Phil's use of the 9mm on bear reminds me of the old advertising posters for the .38 Super back in the 1930s..."will stop anything" with a 130 grain FMJ-RN bullet running 1080 fps in 1929 to 1300 fps by the mid 1930s... Penetration seems to be everything.

Interesting when one looks at the numbers...seems everyone wants the heaviest .44 or .45, anything under 300 grains being "marginal".

The sectional density of a 147 9mm is 0.166. This is the same as the following:
.357 150 grains
.40/10mm 190 grains
.410 200 grains
.429 210 grains
.452 230 grains

...most considered "light" for the caliber.

..and yet this 9mm fully penetrated the bear..

So a question...if when carrying a heavier handgun is it really all that necessary to go for the most velocity one can muster with the heaviest bullet, maybe sacrificing accurate rapid followup shots for more than necessary muzzle energy?

I am also wondering if in this instance, looking at the shot placement, that the bear was hit through the kidneys or liver...very painful and rapidly debilitating hits for sure.

And a question for Phil...although the outcome of this situation was very positive, would you rather have had the .44 Mountain Gun?

Bob

If you can not deal with reality, reality will deal with you....