Okay, going to start this thread off by saying I have done a lot of research in this topic and know several people who have worked around grizz, brown and polar bears so I am familiar with a lot of the arguments when it comes to bear defense guns. Going forward, this fall I will be hiking in grizzly country, my main defense is going to be bear spray because I do believe in its effectiveness and have heard several first hand accounts from people I know and trust about its effectiveness. However I'd also like to have a firearm with me that would at least stand a chance of being effective against a grizzly bear. I will not have the opportunity to purchase a true bear defense handgun between now and my planned trip. But I do have a sig p220 I shoot very well and trust it's reliability, this is currently my most powerful handgun, so here's my question, if .45acp is your only choice for bear defense, what do you put in it? I also have a mossberg 590a1 police set up, 18.5 in barrel 5+1 capacity and ghost ring sights I can load that with slugs and carry that but it's a heavy beast to hike around with...
Or these. Same idea. https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=381 Or borrow a .44mag revolver to bring with you. I wouldn’t go out with less but I’m a big sissy.
Haha that's the thing, I'm about to be on a road trip that will have me going through some awesome places to explore (that also have grizzlies). At the end of the trip, a buddy has a ruger redhawk .44 he got from a family member that passed away, he doesn't shoot much and asked if I'd be interested in a free redhawk, I was like I didn't even know that was a question! But there is no legal way for me get that firearm before I travel through grizzly country, so the sig p220 it is. Gonna check out both of those loadings, I see the buffalo bore revolver loads at sportsmans warehouse, wish they stocked the semi auto calibers as well!
Pay for the shipping and transfer fees and take that trip with the RH. I have the 5.5” RH in 44mag and I love it. It’s heavy but would be worth it’s weight in gold if I ever needed it.
Use what you got. Here's a couple good articles. http://www.marksmanshipmatters.com/dangerous-predators-stopped-with-handguns/ https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/de...s-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz5RJqfBQAX
My 2 cents, Use what you shoot the best and are comfortable with. Penetration is the key and you will have very little reaction time more than likely. Big calibers are nice, but you have to hit the thing first. I dont think it make sense to carry something you’ve hardly shot and never really practiced with. Depending on where you’re going, sling that 590 and take it. Bear spray is your best bet though. Steel cast bullets though definitely. Try to get the load with the most penetration.
