Side Arm for Grizzly Country

I use a 460 Rowland kit on my 1911 with hard cast bullets. It's pretty close to 44Mag power. Should be more than enough for black bear and the cougars we have in western Oregon.
 
Glock 20 10 mm. Gightfighter inc. kenia chest holster. Double tap or buffalo bore ammo . Holster also works with Glock 19 or 19x for 9mm practice to get muscle memory down cheaper than the 10 mm. If you want excuse for new gun lol. If not practice up with 357. But I love my glocks and chest rig. Be safe and good luck.
 
This is the best write-up I have seen on bear protection handguns. https://alaskagunsite.wordpress.com/2017/01/01/the-case-for-the-357-magnum/

This is a good read

In my eyes, a bear defense handgun needs to be absolutely reliable. If you have to stuff an auto in a bears mouth, or against anything while being attacked it likely will go out of battery and not go bang. If any type of failure happens, clearing said failure is really tough one handed especially with a bear on top of you. Just pull the trigger again in a double action revolver. It needs to penetrate, not expand and that means like 4+ feet to get to something in the CNS that will shut things down.

I have a 44 mag 629 S&W Magna Classic that I love and carries great in a Kenai chest holster. But for last ditch and always available I have a 3" Model 65 K frame loaded with Buffalo Bore 180 hard cast LFN ~ 1300 fps.

I love my auto handguns for most everything else but for this job the double action revolver is the better tool IMO.

This thread got into it pretty good.

 
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I am going on a horseback Mule Deer hunt in Grizzly Country. I will be with a guide. I am told that it is advisable to have a side arm for protection from the grizzly bears. The simple choice looks to be a 44 mag, with hard cast bullets, but I'm interested in hearing what you guys are using, and what advantages and disadvantages you have seen. I am limited in the weight that I can carry, so that is a consideration. I have a 6" S&W 357 Wheel gun, and hoping it is reasonable to use that for protection.
Grizzly Speed Eye Opener: I have no experience, But the spec's on a Grizzly indicates one can cover 100 yards in 5 seconds = 50 Yards in 2.5 seconds = 25 yards in 1.25 seconds. I am not sure if with shorter distances it is not linear due to the time it takes to get up to maximum speed, but usually it takes a second for the human to comprehend and analyze what the appropriate action to take.
 
I'd rather be under-gunned to some extent and good with my chosen caliber than just depend on spray or nothing. The truth of the matter is that I carry my .44mag in a Kenia chest rig as my primary defense gun but I'm pretty confident in my 10mm (I also carry it in a Kenia rig because you really need that gun at hand, not 5 feet away when you're gutting an animal or taking a leak) too because I practice quite often (at least once a week with each). Nobody can say how they will react to a real bear attack until it happens to them. The key is that when the attack happens you will react according to your nature. If you've practiced a lot and gone through the scenario in your head (assuming that you will have the bear in your face and that your will get injured to some degree) then your chances of reacting well will be better.
 
My bear defense setup was recommended, in part by our Alaskan Guide and in part by a U.S. Park Service Ranger in Denali Park, AK while on a family vacation a prior year.
Guide Recommendation: 44-Magnum in Chest Holster. I used a Model 629 "S&W" 4-inch 44-Magnum loaded with HMS 305gr 44-Rem-Mag Bear Ammo from MidwayUSA.com, carried in a "Guide's Choice" Leather Chest Holster. Ranger Recommendation: Large Bear-Spray in holster. I used "Counter Assault" Bear Deterrent 10.2oz in a belt holster both from Amazon.com. Ranger had first-hand knowledge of many Grizzly & Brown Bear attacks, as well as, a couple on himself. He told me that the handgun would be good, but, in a close encounter, unless you placed a perfect shot to the brain or the upper spinal cord, you might kill him, but, you would not turn or stop him until he had gotten to you and his experience had taught him, use the bear spray first, it would turn the bear giving you time to access your gun and shoot if necessary. I have been fortunate on my five trips to AK of not encountering a bear attack, so, I cannot unequivocally say what works. The guides had not personally encountered an attack, the Ranger had. Since I kinda like remaining alive and remaining in one piece, I chose to cover my odds and took both. The little extra weight was a small price to pay for the secure feeling of adequate protection! Properly prepare yourself and go have a fantastic hunt!!
 
Back in 1991, while bow hunting in NW WI, I had a 250+ lb blackie come up my ladder after circling my stand several times. I fired just over his head in an attempt to scare it off. Didn't work. My second shot was fired at a distance of 4' striking him in the throat and exiting thru his spine which successfully ended the attack. My gun was, and is a Ruger Blackhawk in 45 LC with a 4 5/8" barrel loaded with 300 gr. Cast Performance WFN gas checked bullets. I now live in hunt in prime grizzly country, and this gun is always with me, carried in either a cross draw, or shoulder rig. Its reasonably light and compact, plus I can get it into play very quickly. Regular practice is a must, and only practice with the ammo that you are going to carry. No gun, short of something with a lanyard on it, will stop a determined attacking bear in its tracks. Whatever handgun you carry, use appropriate ammo, and practice, practice practice!
 
Don't assume that a park range knows what they are talking about, they have their biases built in, most are environmentalists with degrees and their degree includes a bias toward always assuming that nature is benign.

Most rangers are taught statistics about bear spray that include data that doesn't involve an actual attack. Most of the Forest Services "data" on bear attacks is derived from their use of the spray to turn curious or hungry bears away from campsites and such. Also, the Forest Service does not differentiate their data on the circumstances of the bear contact. Questions like; was the bear casually walking by when you sprayed them, was the bear eating at a garbage site, was the bear walking when you sprayed it. Casual bear contacts are in no way the same as an actual attack. A casual contact can be broken very easily, usually just by talking calmly and walking slowing away.

A real bear attack gives you no chance to deploy a spray first, you wont have the time, you'll need to choose which tool to use in less than two seconds so choose wisely.
 
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.



I've read that article as well. Outside Online posted this story more recently that that talks about the two studies most often used and why there were never intended to be used that way.

In short, the bear spray numbers include chance encounters by hikers and bear management by wildlife officials while the firearm numbers are based on bear "attacks."

 
So you are going to have your rifle in one hand while you are field dressing an animal? With one in the chamber and safety off? Or across your lap while you are riding in and out On horseback with one in the chamber? Just curious how you envision it? I am not trying to start a fight, but you guys who don't hunt in grizzly country should probably think through these scenarios before you chime in and give bad advice. I have seen them and had their tracks right in top of mine in the snow while I was out hunting. You have to plan on it being a close quarter quick attack. Thus the guides recommendation for a handgun for protection.
I have to agree 100%. Killed a moose (in Alaska back country. Was busy skinning when a friend flew into the lake next to where I was. Told me he spotted several bears heading my way and stood watch while I finished. I had no clue there was bears close by due to the brush and trees.
Bottom line expect the unexpected.
 
I took a taurus tracker 44 with the 4 inch ported barrel shooting the hsm 305 gr hard cast bear loads up to idaho as a side arm on a black bear hunt just in case I ran into a Grizz. Kind of hard choice between a 10mm auto ( getting possibly multiple shots off) or the 44 mag revolver ( getting one, maybe two big bullets in the right direction). I think either would work but I liked the idea of making that first shot count. What ever you get, shoot hard cast bullets and smash some bone.
I have great reserve for using a wheel gun for 🐻 defence. The shot at dusk now has you deaf and blind. Just where do you put that second shot! I'll take a semi auto to point that flash and noise at the 🐻
 
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