yes, a hot loaded 41mag is more than a hot loaded 10mm BUT a hot loaded 10mm likely holds more rounds and is likely more accurate with subsequent shots due to less recoil impulse. If neither stop the bear on the first shot, then you better hope your follow up shots are hitting. I would likely carry the 41mag over the 10mm myself as well but recoil does not bother me. Someone who may be recoil sensitive may just be better off with a semi-auto 10mm.
 
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