I am not a hunter, so guys here know about handguns and bullet calibers. If you were in the wild like Alaska and got attacked by an angry female grizzly bear and only had a Colt .38 6 shot revolver, would that have enough stopping power to get away from the bear? Or would any handgun like a .45 be useless against a bear? What would be the minimal rifle caliber round that would have the best stopping power, a shotgun or similar.
So far, my research hasn’t been too successful finding out. I have no intention looking for bears to challenge them. Some dude told me his .22 magnum pistol could be useful if you got lucky with a direct eye contact shot. Who knows about that one.
Thanks for your response and if there are hunter’s links, maybe that would be the place to ask.
Sorry, please disregard this question. I finally got a link to Alaska bear hunting The newer .500 S&W Magnum 5 shot revolver was designed for big game hunting, bears, etc. So obviously a . 38 would be useless aginst a bear attack
I wouldn’t know where to find proof to verify a statement of fact, so I’ll simply say that I’d be absolutely-FUCKING-astounded if a .38 Special stopped a bear.
If I was going out in the Alaskan wildnerness, “minimal caliber” wouldn’t be in my vocabulary. Four words: .375Holland&Holland.
The solution is to tolerate both kinds of threads if their subject matter is thoughtful, informed and well-constructed. Smite the ignorant posters with righteous fury.
Your thread topic is not thoughtful, nor informed or well constructed. The technique forums are not the place for idle “what if?” questions.
Now to paradoxically answer your question, assuming I recall correctly, a .45 is the minimum sized handgun that will reliably penetrate a brown bear’s skull. I know for a fact that you are already fucked if you’re having to use a handgun at close range with an angry grizzly bear.
A .308 rifle round from a distance would be the logical choice for senselessly killing North America’s biggest predator.
Your thread topic is not thoughtful, nor informed or well constructed. The technique forums are not the place for idle “what if?” questions.
Now to paradoxically answer your question, assuming I recall correctly, a .45 is the minimum sized handgun that will reliably penetrate a brown bear’s skull. I know for a fact that you are already fucked if you’re having to use a handgun at close range with an angry grizzly bear.
A .308 rifle round from a distance would be the logical choice for senselessly killing North America’s biggest predator.[/quote]
Thanks anyway, but you can dump this post. I found the Alaska bear hunting sites for hunters who use the high caliber handguns designed for this and the special ammo needed to stop a bear. Some hunters carry the S&W .500 revolver 5 shot as a backup in addition to their rifle
[quote=Robstafarian;2210044]I wouldn’t know where to find proof to verify a statement of fact, so I’ll simply say that I’d be absolutely-FUCKING-astounded if a .38 Special stopped a bear.
If I was going out in the Alaskan wildnerness, “minimal caliber” wouldn’t be in my vocabulary. Four words: .375Holland&Holland.[/quote]
Rob, since you seem interested in this thread, here is cool link about
Handgun Hunting The Alaskan Brown Bear at the bottom of the page
There is a photo one one hunter holding his piece and the unlucky bear.
The reason I posted this was I have a friend who is retired and he and his runnin’ partners go to Alaska once a year to fish and take pictures. Since the bears are also catching salmon I think, people get quite close to watch the bears. But on one trip one of the large bears locked eyes with one of the guys and put the fear of God into him, so they started heading in the opposite direction. The bear stood up but luckily made the decision to stay put. But the fishermen are just that, not armed bear hunters. Anyway, it got me thinking, if you only had one handgun, what caliber would stop a chasing bear.
Anything is possible if youre’ lucky. Grizzlies have been killed by knives. http://outdoornewsdaily.com/index.php/archives/546
Just don’t expect to come out unscathed. Carrying a .38 as possible defense in bear country is foolish. Commonsense and a good bear spray probably would work better. Remember save the last bullet for your self
[quote=Joe Doggs;2210840]Anything is possible if youre’ lucky. Grizzlies have been killed by knives. http://outdoornewsdaily.com/index.php/archives/546
Just don’t expect to come out unscathed. Carrying a .38 as possible defense in bear country is foolish. Commonsense and a good bear spray probably would work better. Remember save the last bullet for your self[/quote]
Hehe, right. I have heard of bear sprays, is that like pepper spray on steroids?
I got educated real fast about the type of handguns and bullets it takes to stop a cranky bear on a bad day. I read an article somewhere that a guy took his daughter on her first bear hunt and she pumped about 12 rifle shots into him before he dropped and they thought they had enough firepower then as beginners. After that they bought new hardware and bigger caliber loads.