Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska .357 good enough backup for POW bear hunt?

Blu,
Everyone has a philosphy on handguns used in Alaska. It's a big, vast state full of all sorts of folks.

Hunters, hikers, fisherman, guides, commercial fisherman, outfitters, tactical douches, mushers, gang members, Bush pilots, trappers, artists,etc.

Hell, we even have an athabascan rapper, named Samuel John! I dont know what the fk he wraps, maybe Christmas presents?

Anyhow, many of these personalities are packin handgun heat. In my bush travels, I see a lotta different types n choices.

My brother, that crazy fkn Indian, he recently snuck up on a 6 point white tail buck in the fog, by kayak. He popped that buck with his sub compact glock 9 mil. Guy is 6 ft 5 inches tall. It's kinda silly, he cant even get more n two fingers on the grip. He's got massive bear paws. I wont begrudge him on that lil glock, he loves the fkn thing!

Though he's not an Alaskan, my point is, he had it with him because it's handy.

Talk to an APD cop or ah Trooper, they'll tell yah where some Mountain view prostitutes will hide a beretta tomcat or 25 cap. Um, thats ah little too "handy" aye? Hope the cop didn't "handle" it after the search. Covid-19 would be the least of his worries.

I've carried many ah 44 magnum. Though effective, do not discount those handy trail guns like compact 357 mag or a glock 29 10 mm.

When the hiking gets hard, they'll never way yah down.

I'm a little different than most handguners, and have different needs:

Bear protection aside, winter moose are my biggest problem. Ask ANY experienced musher, they'll tell you what it's like to have 1000 lbs of grumpy dumb, come stomp the fk outta the dogs, thinking they are wolves. I can't use heavy hardcast, it could over penetrate and kill a dog. Not happening.

Swift A-frames in both the ladies 10mm and my 357 mag. If you keep the stock spring on the glock 10 mm, it'll digest light duty fmj, that won't damage small game,. The stock spring still works fine if you're not going after that hot loaded, 220 grain hard cast madness.

My handgun must do double duty as a small game getter. I don't own a rimfire. I can only afford a single handgun. I eat beaver on my moose hunts. So fmj's at lower velocity put away at least 200-300 lbs of beaver, grouse, ptarmigan and hare every year.

Running a heavy dog sled up a hill to help the dogs, can't do that with a chubby 44. An sp 101 357 or glock 29 10mm is ideal. With heavy winter parkas like the Northern Outfitters and Apocolypse design out of Fairbanks,, there is only one place for that gun: Front parka pocket.

Little guns like the sp101 and the glock 29 won't way yah down on those steep hikes.

Anyhow, I'm a buffoon of a man,

But dont discount handy compacts. Theyll do everything well. You wont notice it, till you need it.

No name-dropping here: "this guide carries this kinda bullsht".

Just speaking for myself, my experiences, and what works perfectly well for me.

I'm a new member here. I've never hunted Alaska and don't presume to know anything about hunting Alaska. Nonetheless, I've found this thread immensely interesting. Thanks for that.

I do spend a lot of time in bear country where I live, both in my truck, but mainly on foot. We have black bears, a high density of them, with some going up to 700 lbs and very occasionally more. I am a [very] amateur wildlife photographer and have had some very close encounters with black bears. I've both surprised bears and been surprised by them, two of them in the 500-600 lb range. Only one has ever been even remotely aggressive, slapping it's paws and snapping its jaws at me. Mostly, they hold their ground until I go the other way. Every once in awhile I'll meet one on a trail and it's me that has to move. I hope I never have an encounter that goes south, but that possibility exists, I guess. We did have a local lady apparently eaten by the bears that she liked to feed near her home some years ago.

When I set off on foot, I carry a Glock 20 10mm and occasionally a Glock 29 with an extended magazine and X Grip. It's usually loaded with 200 gr Hornady HPs. And I sometimes carry a .357 Magnum, either a GP100 or an 8-shot Redhawk loaded with 180gr Buffalo Bores. Either, I think, would be effective against either the kinds of bears I'd encounter, or the more dangerous poachers that sometimes roam the same woods.

Anyways, keep up the good discussion. Even though I don't live in Alaska nor have hunted there, I find this forum immensely interesting.

Just a few of my bears...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/WXMUcZ8iPmbU7gmm6

Somebody oughtta market this emphatuation with bear defense.

Maybe call it outdoor life magazine or some sht.

What counties 10Glock? We regularly duck hunt in Pamlico and Beaufort around Goose Creek Island/Bay River. I've seen them out in fields often but luckily have never had a run-in while duck hunting in the marsh. I'm not too confident a load a steel #2s is sufficient enough deterrant from a 500+lb bear. Cool pics, thanks for sharing.

What counties 10Glock? We regularly duck hunt in Pamlico and Beaufort around Goose Creek Island/Bay River. I've seen them out in fields often but luckily have never had a run-in while duck hunting in the marsh. I'm not too confident a load a steel #2s is sufficient enough deterrant from a 500+lb bear. Cool pics, thanks for sharing.

Here is a fairly recent account of a far bigger bear up close and personal.

My dad used to hunt bears a fair amount (3-5 times over a decade period) with a gentleman he became good friends with on some other hunt somewhere else.... his pal carried a single action .22. My dad always told the story of when he asked his pal why in the hell he bothered with a .22 as bear back up..... at which point his pal said the .22 was for him and not the bear if the bear got ahold of him!

My dad used to hunt bears a fair amount (3-5 times over a decade period) with a gentleman he became good friends with on some other hunt somewhere else.... his pal carried a single action .22. My dad always told the story of when he asked his pal why in the hell he bothered with a .22 as bear back up..... at which point his pal said the .22 was for him and not the bear if the bear got ahold of him!

Wow! Thats a good one!

These are usually the same people who recommend buckshot for bear defense. Or even better, alternating foster slugs with buckshot for bear defense. Classic.