Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Bear protection

Sorry guys...another newbie question for my upcoming Caribou hunt. Most people I have spoken to regarding back country Alaska hunts recommend carrying a sidearm of some sort for bear protection (40-mile air suggested this and in addition told me we would get laughed at if we came with bear spray). So, my latest question is: What do people here that have been on AK hunts done? If you carry a sidearm, what caliber?
thanks
Northerner.

As always something you are full competent with will be an asset.
A shiney new what-have-you will be a liability in all likely hood.
Bears do not like to be shot in the head with anything. A fully committed bear is a management problem second to none.
Once in a fit of creativity I devised a bear charge simulator that threw a clay pigeon crotch high from 30 yards at 40 mile per hour, my best guess at the stop zones and speed and urgency. Most of us could do OK with a shotgun and birdshot (not a bear load) could you break the targets reliably with a handgun...rifle...shotgun with slugs...in my simple simon simulator?
Leave the buckshot home. Two very unlikly bear situations are possible. 1 shoot a bear about to bite you and 2 shoot a bear about to bite or IS BITING a partner...see why the buckshot might kill someone? And in useage buckshot is just not a good stopper past a (very) few yards. In sheep country we keep 220 RN bear loads in the gun. Change to the sheep ammo, kill a sheep then put the bear loads back in the rifle! Keep the rifle in hand as much as possible. No good answer, No perfect answer. Just do not do anything wrong and keep that rifle in your grasp. If you are shooting a 6.5 whizz-bang this may be a problem. Sometimes the 30'06 is a pretty good rifle.

Carry the biggest sidearm you can shoot well. A strong 357 magnum with hard cast 180 or 200 gr bullets @ 1200 fps or faster is the smallest round I carry. I also carry a 480 pushing a 400 gr cast bullet 1200 fps.

But mastering a handgun takes frequent practice and then there is dealing with recoil. Recommending a handgun you can't handle would be poor advice, and I have no idea what your shooting skills are. Having spent some time at a public range, I'd say most people need to brush up on their handgun skills.

First off, do you like handguns? How often do you shoot one? Are you proficient?

I carry a handgun in addition to the rifle, not only as a get-offa-me option but also because I like killing deer with a handgun and take the time to practice with it. Over the years I've used various models but my constant has been some sort of 300+gr bullet which penetrates well at 1100-1200 fps. I find that with any more weight or recoil I either don't want to carry the thing or the recoil affects my accuracy.

If you aren't already committed to a handgun or aren't willing to become really adept with one before your trip, my best advice would be to get a rifle of sufficient power you can shoot well very quickly, with a bullet that will hold together for a full velocity impact at say, 7 yards. If you don't have such a rifle, buy one with your handgun money. If you already have the rifle, shoot up $700 in ammo before your trip on practice from snap shots at 10 yards to whatever distance you're competent to for caribou. Also, for a caribou hunt practice shooting the in wind alot.

What is that Quigley line? "Said I never had a use for one...never said I did not know how to use one."

O'Conner wrote the best way to kill a Grizzly Bear is to go sheep hunting.

Lots of folks carry a sidearm

I don't

figure the best chance for me is to keep the rifle I have with me handy and use it

I do not currently own a handgun and have very little experience with them. That being said, I am using this as a bit of an excuse to get one and become proficient with it. My plan was to do a bunch of practice to gain proficiency before my hunt. I had planned on just using my rifle, but was talked out of it by several experienced people that suggested otherwise. At any rate, seems like as good a time as any to get a handgun and practice with it.
Northerner

Do you handload? If you do a S&W 69 makes alot of sense all around.

Start with a 22rf. Then get a 357 magnum. Then get a 44, 45 or something bigger if you find the need.

If you start with too powerful of a handgun at first you'll develop a flinch and it will be very hard to get rid of. I made the mistake of starting out with a 44 mag even with a fair bit of handgun experience, and am still fighting the flinch I developed 20 years ago.

That info helps.
One auto sort of fits the need a 10MM Glock. Double action revolvers take over with a steep learning curve toward competence. I can shoot heavier guns just not as well as what I have strapped on right now...a 5 inch Redhawk 41 mag with 265gr hardcast somewhere around 1300 feet per second. Single actions are for hunting, double actions are for personal protection. You have a great advantage starting from scratch instead of bringing along Grandpaw's Colt's Dragoon !

I rarely carry a handgun because I almost always have a rifle on me.

I do put a handgun on to clean a moose or such, but only if by myself.

Wife carries a glock 20 these days. Because she doesn't hunt, no rifle, but accompanies me all the time.

I wouldn't be to worried about it. MOstly using your head and having a rifle is going to be more important than the handgun.

That being said, i suspect if one was on top of you munching, a handgun if you could reach it at that poitn, couldn't really hurt antyhing.

And when we are not hunting, we both either carry Glock 20s or a 329PD in 44mag.

But as noted, better to carry something you can handle. It took Carolyn a while to get used to full power 10mm rounds and she shoots a bit now to stay proficient. Thankfully she just made the 20 her 24/7 carry gun down here, so will be even more familiar with it.

The other thing she will be carrying at times is a 50 beowulf AR15 with 400 grain hard cast if I can get them where I want them... shorty AR.

Glock 20s are 10MM...sort of an auto 41 Special...Sometimes called a Block 20, it does hold a bunch of ammo. May may not be a good fit with average size hands. Borrow or buy a used Glock 9MM, then use that skillset when you upgrade to the Glock 20.
The advantage of revolvers is they can shoot low powered ammo for skill building working up to full power ammo for serious matters.
Auto pistols need full power ammo to function.

Unless one is truly proficient with a handgun, and that means a serious handgun, he should leave it at home. Simply pack a rifle capable of taking on bears, and keep it handy.

The muzzle blast alone from my 30-378 can probably cook a bear, and for sure he will be deaf for the rest of his life. Next time up though, I'm planning on carrying my 45-70 with 405 grain slugs. I consider myself proficient with a rifle. Mostly, I'd just get in trouble with a handgun, and it would be extra weight as well.

Depending on guide/outfitter policy, one might be weight limited. If that's the case, I'd vote for using that weight for some extra groceries.

I never carry a handgun when hunting with a RELIABLE rifle.
Spend some money to ensure your rifle feeds/functions/fires and fits reliably.

The large handguns of today can be another 5 pounds hanging on my old carcass.

When I went caribou hunting in western AK, I carried a 340 Wby because the grizz/ brownies were everywhere it seemed.

Now, out west, if in grizz country or wilderness areas, after game is down, I carry a S&W 329 44. Any heavier and I wouldn't carry it but it's not a handgun for the heaviest, hardcast loads either because of the recoil and possibly bullets walking forward in the cylinder under recoil and potentially locking it up. I haven't experienced that personally but read of it.

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The muzzle blast alone from my 30-378 can probably cook a bear, and for sure he will be deaf for the rest of his life. [quote]


ROFL sounds like McManus

Since you don't have a lot of experience with handguns why not just stick with a rifle. A rifle adequate for caribou is much more powerful than any packable handgun and would be better bear protection in most instances. You could choose your load with that strategy in mind.

If you want to become proficient with a handgun then by all means go for it but you will have to invest a fair amount of time to become skilled.

Also, I don't think there's anything wrong with bear spray as an adjunct tool to complement your firearm.

Well thats not actually true if you understand semi autos and have a bit of ability and reload... but I digress... Back off a "bear load" about 200 fps the guns will work and good enough to learn...

Glock 20 SF fits wifes and my hands a bit better than the larger frames...

Yup! The extra weight of a handgun is foolish IMO&E.