Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns .45 ACP for bear protection - what bullet?

Have a 1911 in 45 acp that I plan on taking with me hiking around Glacier National Park as just-in-case bear protection.

Am just thinking worst case scenario or as the Boy Scouts say, "Be prepared."

I will stick with large bore lever action or bolt action rifles for big bears.

I would like to see some other common calibers and their penetration to compare to the .45.

Bear incidents are the last place you want to have to worry about reliability. I like revolvers and lever action rifles.

deflate, to rely on a handgun for protection one must be able to hit with it, those that can't believe that one can. They try to force their inabilities on others

Yeah, once you get into something more dangerous than police or military work, you need to go back to cowboy guns.

Yeah, once you get into something more dangerous than police or military work, you need to go back to cowboy guns.

I hope nobody finds out I carry a .44 Special in bear country. They might think I'm suicidal.

I am a believer in bear spray. It wasn't invented when I worked in Alaska but I carry it now along with a Model 71 Winchester.

It's just my misfortune that Jeff Cooper wasn't a rancher in Montana.

Ask and Thou shalt receive:

http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gallery/hunting/2008/01/grizzly-attack-caught-camera

Wonder if that warden knows he should have just given up and died because all he had was that .357???

Wonder if that warden knows he should have just given up and died because all he had was that .357???

Here's an empty can of bear spray. Fell on a rock.



Good call on that choice of rifle. You've been a tremendous benefit to the OP's question. Hiking National Parks and the Model 71's go together like peas and carrots.


Travis

I think that's inconsistent ... I don't think you can be prepared for griz with a .45 ACP. Mutually exclusive.

Couple thoughts come to mind. First, this morning's local news featured 2 grizzly bears that have been raised in a local animal rehab center. Those things are BIG. BIG BIG BIG. Second thing, we had a local bear hunter go after a wounded black bear with a 1911 .45 ACP a couple years ago. He got 4 shots into it before it got ahold of him. It worked him over but good. That was "just" a black bear and not a particularly large one at that.

You're kidding yourself packing a 1911 for the bears. If you want to pack a 1911, do it, but focus on ammo to protect yourself against the 2 legged varmints and leave the bears to your guardian angel. You're safer KNOWING you're not protected and being maximum careful than thinking you are protected when you are not.

Tom