Grizzly Bear Defense

[Duelist]

Interesting article:

https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/10m...mag-bear-guns/

Scratching my head, though: the lightest .44 Mag on the market shooting 240gr JHP, against heavier 10mm pistols wearing dots and shooting not as powerful ammunition, but all of it JHPs. Oddly done test.

I would pick an Alaskan, if I were doing the test, and shoot penetrator ammunition from it at about 1100 fps. Wouldn’t that improve the revolver results? Or at least reduce the whining about the bruising from abusive recoil…

Spitballing here, I guess really, b/c my only .44 launcher is a .44 Special Bisley Blackhawk, and the last time I hiked in bear country I packed a 9mm loaded with penetrator loads - because it is lighter and more compact than the Bisley.

[fatdog]

Interesting article:

https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/10m...mag-bear-guns/

Reminds me of the story of your personal journey I think you have described here...same guns, but he stopped at the 10mm Glock...

[GJM]

Scratching my head, though: the lightest .44 Mag on the market shooting 240gr JHP, against heavier 10mm pistols wearing dots and shooting not as powerful ammunition, but all of it JHPs. Oddly done test.

I would pick an Alaskan, if I were doing the test, and shoot penetrator ammunition from it at about 1100 fps. Wouldn’t that improve the revolver results? Or at least reduce the whining about the bruising from abusive recoil…

Spitballing here, I guess really, b/c my only .44 launcher is a .44 Special Bisley Blackhawk, and the last time I hiked in bear country I packed a 9mm loaded with penetrator loads - because it is lighter and more compact than the Bisley.

Certainly a heavier .44 would be more comfortable and better shooting, but the Scandium 329 is what my wife and I carried, and is the .44 that I most often observed being carried by bush pilots.

[Lost River]

Shed Hunter:

https://www.themeateater.com/conserv...ng-shed-hunter

Wolf Creek Montana. I have spent a good bit of time there. Hiking and checking the area out. Definitely bear country. In fact some of the pics I have posted here have been from Wolf Creek. Even some of some bear scat. Had one that was visiting every night, and then every dang time we left the place we were staying at. Could not leave for more than a few hours and he would be back. Never did see that guy though.

[Rex G]

Interesting article:

https://www.outdoorlife.com/guns/10m...mag-bear-guns/

Of the two, I would definitely go with 10mm. I wrecked my K/L-Frame-sized hands, especially my right hand, in the Eighties, first and worst with a 4” S&W Model 629, then with .41 Magnum Model 58 and 657 sixguns. By about 1990, I accepted that I do not have N-Frame-sized hands, or, more precisely, N-Frame-length fingers. Today, I do not know how much cash it would take, to seriously tempt me to fire even one .44 Mag cartridge, with a Model 329.

Eventually, it came to pass that “Short Frame” big-bore Glocks fit me quite well. Same with the Gen4, with no back-straps pinned onto them. I only have them in .45 ACP, for the present. I know that 10mm is controllable, because I bought an original-version G29, about twenty years ago. It was just a bit too high-volume for my hands, so, I sold it, when I learned that the Short Frames would be introduced.

I know nothing about bear defense, based upon experience, but, here in SE Texas, feral hogs will have us for breakfast. This happened in an adjacent county:

https://abc13.com/christine-rollins-...-hogs/5716849/

Edited to add: On the larger subject, I’ll bet that @Lost River makes .45 ACP that will ruin a bear’s or hog’s day.

[GJM]

On the subject of 44 versus 10mm, that is settled for my wife and I, and we would take a 10mm any day because of the capacity and our currency of training with semi auto pistols. To me the more interesting question is, nine with penetrator ammo versus 10mm with penetrator ammo.

[Clusterfrack]

On the subject of 44 versus 10mm, that is settled for my wife and I, and we would take a 10mm any day because of the capacity and our currency of training with semi auto pistols. To me the more interesting question is, nine with penetrator ammo versus 10mm with penetrator ammo.

@JCL and I are heading out soon for a week at a remote AK cabin, and had the same discussion. I'm packing my G20.4/Acro with 190gr Cutting Edge solids (1150fps). It's not that much heavier than a 9mm, and this load is very manageable. But I would feel well prepared with my standard carry gun and 115gr Lehigh XP +p+ (1300fps). Good to have options.

[Coyotesfan97]

Of the two, I would definitely go with 10mm. I wrecked my K/L-Frame-sized hands, especially my right hand, in the Eighties, first and worst with a 4” S&W Model 629, then with .41 Magnum Model 58 and 657 sixguns. By about 1990, I accepted that I do not have N-Frame-sized hands, or, more precisely, N-Frame-length fingers. Today, I do not know how much cash it would take, to seriously tempt me to fire even one .44 Mag cartridge, with a Model 329.

Eventually, it came to pass that “Short Frame” big-bore Glocks fit me quite well. Same with the Gen4, with no back-straps pinned onto them. I only have them in .45 ACP, for the present. I know that 10mm is controllable, because I bought an original-version G29, about twenty years ago. It was just a bit too high-volume for my hands, so, I sold it, when I learned that the Short Frames would be introduced.

I know nothing about bear defense, based upon experience, but, here in SE Texas, feral hogs will have us for breakfast. This happened in an adjacent county:

https://abc13.com/christine-rollins-...-hogs/5716849/

Edited to add: On the larger subject, I’ll bet that @Lost River makes .45 ACP that will ruin a bear’s or hog’s day.

The ad that pops up for me for Boars Head is darkly ironic.

[Lost River]

Of the two, I would definitely go with 10mm. I wrecked my K/L-Frame-sized hands, especially my right hand, in the Eighties, first and worst with a 4” S&W Model 629, then with .41 Magnum Model 58 and 657 sixguns. By about 1990, I accepted that I do not have N-Frame-sized hands, or, more precisely, N-Frame-length fingers. Today, I do not know how much cash it would take, to seriously tempt me to fire even one .44 Mag cartridge, with a Model 329.

Eventually, it came to pass that “Short Frame” big-bore Glocks fit me quite well. Same with the Gen4, with no back-straps pinned onto them. I only have them in .45 ACP, for the present. I know that 10mm is controllable, because I bought an original-version G29, about twenty years ago. It was just a bit too high-volume for my hands, so, I sold it, when I learned that the Short Frames would be introduced.

I know nothing about bear defense, based upon experience, but, here in SE Texas, feral hogs will have us for breakfast. This happened in an adjacent county:

https://abc13.com/christine-rollins-...-hogs/5716849/

Edited to add: On the larger subject, I’ll bet that @Lost River makes .45 ACP that will ruin a bear’s or hog’s day.

I know that the heavy +P 250s (.45 ACP) @ 925 FPS have been pretty popular with some hog hunters.

They are definitely my preferred load for woods carry. There is something new coming in that department..

[Lost River]

As far as 9mm and 10mm are concerned.

Recently I switched production over to all Poly Coat. The punch line is that in both cartridges, they are going a bit faster and hitting harder.

The 10mm is right at 1180 from a Glock 20.

The 9mm I tested with a number of guns.




The 148 grain flat points are running as follows:

Glock 19 1116
Glock 17 1125
Glock 34 1156

I cannot recall the CZ 75s #s off the top of my head, but it was right there with the G17.

The G34 made me do some thinking. It is essentially the same size as a 1911. As easy as it is to shoot well (and fast), combined with the performance of the 148+Ps, I was thinking it may not be such a bad choice for a trail gun instead of a G19/17. It is about the easiest gun ever to hit with.