what is your smallest caliber for a bear defense pistol.

[muskiemaster]

what is your smallest caliber for a bear defense pistol.

[jer4570]

i suggest no smaller than a 45,depending on the size.at close range pepper spray is the best overall

[Reid Jones]

if it were up to me i would be looking for the largest legal caliber. haha

[idduckhntr]

I would choose a 45 Long Colt in a old Ruger Vaqureo or Blackhawk something that can handle heavy loads like Buffalo Bore and shoot a 260 or 300 grain bullet but you would be better of with a shotgun with slugs. P.S dont trust peeper spray because some where the wind is allways going to blow in the wrong direction.

[Del in KS]

In Alaska I carried a S&W Model 629 44 mag with 8 3/8 inch barrel and felt undergunned. I went to a Model 660 Remington rifle in 350 rem mag. It is a lot of power in a small light rifle. Just sling it over the shoulder. It will kill any bear that walks.

[rocky d bashaw]

44mag or 45long colt min calibers

[shane]

Del! Again! Genius!

I think .480 Ruger is pretty much perfect for bears. Lots of horsepower, large diameter. You'll avoid the mauling from the bear, and you'll avoid the mauling that the .454C or .475L will give you.

.460 or .500 S&W would be great too, but are very expensive and require a bigger gun.

[bonnier-admin_2]

Did you know its Alaska State law that you must remove all front sights from any Magnum Handgun for Bear protection!

[bonnier-admin_2]

That front blade is hell on the hemorrhoids when that bear slaps that noise maker out of your hand and shoves it up your posterior! Nothing replaces a good rifle, even #6 bird shot in the face works great!!!

[hjohn429]

I would say 44 Mag and 480 Ruger would be my smallest choice. My biggest choice would be a BFR in 45/70.

[kolbster]

clay i want to kill the bear not make it mad, i would never use #6 bird shot, slugs maybe but not bird shot. it depends on what kind of bear you would run into, around my house where it is all black bear, i would use a good 357mag or a 12 ga with 00buck or slugs, if your talking grizleys i would want at the very least a 44mag, and if possable a good rifle.

[KingFisher907]

yeah, make sure you have that front sight filed down smooth...wont hurt so much when the bear put it where the sun dont shine...

for bear protection, youll want a short-barreled 12 gauge shotgun with the biggest slugs it can handle...

[Beekeeper]

Look at what the guides carry for bear protection. Like Del said, a short handy rifle in a thumper caliber or a short handy shotgun stuffed with all the slugs you can get into it. You won't stop a big bear bent on causing you harm with a handgun. Ask all these folks who advocate using a hand gun for bear defence if they have actually ever used said device for such a purpose and also inquire as to how it turned out...

[Happy Myles]

An old Alaskan guide told me, "if you use a pistol, better to shoot yourself then the bear".

[shane]

It does seem that every bear guide or researcher I've seen carried a rifle. Almost all bolt guns too. If it were me, I'd have a big bore lever gun. A Remington 7600 woods carbine in .35 Whelen would be nice too. I'd still like to risk it with a revolver though.