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No guarantees in life!
9 mm could work, 10 mm could fail, luck of the draw. 9 mm is better than nothing unless all it does is piss the bear off more. |
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9mm is overkill. I heard Davey Crockett killed him a bar with a knife when he was only three.
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I only need to outrun the slowest guy in the group so 9mm will be sufficient to slow down at least one human member of the group. LOL
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Quoted: Man you guys are dumb. Use this, it says it right on the box! https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/32167/EEFBA0A1-5796-404C-9B02-3E3405449DC1-1643195.jpg View Quote ![]() That was good. |
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In reality it doesn't really matter what gun you use... just use a gun and land some hits. But here on ARFcom if you're not slinging 10mm pills at the bruin, you might as well be swinging your purse you giant pussy.
https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97-success-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz6bIoflXR3 |
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I know from reading gun forums that advancements in technology have turned the once marginal 9mm into the equivalent of 500 nitro express. You should be good for cape buffalo.
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Quoted: In reality it doesn't really matter what gun you use... just use a gun and land some hits. But here on ARFcom if you're not slinging 10mm pills at the bruin, you might as well be swinging your purse you giant pussy. https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97-success-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz6bIoflXR3 View Quote But don't forget! if you're carrying a big bore revolver then you're mentally deficient because 6x340 grain hardcasts is moronic! ![]() *just a joke! Alaskans and MonWy(I)daho bros make strong arguments for G20's. ![]() |
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Sure, go for it OP, it's your ass that will get chewed up.
I'll stay with my 10mm thank you. |
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Quoted: Glock G17 with 19 rounds of Buffalo Bore 9mm+P+ penetrator mag dump into a charging bear? View Quote |
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Quoted: There’s a huge difference between something that’s optimal, and something that can work. View Quote And, there is a huge difference in bear sizes, too. I've encountered black bears (with cubs) on the Appalachian Trail, that were so small, that I would have felt confident winning a fight with them with a good baseball bat. On the other hand, my brother has a cabin in Homer, Alaska and frequently sends me pictures of huge brown and grizzly bears they encounter, and see in the distance, that look like they would be really hard to kill with a handgun before they messed you up good. |
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Get close to a bear and I promise you will change your caliber.
![]() Bear Climbs into Tree Stand with Hunter! |
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If its all you have its better than nothing. I definitely would prefer something with more penetration though.
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There is a credible bear attack statistic out there that I checked out a couple years ago.
9mm has dropped more bears in self defense than any other round according to it, that included everything from Kuala bears to brown bears. It would suck and you would have to work for it, but if it's all you got... |
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Bears sense of smell is what, 500x of a human?
Imagine then, dropping acid and going thru the tear gas chamber at basic. That's how a bear feels when you douse it in bear spray. Handguns are for woods lurking methbillys, spray and 12ga slugs or 45-70 if you are legit worried about a bear attack. |
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Bear have been taken with 9mm and it will suffice. Sure if an auto is on the menu I’m taking my G40 with nuclear hot hard casts. But it sets at home usually while i carry 45 Colt in the field.
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There is no handgun that's "optimal for bear imo. Dangerous game = rifle.
But, will 9x19 work, sure. I'd load 124gr FMJ or extreme penetrator's or maybe a hard cast load I trusted my life on after shooting a good bit of it. Also it working, imo just means it kills the animal, not that it stops it from eating you first. ![]() I'd want a 10mm as a minimum, ideally a G21 in .460Rowland. |
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Only if I was in a tree stand in a tree the bastard couldn't climb.
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I yell GIT at a black bear and they haul ass. I don't feel under gunned carrying my G19 in the woods. Black bears generally aren't even on my threat meter.
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Think of all the brown bears killed with flintlocks chucking a lead ball at 1,000 fps. That would take some brass ones knowing you had just one shot
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What if scenario's are worthless.
Ask yourself, would you put your life in the position of using that gun in that situation? |
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As a guy told me when he asked if I carried in the woods and (at the time) my reply was “yeah, but it’s just this little .38”, “shit, Fredman, all you gotta do is stick it in his ear and pull the trigger!!”
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Quoted: Yet if you go off actual data just about any handgun actually used is successful. Carry what you have with good ammo in it and roll on. View Quote Exactly. I wouldn’t avoid bear country if all I had was a 9mm. But nor would I leave the 10mm at home in favor of the 9mm if I had the option. If OP doesn’t have something bigger than 9mm, what he’s proposing is reasonable. |
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9 mm from a SMG. Worked on a rhino. Read that in Graham Greene's Jambo! Effendi
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Quoted: In reality it doesn't really matter what gun you use... just use a gun and land some hits. But here on ARFcom if you're not slinging 10mm pills at the bruin, you might as well be swinging your purse you giant pussy. https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/defense-against-bears-with-pistols-97-success-rate-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz6bIoflXR3 View Quote It is interesting how 10mm seems to be the magic pill for bear on arf.com. I love the 10mm. But there are more powerful rounds out there. If you’re not getting but 2-3 rounds off at a charging bear and anything after that might be contact discharges, a 10mm in an auto may not be optimal either. |
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Quoted: It is interesting how 10mm seems to be the magic pill for bear on arf.com. I love the 10mm. But there are more powerful rounds out there. If you’re not getting but 2-3 rounds off at a charging bear and anything after that might be contact discharges, a 10mm in an auto may not be optimal either. View Quote It’s about a powerful round that fits in a reasonably size semi auto. Not many people want a Desert Eagle or the like to pack around. |
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Quoted: It is interesting how 10mm seems to be the magic pill for bear on arf.com. I love the 10mm. But there are more powerful rounds out there. If you’re not getting but 2-3 rounds off at a charging bear and anything after that might be contact discharges, a 10mm in an auto may not be optimal either. View Quote Take someone who is comfortable with an auto. A 10mm Glock is probably the universal answer. A Redhawk/629 in .44 is probably a good standard. I prefer single actions myself and keep the hottest 300gr hard casts on hand I that i feel won’t blow my Colt up lol. And again. I’ve been close up with plenty of bears and don’t expect more than a few shots. |
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Quoted: Glock G17 with 19 rounds of Buffalo Bore 9mm+P+ penetrator mag dump into a charging bear? View Quote If you've ever seen a motivated bear move, you know that you won't get more than one shot, if that. |
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Quoted: Here in TX and AR, OK, and TN only black bears. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes By my logic if 10mm is enough for browns then 9mm should be enough for blacks. I'll stick to big guns in grizzly country though. |
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Lived in Alaska for four years, had 100+ encounters with bears in close quarters, and killed bears. I carried a 10mm Glock as a sidearm, but we were baiting brown bears and sitting in ground blinds 20 yards off the bait site.
Living in Colorado, I carry a 9mm. Black bears are like big dogs, demeanor wise. Shot placement matters more than anything else, amongst defensive caliber pistols. Carry something that you can shoot quickly and accurately under stress. |
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If you are expecting to get charged by a bear, why are you fucking around with a handgun at all?
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If I had my 9mm, would be bouncing all 11 off that bears noggin.
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Quoted: It's not the caliber, it's the shot placement. 1 Samuel 17: 49 https://www.dailynews.lk/sites/default/files/news/2017/11/29/z_p11-David.jpg View Quote Are those guys wearing skirts and sandals? |
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If you're looking for protection in bear country, do some searching on the old thread and online DER documentation.
Basically bear spray is 90% effective, a bell is like 70% effective (so you don't surprise obviously) and guns were 50/50. Not to say you shouldn't have that pistol as a backup. |
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Quoted: It is interesting how 10mm seems to be the magic pill for bear on arf.com. I love the 10mm. But there are more powerful rounds out there. If you’re not getting but 2-3 rounds off at a charging bear and anything after that might be contact discharges, a 10mm in an auto may not be optimal either. View Quote You will get more shots off with an auto than a revolver. |
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