Which concealed carry piece in bear country?

[Sneakypete]

A couple yrs ago a sheriff took out a grizzly with his .40 s&w . It was when the guy let all his animals go because he couldn't care for them, then he killed himself. Either way if I was in bear country I would have my fortay with 200 grain flat nose and pray I hit something vital or at least hit him in his knee

 

[Sneakypete]

Raised in black bear country, never shot one..never had to...NORMALLY when they see you they take off....but that doesn't mean don't think about the one will run at you for what ever reason it has.
The sound of a gunshot would more than likely scare it away UNLESS you happened right up on it and startled it so quick it couldn't get away in another direction or a mama bear with cubs. then you could have a major prob.
Try noise first...an injured animal is even more dangerous.
That being said and with all the wise guy answers you got.I'll end my comment with this.
Your chances in the woods of being bitten by a poisonous snake are remote as well, but it doesn't keep me from having a snake bite kit in my bag, ergo you will likely also find a a heavy duty handgun somewhere close by....and not just for bears....ever seen the cuts a wild hog can put in you, or the possibility a rabid animal encounter or ..the worst of all the just plain dang mean two legged animal.
Chances are not high for any of those to occur NORMALLY, but they DO OCCUR OCCASIONALLY...only an fool doesn't consider the possibility.

When one wants peace,one must prepare for war!

 

[Radar363]

I've only seen black bear a couple of times in N GA & then not close enough to get nervous.
My neighbor in PA went up to Canada somewhere to hunt bear with a 454 Cassull but never got a shot.
I'd feel safe carrying my S&W M&P, swapping the 40 with the .357 Sig barrel.
Honestly, I'd be more worried about someone breaking into my car parked at the trailhead than a bear attack.

 

[CliffB]

Last week my girlfriend took me up to Amicalola State Park to hike to the Len Foote Hike Inn. Not a quarter mile down the trail, where it forks at, was a juvenile black bear just hanging out. He was sitting in the middle of the trail just messing around with a tree. Couldn't really go around him so we made a bunch of noise as we came around the corner and he took off up the mountain. We saw him again about 20 minutes later, made more noise and he took off running again. It was pretty cool, he definitely seemed more scared of us than we were of him.

If you're talking about behind the nature center then we saw the same cub at the end of last summer.

 

[Retread]

How big do Georgia bear get? Is there anything for them to eat here that will make them really big, like out west?

 

[Trout Slayer]

A trophy in GA is one over 400 pounds but I think the state record is somewhere around 575. You don't see a ton in North GA over 350 pounds from what I understand but they can easily get that big.
This is from light research on my own and discussions with a few friends that bear hunt a lot.

 

[Kornbread01]

See them occasionally, up here , they mostly run away. Have seen a couple of 450 lb+ up close. Couple of times they stop right in the road in front of you and stare. Has one sitting down in my driveway, in the rain & just looking around. One was asleep on a side trail from the road where my dog & I walk, & just lifted his head & looked at us, that was scary because I really didn't know what was fixing to happen. I started talking to Bella so she wouldn't see him, got her attention elsewhere, because I didn't need her stirring the pudding. Little bitty bears are to be strictly AVOIDED as momma stays close by for first year or so & she is a royal tempermental ***** & will maim or kill you! Problem is, for we who live here, is lots of part -timers come here to their summer homes & FEED THE DAMNED THINGS! Asking for trouble!! They get used to the human encounters with food & being close to houses & stuff, & then when they may be in an ill mood or hungry, trouble maybe?!!! Walked up on a 450 lb+ one night late in the dark carrying only a little dim lit mini-mag, to turn on my gas tank for heat. He was in the bushes about 10-15 feet away, I never saw him. My neighbors up above me had been watching him for about 30 minutes as he wandered around behind my house & up to their open yard & saw my truck pull in, then me walk across open area to my tank where they saw bear go down into bushes. They thought as they saw my little light walking over to totally dark area & thought that I went over there to shoot the damned thing!!! After I walked away ,came into house, he climbed out of bushes back up toward their house & went back up the mountain. Next day they asked me why I didn't kill him as they saw me walk right up to him..... never saw him! If that would've turned sour, I believe that my sidearm wouldn't have helped me a bit. WAY TOO CLOSE! They are fast & quick when they take a notion. Smell worse than the head in a low rent bar too! But I do carry daily for copperheads, occasional timber rattlers, rabid critters, hogs, coyotes & hopefully not a bear. Some folks turn loose real bad dogs too, who aren't too friendly. Any good EDC sidearm, heavy bullet loaded , 9mm. , .357, .40, .45 would work a lot better than that bear spray junk , as you never know when these mountain breezes will blow that stuff right back on you! Know some of these old timers up here who tried that stuff & threw it in the trash.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

I think a Glock 20 in 10mm is a good "concealable" handgun of reasonable size and weight that shoots a round powerful enough for a black bear encounter.
The fact that feral HUMANS are a far more likely threat to you is something to consider, but a 10mm semi-auto that holds 15 rounds is pretty good for self-defense too.
If you don't have a "big, powerful" handgun in your collection, I think the choice is between a 10mm pistol or a .44 magnum revolver. The 10mm is flatter and thus easier to carry, holds more than twice as many rounds, and is easier to hit the target with during rapid -fire (the DA revolver's long and heavy trigger pull is a big obstacle to accuracy).

Is a 10mm on par with a .44 magnum or .454 Casull? No, but it's nothing to sneeze at either. 180 or 200 grain bullets at 1200 or 1300 f.p.s.

And IF one day you choose to forget about bears and want just a good self-defense gun, you can get a barrel and a different recoil spring and shoot .40 S&W out of this Glock.

 

[WildBillHimself]

See them occasionally, up here , they mostly run away. Have seen a couple of 450 lb+ up close. Couple of times they stop right in the road in front of you and stare. Has one sitting down in my driveway, in the rain & just looking around. One was asleep on a side trail from the road where my dog & I walk, & just lifted his head & looked at us, that was scary because I really didn't know what was fixing to happen. I started talking to Bella so she wouldn't see him, got her attention elsewhere, because I didn't need her stirring the pudding. Little bitty bears are to be strictly AVOIDED as momma stays close by for first year or so & she is a royal tempermental ***** & will maim or kill you! Problem is, for we who live here, is lots of part -timers come here to their summer homes & FEED THE DAMNED THINGS! Asking for trouble!! They get used to the human encounters with food & being close to houses & stuff, & then when they may be in an ill mood or hungry, trouble maybe?!!! Walked up on a 450 lb+ one night late in the dark carrying only a little dim lit mini-mag, to turn on my gas tank for heat. He was in the bushes about 10-15 feet away, I never saw him. My neighbors up above me had been watching him for about 30 minutes as he wandered around behind my house & up to their open yard & saw my truck pull in, then me walk across open area to my tank where they saw bear go down into bushes. They thought as they saw my little light walking over to totally dark area & thought that I went over there to shoot the damned thing!!! After I walked away ,came into house, he climbed out of bushes back up toward their house & went back up the mountain. Next day they asked me why I didn't kill him as they saw me walk right up to him..... never saw him! If that would've turned sour, I believe that my sidearm wouldn't have helped me a bit. WAY TOO CLOSE! They are fast & quick when they take a notion. Smell worse than the head in a low rent bar too! But I do carry daily for copperheads, occasional timber rattlers, rabid critters, hogs, coyotes & hopefully not a bear. Some folks turn loose real bad dogs too, who aren't too friendly. Any good EDC sidearm, heavy bullet loaded , 9mm. , .357, .40, .45 would work a lot better than that bear spray junk , as you never know when these mountain breezes will blow that stuff right back on you! Know some of these old timers up here who tried that stuff & threw it in the trash.

Thanks for sharing that experience and the opinions of the spray. A lot of people recommend it but I have my doubts. Any animal that smells as bad as a bear does probably won't care if you spray him with a skunk. I'll carry a handgun and hope I don't need it.

 

[PopsBwell]

This one