Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Your carry Handgun in AK 44 Mag, 10mm, .454 Casull?

Somebody must have actually tried the old� "just shoot your buddy in the knee and then run like hell!", or perhaps even the "save the last bullet for yourself" advice� Hmmmm.

Having been there twice when bear spray was used under ideal conditions I find it humorous they still sell the stuff as serious protection. It does not work if you stumble into a bear while in wind, or a bear that really intends to be a problem.

It lets you get rid of pests and that's about it.

Try flying with it. A lot of AK is accessed by air and you cannot fly commercially with it. Small planes must be extremely careful with it...

I think I'm the odd one here - Taurus Ti short barrel in .... 41 Rem mag. 250gr hardcast (Federal.) We do carry spray when hiking and usually have two dogs about, so our bear encounters are infrequent.

I chose the little 41 because it's not so big that I'll leave it at home, and I view it as a last resort. If I do use it, it will be at close range. I think that the 2.5" ported barrel may blind and deafen a bear, doing about as much damage as the bullet.

Been carrying a .44 SBH with 320gr Backpacker rounds for years. I spend a lotta time out West, and I can honestly state it has stopped problems on 2 occasions.
Bear Spray?
Inadvertently get between a coastal brown bear and her cubs, and report back as to how well a can of spray assuaged her instinctual rage......If you're able.

RE rolling with a bear, I"ve often considered that one probably really should lanyard the handgun too for that instance.

Of the cartridges the. OP listed in the title I would choose the 454 load with the 360 grain WLN between 1300 to no more than 1400 fps.
Better yet is a 480, 475, or 500 properly loaded and accurately shot.

You chose wisely.

I agree, but actually have experience with the 329 (as opposed to Kate Upton.....but doesn't she seem friendly)

Kate recoils at your approach?

This is news to me. I have flown on Ward Air, Wings of Alaska, Loken Air, and Alaska Seaplanes never an issue with bear spray.

It cannot go inside the plane...

And how recently are you talking?

For me personally about 9 months ago. For other family members a few weeks ago.

I would not want to fly in a plane that had bear spray inside the cabin. There are a jillion other illegal substances that would not trouble me in the least.

I used to get bear spray for free from the confiscation pile at Air Taxi terminals. I can't imagine a pilot would be too happy to deal with that inside a small plane.

She does seem friendly. Not sure how useful she'd be for bear protection, but I have some really good ideas on how to test that.

Former co-worker was fishing on the Russian and somehow he managed to loose the safety clip on his bear spray he carried on his hip. Upon sitting down in his car the bear spray discharged. He was incapacitated for some time.

I wouldn't be real keen on being in a plane and having the pilot getting a whiff of that crap while in the air.

I've killed a couple of Whitetails with the 230gr Golden Saber out of one of my 1911's, and several feral hogs, too. Great expansion, but not so great Penatration. Ive never had one exit a whitetaiI or a hog. I have no problem with using them on 2 legged critters, but for an Alaskan Brown Bear, or a Kodiak, that bullet would damn sure not be my first choice, unless it was the ONLY choice I had.

If my 1911 was all I had to pack in Alaska, I'd highly reccomend the Buffalo Bore 255 grain
Hard Cast Flat Nose round at 960 fps for Penatration. Ammo is cheap compared to an ER visit IF you survive a bear attack after using Golden Sabers. JMHO

As I said in my post, I have never had to try to stop a bear, but have to try to learn from the experts- I think i have read Phil Shoemaker carries both bear spray and a handgun when fishing, and I know a couple of friends that have stopped bears with spray. Also, a couple of agencies, I think from Alaska, have tallied results on many bear attacks and have found bear spray to have worked better than guns stopping bear attacks. Most bear attacks that occur in Montana where someone tries to use a gun to stop a bear do not end well. If someone else wants to rely on a gun, any type of gun, that's fine with me. I'll carry both and use the spray as my first line of defense.
Bear spray does require some caution- My girlfriends grandson unleashed some on his brother in the back seat of my Tundra to no good results!

The problem with the spray "results" is the lack of vetting. I have read internet tales of the incredible spray turning bears at 100 yards. If you happen to be a dipschit like Herrero and do not want bears shot the level of interaction equaling "attack" is very low in spray encounters.

The times I have looked into the claims about spray effectiveness it was pretty obvious there was an agenda involved.

The two times I saw bear spray used on problem bears it did not impress me at all. It did not save the life of either bear. In a serious attack I just do not feel the spray is anything more than false confidence.

For shooing off curious bears and the ones that are not really charging I think it is marvelous stuff.

Herrero certainly has an agenda. I don't put much value in what he says. He obviously values the bears life more than peoples life. Same kind of guy that is looking for what the person "did wrong" to be worthy of being mauled.

Most people also don't pay attention to the expiration date of the spray and they don't shake it regularly. Folks in Barrow tried it a couple of times on polar bears and had no faith in it what so ever.

Curious bears tend to make me more nervous as most bears aren't, especially black bears. The ones that are too curious will come back when the spray wears off. Young grizzlies can get curious but they do pretty good keeping their space, at least the ones I've run into. Most people have a hard time taking wind and such into consideration when things get tense.

I've very hard pressed to believe spray works at 100 yards. Maybe to bother your neighbors when you are experimenting.