Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .44 mag - cast vs. jsp for black bear

Ken,
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<br>I'm wondering about the best self-defense round to carry in a 4" RH in black bear country. A non-expanding cast bullet in the 300gr range, or a 240-260 jsp? Some people say the cast will pass clear through and the bear will continue to move, with the expanding being the better stopper.
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<br>Still others have posed the question: Miss a shoulder with the cast and hit vitals or miss the vitals with the jacketed and hit bone? Which would then be the better stopper?
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<br>Any thoughts?

The "people" who say that are, or is, none other than JJHack.
<br> I've known JJ a few years now. A more knowledgeable guy on the subject, I can't recall. And a straight shooter, he speaks the truth.
<br> I've followed his posts on many subjects over the years and learned much. You can trust what he says is well grounded in experience. E

I'd go with a 240-grain, either the Keith 429421 cast or a good jacketed SP or HP, and concentrate on putting it in the right place. But unless you're a five-month-old baby in a crib in the Adirondacks, you're not very likely to need anything to defend yourself from a BLACK bear. I've worked "up close and personal" with grizzlies and brownies in Alaska, and the one time I needed protection from a brownie, only a stick of dynamite or a 120mm tank cannon would've been enough. If I'd shot that brownie with my 4-5/8-inch .44 Blackhawk, I'd've been dead since 4 August 1958.

Eremicus,
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<br>Please don't think you have to come to JJ's defense.
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<br>I understand that he's very knowledgeble on the subject. Very. And everytime I read a post by him I learn something. It's great that he takes the time to impart his wisdom at all.
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<br>But I don't have as much knowledge as he does. And with the way I go about learning things, I prefer to not to rely on just one person's point of view when forming an opnion. And short of going out and shooting an attacking black bear, or an attacking anything for that matter - again and again - I will never truly know what works best.
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<br>In this case I've queried ammo manufacturers on the subject, who volunteer that hard cast is a better way to go for a "stopper".
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<br>Bottom line is...while I'm in the wild, paying attention to the fish or just walking along taking inthe sight, I would rather be over-gunned than anybody's lunch.
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<br>Perhaps in the end I'll come to agree with JJ. But certainly not before I've heard all sides.
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Thanks Ken. Appreciate the knowing that cast or jacketed will do the trick.