This is one more thread where the people who don't live here and, in some cases, have never even been here, are busy telling us how we're wrong. It's really pretty funny sometimes, and just silly others.
1200 lb all pissed off starving to death brown bears can't be stopped by .357's shot poorly -- there is no doubt for that. Of course, such bears essentially don't exist... The 10' male bears almost never present a threat to anyone -- it's the 300-400 lb females hanging around the edge of the feeding frenzy in the stream that are dangerous. Of course, if you can't hit it right with a .357 you still can't kill it -- but then you can't with a .458 Magnum rifle either -- if you can't hit it right.
The simple reality is, if you can hit it lethally at close range, you can kill a threatening brown bear with a .357, assuming good, solid bullets for penetration. As noted, they have been killed with even lighter firearms, like the fisherman with the 9mm. The primary issue is not the firearm -- it is the shooter.
And paying attention will go massive dimensions away from bear issues at all, which you tend to understand if you live here, and don't if you don't.
Dennis
