Yeeehaw! im going to Alaska for a week in the middle of August. Im going to spend a day at Lake Hood checking out all of the bush plane operators. Then for the next four days im going to head out to the woods to do some serious backpacking/ salmon, trout, grayling fishing. Luckily I have most of the things I will need to camp out in the woods unfourtunatly I am lacking in the "Bear Repellant" category! I do have a 12 Ga shotgun that I am brining with me but that will be staying at camp when I fish. So what I need is a decent and potent revolver to be my companion on the rivers when I fish! I looked at some .44's today and I liked them alot, albeit they were on the heavy side. Then I spotted a Taurus .41 Magnum in Titanium. It was light as hell and the shop owner said that they were almost as potent as the .44! I would like to hear your comments on the cartridge and revolver.

Living in Maine I have become pretty in tune with bear hunting.  However, in Maine we only have black bear.  A 41 mag if handloaded can approach the stopping power of a 44.  That being said I wouldn't want to have to use that on a grizzly.  

I saw a Guns & Ammo article a year or two ago about guns in bear country.  Honestly the .41 mag is ALMOST as potent.  My dad has one and usually kills 2 dear a year with it.  However, I would go with the biggest and baddest I could carry. What is an extra pound? Go with the .44, .454 or .475 if you could find one.  However, if you could rattle off 5-6 shots on a bear with the .41 you would ruin his day but it never hurts to have overkill in this situation.

A few years back my dad went up to Northern Kali for black bear and took his .44 mag.  It wasn't big enough!  He had a 400lb blacky up a tree and put all six shells right in the chest.  It knocked it out of the tree but also really pissed it off.  Breathing blood, this damn thing looked around the tree then charged my dad.  My dad dove into a bush and as the bear ran by. it bit his jacket and almost his ass! (my mom wasn't too thrilled, she had to sew it back up!)  My dad jumped back up and dropped another shell in as the bear was running away.  With this shot he broke its back and that finally stopped it but didn't kill it.  It took an 8th bullet in the head to kill it!  This same bear also killed two tracking dogs the same day.  No matter what you take, use wadcutters, hollow points don't have the penetration.  Also aim for a shoulder or leg to cripple it or for that matter, the head!

I cant believe Taurus chambered a titanium revolver for .41 mag! Trust me on this, you wont like what happens when you pull the trigger! Get yourself a big, heavy gun that you can control and find yourself some mini nukes of some sort to load it with. Hauling the 12 gauge around with you wouldnt be a bad idea either! Good luck, my boss just got back, he said the Salmon and Halibut were HUGE!

Talking about recoil the barrel is ported! The Taurus website says it reduces %80 of the muzzle climb. So that should reduce the recoil shouldnt it?

I would only use a .454 or .50AE on Bear. If you want reasonably good protection, it will probably be heavy. I would not trust the .41 magnum to protect my skin from a Bear. Just my .02

R.I.P.

- I mean... stay safe (kidding) [:)]

Tyler

JP,,,, don't do it.
There's so many reasons, that I don't know where to start.
I've used 357 for brown bear before, & every time I think "Never again" (If for no other reason - it's inhumane).You're right about the power of the 41, with the right loads it's right up there with a 44... & that's just another reason to go with 44.
If it's going to kick like a 44 mag - you may as well have the benefits of a 44 mag - which are many. The two biggest reasons are the cost of the (harder to find) 41 ammo, & the sheer number of choices you have in 44 loads - especially if you don't reload. Even if you do reload, 44 cases are twenty times more abundant, & a lot of the "serious bear pills" (Barnes, etc) are listed but mysteriously scarce in 41 (Yet plentiful in 44).
I don't mean to take anything from the 41 - it's a serious caliber. I just mean that even using "The most powerful handgun in the world" (Yeah, I know - It wasn't true then either) is a distant 2nd to using a real gun (read: Rifle) to start with.


I also agree with  tc6969, Taurus has to be nuts to make a TI 41 mag - you [u]will not[/u] like what happens when you pull the trigger on that thing! If you're a 275 pound monster made out of pure muscle - you'll just make a better platform for this little "bruise machine".  
If you're set on it, you'd better try that thing first! That "extra" weight in a Red/Blackhawk, S&W 29/629 feels realy good when the primer gets hit.
[i]About the "The most powerful handgun in the world" thing - I'd swear it seems like bears don't read, & they don't go to movies.[/i]

Doing battle with a 10 ft Brown is probably not the best place to learn about large revolvers and you don't have much time so you better get started. IMHO the heavy hardcast lead is the way to go, I shoot a 454 Casull quite a bit it is a very strong cartridge(335 grain bullet at about 1600 fps) but it takes time to become comfortable with it, if you ever really do. I think the best place to start is with a Ruger Redhawk chambered in the 45 Long Colt as it is somewhat stronger than the 44Mag and equals or exceeds the performance at much lower pressures.
I was shooting my 45LC yesterday It was quite easy to hit 1200fps with a 335 grain hard cast, recoil is quite manageable it is not hard to shoot double action rather quickly with a bit of practice and speedloaders are available. If you don't reload Buffalo Bore Bullets puts out a 325 grain hard cast lead load that hits 1300 fps.
You can find alot of information on large revolvers and cartridges on the Linebaugh custom sixguns web site and the Buffalo Bore Bullets web site.
You should start working with Large Revolvers asap as you will probably really enjoy it and you'll know when your ready to carry it as your primary weapon, It takes time to realize how strong they really are and become comfortable with them.
You may wish to carry a 12 guage with slugs(1 3/8 0unce Brenneke leave the 00 buck for someone else) until you feel your ready.
Hope you have a nice trip.   Rabon....
P.S. E mail me if you wish.

Rabon is right on.
A double-action Ruger Redhawk in .45LC (stoked) AND the 12-ga. would be peace of mind.

Don't forget to carry a BIG fishing pole, too.

Have a blast!

I was up there for a few years building power stations. Most of all the guys,some worked up there all their lives, were carrying .44 Mag. The second time I went up there, I brought my S&W 629.  I kind of figure those guys knew what they were doing.