COBrad
Well-Known Member
The argument that a 200 grain had similar velocity and energy as a 300 grain from a larger cartridge doesn't account for a big difference in the momentum of the heavier slug. I hunt with a .454 Casull and my previous hunting handgun was a .44 mag. I shot a 600+ lb. black bear twice in the chest with it. Found both bullets under the hide in the back of the far side hind quarter. But he didn't drop at the first shot. If he were attacking he would have chewed me up in the time he would have still been up. A forest service report I read suggested the .458 Win mag and 500 grain soft points as the most reliable to stop a griz right now. I've hunted in Alaska and been close to grizzlies, they dwarf black bears. I stood one down armed with my .44 and a can of bear spray and seriously feared for my life. That .44 felt like a toy. For me, I'll be carrying a .44 or bigger double action in a chest holster loaded with a stout hollow point for maximum damage with the one or two shots a guy might get off.