Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .38 special for bear?

OK, you are laughing already, I know. Here is the question. All I have for handguns are a .22lr, and a snub nosed .38. Since it's all I have, I would like to carry it for any problems I might have with bears or cats while backpacking/scouting. So, If you HAD to pick a factory load for this, what would it be?

Trade for at least a 4 inch 357 mag.

Do you own a rifle? The only reason to use a handgun is if there isn't a rifle around, but if you have a rifle then one is around.

I'm sure it will penetrate with hard cast loads, but it ain't what I'd want. It's your ass, so I'm not about to say no.

Load the 38 SPL to max with Hard Cast Bullets and shoot straight . The 38 is better than nothing and if you don't make it then you when down fighting. You might just be better off buying some pepper spray.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=452535

Evidently you don't reload, but if you did, you could better this ammo considerably by using the same components with a more powerful powder charge. I don't know of any +P or +P+ loadings with solid bullets. The FMJ here should help with penetration, which is what you will need if attacked, even by a smallish Black Bear, which is what my assumption is you are talking about.

I have chronographed Buffalo Bore .38 Special +P 158 grain GCHP at the exact same velocity as .357 Magnum Fiochi 158 grain XTP out of my 3 inch Ruger SP101. That is what I would carry. I carry the SP101 while bow hunting, but I have been stoking it with Buffalo Bore's 180 gr. .357 load after a couple of the .38s. Better plan on taking some damage in a close range encounter.

you're talking close up defense..
( I imagined some one try to HUNT bear with a snubbie .38 ! )

I guess it comes down to how many body parts your willing to sacrifice and the bear.
A cute little Black bear cub would be frightened off by the 22.

A charging grizzly might not even hear it go off!
And if a pack of Kodiaks was chewin my parts off,
I'd use the last 38......to my temple!

You'd be best served with a hard cast 158 grain semi-wadcutter loaded as hot as possible. Still inadequate, but you won't do better. You most definitely don't want a hollow point of any sort, nor a lightweight bullet.

Jeeezz.........guns and Booze don't mix.......... But you better be REAL drunk when he gets a hold of you.
Doesn't matter what you drink...............you are drinking for effect.

Abner:

I just asked myself what Phil Shoemaker would say if I were to ask him about a .38 snubbie for bears of any size.

Who am I kidding? I would never, ever ask him.

Think you need to get a grip.

- Tom

Probably no one will agree with me, but I'd choose the one that I could shoot best. That's because the 2 inch .38's are often very hard to shoot well under stress. The hotter the load, the worse they are.
With either, you'd need to understand that you'll probably have to hit him in the eye or hope the bullet runs up or alongside the nose and reaches the brain. I've been told this can happen, but alot would depend on just what you hit and how any critter reacts to such a hit.
For a .22 LR, I'd pack CCI Velocitors and hope I won't need it. E

You'd be better served to get another gun. I would not use either of your choices for what you're asking. No doubt a hit would eventually cause the bears demise, but what good is that if the bear dies a week after you.

i ran accross a bear a number of years ago up close and personal, an arizona black bear. I had with me a hi cap 9mm.
It was good that day the bear was in a good mood.
And that experience set me off on a quest for suitable defense.
I saw a brochure a few years ago at the williams forest service office stating you were in bear country, and if approached you should rattle a tin can with pebbles in it, and stand real tall.
I kind of went with a marlin guide gun in .45/70 with 405grain hard cast slugs. And either a glock 20 loaded up to the original 1200fps 200grainers, or a .41 or .44 magnum
Having said that i have been somewhat experimenting with 200 grain and 230 grain lead bullets in .38special. But i don't think i would want to irritate a bear with them.

An acquaintance managed to take down a black bear who charged him while he was bowhunting in 2009. He got off 9 rounds with a Springfield XD .40. The bear clawed him across the stomach, and caused an infection. I don't know what ammo the guy was using, but it probably was over the counter self defense ammo.

here is that 230 grainer, food for thought
http://www.pennbullets.com/38/38-caliber.html

And be sure to file down the front sight...

I would not want to leave this world - ate by a bear and schit out on a stump.

Highly recommend the biggest handgun firepower you can tolerate and shoot with confidence.

I forgot to add that he should make sure the revolver is coated with a heavy layer of grease.

Abner, you did not mention in what State you'll be hiking and scouting. Are there Black bears and Mountain lions in your State??

As for .38 Spec. factory ammo, as others have mentioned, the 158 grains LSWC ammo would be about as good as it'll get. I would mention that you might have more possibility of encountering two legged varmints in most parts of the "lower 48," than bears and lions.

If you are scouting for hunting, I'll assume you will be using a rifle to hunt. If I were concerned about bears and lions while scouting, I'd have my hunting rifle in hand.

That's just my opinion.

L.W.

I want the video of the bear using the 38 as a suppository on you.