Raise your hand if you ever had to kill a charging bear with a handgun. Me neither.
Remember the video that went around showing the lion charging the hunter and his PH? The two of them shot at the lion with big rifles and the lion still managed to hit one of the shooters and make him bleed.
I put four 150 grain partitions from a 30-06 into a 325# bear years back begining with a side shot just behind the shoulder and ending with three frontal shots, the last shot dropped him about 12' from me. One of the bullets was found in his hip area.
I don't think I could have stopped him with a handgun. Maybe someone with more handgun experience than I could have, though. Someone like Elmer Keith.
I only shot one other bear, and that was a .35 Whelen to the ear hole. Bang-Flop.
I especially liked 1911's posts; sounds like he has lots of bear experience.
Well,its not a matter of WANTING to kill a bear with a handgun,its a matter of perhaps HAVING to kill a bear with whatever you have. If I lived in California,I might well be considering how best to take on a bear with a Leatherman tool,becuase that might be all I had. Here,I can carry a handgun,but its often not practical to carry a long gun. I used to load my 1911 with +P hardball as I decided that it was probably going to be the most effective. Since I know the 1911 is really not up to the job,I bought a 44 magnum revolver. I'm sure there are people out there that say "I wouldn't want to trust my life to a revolver,of any caliber,if I was being attacked by a bear". I agree with them 100%,I dont want to trust my life to a handgun in that situation either. I would much prefer one of my rifles or perhaps a shotgun. Still,I would trust a handgun more than a leatherman tool and I would trust the 44 magnum more than a 1911 in 45ACP. I can think of dozens of things I would rather be pointing at a bear rather than a revolver,but you pull the trigger on whats in your hand not whats in your safe.
If you think about it,the same is true almost always. Ive always said that if I have to pull the trigger with my gun pointed at a bad guy,I hope that there is a shot gun in my hands. I cant carry the shotgun around with me all the time,so chances I'm going to be armed with something less powerful than I would prefer. I just have to make the best of what I have.
