45 lc or 9mm?

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bme27

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I know the title doesn’t make sense as the cartridges are completely different, but it’s the two I have. I now live in Idaho and love the outdoors, which means I am in bear country most of the time. Now I do carry a can of bear spray as they are effective something like 97% of the time, but it’s the other 3% I’m worried about. I know my encounter of a bear is rare, but it could happen and I do not want to be caught without a firearm since I own them. The 45 lc is a Colt SAA gen 2, so +P loads are out. I have buffalo bore outdoorsman for the 9mm, but some standard 45 lc has more energy than the buffalo bore. The reason the 9mm stays in the conversation for me even though it has less energy is it’s not a lot less and I can get more shots off. Do I just need to take the one I shoot the best? The hardest hitting? Or does it really matter? I know a 44 mag or bigger would be best but I don’t have the money for a new gun, for sentimental reasons I won’t sell either gun, and I’m not going to quit going out in the woods. I am saving for a Blackhawk or Redhawk but that’s a ways out, which should I use for now?
 
Any 9mm will just annoy Yogi. Regardless of how may tome you hit him. +P is about pressures and nothing else.
"...SAA gen 2..." Long before there was such a thing, the .45 Colt was dealing with Yogi successfully. Using BP. Think physics.
"...or Redhawk..." SuperRedhawk. Made for people with normal sized hands. Do not discount buying used either. Takes a lot of abuse to damage a modern handgun.
 
45 Colt.

And when you get a new (used) gun, look for a Bisley Blackhawk in a shorter barrel length.

Also, I'm a fan of 45 Colt in a Ruger, but for you I suggest not a 45 Colt so you don't accidentally grenade your Colt SAA with a Ruger only load. 44 Mag will be fine.
 
While I would, personally, choose the 45LC, there are a lot of misconceptions about bears IMHO. I have seen bears and mountain lions taken down with .357 rounds (out of a 5" revolver no less) and even seen a mountain lion taken out of a tree with a .38. Now before everyone jumps all over me, none of these would be my preferred choice but there is this huge misconception that bears are like tanks. They ARE fast and powerful but they still have vital organs and will go down if you hit one.

It isn't too far of a stretch for me to see a 9mm being much less effective than a .357 with the right load. Something with a solid core that doesn't expand too much. Between the thick hide and the fat layer that most bears have, I don't see many expanding bullets having enough penetration though. In either case, I would use noise to let them know I was their and reach for the bear spray first.
 
I've been in this situation before...

I like 9mm. Capacity and new hot fancy loads penetrate very well. If you're better with the 9mm, you can at least get some shots off. With a SA, you might get one. Bear have been killed with 9mm. No handgun is great, go with the one you have the most chances and most speed. I picked quantity over quality... potentially.

It's the same logic I use for home defense.... What do you pick for home defense? A bolt action 7mm mag or a Semi auto .223??

But that's my story, and I'm sticking with it. My woods guns is a .45 ACP with +P 255 grain hard casts from Underwood. I picked it over my Blackhawk with "Ruger only" loads. Sometimes I carry a 9mm +P+ flat nose from Underwood
 
I don't think I'd want to carry a SAO revolver for self defense unless I've done a LOT of practicing in defense situations with one.

I vote 9mm until you get a Redhawk (not a blackhawk).
 
No +P in a Colt SAA? Seems Elmer Keith didn't get the word. His earliest heavy handgun loads were in a Colt SAA, often heavily modified as to sights.

Bob Wright
 
My understanding is that, with his early heavy loads in 45 Colt, Elmer blew up a few guns.

That's why he went to 44 Special. A cartridge .023" smaller in diameter meant thicker chamber walls.
 
If you're Bob Munden with a SA then go with the 45.

If you're more capable with a semi then take the nine.


Personally if you're going to be taking regular walks into bear country I'd invest in a polymer 12g semi with a sling.
 
Thank you all for the replies. Currently I have been carrying both, switching depending on the activity. I just wanted to see what others have experienced so I can learn off of that without making a major mistake.
 
I own both; Blackhawk .45LC and 9mm semiauto. If I were going into bear country, I would take the .45 Colt, loaded with 250 gr cast SWC or the Sierra 300gr JSP. Both bullets perform as solids. High velocity isn't needed. 850 fps would be plenty and the Colt should handle that.
 
head shots with the 9mm using that ammo. energy doesn't mean squat in this scenario. momentum of the buffalo bore round should be just behind that of a stock 45lc load.

i'd go with the 9mm.

luck,

murf
 
bme27

Typically I would say go with the .45 Colt but as Good Ol' Boy so aptly pointed out, if your more proficient with a 9mm. semi-auto then you might be better served by going with that. My own choices would run to a Ruger Redhawk in .41 Magnum or .45 Colt, or else a Glock G20 or G29 in 10mm. When my brother lived in Alaska I recommended he get a Ruger Redhawk in .44 Magnum with a 5 1/2" barrel for his numerous forays into the backwoods.
 
That 9mm +p hard cast will out penetrate standard 45 LC sp ammo all day every day. Standard 250 grain 45LC is only about 400 ft lbs, and I wouldn't shoot anything much stouter out of a cowboy gun. Add to this that you can put multiple rounds on target very quickly with an auto.

That Buffalo bore 9mm woods ammo is legit. We compared penetration into multiple sheets of drywall between the stuff and some standard pressure 44 magnum Winchester white box 240 grain SP ammo, and the Buffalo Bore 9mm actually penetrated only a couple sheets less.
 
In the last couple of years there have been a few reports from Alaska of bears being taken down with 9mm pistols. Back in the 1980s a NYC cop put a polar bear down in the Bronx zoo with a .38 special revolver.
 
murf said:
head shots with the 9mm using that ammo. energy doesn't mean squat in this scenario. momentum of the buffalo bore round should be just behind that of a stock 45lc load.

i'd go with the 9mm.

luck,

murf
Click to expand...
Head shots.................... very challenging give how fast a bear and other potentially dangerous animals can move.

Small target, accelerating towards you, and bouncing up and down.............. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I don't like the odds in that scenario.

Of course it's all moot, since we all know that bears are unstoppable juggernauts, and anything smaller than a 500 magnum, or a 470 Nitro Express is useless. We are all going to die if we go to the woods, and for the love of god, won't someone think about the children?
 
So I do not currently reload for any handgun and now that winter is finally starting to set in and am now wondering which factory loads for the 45 lc I should try against the 9mm with Buffalo Bore outdoorsman and maybe Lehigh Xtreme Penetrator. I want to see which ammo my guns shoot the best, and which gun I shoot best on a consistent basis as consistency is key.
 
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