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I will be backpack hunting alone this fall in an area with a good Grizzly population and after some research decided to buy a Glock 20 10mm. I am not too worried about bears and I will have a rifle. I normally do not carry a pistol and will take all bear-safe measures, like hanging food, avoiding mama bear, and carrying bear spray. As a backpack hunter, I am always looking for ways to shave weight. Adding a pistol works against that I know. However, I will sleep a little better with a pistol nearby. I looked at a 44 magnum but you start losing effectiveness with a (lightweight) short barrel, which points back to the 10mm. Also, I am very comfortable with a Glock. My dilemma is the Glock 20 10mm weighs 2#8oz and my Glock 23 40 cal weighs 2#0oz, or a half pound less. Both of these are with 14 shells. I am tempted to carry the 40 cal, save a half pound, and hope I never need it. Should I carry the 10mm canon, compromise with the 40 cal, or ditch the pistol altogether?

Buy a Smith 329.

Find an undocumented immigrant to sight it in for you with full house bear loads.

Pray you never have to use it.



Travis

Carry ten rounds in the 20, your half a pound difference should be about solved.

"Something" will be better than nothing, but the best bet is avoidance, and you seem to have planned for that.

Eat a max of 2500 calories for 4 days.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/sta...2d81e82-4838-579f-81f3-a94b14821bfe.html
The follow up on this story is that the Grizzly bear died of a gunshot after the attack.

Would a pistol have made a difference? I'm guessing things happened pretty fast. I don't typically carry my 44 when rifle hunting cause it's just plain heavy. I thought hard about picking up a Glock 29 just for backpacking but decided to stick with pepper spray and my SR40 and do my best not to surprise or invite trouble from an ill-tempered bear. Never any guarantees though.

I wouldn't lose any sleep with the .40, though not what I call bear medicine. The chances of needing it in my opinion are slim to none.

I think your on the right track, A G-20 is what I keep in the SE around black bear, and the gun I carried to Yellowstone. Compared to my 3" S&W 629 the Glock is 3/4 lb lighter, and 1" shorter.

From the 3" barrel the 44 mag only delivers around 1150 fps with 240 gr bullets compared to the 1300 fps I get with 200 gr DoubleTap ammo in the Glock. On paper I suppose the 44 is still somewhat more powerful, but not enough to justify the added weight and 10 fewer rounds.

In either case you need a lot of luck and a lot of penetration. I'm betting penetration is about the same, and the Glock gives me 16 chances to get in a lucky hit vs 6 with the 44.

Ditch the handgun. It's redundant given bear spray and a rifle.

I see no reason to carry a handgun when rifle hunting. Maybe while bow hunting, but definitely not when I already have a rifle.

OP said having a pistol will make him sleep better at night. That is good enough reason for me. I doubt the weight of the Glock will change the outcome of his hunt.

The ultimate answer would be a Smith 329 PD .44 mag.
It is light enough for the purpose but very hard to train and get proficient enough with serious loads to make it a life saver in an emergency.If you are not going to put in the time and misery required you are better served with something else.

The Glock 20 and 29 in 10mm are only relevant for this purpose with hard cast heavy bullet loads (doubletap). As stated you do not need full mags.



The topic of how many rounds the guns hold is not viable, you will be lucky to get off more than one or two rounds on a charging bear.

+1

"In 2009, Montana wildlife authorities reported that a man hunting pheasants with dogs was justified in self-defense when he shot a charging grizzly. Galen West jumped the bedded bear with three cubs at 20 feet. His third and fatal shot hit the bear between the eyes."

If I remember correctly, this guy got ran over by the bear after the fatal shot.

Ear plugs weigh less. Ifhe takes all of the normal bear precautions around camp, the chances are slim he'll ever see a bear and he'll still have his rifle. Ear plugs will allow him to sleep without jumping to every bump in the night.

I'd save the two pounds for a more comfortable sleeping set up (or whiskey), but I carry a gun for a living so it lacks the romantic charm! . I still can't wrap my brain wanting a pistol when you can have a rifle.

Hmm, he is in a 2man tent, a bear pounces on the tent, no room to swing a rifle and if he blasts off with the bear spray chances are he'll blind himself, yeah I could see where a pistol would come in handy.

Only if he's attacked in his tent by a bear, something that statistically, won't happen.

Chances you need it...almost zero. Brymoore however is incorrect. Just a couple years ago a grizzly attacked and killed campers in Soda Butte Campground, MT just outside of Yellowstone. They were all sleeping in a tent, and multiple tents were attacked. A rifle and bear spray is probably more than enough, but either would be tough to use in a tent.

I have both a Glock 20 and a 329pd. I like both, but lean toward the Glock for most uses. When weight is a premium I tend to take the 329 as it is noticeably lighter. If it matters to you, the Glock is a great general purpose handgun that is fun to shoot the 99.9% of the time you are not backpacking. The 329 is not fun to shoot at all and generally sits in the safe most of the time. If I had to pick only one it would be the Glock.

As you can see bear attacks happen, but they are few and far between.

I'm packing a 45/70 this summer, but it ain't for Montana or Texas.

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