These kinds of questions always brings out plenty of healthy discussion. And being this is the internet there's not true way of knowing what kind of experience, and or experiences we all have.
That said, when I mentioned the U tube video showing the guy shooting a Glock 20 and a heavy handgun it wasn't to say that this or that gun was best. It was mainly to show in a very succinct manner the difference between the two in recoil. Watch the video and one will see immediately that the G20 is considerably more controllable. Being me user friendly is naturally going to lend it to being easier to work with and maybe just maybe people will be a bit more inclined to shoot it more as well better.
Is there those out there that can go double action with a short barreled heavy handgun , yes you bet there are. But, they're a beast and a handful in many ways, thus generally resulting in people not shooting them as well as they should.
Is practice practice practice importanat, zero doubt it is! Being a cool, calm head and knowing when it's time to go hot and when it's not is also important. Time around bruins will teach us a lot about that.
I don't hunt bears near as much as I used to but when I did a lot I'd look at 40-50 different bruins a spring and a fair amount of them were G bears. When I was guiding in Montana for black bears I had two get after me in a serious manner. I shot one at 9' just under the chin using my clients 25/06 and the other @ 15' with my 22/250. Both times the bruins had been hit already so were a bit ****ed. Both times I ended the affair with a shot under the chin.
After that I did a bunch of serious testing to see what guns I could put into action quickly and with accuracy. Long and the short, I tried most all guns and the 760 Rem in 06 was far and away quickest for me, followed by my bolt gun in 270 or 06. When I got to the heavy cal's like my M70 in 375 Wby, the darned recoil bumped me off so far that a second let alone 3rd was pretty tough to get done in time.
I found the 06 based cases to be for me the best tool for a combo of plenty of power and time back to target.
But that's just what works for me.
Point being find what you'll carry and keep on you at all times! Trust me on this I've seen it many times the heavier the gun sooner or later one won't have it handy.
IMO 90% of the outdoorsman would be better suited with bear spray as they're just not practiced enough. Not matter now good, tough, experienced people are with guns and the woods most are just not prepared to protect themselves with a handgun. The tough thing with this is that most have a real tough time being humble enough to say and know that.
Lastly, my IMO bear fights are one to 3 shots and done, rarely is one going to be effective with more than that and or have time for that. IMO with a G20 one has a much better chance of getting back on target in time to get one or maybe two more rounds off. That recovery time and time back on target is incredibly important. And for me, I'm all about CNS hits, I'd go body if I had zero other choice but for me I'll put my life in my hands looking for that one chance for a lights out CNS shot.
I used to have a 3" S&W .44, really liked the gun wished I wouldn't of had to move it down the road but that's life. It was ok to handle, but heavy and going double action it was a handful. But, I practiced enough to be fairly handy with it.
I have several friends with the S&W M329 light .44, most all of them have the grips from a 500 S&W on them and now they're sort of manageable.
This is always a fun discusssion, I say pick your poison do a lot of shooting with it yearly at close range. Find a holster you can draw from quickly and safely and carry it at all times. Firing 500 to 1K rounds a year thru it isn't a overly bad idea. And like I mentioned before do yourself a solid by looking at the "Gunfighter Kenai" chest rig. A system like this is to be worn on the outside of the clothes and that's where you're going to want it if you ever need it.
End of story, fire away ladies and gents
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