Handgun suggestion for bear?
Equipment
Going to Alaska caribou hunting in 2021 and need a handgun. Would like to hear suggestions on make, model, caliber, holster, etc. Thanks!
Glock 20 is the flavor of the month. Otherwise some flavor of .44. Mag.
I went with a glock 20 in 10mm for my 2021 Alaska hunt.
Bear spray and a .44 mag.
S&W .500 4" barrel Currently shooting 440 grain lead hard nose gas checks but may go to a 700 grain while actually in griz country this year. Galco leather holster works great. I carry a Springfield XDS .45 as well but just a lil bit harder to get to. Hopefully if one gets through the .500 somehow and has me on the ground I can get a few of them in him.
I would not get too crazy. Some people will buy the biggest like a 454 or 500 but try rapid shooting one and let me know how you do. You would be much better off with the 10mm or at max a .44 mag. If you do buy the Glock 20 make sure you actually try the ammo to make sure it is reliable. You may also want to take a look at the Ruger GP100 revolver in 10mm as you can load it to the max and it will not be picky with loads!
Whatever gun you buy, look at getting goo custom ammo for it -
https://www.garrettcartridges.com/44mag.html
For weight savings , I carry a Smith 329pd ( .44 mag ). Hard to beat.
10mm for semi auto 44mag for revolver
Custom ammo is a must.
Underwood ammo or double tap are good choices.
Buffalo Bores...grizz country folks use those for a reason.
My .500 is actually lighter than my partners .44 is. Granted he has a longer barrel which makes two things that I have to think would make him slower than I would be if our skills were the same.
Glock 20 10 mm with 220 gr hardcast.
I’m leaving th 14th of this month to AK and bought a Glock 20 10mm. Holds 15 and 1 in chamber. Paired it with Underwood extreme penetration ammo.
Yep, I use a Glock 20 10mm.
My son just got off admiralty island. He took a44 mag that he practiced with all summer. It performed flawlessly as they didn’t see a bear. Maybe bad weather
I would seek advice from actual guides and experienced hunters, on bears in Alaska. Men who are in that country all the time. I am sure there is a case for each action type. Good luck. I know one thing You will perform as you train.
Something like a Taurus 444 ultra light in 44 mag. Lightweight, 44 mag is easy to find and packs a good factory punch. Terrible to shoot due to being light but you won't notice that in the moment of truth and nice to carry. I carry a Ruger Bisley Blackhawk in .45 LC loaded like a 454 Casull. Its a single action which is a negative but I like it, have shot it enough to be comfortable with it and makes a great big game gun at surprising ranges off sticks.
My son just got off admiralty island. He took a44 mag that he practiced with all summer. It performed flawlessly as they didn’t see a bear. Maybe bad weather
I used to be in the G20 camp, mainly because I like Glocks and shoot them well, but I’m now thinking that 13 extra shots probably will do no good if you don’t stop the bear with the first two, maybe even the first one. I think the .475 Linebaugh would be about perfect, you can als shoot .480 Ruger loads in it, (think .38 special/.357 mag or .44 special/.44 mag). Or......maybe just the .480 Ruger loaded to maximum loads. IMO, frontal mass of the projectile is about equal to penetration.
But what do I know, the only griz I’ve ever seen was in Yellowstone. :-)
This goes for any weapon but practice is key. Many people new to Glocks point high with a them due to the webbing between your thumb and fore finger sitting higher on Glocks than many other grips. If you are on your sights obviously that fixes it but that doesn't always happen under stress.
Glock 29, 10 mm. Light ,powerful and holds 14 rounds. Make sure u use solids for ammo.
^^^ Glock 29 here also. Love that thing.
Glunt that’s interesting. My problem with the Glock is I’m always low. In the bottom half of the target.
Whatever your able to shoot accurately and rapidity is best. I have a 4 in 44 mag and it packs a punch and has much more KE than a 10 mm. However, I am able to fire much faster follow up rounds with my glock 20. A good solid like Buffalo Bore hard cast is the ticket and if you buy a G 20 with a ported bbl you'll have 15 rounds to get the job done. Which ever gun you choose spend the next year practicing drawing and firing, good luck. Oh, I forgot, get a aftermarket six in bbl.
If you go lower than a 44 mag, I suggest you file off the front blade sight. That way when the bear grabs it and shoves it up your ass it won’t hurt so bad. We had a bear with cubs hanging around the school where I coach and the principal showed me his 9mm, and that was what I told him when he showed it to me in his office. He went out and bought a 44. A lot of bear up here.
Glock 20 10mm upgraded barrel “stock barrels don’t like hard cast” and a set of trigicon sights.
Time I went to Alaska I was talking to the outfitter on the phone and asked him what caliber he recommended he asked what I had. I told him a 9mm. He told me to file the front sight off it so when the bear shoved it up my a$$ it won’t hurt so bad!
Ended up toting a .45.
Lee
This year I will be carrying my Glock 21 45 ACP with 255 grain Buffalo Bore or 255 grain Underwood ammo. (2) 13 round mags
In the past I have carried my long barrel .44 Ruger Redhawk
Linked article titled : "Update: Handgun or Pistol Against Bear Attack: 93 cases, 97% Effective"
The effectiveness of stopping a bear attack correlates much more highly with having one and using it than with caliber.
I'd leave that front sight on regardless of caliber.
Other than a Ruger 22 I use for trapping, the only guns I own are flintlocks. My bear gun is a Tulle de Chasse .62 caliber smoothbore. I shoot a .60 caliber round ball with pillow tick patching and 80 grains of fff black powder. Shot a 350 pound blackie with it and it flattened him. If I was in brown bear country, I would carry a 12 gauge with slugs. And buckshot. When I used to trap problem bear that kept coming back, that was what I used. Devastating. The problem with a handgun is that most are not good shots, especially with the heavy recoil and excitement of having a bear rushing you. I had to put down a problem bear charge from a big boar that a guy wounded with a 357 mag handgun. Thick brush and I shot him at 10 feet with a 12 gauge slug. He never moved. If I was to visit brown bear country, I would invest in a compact 12 with a sling as I am not a crack shot with a handgun.
Other than a Ruger 22 I use for trapping, the only guns I own are flintlocks. My bear gun is a Tulle de Chasse .62 caliber smoothbore. I shoot a .60 caliber round ball with pillow tick patching and 80 grains of fff black powder. Shot a 350 pound blackie with it and it flattened him. If I was in brown bear country, I would carry a 12 gauge with slugs. And buckshot. When I used to trap problem bear that kept coming back, that was what I used. Devastating. The problem with a handgun is that most are not good shots, especially with the heavy recoil and excitement of having a bear rushing you. I had to put down a problem bear charge from a big boar that a guy wounded with a 357 mag handgun. Thick brush and I shot him at 10 feet with a 12 gauge slug. He never moved. If I was to visit brown bear country, I would invest in a compact 12 with a sling as I am not a crack shot with a handgun.
Citing only anecdotal evidence (which comes down to talking with a good many Alaskan resident hunters over the years) I’ve haven’t met one who preferred anything less than a .44 mag....yet. Having survived a few run-ins with some really big grizzlies, I’ll just advise anyone to bring as much penetration and foot-pounds to the game as they can manage. I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to rationalize going minimalist, and if you ever have a one-shot situation the 2 best things to have are accuracy and knockdown power.
I’ve never fired a round at a bear, as I managed to work things out to end peacefully. I truly don’t have a huge amount of faith in ANY handgun against a crazy bear, but I still carry one. And I always adhere to one principle: the bear that’s most likely to get you is going to give you no shot or maybe one shot at very close range. Best to make it work.
Drycreek, which gun and what holster? I am think about going the other direction because my .475 is a beast to carry and I can't find a holster I like.
Not to mention it can only be safely carried with 4 rounds. We once had a near run in with a sow and 3 years and a half old cubs. That gave me pause.
My dad bought a ruger 2” 454 Cassull. He shot some 45LC and it was manageable. Then he tried some double tap 454 full power stuff. He said his wrist hurt for 2 weeks. You better make that first shot count with those big bore pistols. Or wait until he’s chewing on you!
I bought a Glock 20 and had a Lone Wolf barrel and aftermarket spring and it would jam about every other shot with 220 grain Underwood hardcast bullets. It would cycle normal target loads worth zero issues. I went back to the factory barrel and spring and it cycles both the Underwood and Buffalo Bore rounds with zero issues. I would recommend shooting whatever you buy with different ammo before heading to bear country.
My dad bought a ruger 2” 454 Cassull. He shot some 45LC and it was manageable. Then he tried some double tap 454 full power stuff. He said his wrist hurt for 2 weeks. You better make that first shot count with those big bore pistols. Or wait until he’s chewing on you!
I held a Ruger GP100 10mm at the local shop today. Nice semi small light revolver and no worries of jamming!
^....I've got a stainless GP100 in .357 and 4". It's a great carry weapon. I swapped out the front and rear sights. Ruger sent me a rear "V" sight for free and I have a fiber optic on the front.
Ruger Blackhawk 45 colt. It handles some very stiff loads very well... and is the only big bore pistol I own. It’s not ideal as a double action revolver would be better... but I shoot it well and just enjoy the gun.
JL do you conceal carry it?
Spike....no I normally do not carry it daily. I have my CPL and will of course carry when I'm hunting with it. I have a side holster and a shoulder holster. I've been trying to get a deer and hog with it the last few years. Maybe this year will be the year I'll get one or the other...or both??
Glock 20 with a comfortable holster.
I had a .454 for years BUT it took both hands to hold it to be accurate out to 10--12 yards, so I would have to drop my bow and draw the .454 and aim-----
I'm being eaten by then!
So I sold it and bought a 9mm that I can draw and shoot 1 handed very accurately out to the same 10-12 yards. It has a 15 shell capacity so at least I will go down shooting!! haha
Good luck, Robb
Another vote for Glock 20 paired with Buffalo Bores.
I would use either my .454 Casull or my .44 Mag, preferably the Casull. Chances are, if a griz comes for you it's going to be from close range. Even with a semi-auto you're only going to get off one or two shots, so I want to hit him as hard as I can.
Glock 20 -10mm all the way....
My first bear I shot, I put a bad shot on him. Arrow pass through liver shot. Could not find him that night. We got a dog on the trail the next day and he found him in less than five minutes. Dog followed him into a standing corn field. I went into the corn after them. I came through the corn rows and was 15 yards from them. The dog was barking at the bear. I dropped to one knee and shot him behind his left armpit with my .44. Knocked him over. The dog went for him and the damn thing stood up. I took careful aim at his head (at 15 yards) and squeezed of a round and missed his head, but got him in the neck. That did the trick and it was all over.
Now I tell you all of this for a reason. That bear was a black bear that only weighed 185 lbs. He went about 18 hours with a pass through liver shot, chased by a dog for a few hundred yards, shot through the lungs with a .44 magnum, and he still got up. I consider myself a pretty good marksman with most weapons and had extra practice because I had planned to kill a hog with it at Shiloh's.
No doubt if I had put the round in his brain bucket he would have been done. Easier said than done. It's one thing to practice on a range and another to employ it in an emergency situation, no matter what caliber you are using.
That being said, I would think a heavy hitter in a semi-auto.
Lawdy and Kevin Dill X 2. Twelve gauge with a rope sling versus a strap (Straps get hung up from time to time).
EDIT: A longtime friend was brown bear hunting in Alaska. His guide and him stumbled upon a moose kill. They set up about 15 yards from the kill and waited. When the bear returned to the kill, it probably circled and came in downwind. Anyhow, it was a instantaneous charge.....at 15 yards. The guide got off one shot...with a 375 to the skull. That put the bear down. The guide then apologized for shooting the bear and my friend could only laugh, knowing that his life had just been saved by the guides quick actions......then the bear got back up. Two more shots to the head and neck, and the bear was down for good. The first shot has ricocheted off of the bear skull...at under 10 yards from a .375.
And of course not a handgun, but when it's likely a kill or be killed situation there is always the trusty guide gun.....
Glock 10mm. Round capacity in glocks Is legit
I’d shoot plenty of hard cast with the Glock as I read some are finicky with the full power loads and some require heavier recoil springs to function.
Ammoland compiled decades of research on all calibers against bears. All were effective
https://www.ammoland.com/2019/03/pistols-or-handguns-used-to-defend-against-bear-attack-95-effective-63-cases/#axzz6UjV7wah5
Interesting, when living in Ak. in the early 80s, the guides I knew usually had a .44 and several bush pilots carried a .22 just base on percentage of bear contact.
Take as much gun as you can handle. You should try the big ones before you bet your life on them. I can handle a .44 nicely, but a 500 is too much for me.
I heard a story about a guy who showed up on and Alaska hunt with a .357. The guide just kind of looked at him. The hunter said "what? a .357 will stop a bear won't it?" The guide said "Sure, eventually."
Like Robert Ruark said, "Use enough gun" TMBB
A 357 mag with the right round will do the job most of the time, if it can crack engine blocks it will crack skulls, it's been documented. Penetration is everything, so, always go with a solid and hard cast would be best.
Isn't a 357 Mag larger than a 10mm?
How about taking a Ruger Alaskan with. It's pretty small, and in 480 Ruger, it will part a bears skull quite nicely.
Diameter the 10'is larger, power wise a full house 357 will run with the 10all day. If a guide in Alaska can kill a griz with a short bbl 9 mm than a 357 will certainly do the job provided the shooter does theirs.
A grizzly guide once told me whatever handgun you choose you should always remove the front sight: it wont hurt near as bad when the bear charges and sticks it up your keister.
I think Kevin has the right idea. A short large bore rifle.
Probably not practical bow Hunting the lower 48.
But for the big bears of the North they would be more practical. One guy bow hunts the other rides shotgun. Unless u hunt alone like Kevin
there’s a reason most PHs in Africa, who I would argue get charged by wounded game more regularly than we in the US do with bears, carry big bore rifles and not handguns.
I grew up on blueberry barrens. We had a huge black bear getting into our winnowing machine piles of rotten blueberries and destroying hives. My brother and I were 13 and 14 at the time and staying alone in the cabin during picking season. My father left us his 308 to scare away the bear. We woke up in the middle of the night to hives being smashed. I held a big spotlight while my brother shot that bear right between the eyes. He went berserk and by the time it was over, he shot him 3 times, I shot twice and he ran off. The next morning when the rakers showed up, we retrieved the bear. My brothers first shot richoched off his skull, never penetrated it. The rest were body shots. That explained why he was upset. I think what kept us from being mauled was that bear was pretty tipsy from eating fermented blueberries. We got yelled at for shooting the bear instead of scaring him off, but my father was grateful that some of our hives were saved. We had great childhoods raising hell on those barrens and living in the country. Now my grandkids get to enjoy it.
A neighbor by the bro's house in Montana got this a few days ago. I can't tell if they're blacks or grizz. I'd guess black, but.....
Read articles where Alaska LEOs out of necessity killing Grizz and Brown bears with the tiny 9MM and 40 S&W...
Recently watched a YouTube video of a guy penetrate testing a .45/70 rifle with hot factory loads, a 12 gauge slug, and a .500 S&W revolver... I thought no way would the .500 S&W compare... Wow, was I wrong, that, .500 S&W is bad azz.... That's a he!! of a cartridge out of a handgun...
Here's the linky:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eTw3q9H2Zs
Glock 20 with hard cast 220 ammo... that said pistols are for our peace of mind more so than the Rambo scene we all imagine of a grizzly crumbling at our feet.
A S&W 629 Mountain Gun in .44 mag. with a SA/DA trigger is what I carry. The 4" barrel makes it much lighter and easier to carry than the standard "Dirty Harry" length barrel.
Matt
I've been preaching it zbone and I hope they're listening.
500 is a fantastic and powerful cLiber, the question is , how many guys in a panic can shoot it accurately ? What about a second or third follow up if needed? If you can shoot it then heck yea, otherwise your just lugging a weight with you. I oersonally would not even want to shoot that gun on the range lol.
Personally I carry a Taurus 44mag ultralight titanium, but I leave it at home when I visit my brother in AK.
The file off the front sight joke never gets old. I hear this from the AK locals every trip. Lol.
12 gauge pump will improve your sleep. Whatever you choose, only expect to loose a round or two.
It's not that bad actually. My partner shoots a .44 and he says it's 15% more than his personal loads. It's definitely not the most comfortable thing but we are trying to kill a bad grizzly. Plenty of guys shooting 5 shots on target with 650k power factor ammo in around a second. I wonder what the power factor on those Glock 10's is?
