Posted: 7/24/2026 8:11:27 PM EDT
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I have a fairly large black bear roaming my land. I see it on camera even during the day. I need to do a bunch of land-owner maintenance next week and need to carry something just in case. My 1911 is the only big bore pistol I own except for my .44 magnum single shot, which I think would be a really bad idea for bear. I found some Underwood hard cast +p rounds for my 1911 that claim to be good enough to penetrate a bears heavy bones and fur and get to vitals. Any thoughts? Currently carrying a Mossburg 18" pump action shotgun with 8 12 ga slugs, but it limits my ability to do much work. |
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I don’t know what you mean by fairly large, but you’ll be fine with those bullets in the 1911. Just making noise and letting him know you’re in the area should be enough to run him off. They’re usually pretty skittish unless they live in areas that they raid trash and food from humans and are used to being around people. |
| Yelling and making noise almost always works, I'd hate to have to shoot one and deal with the investigation afterwards. I've hiked all over the tri-state area, primarily with a S&W 642 with 158gr Keith style bullets, and never worried about black bear. Any decent defensive .45 round should work fine on them, a non HP should ensure penetration. Whatever you get just ensure it's reliable in your particular gun, some 1911s can be finicky about .45 SWC and similar. |
| You'd be the second person ever killed in NC by a black bear so I'd say you're pretty safe regardless of what you carry. Honestly as long as it isn't a thin jacketed hollow point it would probably work fine. In AK I always figured my 229 in 40 would do in a pinch. |
BikerNut:
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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: You'd be the second person ever killed in NC by a black bear so I'd say you're pretty safe regardless of what you carry. Honestly as long as it isn't a thin jacketed hollow point it would probably work fine. In AK I always figured my 229 in 40 would do in a pinch. All my handguns are .22 or 9mm...I think any of them would just piss him off. I'm also concerned that he's so active during the day. We're in an extreme drought, no berries are ripening, so I think he's hungry. Don't want to be a meal. |
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Originally Posted By DoctorCAD: All my handguns are .22 or 9mm...I think any of them would just piss him off. I'm also concerned that he's so active during the day. We're in an extreme drought, no berries are ripening, so I think he's hungry. Don't want to be a meal. Originally Posted By DoctorCAD: Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: You'd be the second person ever killed in NC by a black bear so I'd say you're pretty safe regardless of what you carry. Honestly as long as it isn't a thin jacketed hollow point it would probably work fine. In AK I always figured my 229 in 40 would do in a pinch. All my handguns are .22 or 9mm...I think any of them would just piss him off. I'm also concerned that he's so active during the day. We're in an extreme drought, no berries are ripening, so I think he's hungry. Don't want to be a meal. I know for a fact 38 Super will kill a black bear. Bet 9mm would too. I wish I had the money time and resources to test stuff out. Something like this https://underwoodammo.com/9mm-luger-p-115-grain-xtreme-penetrator/ |
BikerNut:
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
Normal people like motorcycles. Real people like motorcycles.
People who don't like motorcycles are just... weird.
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