Alaskan/Bear handgun

[Glockster35]

I am thinking of requesting a transfer to Alaska, mainly the Anchorage area. What handguns would you all recommend I look at for general carry in the woods, while hunting less dangerous animals and fishing in rivers or creeks.

I know a lot of people would carry the .44, But are there otehr recommendations? I am more of a autoloader, but have owned a handful of revolvers (in smaller calibers before).

I am open to all opinions.

 

[spacemanspiff]

glock 10mm might work.

but if you're in the woods doing woodsy stuff, you need a shotgun, or even a lever gun, like in 45/70.

 

[Ala Dan]

For handguns

how 'bout the Ruger Alaskan in .480 Ruger~?

 

[jashobeam]

Freedom Arms .454 or .475 revolvers

An appropriately large autoloader might be heavy and cumbersome. The only one I know of is the Desert Eagle .44 Mag or .50 AE.

The Freedom Arms revolvers are single action. If you prefer double action, then perhaps the Taurus Raging Bull or the Ruger Super Redhawk .454.

There is also the .480 Ruger, and the S&W .500.

 

[MDG1976]

glock 10mm might work.

... might work at making a bear angrier. I wouldn't take a chance at not having enough stopping power. Sorry, but I don't think any autoloader will do. I guess you could carry a Desert Eagle 44 mag semiauto, but in bear county you'll want reliability as well as power. A 44 mag revolver is where to start looking. A 480 Ruger, 454 Casull, or 500 S&W mag would be even better. S&M makes a 27 ounce 44 mag that'll you'll hardly notive you're carrying. It's a bear (pun intended) to shoot, however.

 

[Camp David]

I am thinking of requesting a transfer to Alaska, mainly the Anchorage area. What handguns would you all recommend I look at for general carry in the woods, while hunting less dangerous animals and fishing in rivers or creeks.

I know a lot of people would carry the .44, But are there otehr recommendations? I am more of a autoloader, but have owned a handful of revolvers (in smaller calibers before).

I am open to all opinions.

I see someone already mentioned the Alaskan in .480; might I recommend the RUGER Alaskan in 45 Colt/.454?

That way you can practice with .45s and carry .454s...

I do not recommend this gun for plinking, but if you want to discourage Grizzlies from crewing on your toes, this gun is perfect!

See: http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Corporate/News-11-11-2004B.html

I have one and would recommend it highly!

 

[Working Man]

Magnum Research BFR .45-70. There is a wide variety of loads available for
the .45-70. With the standard Remington or Winchester rnds recoil is rather
light but you could go to full house through Garrett Cartridges. Plus there
is a good amount of reloading information available too.

Of course you'll have to get a Marlin lever action later.

 

[spacemanspiff]

well there are some 10 mm loads that equal a 41mag.

 

[cane]

A 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun with slugs.

 

[TMM]

handgun:

DE chambered in.50AE(reliability an issue, because you can't always get a good shooting stance when blasting a bear for SD)
Mag. research BFR in some big caliber [it's only single action though]
S&W 500, 10" barrel. foolproof. DA, quick reloading, reliable...
S&W 460
Ruger alaskan (itty bitty barrel though.. must buck like a kick-mule.)

~TMM

 

[TMM]

handgun:

DE chambered in.50AE(reliability an issue, because you can't always get a good shooting stance when blasting a bear for SD)
Mag. research BFR in some big caliber [it's only single action though]
S&W 500, 10" barrel. foolproof. DA, quick reloading, reliable...
S&W 460
Ruger alaskan (itty bitty barrel though.. must buck like a kick-mule.)

longun(better than handgun... i suggest this)
.45/70 levergun
12 gauge pump or auto loaded with slug or 000 buck.
.308 semiauto like an M1A, FAL, or CETME.

~TMM

 

[Cosmoline]

I've given up on large handguns for bear defense. They're unwieldy, hard to deploy quickly and they weigh a ton on your belt. I find it easier to just carry a Mosin over my shoulder or bring a slug gun like "Magnus" here:

Whatever you have, make sure you keep it on you and can deploy it in about two or three seconds. I've developed a quick release on my rifle slings to speed the process up. The woods are so thick here you'll have very little time to react.



If left with a handgun, I'd actually prefer a 4" .357 with 200 grain hardcast bullets. It gives you as much penetration as you need with faster followup shots and a far easier and faster platform. A 10mm might be sufficient with FMJ's. I suppose they don't make hardcast loads for it, though.

 

[rick_reno]

Ruger Alaskan in .454. Mine is very accurate and recoil is very manageable. It'll ring the steel gong on our range at 50 yds 5 out of 6 times in double action. It's much better than I thought it would be. I carry mine in a holster from Rob in Alaska at Simply Rugged. Very good holster for the money. I used to carry a Ruger 5.5 inch 44 mag - it was too big to be comfortable.

 

[Seventhsword]

http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976649112.htm


I think this will do it.....

 

[trickyasafox]

if you want an autoloader i second the 10mm. some say it might not be enough, but if thats what your comfortable with then i'd say carry it.

 

[roscoe]

DoubleTap make used to sell some 10mm hardcast ammo that seemed like it would be pretty formidable.

 

[MachIVshooter]

... might work at making a bear angrier. I wouldn't take a chance at not having enough stopping power. Sorry, but I don't think any autoloader will do. I guess you could carry a Desert Eagle 44 mag semiauto, but in bear county you'll want reliability as well as power. A 44 mag revolver is where to start looking. A 480 Ruger, 454 Casull, or 500 S&W mag would be even better. S&M makes a 27 ounce 44 mag that'll you'll hardly notive you're carrying. It's a bear (pun intended) to shoot, however.

What good is all that power if you can't score hits? And FYI, a stout 200 gr. FMJ 10mm load will penetrate to the same depth as hard cast .44 mag loads.

If I were to carry a handgun in grizz country, it would be the Witness Hunter in 10mm. Why? from it's 6" tube, you get 16 rounds of 200 gr. FMJ at 1,400 FPS. I bet I can get all 16 of those COM before the average hangunner can even discharge the 6th round (let alone score hits) from his 4" .44 mag. And the Ruger Alaskan or S&W .500 4"? Gimme a break. Better make the first one count, because you'll still be recovering from recoil when the bear is on top of you.

 

[AStone]

Loaded for bear

A 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun with slugs.

+1, although I'll take a pump over a semi-auto everyday. (Note the user name.)

For another perspective about bear defensive loads, duck into this thread, and start with post #50.

Funny how two bear load threads would pop up on THR at about the same time...

As Yogi Bear said, "It ain't over til it's over."

Oh, no, wait....

Cosmoline, I'll say it again: that's one wicked looking 12...

 

[SamlautRanger]

If a bear does attack you, you will only have a couple of seconds, maybe even less to reeact. What is needed is a stopping shot, not a killing shot. The only way to really stop a bear that is running down on you or already mauling you, IMO, is a head shot. Cut of the bear's computer. A 10mm, especially with doubletap ammo loads, would do the trick. It will penetrate a bears skull and stop him. A .44 or .357 or .41 will also do. But, with a Glock or Witness 10mm, you can be faster and more accurate with your shots and have a larger magazine capacity.

Of course the best way is to avoid a bear attack all together. Or carry a 375HH, 45-70, or slug gun at the ready.

What is nice about a handgun, it is always with you. I would recommend you keep it on a lanyard, so incase a a bear or mountain lion attacks you and the gun gets knocked out of your hand, at least you can retrieve it maybe for a last attempt.

 

[robertbank]

Bears in the Northwest

HI

Here are some thoughts to ponder. In our neck of the woods we have Blacks and Grizzlies. Of the two, I regard Blacks as more dangerous. 99% are shy and take off when they hear you coming. IT is the 1% that are the problem. They think you are 180 lbs of slow moving lunch!

The 2nd point to ponder is that a Grizzly's heart beats about once every 1 1/2 seconds when it is upset. Bleeding out is not an option at close range. When they attack they usually do it from behind as they have been hunting you - see lunch above.

The last thing to remember is that animals die from two reasons 1) Blood loss and 2) Trauma of the nervous system.

As SamlautRanger has pointed out you will have only seconds to react so here are my thoughts.

I carry a 12 gauge Mossberg loaded with slugs and buck shot. The slugs to break a shoulder or get lucky and break the spine and the buck shot to blind as in a close face shot. I don't use the pistol grip as I have found the pistol grip is no more handier than the shoulder stock and the gun is short enough for quick and easy shouldering carried African style.

The problem is when I am fishing the shotgun is likely to be by my pack and not be close at hand so I carry my 1911 .45acp. I can shoot it accurately and fast and at close range both are necessary. I'll either get lucky with a head shot or have at least one round for myself. HAving a large hand cannon that I might get one shot off is leaving to much to chance. My .45acp with FMJ will penetrate and if placed where I want them do the job. My 2nd option is my .357 mag S&W Model 27 but I have found I cannot get rounds off quick enough with full power loads.

Best advice is to avoid the bears who for the most part are rather timid, shy animals but seem to have ocassionally a propensity, like some humans for a free lunch.


Stay Safe

 

[Skipper]

I'd be prone to give lots of weight to the choices of cosmoline and Robertbank if for no other reason but their address.
All we have in Ga. of are black bear and wild hogs and I'd prefer the handiness of a handgun. I really can't think of a better choice in a handgun than the already mentioned .480 Ruger in the Alaskan SRH. Mine would carry heavy,hard cast,LBN,WFN bullets. I like the .480 for thi role.

SKIP

PS: I'd prefer a TALL tree!!!

 

[rick_reno]

And the Ruger Alaskan or S&W .500 4"? Gimme a break. Better make the first one count, because you'll still be recovering from recoil when the bear is on top of you.

Have you shot these guns? How many times? This is just not true - I've never shot the S&W, but I've got 600-700 rounds thru my Alaskan and the recoil is very manageable. There is almost no muzzle flip, the gun recoils straight back. I have a couple of other .454's from FA that I've been shooting for over 15 years, and they do have muzzle flip (I got one magna ported which helped a lot with the flip).

 

[robertbank]

To add a real story to all of this one of my golfing buddies is a logger. Last July he and a friend witnessed the following:

The two were walking a cut line just west of Terrace when they noticed a Black Bear about 100 yards down the trail. They stopped to see what the bear was going to do. As they were watching, and the following took place in under 5 seconds, a Grizzley came out of the bush and with one swat of his paw decapitated the black bear and proceeded to drag it off.

Tony says is was without a doubt the most devestating thing he had ever witnessed.

Tony was armed with a 12 guage shotgun. Both he and his partner went back to camp.

When I am out in the bush around here I let the world know I am coming. Talk to myself if I have to, just make as much noise as is practical. All but the lunch crowd will leave or at least know you are no threat.

STay Safe

 

[Cosmoline]

I'm not a big fan of making noise. Bears have very keen senses and I just don't buy this stuff about how people "surprise" them. It makes no sense at all. This is an animal that can detect the scent of a human a week after they've walked through a particular valley. This is why they can be so challenging to hunt. Their eyesight is fine, in spite of myths that they cannot see ten feet. And their hearing is very accute. When you're walking down the trail the bear knows perfectly well that you're there long before you see it. All the bells do is keep you from hearing the bear, and since you're likely to hear it long before you see it that's a bad thing.

 

[spacemanspiff]

And the Ruger Alaskan or S&W .500 4"? Gimme a break. Better make the first one count, because you'll still be recovering from recoil when the bear is on top of you.

pshhhawwww! i'm like so manly and tough and stuff.

i was talking to some guy at walmart. he has a marlin 1895 (45/70). he said the first round he puts in his chamber is a 300 grainer, but if a bear is "acting funny", he'll work the lever to get a 500 grainer in the chamber.
he also said he can use his 45lc revolver effectively at 100 yards, putting his shots in a 6 inch group. and he intends to do this at a charging bear. 100 yards away. while fanning the hammer.