I have a 329pd for this but it is NOT a beginners gun. It is difficult to shoot well. In fact I may sell it and switch over to 10mm now that smith and Wesson came out with one in the M&P

You do need to practice though

https://sportingclassicsdaily.com/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97-success-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/

Here's my pocket gun in case of bears. Before it got lost in the boating accident of course.

A) There's more crime in parks/along trails than many people think.

I'm a fan of the 10MM but be aware that firing it w.o. Ear pro will damage your hearing. 45 is not nearly as bad.

B) I'm a fan of 10MM Glocks. Any new shooter is going to have to learn to deal with recoil, etc. 10MM is not a monster. I really don't think it will be any more of an issue than learning a 9, and if it's a trail carry Gun, you may as well carry one good for rabid feral dogs, black bear, pack of feral hairless primates, hogs, etc.

The 40 would be my personal choice, but a 29 is a much more livable gun.

Timothy Treadwell did not thread well enough, but I'm sure if he had a vote he would say 10MM.

I don't really have much to add to this, but my FIL bought a Ruger Redhawk 7" bbl in 44mag for a bear gun. His dream was to move to Alaska and be a Bush pilot.

His wife put a stop to all that mess, but when he passed as Roger Creager put it "I got the guns". It's a beautiful piece.

10mm is the best mm

I had a Glock 40. Didn't care for it and sold it to a guy that wanted it more than me.

Looking to pull the trigger on a M&P 10mm with a 4.6" barrel. Just need to find one.

Bigballin said:

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I had a Glock 40. Didn't care for it and sold it to a guy that wanted it more than me.

Looking to pull the trigger on a M&P 10mm with a 4.6" barrel. Just need to find one.

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For a long time I have wanted a 10mm.

Used to want a 1911 but now I think I want a Glock or Sig or S&W.

I think that I could really **** **** up with a good 10mm

agsalaska said:

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Bigballin said:

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I had a Glock 40. Didn't care for it and sold it to a guy that wanted it more than me.

Looking to pull the trigger on a M&P 10mm with a 4.6" barrel. Just need to find one.

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For a long time I have wanted a 10mm.

Used to want a 1911 but now I think I want a Glock or Sig or S&W.

I think that I could really **** **** up with a good 10mm

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This might be the best reason ever for buying a 10mm...

agsalaska said:

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Bigballin said:

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I had a Glock 40. Didn't care for it and sold it to a guy that wanted it more than me.

Looking to pull the trigger on a M&P 10mm with a 4.6" barrel. Just need to find one.

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For a long time I have wanted a 10mm.

Used to want a 1911 but now I think I want a Glock or Sig or S&W.

I think that I could really **** **** up with a good 10mm

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Shoot a Banshee 10mm. Then you'll want to make sure your pistol brand is one Banshee matches. Glock 20 and Banshee 10mm make a nice backpack combo.

Balls of steel right there.

I have a G20SF and chest rig that one of my neighbors makes similar to the Kenai. Underwood 200gr hard casts, but gonna dabble in reloading my own.

cupofjoe04 said:

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As someone who lives out west, and deals with bears on a fairly regular basis (while hunting, around town, in my yard, in my house… you know, normal stuff…) I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend bear spray. It is far more effective, especially in lightly trained hands.

If you don't have a lot of experience with a handgun, and aren't going to practice with it religiously and in high pressure situations (which the vast majority of people don't/can't) it's not going to do you a lot of good.

Spray, on the other hand, is easy and effective. Build a wall/cloud in front of you- and they stop in their tracks.

If you really really want a hand gun (which I encourage),, get one you will carry and use for your whole life. Don't just get one for western hunting. A 9mm is a great choice for a new owner, as it has manageable recoil and you can easily learn to put rounds where you want them.

I've been carrying for almost 20 years, and still carry a 9mm. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a black bear with a 9mm. If you put the rounds on target, it will be effective. If you miss with a .45, or don't put them in a lethal spot, it won't magically bring the bear down more than a 9 would.

I carry a 9mm when I am clearing the yard of troublesome bears. But it is always secondary to my bear spray. I ONLY carry bear spray when I am out hiking and hunting. Also, make sure whatever you are carrying is easily accessible. I see people with spray/guns strapped to their packs and it is worhsless weight. Even on your hip can be problematic, if you are face down or in the fetal position with a bear on your back. I carry spray strapped to the front of my chest. Doing this saved a Ranger's life a few years ago, as a grizzly had her by the back of the skull pinned down. She pulled the spray off her chest, and shot it over her shoulder. She said had it been on her hip, she pick have never been able to deploy it.

If you want a gun, get something you will shoot often, learn to shoot well, and train to shoot well under pressure. But if you want protection from bears, get bear spray.

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Also live in Colorado. What he said.

I don't carry spay, but we don't have near as many people familiar bears as they do in Joe's area. Here people familiar bears are sausage.

agsalaska said:

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Also, you say you do not own a handgun. Have you ever shot a .44 or .357 or anything like that? 10mm has a lot of felt recoil and takes a bit of practice.

A 9mm or .40 with hard cast bullets would be fine too for Colorado. Those are not giant bears.

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My wife shoots my G20 with ease and she is 5'4" 110lbs, dont be afraid of 10mm

Anyone know of, or heard of, anybody effectively discharging a handgun to fend off a charging /attacking bear (black or grizz)?

"88 Magnum. It shoots through schools"

Motracicletraficificker said:

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Anyone know of, or heard of, anybody effectively discharging a handgun to fend off a charging /attacking bear (black or grizz)?

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Yes. 2 charging Grizzlies in Alaska when he was cleaning his moose. The handgun was essentially a hand cannon that most mere mortals couldn't handle. He posted on 24hourcampfire about it with photographic evidence years ago.

OP, whichever handgun you buy, it needs to be in a holster on your belt or chest for easy access. Not on the pack somewhere you can't easily get if charged by a bear. Same for bear spray.

Also, you'll want to practice at the range drawing and firing the pistol wearing your pack loaded as it would be hiking in to your hunting area. Practice drawing the bear spray too.

Motracicletraficificker said:

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Anyone know of, or heard of, anybody effectively discharging a handgun to fend off a charging /attacking bear (black or grizz)?

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Yes but it is not common. Guns in general are not particlarly effective on grizzlies, especially for defense. Generally if someone effectively used a handgun it worked because they scared the bear off, not because they dropped it.

For reference, I lived there three years and spent 2-4 weeks a summer for another decade. I have spent a LOT of time in the woods and waters of Alaska

When I lived in Alaska it was easy to tell the tourists from the locals. The tourists would all have these fancy big revolvers or whatever in all kinds of cool holsters. The locals had bear spray.

Don't get me wrong, we carried guns. I carried a 629 that is still keep loaded in my gun safe(with 44 special). We also had a Mosin Nagant Carbine that spent many nights in camp and lived in my garage when home. Some of my buddies carried various revolvers/pistols and some didn't. But EVERYONE carried bear spray. It was much more likely to use a gun on a moose than a bear.

I would often go in the woods without a gun, but never went without bear spray.

The OP is using bears as an excuse to buy a gun. And that's great. That's why I bought my 629. And he is dealing with Colorado black bears which is totally difference. But hopefully the OP is just using it as an excuse to buy and not going to really rely on it.

Studies of bear attacks say otherwise. 97% of bear attacks defended were stopped by a handgun

https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97-success-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/

Don't get me wrong bear stray is the most effective a majority of the time, but my dad shot his bear charging at 7 paces.

I know 3 people that have been charged or attacked. 2 used guns and walked away. One used spray and had a large gash from hip to his knee and required pretty significant surgery to fix it up. I know that's just

JeremiahJohnson said:

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Studies of bear attacks say otherwise. 97% of bear attacks defended were stopped by a 9mm

https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97-success-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/

Don't get me wrong bear stray is the most effective a majority of the time, but my dad shot his bear charging at 7 paces.

I know 3 people that have been charged or attacked. 2 used guns and walked away. One used spray and had a large gash from hip to his knee and required pretty significant surgery to fix it up. I know that's just

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I am not sure what you mean by 'studies of bear attack say otherwise'. Otherwise of what? I don't see how that study contradicts anything I said.

And you may want to re read the article or what you posted. Because that article does not say what you say it said.

I posted the wrong article. I am the idiot. Don't drink and OB.

JeremiahJohnson said:

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I posted the wrong article. I am the idiot. Don't drink and OB.

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Ha. That's my favorite way to do it!!

Obligatory - just bring your daily carry gun. All you really need to do is shoot your buddy in the leg.

Funny thing is I was that guy at one point. Haha. Have a Ruger Alaskan 44 mag snub nose. with the chest rig i got for black bear country. Then realized three things. It's over kill, I will go deaf if ever shot without ear protection and it's stupid heavy when loaded for hiking.

I'm now carrying Bear Spray plus either a P365X for super long hikes or a some compact polymer 15 round 9mm for short hikes, fishing or around the house stuff.

Here's an interesting article I found a while back. The guy compiled statistics on the use of handguns for bear defense.

https://www.ammoland.com/2020/03/update-handgun-or-pistol-against-bear-attack-93-cases-97-effective/#axzz7GGbFCuYy

I live in grizzly country and always carry bear spray as my first option, but I also carry my light-weight S&W model 69 .44 magnum.