Side Arm for Grizzly Country

6 months of the year I live w/Mr Griz. The only handgun worth having is the one you will have with you. IMHO nothing meets all criteria better than an S&W 329 in an El Paso Tanker holster. Stoke it with 300 gr hard casts or CorBon solids. Fit it with Laser grips for fast target acquisition.
 
Surprisingly bear spray proves to be more effective than firearms (I never used to believe that until someone showed me the data). That being said I would carry he largest caliber you're comfortable with using hard cast rounds. Buffalo Bore does put out some good ammo. I have a co-worker than stumbled on a bear in Alaska (I do not recall what kind it was) and he killed it with a 9mm handgun, mainly because that is all he had. I'd personally opt for 44 mag or I'd carry my 4" S&W 500 but that is just me.


Sorry but you and whomever showed you that data are wrong. I'm pretty sure what the source of that data was and it doesn't reach the conclusion that most people think it does. Most people can't provide a reference to the original source documents for this misinformation but if you want to understand how the original studies were misquoted then read the article at this link.

Handguns work far better than bear spray at stopping a charging bear, and that's a proven fact. The truth is that the study that contains the misquoted data says that bear spray is only successful at stopping a bear charge 33% of the time while firearms are proven to be at least 76% successful and possibly as high as 96% successful at stopping a bear charge.
 
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6 months of the year I live w/Mr Griz. The only handgun worth having is the one you will have with you. IMHO nothing meets all criteria better than an S&W 329 in an El Paso Tanker holster. Stoke it with 300 gr hard casts or CorBon solids. Fit it with Laser grips for fast target acquisition.

I carry either the S&W 329 or a Springfield XDM in 10mm, depending on the terrain I'm in (tough terrain forces me to carry less weight so I take the XDM).

In a real bear attack situation having 16 rounds is a joke, you'll never get a chance to fire more than a two or three rounds before that bear is on you. I carry the 10mm at times simply because it's light, not because of the magazine capacity.
 
Just for giggles if anyone wants to see just how fast those buggers can move on you- watch this.


If you're packing a pistol- try rolling some bowling balls down hill at 20-30mph towards you and see if you can hit them :D
 
Last time I hunted elk in Wyoming's grizz country, the game and fish officer gave us one piece of advice if your rifle is your protection, place the scabbard on the side of the horse you dismount. He was charged by a silver back and he would be dead if the boar didn't peal away at the last second. He dismounted on the left and his shotgun was on the horse's right side.

I carried a Glock 20 and bear spray and soiled my drawers everytime I saw a track or claw marks 10 feet high on a tree.
 
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Side note, I'm not much of a You Tuber but there's a great video showing a fella shooting a G20 and then a big wheel gun. So interesting to see how much quicker the one is to get back on target!

If that doesn't encourage one to go to a G20 or G40 then I don't know what would.

If I was smart to know how to post the video I would, but alas I'm not overly techy:(
That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You're going to be best with what you practice with. I'm not Jerry but he can shoot a revolver on target fast than a semi because he doesn't have to wait for the slide to cycle! That's insane fast. Don't watch some YouTube glocktard and believe that a semi is some how faster to get on target than a revolver. Carry what you're good with....but get good with what you need to carry.
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Sorry but you and whomever showed you that data are wrong. I'm pretty sure what the source of that data was and it doesn't reach the conclusion that most people think it does. Most people can't provide a reference to the original source documents for this misinformation but if you want to understand how the original studies were misquoted then read the article at this link.

Handguns work far better than bear spray at stopping a charging bear, and that's a proven fact. The truth is that the study that contains the misquoted data says that bear spray is only successful at stopping a bear charge 33% of the time while firearms are proven to be at least 76% successful and possibly as high as 96% successful at stopping a bear charge.
I don't know what info I looked at but here is one small snippet (I'm not even sure this was the same study the article I looked at referred to or not) that seems to contradict what you posted. Maybe I looked at biased info, who knows. Post a link to your info so I can see where you got your numbers.


 
This thread should be limited to ONLY those of us who live with Mr. Griz.

"I read this" or "I saw this on UTube" are just tits over the back fence.

If you're on the ground, your handgun is your last line of defense.

If on a horse, you have it because the horse may leave you behind as he escapes.

A 10mm is not a 44 Magnum and large heavy guns get left at home.

BTW Black Bears are more dangerous. They will kill you and eat you on the spot.
 
Go with the heaviest lead-free expanding bullet you can find for the .357.

They should get through skullbone OK and the expansion will help increas blood pressure loss elsewhere.

Further, lead-free expanding bullets have a reputation for deep penetration so the larger animals are definitely at risk when defending yourself.
 
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