Pistol bullets?

Impact velocity seems to contribute significantly to an animal's visible reaction to the shot. I hit whitetails in the chest with a 50cal ML that didn't immediately react, and some got quite far despite a massive hole in their lungs. Most high velocity rounds elicited an immediate visible reaction to the impact. "Most" but certainly not all. 😁
Usually and I do agree, but I and many others have shot and witnessed many animals hit with most every type of hunting caliber and some gave little to no indication of a hit. I've seen 120# whitetail does break and run from chest hits from 270's, 30-06's to 444 Marlins and 12ga slugs that ran as if nothing had happened. And then I have seen several fall DRT from a 222 or 223.

I've seen elk absorb multiple impacts from 300's, 338's and other only to trot over the top, into the valley or thickets as if nothing had happened.

Defensive handgun situs against dangerous game are rather last ditch choices, and since velocities are not the highest with most of these weapons, bullet diameter and penetration (momentum) are key factors to increasing one's odds of winning the fight and surviving. Big bears, like other large animals, can absorb a fair amount of punishment and keep raging, especially if the vitals and bones are not sufficiently reached and transversed. The bigger and deeper the hole, the more and faster the blood loss and trauma inflicted.

Personally, I am not a fan of large capacity mags for bears, for rarely, will one have time to mag dump a dozen or more rounds before he is on you, has thought better of the situ or is down. However, most people will never need to actually shoot a charging bear, so if a large cap mag ads to one's confidence, then by all means carry. Whatever caliber/cartridge/weapon one chooses, become proficient at using it and in a fast, high stress situ.
 
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Which Ever Caliber You guys' Pick..................

FACTORY ammo ONLY. Don't trust your or your families lives to a faulty Handload. ESPECIALLY in a revolver, where "bullet creep" is a possibility.

my .02

Ever so often I hear or read this not only for dangerous game protection, but also I see it for EDC personal defense against the two legged variety. If one is not proficient or is careless in their handloading, I guess I could understand and agree, but for many, we produce "better" ammo than some of the factory loads we have seen, especially as of late. All handloads are tested for reliability even before a simple hunt let alone serious protection loads.

In all my decades, I have never had any concern using my handloads when standing in front of anything that is many times my size and can run me over, stomp me into a puddle, gore me, tear me to shreds or bite very badly. However, I have seen some rounds of factory ammo that failed inspection due to most every reason of ammo quality. I.e. crooked or badly seated bullets, crushed or bent necks and case mouths, badly seated primers or even no primer, no powder, bad headspace, etc. Mass produced ammo can have some QA issues, but when I produce ammo for special purposes, hunting or other, it is all carefully inspected at each step.
 
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Thanks guys. I'm going to buy a 10mm. The question becomes, Glock 20 or 40? The 40 is about five ounces heavier, but I think the extra barrel length would help with barrel flip and follow up shots.

Thoughts or opinions?

Thanks, Justin
I agree with some of the others as I am not a Glock fan because of the grip angle. I have the XDM from before they did the OSP model. Guess I've never lubed mine up enough to make it slippery. I like the gun the way it is. To each their own I guess.
 
Which Ever Caliber You guys' Pick..................

FACTORY ammo ONLY. Don't trust your or your families lives to a faulty Handload. ESPECIALLY in a revolver, where "bullet creep" is a possibility.

my .02
Seen some pretty faulty factory loads lately. At least with my hand loads I've physically seen what went into my ammo. Factory or hand load test your ammo as much as possible to identify any problems before hand.
 
I used a ruger .45 with handloads for years and was good enough with it to shoot grouse and have something left to eat. Killed 7 head of elk with it but as with any pistol I shot till I was out of bullets and reloaded while watching to make sure. On one particular cow elk I shot found all the bullets between the hide and carcass on the far side. I've sense graduated to a .454 Casull and all I've got to shoot with it are Sitka blacktails in AK. Was no doubt when you hit one and never needed a second shot. Always replaced the empty though cause shots are dinner bells for grizz here. Freedom Arms Casull is a bit heavy so got frisky and bought a 10mm Kimber for hiking and being more compact. Mistake on my part cause so far I haven't faith in its reliability. Doesn't feed all the time so I'm back to my Casull and a better chest holster. Make darn sure to run a bunch of shells through your new gun for aim ability and reliability and confidence.
 
Not sure about all that brain scrubbing youth stuff, but, here's a nearly free, basically scientific, 4th of July friendly, effectiveness load test, of ur bear stopR pistol rounds. Take a couple of used, surplus, empty, 5 gallon plastic oil pails with the tops removed, for this test. Need an open area away from buildings, where nothing can burn, like a plowed field. Fill the bucket with water within a couple inches of the top. Put that 5 gal water bucket on a 3ft step ladder, so it's up off the ground. Get back 20 yards or so and fire ur test round in the lower 1/3 zone of the pail. .Hydraulic pressure denoting a decent stopper round , think ,12 gauge deer slug, will empty the bucket in skywards water blast. The 4th of July part of the test, is add about an inch of gasoline on top of the water, carefully light that with a match. It will just sit there and burn. Step back minimum of 25 yards, and when the water launches ya get about a 10 foot diameter fireworks display,works best in nearly dark conditions, that remains intact for a few seconds, then disappears.
Sounds like a hear,hold my beer thing!
 
Sounds like a hear,hold my beer thing!
Just a bit scientific research, on effectiveness of fast moving copper/lead projectiles when transferred into an easily visible display of hydraulic energy, with no harm to the bears or wildlife. It's more of a Holy Hanna moment, than a hold my beer, all good stuff.
 
Which Ever Caliber You guys' Pick..................

FACTORY ammo ONLY. Don't trust your or your families lives to a faulty Handload. ESPECIALLY in a revolver, where "bullet creep" is a possibility.

my .02
Why?
I don't trust factory ammo to a hunt, why on earth would I trust it to defend myself? Seems less stakes in the former.
 
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