Bears in Cambodia: In the area that I am working, we have 2 types of bears. Confirmed by camera traps placed in the area. Asiatic Black Bears and Sun Bears. They are very rare though and threatned. Very endangered. At another National Park in Cambodia, one Ranger was mauled pretty bad by one. They can be very aggessive if encountered. Besides the tigers, which there are very few of here (About 8 years ago, in the area just south of me in Cambodia there were a group of 4 tigers that killed about 50 men in a year period-they were hunted and killed. they had gotten the taste of human flesh from an area the Khmer Rouge had disposed of some bodies) the Bears and the Gaur are considered the most dangerous wild animals to encounter in the forest.
Thanks for all the responses. Again, my question was how a .45 ACP would work against Black, Brown, or Grizzly Bears. Yeah, of course a .44 mag or .454 would work best. Better yet, carry a 45-70 0r .375 rifle. The best defense is avoidence. The problem with any bear, is if it is attacking you, the time it takes for you to deploy your handgun and get off a couple of "stopping" shots will be very hard, very hard! I have also read some good accounts where Pepper Spray (specifically designed for Bears) has been used with great results at close range. Again, though it is my reasoning, that if a magazine of .45 ACP was unloaded in the right areas (head and chest) it would do some damage to the bear. I mean a good arrow placed the right spot on a Grizz will kill it. But, will the bear fully stop or die before it rips you to shreads, probably not. I experienced the power of a Black Bear myself, when I was stupid enough to volunteer to wrestle a pet Black Bear a friend had. It was declawed, and just playfully bit me and threw me around -but it kicked my ass, I was black and blue all over and sore for over a week!! Truly amazing animals.