Bear

[HOMER1]

WHEN IN BEAR COUNTRY A 40 0R 357 SIG AND WHAT LOAD

[FA]

12 Gauge with slugs or rifle first choice; best worse choice G29 with Texas Ammo 200 grain XTP JHP; next worse choice .40 caliber (bigger hole/bullet theory); last choice .357 sig.

Just my personal opinion.

Regards

FA

[Thom3]

The 357 Sig is about 95% of a 357 Mag. The 357 Sig is superior to the 40 s&w for velocity and penetration, both of which are necessary for game. Georgia Arms has a 357 mag load for deer 158gr 1475 fps from an 8 inch barrel. Pro Load lists a 180gr 1230 fps from an 8 inch barrel. These are for deer and from a very long 8 inch barrel. I don't think anyone would recommend 357 magnum, or 357 Sig, for bear at all.

But if one only had a 357 Sig / 40 s&w combo sidearm and wondered which caliber would be best to pack into the back country? The 357 Sig with 147gr FMJ loaded warmly would be much better than nothing at all. Think velocity and penetration, not size of the hole.

My 2 cents.

[Quake Guy]

Which has less deflection potential? .357 or .40? .357 will penetrate better straight on, however the bullets seem prone to coming apart. Dunno which will do better at an angle, but it would be my preferred load against bear...

[squintbro]

Love my .357sig, but.... Shotgun with slugs

Haha, when in 'Bear Country' a little glock auto is not something I would want to stake my life on. In fact I'd never trust any auto weapon. I probably wouldn't be carrying a rifle, but for damn sure I'd be carrying my Freedom Arms .454 Casull with 6 inch barrel by my side and have my Taurus 415T .41 magnum with CorBon 250 grain loads as backup.

[loandr.]

AS previously posted on the .40 board the only defense when in bear country with a pistol is to hunt with someone whom is much slower than yourself :-)
loandr.

[Quake Guy]

Why is bear country talked of as some magical place on another planet. Here in Arizona, anywhere outside of a city is potential bear country. They even come into the Phoenix Metro area every once in a while. Yet we all don't walk around the woods armed with .416 Rigby's with .500 Linebaughs as backups.

I think my G23 is a good choice against a potential threat mix that is 80% likely to be two legged and only 20% four legged divided up among wild/rabid dogs, cougars and black bears...

If .357 Sig has better penetration, maybe I'll change barrels...

[Lock316]

If you are taking just a Glock into Bear country, then caliber doesn't matter. Just remember to save the last round for yourself after you piss said bear off.

[DeadMansLife]

Any Glock...Most bear will stay away from you or turn away if ya shout at it. For the rare occasion you may need to shoot a bear you'd be better off shooting yourself as mentioned by Lock316.

But if you feel you must have some protection in "BEAR COUNTRY" your best bet is a 12ga and slugs.

[bustedknee]

You are more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a bear.

But I've never seen anyone carrying a lightning rod around for protection.

[BVT]

www.udap.com

Good luck making lethal hits on an attacking bear with any handgun, including super-size revolvers. A 30 foot cone of oleoresin capsicum is much more likely to SAVE YOUR BACON by convincing the bear that you are an unworthy stinkbug.

You know how much more sensitive a bear's nose is than ours? Me either, but I bet it's a lot. ;f

[armed&well]

.40 S&W = 180 -200 gr FMJ
.357 SIG = 125 gr JHP

[7677]

My first question about this so called bear country is what bear country are you talking about and what kind of bear am I likely to encounter? I wouldn't feel under armed with 357sig where there is black bears but I wouldn't want to mix it up with a grizzy or a polar bear with any type of handgun. However, a 9mm has a better chance of saving you life then running. Then again you don't have to be faster then the bear; just faster then the slowest person your with.

Is the search function working???

Cause this has been beaten to death!

Just trying to help!

[DeadMansLife]

;i ;i ;i

It has been beat to death. I think the general concences is "Don't take a handgun, take a slow friend. ;i

[REFLEX]

Doesn't say what caliber, but a man who was fishing with his brother was attacked by a black bear while asleep at their campsite. The man after being attacked was still able to get to his pistol and down the bear. No mention of the size of the bear, although he did show a photo on TV, couldn't distinguish from the pic though. I'll keep everyone posted if i find out what caliber the pistol was. I guess in this case, it doesn't help to have a slow friend. Glad he survived though.

[REFLEX]

Only update i read was that it was a revolver. Again no mention of caliber.

[machinehead]

well i live in alaska and pack a gun into the woods at all times. especialy when im in the rivers fishing. i pack a S&W 629 mountain gun. its loaded with 300 gr solid copper bullets. the thing with autos is when you stick your gun into the fur of an attacking bear the slide will get caught in the fur. thats why you would take a .44 revolver over a desert eagle.

[Quake Guy]

Hey, some old cranky guy agrees with me. His name is Jeff Cooper and in the Sept. 2002 issue of Guns & Ammo he says:

(beginning of comments)
A "bear defense" course was recently held at Gunsite and turned up a couple of interesting points. One is that sheer power will not do. If you are in real danger from a bear, he will be on top of you, and you need is penetration. Once a bear has got you down-or a lion, for that matter-you have to brain him, and you must do that at contact distance. A .357 snubby, using a very hard, sharp-pointed bullet, would seem to be the answer. I have a friend who went this route while attempting to photograph a lion. He used a Super .38 auto, and while he survived, he will never again have full use of his left hand.
(end of comments)

According to a wildlife site on the net:
Weight: Males from 350-550 pounds and females smaller at 250-300 pounds.

So what can we learn from this? Probably that you should just copy lion pictures off the internet and avoid pissing them off with your polariod...

[russelldehart]

Originally posted by BVT
www.udap.com

You know how much more sensitive a bear's nose is than ours? Me either, but I bet it's a lot. ;f

Actually you're right. My wife is a biologist and she told me that bears (like dogs) have smell receptors that are much more exposed than ours. When you hit either of these animals with pepper spray the pain is much more excruciating than it is for humans.

[noway]

{AS previously posted on the .40 board the only defense when in bear country with a pistol is to hunt with someone whom is much slower than yourself}

"Or if you are the slowest person in the group you can carry a can of honey and splash the honey on the other person(s)"(joke)


Oh the other hand , my choice would be a 12g before I would pick a 40/357sig semi.

I agree most bear ( black ) are very curious but are not as dangerous as most people make them out to be. Most will when encountering humans of the two leg fashion, will run as long as they are not cornered or have bear cubs around.

I whent on a camping trip in NJ and had a blk bear wake us up in the early morning hours, when everybody got out of the tents and sleeping bags, the bear hauled ***** away. I highly doubt this would have happen with a Grizzly or Polar bear but I don't plan on being in those areas anytime soon.


btw ,we where only armed with a couple of fishing poles and folding chairs.

( how much more sensitive a bear's nose is than ours? )

When I whent out to Alaska for the military our liason told us when we get out of the truck at least 2 or 3 bears have already smelled you. Don't know how true that statement was but I didn't stray down any off paths and stayed very close to my guide and the truck.