45 ACP on Brown Bear.????

[VLD Pilot]

230 hardcasts at 1200 fps thru a 6" G20 will completely penetrate a 400lb Boar hog and exit the animal. I think the penetration is adequate using that recipe. It's not the gun I'm concerned with IF the bullets hit the target, it's hitting the target that's my concern. I have to think( because I have had no bear grizzly attacks to defend from) if a bear is right on top of you before you can hit the target, it really won't matter what your unholstering. Your just snot and hair mixed in his scat in the end.

 

[scpaul]

I have a 460. I don't have to worry about bears but if I did I'd definitely try to err on the side of too much. I can always drop down to 454 Casull or even a hotel 45 colt.

 

[scpaul]

Surprised that no one has mentioned a Howda pistol.

 

[VLD Pilot]

I have a 460. I don't have to worry about bears but if I did I'd definitely try to err on the side of too much. I can always drop down to 454 Casull or even a hotel 45 colt.

Helluva beast there. Had one, didn't like it much because I couldn't get off more than one round fast. Make it count and that's a dead bear. I did build a 45 Raptor off that cartridge tho in a bolt gun for deer hunting in restricted straight wall cartridge regions. Wicked round.

 

[del2les]

Anything is better than nothing.

The commonality of using a pistol in self defense is over 90% success. That includes many weak cartridge choices.
There is a lot of ammo testing results on line including video of penetration test. Even the 9mm with the right bullet penetrates deeply. The 45ACP with the right bullets nearly equals the 10mm with 200gr hardcast.. the 45 Super is equivalent to or exceeds the 10mm.
It's a situation I don't want to test but I carry a pistol always.

 

[VLD Pilot]

Surprised that no one has mentioned a Howda pistol.

Isn't that the double or quad barreled pistola ?

 

[scpaul]

Usually double and it's usually carried in the howda on the elephants back incase a tiger tries to climb the elephant.

 

[wvbearhunter]

For what its worth

Handguns for Bear Defense: a Study by Caliber – Concealed Nation

One of the things most hotly debated by hunters, firearms owners, and flat-out bored people is the answer to the question: “What caliber handgun do I need to be safe against bear attack?” Not to get all clickbait-y, but the answer might surprise you. Ammoland was kind enough to make a little...

concealednation.org

 

[VLD Pilot]

Good article. Viewed that before and it's interesting. Don't like the Underwood coated bullets. Accuracy isn't real good in my Glocks. The Buffalo Bore hardcasts are much more accurate in mine. The double tap 230s are also. I roll my own and push the 230s at 1205-1225 with a 6" BarSto custom barrel. 50 yard groups of 1.5". Really impressive.

 

[scpaul]

To each his own. If I was going to carry a 1911 style firearm I think I'd look at the 50 G.I. I guess that they still are made.

 

[wvbearhunter]

To each his own. If I was going to carry a 1911 style firearm I think I'd look at the 50 G.I. I guess that they still are made.

Guncrafter makes a 50 GI

 

[VLD Pilot]

To each his own. If I was going to carry a 1911 style firearm I think I'd look at the 50 G.I. I guess that they still are made.

Exactly. Just get proficient and accurate and pray you never need to use that proficiency

 

[cvixx]

There is an Alaskan story out there somewhere about a jobsite, a Thompson .45, and a charging bear.

I heard one decades ago about a polar bear dropped by a 45 APC. Course it was used in a Grease Gun by an USAF type.

 

[del2les]

Good article. Viewed that before and it's interesting. Don't like the Underwood coated bullets. Accuracy isn't real good in my Glocks. The Buffalo Bore hardcasts are much more accurate in mine. The double tap 230s are also. I roll my own and push the 230s at 1205-1225 with a 6" BarSto custom barrel. 50 yard groups of 1.5". Really impressive.

I hear you. I don't use Underwood either, as I load all my own. I have pushed the 45 Super with 250's into the 1,200+fps range, but for the most part, I keep my carry loads in the 1,100+fps range. In my testing and due to slightly less expansion, they actually penetrated a little deeper than the 1,200+fps loads. However, both loads penetrate extremely deep.