Is 10mm viable for bear defense?

[Autonomous]

Most of us understand a handgun is a better than nothing weapon of last resort against a large, heavy animal.
Realistically, a person will not always have a long gun at hand in dangerous animal country. The Slædepatruljen Sirius have killed at least one polar bear with a handgun due to that very real reality.
FWIW the .30-06 is, by modern standards, relatively light against muskox and polar bear.

 

[murf205]

I am in agreement that a rifle/shotgun is better than a handgun of any kind but unless you are actually hunting with one in your hands all the time, it's doesn't work out that way. I had a 358 BLR and carried it fishing 1 time and 1 time only. To begin with I had to go back and get the thing every time I moves up or down river. Got back to the cabin and of course there was wood that needing splitting and trash to take care of. Had to check the batteries and fuel up the generator. Get the picture; there are not enough hands to wag a long gun around and do your chores. I got to know a bear at Anchor Point pretty well. Every time he showed up-I left-period. He was never aggressive but since bears cant smile and wave, I left.

 

[LCC]

The Sirius Patrol, an elite unit of the Danish Navy who patrol Polar bear territory in sub-freezing conditions on dog sleds, are issued the M19 30-06 and 10mm Glock 20, chosen for their reliability and stopping power.
Considering Sirius Patrol has more confrontation exposure to the largest bears on earth than anyone else, it is safe to assume they know exactly what they are doing.

 

[sandog]

Our biggest bears are akin to the lighter (but still very dangerous) African game.
You'd use a .338 Win mag, .375 H&H or the like. Or a short .45/70 lever.
A 12ga. stuffed with slugs is also good bear repellent.

The replies above by Mark8 and Autonomous are spot on.

Going into big bear country without a proper long gun is like all the Hollywood movies where the good guys storm a warehouse and all are armed only with handguns.
If any of the bad guys have a rifle, smg, or shotgun, the good guys are going into the fight with a severe disadvantage.

Same as in the backcountry, carry a hand gun for a last resort, but don't stray far from the gun with the real power, the long gun.

Most of my time when I wasn't active duty, I lived in SW Montana.
I had/have an interest in all types of firearms, from BP to old west cartridge guns to modern stuff.
For about 10 years I owned a G20. I felt adequately armed down in the valleys where a black bear or Cougar might be lurking.
But when I'd go up into the mountains I'd carry the 629MG.
Show me a 10mm load, any load, that will penetrate as well as a hardcast 260-300 grain .44 Mag.

I did some rather unscientific penetration tests during the decade I owned the G20.
During a visit to the desert I saw an old Toyota sedan that had been abandoned and had been the subject of much target practice.

I had the G20 and M66 with me, and for both calibers had my hand loads with the Speer TMC Silhouette bullet.
With both the 10mm and .357, the bullet weight was 180 grains.
Velocity was 1260-1275 fps. for the 2 TMC loads.
I also had some 158 gr.Federal JSP in .357 and some 175 grain Silvertips for the 10mm.

I shot the engine block with all 4 loads, fully expecting the 10mm 180 grain TMC/FMJ to sail through the engine block and go deep into the hill behind.
No, just left a smear where the bullet hit. Both .357 loads cracked and entered the side of the engine block, but did not exit the one side.
I also shot into the door and bullets only made it through if they missed the window linkage bars.

Lets just say that I was not so impressed with the 10mm after my rather unscientific results, the two .357 loads did much better.
Nothing magic about the 10mm, it is a stretched out and slightly more powerful .40 S&W.

With any handgun for potential bear use, it's gonna be a brain shot or nothing. Forget pumping half a magazine from your 10mm into the bears chest while he has you, in the minute or two it takes him to die he will have done all he can to damage you.
Getting through the bear's thick skull is the goal, and from what I've seen, there are better penetrating handgun calibers than 10mm.

 

[Autonomous]

The 175 grain 10mm Silvertip is a proven load for soft skinned creatures without mountains of muscle.
Load some heavy hardcast SWC or buy some from one of the better boutique ammo makers and you will get better penetration.

Years ago, my wife and I had a very close (<50') encounter with a mountain lion. After we got home, she told me to go buy that .44 Mag I had been pining for. Had I known then what I know now I would have bought a 1911 instead.

 

[The Kid]

For a bear defense handgun you need shot placement and penetration.

Energy is largely irrelevant for hunting handguns, almost none of them come anywhere close to even what would be considered marginal in a rifle.

Projectile shape and hardness is a more important than muzzle velocity. And shot placement trumps everything else. Like my buddy said when he told the story of killing a grizzly that was bent on eating him with his 296 Lframe. "His paws looked like frying pans and his head like a tennisball". Fortunately one shot through the head over the left eye did the deed, 250gr Keith bullet at 850fps from under 15 feet.

Shotguns generally suck for shooting bears, buckshot is terrible giving poor penetration, and all but a couple boutique slugs are soft and light for diameter which makes for more poor penetration.

If there's a good chance you'll find yourself in a situation involving a bear attack a rifle is the tool to have. Period. Even though it's inconvenient to keep it close all the time.

FWIW yes, I've shot bears with a handgun. I have also shot a charging bear with a rifle. I have skinned a bunch of bears and examined their anatomy enough to know that they are heavily muscled but light boned. I also have several close friends who have saved themselves from attacks with multiple types of firearms. In no case did anyone use some huge mega mag. In every case they stayed calm and made good shots.

All that to say, yes, when loaded with good ammo and steered correctly by you when the need arises, your 10mm is enough.

 

[wazmancom]

Until you have your first encounter with a brown bear in the wild you will not understand the sickening feeling of being under gunned with any pistol. I can see a pistol as backup to a long gun or a quick go to weapon in a tent. A pistol would not be my first weapon of choice in big bear country. But hey....that is just me!

 

[murf205]

A 454 Super RedHawk was used on this bear. Yogi he aint He was not looking for a Pic-a nic basket!