For smaller black bears I feel plenty safe with a Glock 20. With the exception of heavy revolvers like the Ruger Blackhawk or Freedom Arms the 10mm can be hand loaded to hotter than the .357 so it's plenty of gun. A factory Glock 20 weighs less than my 686 and has nearly 3x the capacity. The 686 has a 4" barrel and I'd have to get a 6" barrel for the Glock to end up with the same OAL. The only thing my .357 does that the 10mm doesnt is shoot shotshells for snakes.

If I'm in a place I need more power than than the 10mm I'll take my .454.

Well, here she is. Pictured with the 305 grain hard cast lead ammo I mentioned earlier in this thread. I also ordered the Sourdough Pancake holster, but I'm still waiting on that. Next step - take it to the range and do some shootin'

Also, just for fun I took a couple comparison pics. The fist is next to a smith 686, and the second is with my carry piece, a glock 23. I also took a pic of the .357 side by side with the .44.

Curious...

Is this an excuse to buy something...

Or a fantasy thread?

Or has a real threat been defined/identified?

I would take the Glock.

G20/29's are popular in these parts with heavy penetrating loads, but folks do upgrade when in griz country to 44's, shotguns or 45/70's.

Best to carry bear spray as the first defense since its proven most effective in deterence.

Now go shit in another thread, this isn't GD.

Wouldn't know it from your post...  


IIRC, OP is going to an area with black bears.

It's been explained repeatedly that few altercations are recorded between them and let's say hikers, but a bigger threat is walking on 2 legs.

Also, bear spray is plenty effective on black bears.

TJ has pointed out that shooting a bear may result in one pissed off bear that will eat you and your lunch.

Not to mention the grilling you'll get from the DNR folks, if you aren't eaten.


OP seems oblivious and acquired guns with fancy ammo. I may have mis-interpreted his position.

Now, if I were the OP, no way no how am I going into bear habitat without a gun. In fact our BOL is in the MIDDLE of bear country.

Here's a topic re it, and I just bumped it for the OP.

My SO has been fortunate to experience bumping into them a couple times and is still kicking. See thread for details.

We live near them a good part of the year.



Bears creating havoc at BOL


Here's three of my favorite critters... They're hanging out behind the shipping container we live in.  





So, my question still stands.


ETA...

Momma bear eating insulation on the solar water box...  




These bears will run like you set their tail on fire if you yell BOO at them.  


They RARELY come close but many months of the year they aren't far away because we can hear them calling each other a couple hundred or so yards away, and tracks are all over.

They steal and break stuff.

Sometimes it seems they wait til we leave and then come over to party.  


What bothers me is our mountain lions.

My SO has sent me pix to post of our recent lion and it looks like it's a bad assed dude, compared to others we've had the opportunity to observe up close and personal -and in pix.

They don't tear up anything, except clawing a tree here and there, and pooping where we walk.

Nasty.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America

Ban the bears its for the children :)


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Carry what you practice with and hit a pie slice shaped object at full run from 7-10 yds away. If Mr. or Mrs. Bear wants your a$$ it will come fast, low and furious and you'll need to recognize, react and put 2 shots into the brain pan quickly. Anything else will  just pi$$ it off and now you've got a pi$$ed off bear with a full head of steam and a sore paw. Not my idea of fun in either case. I agree that the best scenario is not hike/hunt alone in bear country, be aware of your surroundings, accept the fact that you are in their habitat, and that if it comes down to it you want to go home with a full scalp and not write the next "Lord Grizzly".

If you are going to shit in this thread, stay the fuck out. Not complicated.

Ruger Alaskan....454 Casull  

Interesting stats, thanks for putting the bear threat into perspective.

Looks like someone has a far more chance of being stuck by lightning.

Yet we never hear of folks mounting the best lightning rod to their hats...  

Easy Francis......
If there's a 1% chance of an encounter in your area...maybe a hand howitzer isn't what's needed. If you want it as a toy or safetynet...cool...but because folks don't give you answers. You want...doesn't mean go full "get off my lawn " with them.
You know what they say about opinions ...

Again....I've had several encounters just in my yard alone...when I hike I use commonsense with my food location etc...I'm more worried about yotes and 2 legged critters ...so a g17 fits my needs.
If you want a 454 redhawk slinging 300+ gr cast rounds....all the power ta ya...that'sexrea weight your humping...not me...:p..




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I do like the bear on the propane tank pic.  Maybe he wants to be warm for winter?



A gun is a tool to have in the toolbox.



Different folks look at similar problems from their own life view and answers come from that.



One thing about the 44 mag is it does tend to be at the bottom of the bear gun lists from what I recall reading.  The glock 20 was around back when I was reading up on those lists a bit but it was a bit new and factory max 10mm ammo was not what it is today, doubletap was just getting started back then.



Anyway, learn how to store your food and how to do things to provide maximum safety around camp and while out hiking in the woods.  As any people in here have said and many people in the woods prove every year, not a whole lot of folks get to deal with a bear to a level where they are forced to defend themselves.



I think I already mentioned that one of my big concerns would be dealing with a black bear from the smokies where some tourist has been hand feeding it and the sucker feels people are there to feed it.



A properly wild black bear should keep its distance.



A tourist trained black bear is my main fear if I were to run into a bear.



One thing that a lot of folks seem to be doing around here as their job hours get cut and their jobs get cut is spending more time in the woods a bit.  As usual they don't go deep into the woods.  Some of it is meth cooking and what not and I expect muggings should be going up on trailheads once spring arrives.  

I want to be prepared for whatever poses a threat to my safety. I don't appreciate this question being labeled a "fantasy", I don't appreciate being labeled as " oblivious ", and I don't consider a revolver with hard cast lead bullets " fancy". Statistically, you will never use a concealed weapon, so why doesnt everyone carry a .22? Or just not carry? While unlikely, if I encounter a pissed of 500lb bear, I want to be able to stop it from harming me or my wife. A big part of preparedness is about planning for the unlikely.

I don't blame you for wanting to be prepared for bears that might threaten your safety.

Here's an idea that's used by hikers all over the world in bear country.

Tie some bells to your holster to alert bears you're coming so you don't startle them.

This can be an additional force multiplier to your defensive strategies.

Decent choice.  My son carries that .44 in the sticks.  He doesn't like my Casulls

I would go with a glock 15+1 and easy to carry

Roger Alaska the short version in 454

It really depends on the type of bear you are concerned about.  

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable with anything less than a .44 magnum pistol and I would highly prefer a shotgun and Brenneke 3" Black Magic slugs..

Amen