Side Arm for Grizzly Country

[22250imp]

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.

Might want to check out the Smith 329 PD 44 mag. Light, nice to carry and accurate. Little more recoil but I don't think that would bother you if you were using it on an aggressive bear.

 

[seattleman1969]

a guy I met up here managed to kill a grizzly that was mauling him with his pocket knife. He was pretty messed up, no vision out of one eye, cheekbone crushed arm and one leg messed up badly, I think he was missing a few fingers. Pretty hard to look at even years later after it healed as much as it was going to. The bear and knife were on display in a local restaurant until it burned down.

That's what prompts me to always be aware of bears. This was before the days of bear spray, and all he had was his rifle that was out of reach. The way he told I, he would have had time to get off a decent aimed shot, and maybe a couple more rapid shots if he'd had a pistol.

In 2017 a bird hunter here on the Rocky Mt Front killed a 500 lb female griz with his 12Ga and bird shot. It was close range, surprised both of them after shooting a bird, and he hit her with 2 loads of #6. She died in the willows later after turning away.

Pheasant Hunter Shoots and Kills Charging Grizzly Bear

An upland bird hunter became the target of a charging grizzly, so he used his shotgun to fire a couple of blasts from close range.

www.wideopenspaces.com

They are not invulnerable, its more about your state of mind and capability. There are no guarantees with anything, handgun, shotgun, rifle, or spray.

Best is not to get sucked into believing things are safe and always stay alert. Remove yourself from fresh bear sign and don't push bad situations. Personally I would rather have a shotgun, I am not too shy to say Id be "spitting" myself.

 

[remingtonman]

Wait, thought we were talking about a bear fight?

Correct, never bring a knife to a gun fight with a bear swinging at ya

 

[XSIVSPD]

Correct, never bring a knife to a gun fight with a bear swinging at ya

If a bear is involved its always a "gun" fight

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

The way this discussion has (d)evolved I'm surprised the TT-33 hasn't come up. An 85-grain fmj bullet at 1500 fps that penetrates like crazy just might be the bear's pajamas.

 

[XSIVSPD]

The way this discussion has (d)evolved I'm surprised the TT-33 hasn't come up. An 85-grain fmj bullet at 1500 fps that penetrates like crazy just might be the bear's pajamas.

I'd rather a gsh-18 loaded with 7n31

But yeah, a 762 tok wouldn't be the worst option

 

[Wedgy]

Just for reference on what you are up against, my GF is a vet and this is a bear she works on from time to time. I wouldn't want to meet an angry one. We came very close trying to recover an elk in Wyoming....scary.

 

[sea2summit]

Just for reference on what you are up against, my GF is a vet and this is a bear she works on from time to time. I wouldn't want to meet an angry one. We came very close trying to recover an elk in Wyoming....scary.

That's a healthy bear, but there's much bigger bears out there. The big ones scare me the most, you always seem to only see tracks of the big bears.

 

[DB404]

It seems like quite a few responders on this now weary to read through thread have a simplistic problem analysis-solution set. That being, big bear attacks = big gun to stop. Wrong definition leads to wrong answer. An adrenalined up bear (even a small one) shot anywhere except the brain pan, the spine, or the shoulder or hip joints will have the capacity to keep slapping you around, or chewing on you until it bleeds out enough to stop functioning. Anywhere from a minute to five minutes (depending on a number of factors, some of them being the places the bear was hit, the number of hits, the size of the bear, how much fat its carrying, the type of terrain it's in - there's a big difference between a mountain grizzly charging across 25 yards of alpine meadow and a brownie charging through 25 yards of alders, etc) which is easily enough time to get killed or badly mauled. Newtonian physics being what they are, any sidearm capable of knocking a charging bear on its *** will also knock the shooter on their ***. There is no argument that larger calibers make wider holes. Going from a .357" diameter puncture to a .500" one adds a bit less than a whopping 9/64ths of an inch to the diameter of the hole (+0.143"). Get out your measuring tape and take a hard look at the additional wound channel created by going from the .357 to .500. It's also a given that heavier projectiles driven at adequate velocities thump harder than lighter ones at the same velocity. What's not a given is that the wider, heavier projectile will stop a charging bear any quicker than a thinner, lighter one will, even though it is theoretically capable of transferring greater energy to the bear (setting aside meplats, crush factors, temporary vs permanent wound channels, etc). Why? If that projectile doesn't hit any of the right places to instantly stop the bear, all that power is not going to be helpful, quickly enough. Here's what I was taught: when a charge happens, you want to aim at the end of the bears nose. If you hit it, the bullet likely traverses up the thin nasal passages to enter the brain. If you're a bit high you hit the cranial vault; if you're higher still you may hit the spine; if you miss to either side you may hit a shoulder joint; if low, you may hit the heart (which isn't helpful short term). Again, it's not about raw power. It's totally about precisely applied adequate power. It seems to me that there may be a positive correlation between a person's ideas about what caliber and power of a sidearm they need for bear protection and their fear of the event.

So if the original poster hasn't keeled over from exhaustion reading all the posts, yes, your .357 will work if you hit the right spot. Use a hardcast LBT LFN slug or Keith style SWC driven around 1250 fps. Practice, practice. They're not bullet proof and have been killed with .22s, 9mms, 40 S&Ws, 10mms, etc. Enjoy your hunt!

All the best,
Dave

 

[remingtonman]

Just for reference on what you are up against, my GF is a vet and this is a bear she works on from time to time. I wouldn't want to meet an angry one. We came very close trying to recover an elk in Wyoming....scary.

I'd be scared to be around that bear. Call me a sissy but true

 

[sea2summit]

Just got posted in a home town forum on another site, supposedly just happened. That could have gone to the ground real quick...potential victim doesn't look like they ever even knew.

 

[Scooter 45ACP]

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.

Model 357 S&W in 41MAG. Light and effective

 

[papa bearjd]

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.

Personally, I sort a like the S&W .460 Mag. with 5" Bbl. A little heavy but allows for use of 3 different rounds. Weight not bad when carried in a chest holster.

 

[Stiltsville]

That 460 is TWICE as heavy as a 329. The 329 can also use 3 different rounds.