For 1 that carrys a pistol while hunting?

[Peregrine82]

On another site there was a poster who had taken hundreds of troublesome bears with a 44mag handgun. He recommended jacketed hollowpoints/soft points because the point of impact got the bear's immediate attention and frequently caused them to bite at the stinging wound. This gave the shooter ample time to put additional shots on the distracted bear. Multiple good hits from a 44mag is fairly potent medicine for a bear.

I tried using hardcast pistol bullets on whitetails and was rather unimpressed. Deer often ran off when hit in the boiler room. Yeah, they died but the bullet just didn't cause the terminal reaction that I hoped for. I switched over to Nosler Partitions with good results. Firing Swift A-Frame bullets in my 454 seemed to give a reasonable balance of expansion and penetration on large wild boar.

There is a place for hardcast bullets but I'd rather rely on a premium jacketed, controlled expansion bullet pushed at high speed.

Hundreds? If anyone claimed this I would like to see evidence to back it up.

 

[8x68s]

Look at Lehigh bullets from Midway USA, example, other calibers available:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/7...fluid-transfer-monolithic-lead-free-box-of-50

 

[HANGum HIGH]

I worry more about 2 legged creatures! Seen some crazy one out in the middle of nowhere!

 

[Alibiiv]

I worry more about 2 legged creatures! Seen some crazy one out in the middle of nowhere!

Yup I bike and I kayak in some remote areas. Over the years there have been two incidents where I was very happy to have a companion along with me. We bike the local bike paths, sometimes these paths will take up a life of their own with their inhabitants.

 

[Litehiker]

How about military hardball?

Eric B.

 

[chindits]

I don't bring a handgun when I'm carrying a rifle.

I thought about it at least two times bow hunting though and I bow hunt a lot.

Eric do an internet search on full metal jackets versus flat tip hardcast bullets. The proponents suggest full metal jackets upset easier during penetration and not penetrating as deep as a flat nose hardcast. I don't really know. It seems a lot of ammo proponents are part of whatever is currently trending.

 

[Alibiiv]

I don't bring a handgun when I'm carrying a rifle.

I thought about it at least two times bow hunting though and I bow hunt a lot.

Eric do an internet search on full metal jackets versus flat tip hardcast bullets. The proponents suggest full metal jackets upset easier during penetration and not penetrating as deep as a flat nose hardcast. I don't really know. It seems a lot of ammo proponents are part of whatever is currently trending.

This past season I was black bear hunting with an outfitter that had 30+ hunters. Some were rifle hunters and some were bow hunters. One bow hunter ran into an incident with a sow and three cubs. The cubs found him in the tree, were curious and kept trying to join him in the tree stand, ignoring numerous attempts to scare the cubs and sow away. Momma was snapping and huffing at him for a very long time, a couple of times she started up the ladder to the stand. Just before dark the sow and her three kids went off into the surrounding brush. He hear her but could not see her. Shooting time ended, it was time to come out, he said the he could not see his sights, fearing that he might run into momma and the kids on the way out. At one point while attempting to come out of the tree he heard what he thought was the momma bear and went up into his tree stand and waited for the guide to come in and get him. The next day he was carrying his .45 Colt revolver. I have never bow hunted, however I'm thinking that if I did I would want some assurance/insurance other than the bow, especially for when coming out in the dark. The hunter said that he was certain his bow would be capable of taking the bear out, but was concerned about a miss or a follow up shot in the dark

I rifle hunt and I have numerous reasons for carrying a handgun with me. Carrying a handgun for a backup weapon is not one of them. My thoughts are that if I cannot drop what I am hunting with a rifle, a handgun certainly is not going to get the job done. When we come out to the road from the blind it is sometimes really dark. Waiting to be picked up can run up to two or three hours. I am not one who likes to be in the woods, in the dark, unarmed and waiting to be picked up for two or three hours. If your rifle is loaded, a game warden comes down the road does a check while you are waiting for your ride and your rifle is loaded, you just became a night hunter, and your hunting trip is about to come to an end, and.....the trip is about to get a whole lot more expensive. Where I hunt open carry is allowed, if the weapon is visible it is legal, day or night. I've had bear and bears with cubs pass me by while waiting for my ride.

 

[chindits]

Yes there are things to fear in life.

 

[hthunter]

I'm going on first elk bow hunting trip in September. I live in Southeast and usually carry a 40 or 45/410 Taurus judge. I also have a .357 magnum. My question is will one of these work or should I go ahead and buy bigger handgun to take. Something is better than nothing but I want to fill confident in what I carry. Hunting will be in Colorado. I will be shooting factory ammo.

 

[Alibiiv]

I'm going on first elk bow hunting trip in September. I live in Southeast and usually carry a 40 or 45/410 Taurus judge. I also have a .357 magnum. My question is will one of these work or should I go ahead and buy bigger handgun to take. Something is better than nothing but I want to fill confident in what I carry. Hunting will be in Colorado. I will be shooting factory ammo.

What are you comfortable in shooting? What have you had experience shooting in the past?

 

[Bravo 4]

I'm going on first elk bow hunting trip in September. I live in Southeast and usually carry a 40 or 45/410 Taurus judge. I also have a .357 magnum. My question is will one of these work or should I go ahead and buy bigger handgun to take. Something is better than nothing but I want to fill confident in what I carry. Hunting will be in Colorado. I will be shooting factory ammo.

In Colorado the threats (besides 2 legged) would normally be thought of as mt lions and black bears. However, I ran into this dude (picture) on the trail on my way out one day. I had just got out of one of the most physically demanding hikes/pack outs I ever done, thought it was gonna do me in. Then a free grazing 2,000 bull pops up over a small rise in front of me when I was 100 yards from my ride out. He got ****ed when he seen me, then charged to within 10 yards and stopped to glare at me. I drew down on him with my .338 RUM (knowing the Hammer Hunter bullets would do him a great deal of damage if needed) and even fired a warning shot near him that showed no effect except maybe making him madder. After a couple minutes of staring contest he finally turned and walked away, stopping ever so often to glare at me for a bit.

 

[ZAK13]

The reason for recommending hard cast bullets when carrying a pistol in the field, is geared towards one coming across an ornery bear set on making you the next meal. When it comes to an aggressive grizzly, they are tough beasts that have a habit of being full of **** and vinegar even when they've been lethally hit multiple times. It's been recommended over the years that one needs to aim for the brain to stop and drop a grizzly immediately! Hence the use of hard cast bullets, the grizzly bears skulls are thick and need a hard bullet to penetrate it.

 

[hthunter]

What are you comfortable in shooting? What have you had experience shooting in the past?

Most pistol shooting has been limited but with .40 cal. I intend to spend a lot of time practicing before I head out.

 

[VLD Pilot]

Look at buffalo Bore and HSM they also do bear loads. Hardcast would be the way to go. I've tested it I know.

Don't waste your money on the HSM bear loads in 10mm. Very mild load. Hardcast yes, powerful NO. Maybe in other calibers but the 10mm isn't worth buying