40 S&W for bear

When it comes to bears of any size. Bigger is better. The bigger the bullet, the higher your chances of survival. I used to live in far northern Maine. I've seen moose taken with a .22lr. I've seen blackies dropped with a .22 as well......

Smallest caliber i will carry is 9mm with some gold dots, and a lot of them. 15+rnd mags......and at least 2 spares. and that is cutting it close.

Now that's blackies, bears that run 300lbs around here MAX.

If were talking browns, grizzlies, kodiaks or the mammoth polars.......44mag min. Preferably a .454 or a .500.....1oz bonded slugs are desired as well :-D
 
OH GOODY A BEAR THREAD!!!

Something is better than nothing, but odds are that a 40 S&W will be found somewhere in the vicinity of either your carcass OR your carcass and the bear carcass.
It would be best to leave Mr. Bear and especially Mrs. Bear w/ cubs well alone. Whatever you do...don't turn your back or run.

Can we move on to zombies now?:D
 
Now that another bear thread has been started, I can ask this question.

I don't hunt or go hiking or camping. I am asking just to get some knowledge of the stopping power of come calibers.

Out of Just the following calibers, which would be the most effictive against a bear, and in which order would you list them?

45 Colt, 45 ACP, 10MM, 44 Magnum, 357 Magnum.

Thanks.

Stu
 
Oboy!!! A beer thread!!

Wait, this is a BEAR thread. :(

As far as I'm concerned, a 30/30, 30.06, 300 WinMag, .44 lever or .45 Colt lever wouldn't be enough gun for me. I'd want bigger because bears get mad when you shoot them.

If I have to shoot a bear, I want him dead.... Not mad.

I'm thinking more like L.A.W's or Claymores here... ;)

.
 
jaykellogg said:
Zombie thread.
Click to expand...
Good one!

For zombie bears I'm going to bump up to 10mm handloads. But should I go for an ultra fast 135gr or a 200gr XTP??? How much penetration does one need on a zombie bear? Does it make any difference what color the original bear was???
 
I think I'll sit this one out. Too tired of repeating myself. I ought to make up a standard post, copy it, and post in these frequent bear threads.

Yes, you CAN kill a bear with most service style handguns and sensible loads and proper placement. If I had to carry one of my curent handguns in bear country, It'd be a .357 with a stash of Remington's 165 grain hunting loads. These are structured for game shooting; aren't just a slightly heavier 158 grain load.

But if I had a M-629 with six-inch barrel, I'd carry that. Got a Safariland M-29 holster, green elk-lined, basketweave, for when I get such a gun. Used to have a M-29, but want stainless next time I go the .44 Magnum route.

A famous Alaska bear guide and his daughter carry Ruger .357's. That's for emergency sidearms of course; I'm sure they have rifles, too. He wrote that a .357 in the right place is enough and puts his life on the line with one.

BTW, the black bear used to be called Euarctos americana. Is it now classed among the Ursid bears? Bear Bio? My reference books still give the older name.

Jim Corbett once killed a sloth bear with an axe borrowed from an Indian native. The moral here is, don't shoot game to feed viilagers when you carry just five rounds of ammo for your rifle. I never understood why he'd do that. I'd take at least 20 rounds if I was out hiking the foothills of the Himalayas after man-eating cats.

Now, Corbett said that this five-round thing was the result of some superstition that he had. He also wrote that he thought that he wouldn't have a successful hunt for man-eaters until he'd killed a snake.

So, he once chucked a rock at a hymadryad! (King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah.)

The Indians thought that he was a holy man, a sadhu. He must have been, or just been granted some serious miracles. He stoned that attacking snake to death before it tagged him. It was NOT happy after the first rock he threw hit it!

That's my bear contribution this time. And I mentioned a king cobra, opening the door for this week's snake thread...:D
 
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About 11 posts up, Mulepacker talks about a .45 Colt 260 grain bullet he pushes to 1400 fps. I'd like to see the specifics on this load since the .44 magnum bullet of that weight only reaches about 1140 fps. My .45 Colt loads of 260 grain bullets don't even reach 900. 1400? Wow!
 
Texas Star said:
BTW, the black bear used to be called Euarctos americana. Is it now classed among the Ursid bears? Bear Bio? My reference books still give the older name.
Click to expand...
The American black bear is now Ursus americanus, according to most taxonomists. Apparently a few holdouts still use Euarctos.


Texas Star said:
Jim Corbett once killed a sloth bear with an axe borrowed from an Indian native. The moral here is, don't shoot game to feed viilagers when you carry just five rounds of ammo for your rifle. I never understood why he'd do that. I'd take at least 20 rounds if I was out hiking the foothills of the Himalayas after man-eating cats.
Click to expand...

It's possible Corbett was limited to five rounds by state or local laws intended to prevent insurgents or bandits from becoming armed. As I recall, William Fairbairn when with the Shanghai Police had witness holes drilled into the Colt 1908 pistol magazines used by the native police officers. The holes provided a quick visual check that the men were bringing back all of their ammo after a patrol, and not selling a few rounds here and there on the black market.
 
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Geno44 said:
About 11 posts up, Mulepacker talks about a .45 Colt 260 grain bullet he pushes to 1400 fps. I'd like to see the specifics on this load since the .44 magnum bullet of that weight only reaches about 1140 fps. My .45 Colt loads of 260 grain bullets don't even reach 900. 1400? Wow!
Click to expand...

Check the Speer 9 reloading manual there are some hot ones in there. It has some 300 trainers running 1100 fps, and that is the load I carried in my woods guns.
 
Newbie

This is my very first bear thread! I am a noob! LOL
I have been an avid hunter for over 40 years. Bear has NOT been my prey. However, i have seen first hand the bone, tissue, skeletonal destruction firearms can do. I own most all calibers in handguns and a large share of rifle cals as well. 7mm magnum would be my very 1st choice in rifle. 12ga high power slugs come next in line, then at least a 6" barreled. 357mag as a BACKUP gun or if I could only have the pistol, the S&W .500 for sure, again, 6" barrel at least.

My wifes grandad killed a black bear in his home in Ocala Florida with a 9mm. They even arrested him for it as the bear was a protected species in that area. Bear did hundreds of $$$$ damage before he killed it, it tore off the screen door came in and gave the kitchen a feasting around midnight. Not a big huge bear as this one was only near 250lbs. True story.
 
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We'll The bear subject has been done.....redone.....tri-done and over done.

Lets get to a real serious subject here.....

What is the best load for self defense against DRAGONS!?
 
I'm sorry, but the rules of bear threads state

that you must start an entirely new thread if you change species (well, changing between grizzlies and black bears is okay). And if you change to dragons, you may include absolutely no Games of Thrones spoilers!


Smithsrevenge said:
What is the best load for self defense against DRAGONS!?
Click to expand...
 
I have bears at my camp on the front door step. I hear them hooting at night looking for a mate. I can mimic there hoot and bring them within feet of my camp. I hunt bear with a 338wm but at home with bears going thru my land I have a 12ga pump handy with the 400gr whistltng slugs.
 
Visiting bear country

Wow, this thread is simply too much to resist! I've got a little trek coming up in a few weeks in bear country. I will be traveling alone. I will be packing a 629 (3-in), with 305gr "bear loads". I am 67 years old and not much of a runner. I have absolutely no interest in shooting a bear, just prefer not to be dinner. I will not be putting bells on my boots, nor practicing any bear mating calls as I trundle along.... I will be thinking of this thread, though :)
You guys made my day!
XAVMECH
 
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