Recent Alaska Bear Attack
BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 5 months ago
I carried a .44 Magnum when hiking in the Tetons several weeks ago. Color me still a bit skeptical on use of the 10mm for bear defense. I guess the advantage is capacity, but only that.
I don’t have a .454 Casull or I would carry that.
On June 11, 2023 at 10:29 pm, Dan said:
For bears in Alaska NO handgun is guaranteed to save your hide. A very large caliber rifle or a 12 gauge with slugs is a much better bet. However 10mm with the appropriate load is far better than nothing. And it does have the advantage of capacity over any wheelgun.
On June 12, 2023 at 1:17 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
As a young man, I did forestry work in S. Ontario and Northern Minnesota, specifically in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and Quetico Provincial Park. In order to study forest fire regeneration patterns, I basically worked in the woods every day for the better part of two summers. That was many years ago, in the 1980s, but I still follow events in that part of the country with interest.
Not long ago, I ran across a story on a professional hunting guide and his three clients who encountered an aggressive adult black bear in that same area, BWCA and QPP. All were armed with handguns. The guide was carrying a 10mm Auto, and the clients had a couple of 45s and one other semi-auto in 40 S&W if memory serves.
They all opened up on the bear, and before bringing it down, it absorbed something like 15-20 shots. The guide was the one to give it the coup de grace; when the enraged bear reared up on its hind legs, exposing its chest and belly, the guide got a group of shots into its vitals.
The hunters and the guide dressed the bear and discovered that roughly 75% of their shots didn’t even penetrate into the thoracic cavity, but were caught by the overlying fat, muscle, and bone.
Without knowing the details of what ammunition was used, and some other variables – it is tough to form definitive conclusions, but it seems pretty apparent that even a black bear is a tough out with handguns, let alone a large brown, grizzly or Kodiak bear (which can be as much as double the size and weight of the typical 500-600 lb. black bear).
A bear fattening up for hibernation may have a layer of fat on him as thick as nine inches. That doesn’t even include the formidable tissues of the hide, muscle, bone and connective tissue which also protect the animal’s core.
I’ve been fairly close to black bears in the wild on a few occasions, and luckily for me, they wanted nothing to do with me. But even that was impressive: It is nothing short of astonishing how fast they are capable of moving possessing the bulk that they do. Awe-inspiring, in fact.
I’d echo Dan’s advice: If you are arming yourself for bear country, by all means carry a large bore handgun loaded with a suitable choice of ammunition, but that is your back-up. Your first line of defense, should it come to using a weapon, should be a powerful rifle – or shotgun with bear slugs.
Many Alaska PHs and guides consider a semi-auto 12-ga. S/G with bear slugs to be the first choice. If using a bolt-action rifle, the starting point seems to be 30-06 or 300 Win-Mag and goes up from there. Loaded with 220-grain RN solids driven at sufficient velocity. And something like 338 Win-Mag or 375 H&H isn’t out of line up there, either, when it comes to the biggest bears.
The Danish Sirius Sledge Patrol – a special ops unit of the Danish Navy tasked with patrolling the vast wilderness of Greenland (which is a protectorate of the Danish crown) – are armed with M1917 Enfield 30-06 bolt-action rifles, using black-tip (armor-piercing) ammo as their standard polar bear medicine. They also carry Glock 20 10mm Auto handguns.
On June 12, 2023 at 1:20 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
Of course, don’t forget lever-action rifles in hard-hitters like 45-70…. that is also a popular option for guides and hunters in Alaska and the Yukon. One of those new Marlin 336 rifles in that caliber would be apt….
On June 12, 2023 at 12:01 pm, Aaron Yetter said:
40 mm HE is the only guaranteed one shot kill man portable weapon. As long as you hit target. And the bear isn’t too close for the grenade to arm. Maybe people should just stay home.
On June 12, 2023 at 1:01 pm, Bobsuruncle said:
I carried a 5″ .480 ruger with 410g cast core load. Penetrates in wet paper further than a .338 win mag. Why are we having 10mm discussions? im sick of this wonder caliber. Sick of it. Just stop already. The original .40 was loaded to then factory 10mm specs. In the PA or WV mtns yeah, a .40 or 10mm with 200g cast core at 1250fps is sufficient for black bear or a 357 with 200g cast core which i load are sufficient. in alaska your a f’in retard. if it doesnt start with a 4 its your coin toss, call it in the air.
On June 12, 2023 at 1:03 pm, Bobsuruncle said:
I carried a 5″ .480 ruger with 410g cast core load. Penetrates in wet paper further than a .338 win mag. Why are we having 10mm discussions? im sick of this wonder caliber. Sick of it. Just stop already. The original .40 was loaded to then factory 10mm specs. In the PA or WV mtns yeah, a .40 or 10mm with 200g cast core at 1250fps is sufficient for black bear or a 357 with 200g cast core which i load are sufficient. in alaska your a f’in retard. if it doesnt start with a 4 its your coin toss, call it in the air. Other than an auto 40 that is
On June 12, 2023 at 1:44 pm, MTHead said:
After a bear attack. Whatever you use to stop it will not seem big enough. The real problem is always going to be shot placement. Under pressure.
As fast as bears can move it will seem unlikely extra ammo is going to help. My bet is on shot placement and horsepower.
And as Bobsuruncle says. Lower 48 is a different game. I carry my 45acp most of the time. But when I’m headed to the Bitteroot country. Out comes the 44.
On June 12, 2023 at 3:32 pm, Levi Garrett said:
@Georgiaboy61,
I’ve spent considerable time in the BWCA and Quetico on family fishing trips. Those are some of my favorite places on earth.
On June 12, 2023 at 4:13 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ Levi Garrett
Re: “I’ve spent considerable time in the BWCA and Quetico on family fishing trips. Those are some of my favorite places on earth.”
With you there! Fresh-caught walleyes cooked up with some butter and salt & pepper sure is good-eating! Northern pike taste darned good, too, but watch out for the bones…. and that nasty dorsal spine when you grab ’em – or that old boy will lay open your hand. But yeah, it is great up there, without question. So great, I need to go back one of these days. It’s been too long….
On June 12, 2023 at 4:19 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ Bobsuruncle
Re: “In the PA or WV mtns yeah, a .40 or 10mm with 200g cast core at 1250fps is sufficient for black bear or a 357 with 200g cast core which i load are sufficient. in alaska your a f’in retard. if it doesnt start with a 4 its your coin toss, call it in the air. Other than an auto 40 that is”
44 Magnum in a wheel-gun, or stronger, if you can shoot it accurately under pressure. Far as auto-loaders go, 460 Rowland for the win. 41 Magnum/lower-end 44 Magnum power, out of a standard 45-cal. handgun. You’ll need the 460 Rowland people to do the mods for you, or do them yourself – but it is a real thumper.
If I knew ahead of time that I was going up against one of those Alaska 1200 lb. Kodiaks, browns or grizzlies, I’d want a semi-atuo 12-ga. loaded with bear slugs. That’s what many guides and pro hunters carry.
On June 12, 2023 at 8:19 pm, X said:
This guy did a great job of simulating a “charging bear attack” and compared the practicality of the 10mm to the .44.
10mm wins, hands down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW4UPeZkGyM
On June 13, 2023 at 4:32 pm, Warren V. DeCee said:
I’m not counting being able to get off more than one shot. If I’ve got only one shot, then I want something that will hit with a lot of force and make a big hole. Taurus Raging Bull .454 Casull 5½”bbl loaded with Double Tap 360gr. hard cast lead is a good balance of power and recoil for me (if I am able to/need to get a second shot). Backup is a Colt Delta Elite 10mm Automatic. I’m in the woodlands/mountains of the northeast 48, not Alaska.