Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Bear protection

The title of the thread is bear defense, not handgun hunting. Much respect on your handgun kills. But I bet if you needed to stop an aggressive bear at 20 feet you'd be reaching for the .338....

When I moved to Alaska in the mid 90's the first thing I did was buy a Colt Anaconda. I hauled that bastard everywhere with me because I was certain there were bears behind every tree just waiting to eat me. Two years later I realized that bears were a non issue and quit toting that thing around and sold it. If you are hunting by yourself in an area where bears are prevalent I would think about having a capable sidearm but when hunting with others I just see it as unnecessary and just one more thing to carry. I've had eye opening close encounters with bears all over Alaska, and IME using your head and paying attention to your surroundings always worked for me.

When I moved to Alaska in the mid 90's the first thing I did was buy a Colt Anaconda. I hauled that bastard everywhere with me because I was certain there were bears behind every tree just waiting to eat me. Two years later I realized that bears were a non issue and quit toting that thing around and sold it. If you are hunting by yourself in an area where bears are prevalent I would think about having a capable sidearm but when hunting with others I just see it as unnecessary and just one more thing to carry. I've had eye opening close encounters with bears all over Alaska, and IME using your head and paying attention to your surroundings always worked for me.

When I moved to Alaska in the mid 90's the first thing I did was buy a Colt Anaconda. I hauled that bastard everywhere with me because I was certain there were bears behind every tree just waiting to eat me. Two years later I realized that bears were a non issue and quit toting that thing around and sold it. If you are hunting by yourself in an area where bears are prevalent I would think about having a capable sidearm but when hunting with others I just see it as unnecessary and just one more thing to carry. I've had eye opening close encounters with bears all over Alaska, and IME using your head and paying attention to your surroundings always worked for me.

If you do bring a sidearm don't let it lull you into a false sense of security. Always bring your rifle with you (even if it's a 6.5 wiz bang). Lots of people get tempted to leave the rifle in camp because they have a handgun, especially when packing meat. I'd way rather have a .243 than the biggest handgun they make. Anybody wanna do the math for me?

In the past 33 years of living and guiding on the Alaska peninsula from our families homestead I have never had to kill a bear in defense of live or property. DLP as the state refers to it.
Two days ago I was guiding a married couple and we bumped into a bear at close range on our way to the fishing stream. We yelled and it ran but circled around and then charged. The couple were 10 or 12 feet behind me and the bear came out of the brush so close it was within 3 feet of my clients before I could shoot. They both intentionally fell to the ground just before I shot the bear behind the shoulder. It immediately spun and I continued shooting, all the while keeping the position of my clients in perspective. After six quick hits the bear turned and ran 20 yards and died .

We were planning on a quick couple hours of fishing and rather than packing my normal S&W 44 Mtn gun I was packing a S&W 3953 dao auto with 147 gr Buffalo Bore 9mm ammo.

I bet if you asked Phil if he knew he would be in the same situation tomorrow he would bring a long gun.........

There's a reason myself and all the other Brown Bear guides I know pack rifles.

Im new to this site and I would appreciate a little input on my question, if y'all don't mind. I'm a former Alaska resident, but military committments moved around the country and the world before that part of life came to an end. Im planning a trip back this summer with my son and grandson, long long overdue. My oldest boy, a gunsmith made a custom .375 Ruger for starting with a 1909 Argentine Mauser action. My question, is the .375 Ruger popular in Alaska? Im going to accept on faith it will plant moose or caribou pretty cleanly out to 300 yards, but is this an above average answer for brown bear when he knows your there? Thanks

Im new to this site and I would appreciate a little input on my question, if y'all don't mind. I'm a former Alaska resident, but military committments moved around the country and the world before that part of life came to an end. Im planning a trip back this summer with my son and grandson, long long overdue. My oldest boy, a gunsmith made a custom .375 Ruger for starting with a 1909 Argentine Mauser action. My question, is the .375 Ruger popular in Alaska? Im going to accept on faith it will plant moose or caribou pretty cleanly out to 300 yards, but is this an above average answer for brown bear when he knows your there? Thanks

They bear on the left in the picture came in on me while I was working the moose kill and my rifle was out of reach. The 475 was on me in my shoulder holster.

I know exactly what this thread is about and you should not assume. If you'd ever used one of these big bore revolvers you'd know they posses the terminal performance to get the job done.

As for recommending a pistol for hunters I have always told them that a hunter who can not kill a bear with a rifle is not very likely to do any better with a handgun.