Side Arm for Grizzly Country

[RYEWSKY25284]

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.

IMO, a 10mm would be a minimum. A 44Mag. with 300gr XTP. I have carried a 44 Mag., but I'm more comfortable with a 454 Casull. I do feel like a .357 is pretty light. The worst case scenario would be to wound and ****-off a Grizz, not near enough bullet mass to turn one away...IMO

 

[bigngreen]

bigngreen how in the heck did you get your hounds into the Bob to run cats?

Foot, we would set traplines out going in then spend a few days hunting out of a camp then pick up fur on the way out, we were younger and the only thing that hurt were muscles from all the fun!! The last time almost killed us, stuff went sideways, it was the first week of January, instead of a Chinook it started dumping snow, the wind was crazy, the dogs freaked and had to come into the tent, and it went down hill from there, that was before sat phones or SPOT.

 

[ZAK13]

With all of the other expenditures associated with this trip, and the feedback provided above,, I'm leaning toward using the 357 Mag that I own. Its a 7 shot. Which brand and grain weight of hard cast ammo would y'all recommend for the 357?

Buffalo Bore, Double Tap, and HSM all make 180gr flat-nosed hard cast load for the 357 magnum, any one of those are good choices. I too own and carry a 7-shot GP-100 in the grizzly country and feel comfortable with my choice. Just make sure to buy a few extra boxes of ammunition to zero your gun before heading out. For some reason I see a lot of people buying defensive ammo for their EDC load and never shoot it because it's too expensive.

 

[sea2summit]

@sea2summit what caliber of sidearm do you carry?

In the woods? .44

 

[FEENIX]

With all of the other expenditures associated with this trip, and the feedback provided above,, I'm leaning toward using the 357 Mag that I own. Its a 7 shot. Which brand and grain weight of hard cast ammo would y'all recommend for the 357?

For "me," the bottom line is, it's your life you are trying to protect/defend, pick your weapon of choice that you think gives the best value in saving your life and be safely back home to your loved ones. As you can see, personal choice/preference varies. "I" understand this is NOT for everybody but when ...

Hiking/camping in bear country (black or grizzly): I carry a .44 Mag, bear spray, and have my Karelian Bear Dog with me (where allowed).

Bowhunting in bear country (black or grizzly): I carry a .44 Mag and bear spray.

Rifle hunting in bear country (black or grizzly): I carry a .44 Mag and occasionally bear spray.

The above has been the norm for me in the last 10 years. Each time, I try to be mindful to save a round off the .44 mag for myself.

NOTE: I never hunt alone in bear country. My hunting buddy and I are normally within whispering distance.

From here on forward, "I" decided to replace the .44 Mag with a 10MM Glock 40 MOD with a 6" barrel (for now) loaded with dangerous game/bear load from either Buffalo Bore, HSM, or Underwood ... or perhaps roll my own. "I" like the idea of 15+1 (and 2-15 rounder mag, yes "I" do not mind carrying the extra weight).

On my first outing, @ ~20' or so, the first 2 round barely missed the bullseye. Did 3-15 round rapid-fire and the majority of the shots are within an 8" pie plate group. As with anything else, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRATICE !!!

Good luck and happy safe hunting.

Ed

 

[flyguy1]

The chances of being injured by a bear are approximately 1 in 2.1 million, according to the National Park Service.Sep 16, 2015

Odds of Dying - Injury Facts

Knowing the odds of dying is the first step in beating them. New 2022 data shows the risks from plane crashes, guns, falls and more.

www.nsc.org

Please note what I actually said: close call, not injury.

 

[flyguy1]

Something for the Glock guys; if the pistol is actually pushed against the bear, will the action still cycle? I have heard this, but never owned a Glock and not sure how you would safely test this anyway. Sig supposedly will cycle. Don't know why they would be different though. I'm not very knowledgable on semi-autos in general although my ARs are proving to be a good investment. Holy smokes the prices are high.

 

[FEENIX]

Something for the Glock guys; if the pistol is actually pushed against the bear, will the action still cycle? I have heard this, but never owned a Glock and not sure how you would safely test this anyway. Sig supposedly will cycle. Don't know why they would be different though. I'm not very knowledgable on semi-autos in general although my ARs are proving to be a good investment. Holy smokes the prices are high.

Sorry but this is NOT about Glock, Sig, or whatever weapon one chooses to defend themselves. The better question is if you are that close and personal with a grizzly bear, would you have the sense or composure to even pull the trigger or for that matter have the weapon on your hand. Having said that, Murphy's Law does not discriminate. Cheers!

 

[flyguy1]

Sorry but this is NOT about Glock, Sig, or whatever weapon one chooses to defend themselves. The better question is if you are that close and personal with a grizzly bear, would you have the sense or composure to even pull the trigger or for that matter have the weapon on your hand. Having said that, Murphy's Law does not discriminate. Cheers!

Do you know the answer to the question? Seems pertinent if the bear is on you.

 

[flyguy1]

Actually Massad Ayoob himself addressed this, in discussing revolvers vs semi-autos in close-quarters work.

Contact Shots

"Revolvers win in this category, too. A cop I know recently retired after three-plus decades of police work in a major city, and many gunfights. In the very first of those, a would-be killer wrestled with him, belly to belly, trying to bring his weapon to bear, and my friend rammed the muzzle of his S&W revolver into the man's center chest and pulled the trigger. The press-contact shot sent the muzzle blast into the attacker's thorax along with the bullet, killing him instantly.

Many autoloaders would have been pushed out of battery by that kind of desperate pressure, activating the trigger disconnector and preventing the good guy's gun from firing. There are a very few autoloaders that are immune to this because of their design. Springfield's XD series pistols will work at press-contact. Another notable example is Beretta's Nano.

But any contemporary revolver will fire every shot at press-contact. Even the autos that will go off when you need them to in that situation can be jammed by viscous blood and flesh globules being blasted back into the barrel bushing area as the slide cycles from the first shot. I know of at least one case where that happened in an actual gunfight, costing an officer his life. He instantly dropped his first attacker with his 9mm auto, but was shot fatally by the second because his gun didn't work when he pulled the trigger again. With a revolver, he would have been able to continue firing."

He also had this to say about the Sig P320:

"The first thing I discovered about the P320 was that it has a "stand-off capability," a good thing. This means that if the muzzle is pressed hard against a firmly resisting surface (like the chest of a murderer about to kill you) it will fire, instead of going out of battery and failing to discharge, as most autopistols will. It amazes me that more people don't test for this, and amazes me still more that manufacturers who put this potentially life-saving feature into their autopistols don't advertise it."

So, I understand this isn't important to some, but if the bear is on you, might affect your choice of weapons.

 

[sea2summit]

Sorry but this is NOT about Glock, Sig, or whatever weapon one chooses to defend themselves. The better question is if you are that close and personal with a grizzly bear, would you have the sense or composure to even pull the trigger or for that matter have the weapon on your hand. Having said that, Murphy's Law does not discriminate. Cheers!

You can absolutely push a Glock out of battery. Know your weapon.

 

[Stiltsville]

And I thought I had proven that a 10mm is way behind a 44 Magnum when it comes to stopping power/penetration or any other measurement ?

 

[FEENIX]

Do you know the answer to the question? Seems pertinent if the bear is on you.

Yes, I do but you locked on Glock and Sig.

 

[Stiltsville]

Lemme see ----
A 10 mm auto has about 1/2 the ME as a 44 Magnum.
With that logic a Cape Buffalo hunter is well equipped with a 30-06.