Say you run into a grizzly bear in the woods...

[Byte Stryke]

Grizzly Bear Notice: In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear conflicts, the Montana Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert for bears while in the field. We advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle the bears that aren't expecting them. We also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear. It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear poop. Black bear poop is smaller and contains a lot of berry seeds and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear poop has little bells in it and smells like pepper spray.

 

[Jeddak]

Black bears will run away, a Grizzly will eat you ass, dump all the rounds you have into his head, leave one for yourself if you fail. I know alot of people say to go with the huge calibers for grizzly protection, but from what I've read you need as many chances as you can to land a head shot but enough force to make it through the skull, so medium recoil high powered rounds are preferred. so instead of the SW500 which will be hard to rapid fire accuractely, use a 357 and dump 7 rounds into its head

Never shoot the bear in the head with a pistol. Their skulls are almost an inch thick and sloped, like T-34 armor. Pistol head shots will either ricochet, or do not penetrate. Plus it is awfully hard to hit a smalish head on a rapidly charging animal. Center of Mass shots only.

Take it from the guy that spent the last 20 years in Alaska hiking all other the place. I felt most defended when I carried a 454 Casull Raging Bull with 300gr Freedom Arms flat head jacketed bullets. Buffalo Bore (IIRC) used to make a load with 100% solid bronze bullet, but I have not seen those in a while. They were the cat's meow.

12ga with Brenneke slugs is another good choice.
357 mag is better than nothing, but load it with heaviest, strongest bullet you can find. You do not want expansion, you want to break the bones.

BTW, maybe GA bears are different, but both AK brownies and black bears will attack humans, in the right situation. Never come up to a mama bear and cubs (been there, done that, was very lucky to survive), bear early in the spring, when they first wake up, and bear and its kill.

 

[Jeddak]

naa warning shots work with Grizzlies too.

Ever see those guys out salmon fishing with big ol grizzlies right next to them? They never show the fishermen hiking their fish back to the truck. Suppose any of them ever make it back to the truck?

Those fisherman are all packing 44 Mags+ (at least smart ones do). If there is abundance of fish, bear will leave people alone, if given enough space. I've seen bear snatch kings off the hook, and you just cut the line and move a few hundred yard away from the brownie.
I've also seen what a dumpster-diving "suburban" bear can do. There is a reason you will get fined in Eagle River if a bear gets hold of your trash. You either put it out when you see a garbage truck, or buy a bear-proof trash can (even those are not 100% dependable)

 

[nbarnett]

Black bears will run away, a Grizzly will eat you ass, dump all the rounds you have into his head, leave one for yourself if you fail. I know alot of people say to go with the huge calibers for grizzly protection, but from what I've read you need as many chances as you can to land a head shot but enough force to make it through the skull, so medium recoil high powered rounds are preferred. so instead of the SW500 which will be hard to rapid fire accuractely, use a 357 and dump 7 rounds into its head

lol, leave one for yourself...

 

[Laxguy59]

Never shoot the bear in the head with a pistol. Their skulls are almost an inch thick. Center of Mass shots only.
Take it from the guy that spent 20 years in Alaska hiking all other the place. I felt most defended when I carried a 454 Casull Raging Bull with 300gr Freedom Arms flat head jacketed bullets. Buffalo Bore (IIRC) used to make a load with 100% solid bronze bullet, but I have not seen those in a while. They were the cat's meow.

12ga with Brenneke slugs is another good choice.
357 mag is better than nothing, but load it with heaviest, strongest bullet you can find. You do not want expansion, you want to break the bones.

BTW, maybe GA bears are different, but both AK brownies and black bears will attack humans, in the right situation. Never come up to a mama bear and cubs (been there, done that, was very lucky to survive), bear early in the spring, when they first wake up, and bear and its kill.

It may suprise you, but I've seen xray's of 44mag hollow points that mushroomed on a human skull but never penetrated. I think killingbears is about penetration on the CNS not tissue damage, so I think a highspeed hardball might be the way to go.

 

[strider12]

I believe the Danish army patrols Greenland. They carry Glock 20s for any bear encounters.

 

[Jeddak]

High speed and mass. That's what will punch thru the bones.
BB load was 325 gr of solid bronze goodness. If I were still in AK, I would be handloading that combo.

 

[Laxguy59]

Interesting article by chuckhawks
http://www.chuckhawks.com/firearms_defense_bears.htm

The ideal bear defense gun needs to be 100% reliable, shoot accurately out to at least 50 yards (protection from bears does not involve long range shooting) and be capable of a fast repeat shot with loads that have adequate stopping power. Adequate stopping power requires that the projectile have sufficient caliber (cross sectional area), penetration and deliver sufficient energy to get the job done. It is ideal if the bullet is of the controlled expansion type to maximize shock and tissue destruction, but it must not break-up on heavy bones.

He stresses the importance of sectional density

The SD of a 180 grain .357 Magnum bullet is .202, the SD of a 250 grain .44 Magnum bullet is .194, the SD of a 260 grain .454 Magnum bullet is .182 and the SD of a 325 grain .475 bullet is .206.

And focus on CNS

If you must rely on a handgun for bear protection, go with a magnum revolver with at least a 4" barrel. (Ballistically, a 6" barrel is better.) Preferably, this magnum revolver will be .44 or larger caliber shooting a heavy, deep penetrating bullet and you should aim for the central nervous system (usually the brain). This will work, but you have to be able to hit the central nervous system 100% of the time under stress, which not many people can do. If you are not an experienced handgunner and/or are not willing to practice regularly with your bear gun, I suggest that you forego choosing a handgun.

 

[rvtec88]

All you really need is a brand new pair of tennis shoes, Everyone knows that when you got on new tennis shoes you can out run anything! I remember when I was a kid and got a new pair, I was the fastest MoFo on the playground and nothing could touch me! Oh yea, ya might want to carry a Marlin Model 1895G 45/70 "Guide Gun" just for luck!!

 

[Jeddak]

I see his point, but...
There is no .454 magnum handgun caliber...
260 grain is a light load for 44 Magnum, it can handle 300 grains.
475 is a rifle caliber, so you are talking big difference in velocity, compare to handgun.
CNS shot are great, but not in the self defense situations. I cannot remember any cases off the top of my head where a charging bear was shot in the head. Even though ADN is a liberal rag, they would still print the pictures of bear encounters. Do not remember seeing one. Does not mean there was not one.
A charging moose was killed just down the road from my house in Kincaid Park. Several shot from 44 magnum to COM. Unprovoked attack on a ski-jorner.