Met a fella some years ago who killed a sow grizzly with a shotgun and 6-shot. He was out hunting pheasants that day and was unpleasantly surprised.
As long as the projectile goes where it needs, it is effective.
________________________________________________________ It is long past time for a Convention of States. The Founding Fathers gave us this tool to fix an out of control government and we need to use it.
July 30, 2026, 08:30 PM
wrightd
I don't believe that. 6 shot is the minimum shot size for gray squirrels.
But on the other hand, maybe you really don't need a 375 Holland for hunting Brownies, you could prob get by with a 380.
Lover of the US Constitution Wile E. Coyote School of DIY Disaster
July 30, 2026, 08:43 PM
mrvmax
Used to work with a guy that killed a small black bear in Alaska with a 9mm when it charged him and his friend. I’d still prefer larger calibers with bear loads to make sure I had the best chance for survival. Especially with grizzly. I would not want to be the outlier in their stats.
July 30, 2026, 09:16 PM
Gustofer
quote:
Originally posted by wrightd: I don't believe that. 6 shot is the minimum shot size for gray squirrels.
Oh, if I could only count the number of pheasants, ducks, partridges, and grouse I've killed with 6 shot...
Have you ever hunted birds?This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gustofer,
________________________________________________________ It is long past time for a Convention of States. The Founding Fathers gave us this tool to fix an out of control government and we need to use it.
July 30, 2026, 09:33 PM
corsair
Every time I was in AK Bush, it was either a 10mm or larger along with a 12gauge with Brenneke Magnum Slugs
July 30, 2026, 09:39 PM
CPD SIG
"The results are in: It doesn't matter what gun you use for bear attacks, 9mm, 10mm, 454, 44 mag... doesn't matter you just need a handgun, and you have a 98% chance of survival.."
That's good to know that I have a 98% chance!
I'm thinking the bear may have pretty decent odds too.
______________________________________________________________________ "When its time to shoot, shoot. Dont talk!"
“What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It’s not good at much else.” —Author Tom Clancy
July 30, 2026, 10:41 PM
SpinZone
Its that 2% thats a bitch.
“We truly live in a wondrous age of stupid.” - 83v45magna
"I think it's important that people understand free speech doesn't mean free from consequences societally or politically or culturally." -Pranjit Kalita, founder and CIO of Birkoa Capital Management
July 30, 2026, 11:01 PM
Expert308
quote:
It doesn't matter what gun you use for bear attacks
Right. Just wait until he's right on you, then stick your pistol in his mouth and blow his brains out from the inside.
July 31, 2026, 06:04 AM
coyotedude
quote:
"The results are in: It doesn't matter what gun you use for bear attacks, 9mm, 10mm, 454, 44 mag... doesn't matter you just need a handgun, and you have a 98% chance of survival.."
There are way too many variables in an attack to safely rely on that statement. After 20yrs in Alaska, I'd carry the largest handgun (if reaction time didn't allow a rifle) in a chest rig you can handle. And hope you have enough time to react.
July 31, 2026, 06:23 AM
MNSIG
quote:
Originally posted by wrightd: I don't believe that. 6 shot is the minimum shot size for gray squirrels.
I wouldn't try it from 30 yards, but at charge stopping distance of a few feet off the barrel, that load of #6 is going to hit in a solid mass. That's going to put the hurt on any bear.
July 31, 2026, 07:37 AM
sourdough44
Talked to a guy that had an ‘encounter’ recently, upper Midwest. This encounter was at his backyard bird feeder, daylight. He shot a few rounds in the dirt with a 10/22. The bear wasn’t too impressed, but did leave after a handful of seconds.
So I guess even a 22 has some usefulness.
July 31, 2026, 07:40 AM
Fly-Sig
Presumably many of the stops did not include the bear's death. The loud noise and pain turned the bear away.
July 31, 2026, 08:18 AM
sourdough44
Sometimes silly adages are spouted off. The one I’m thinking about is someone saying ‘the 22 mag has killed more deer than a centerfire’, after all ‘it’s preferred by poachers’.
Of course I know poaching has been a thing over the decades, but legal deer hunting is bigger. I would also surmise, one would have plenty of deer run off wounded if using a 22 mag. That applies even if the purported poacher was a crack shot.
Just a general comment, I do believe just like in self defense scenarios, the cartridge itself often doesn’t matter.
July 31, 2026, 09:57 AM
tatortodd
Bear type and gender matters:
Black Bear Females - 90 to 400 lbs with avg ~160 lbs
Black Bear Males - 130 to 600 lbs with avg ~300 lbs
Brown Bear (aka grizzly) Females - 300 to 800 pounds with average ~400 lbs
Brown Bear (aka grizzly) Males - 400 to 1200 pounds with average ~700 lbs
When I lived in Alaska, I modified the Navy Seal motto to "never shoot a large caliber bear with a small caliber bullet." I originally carried a .44 mag and upgraded to .454 Casull carried in chest holster. I picked it as right before I moved there a brown bear on Kenai Peninsula (i.e. coastal bear which tend to be larger due to the access to salmon) charged a guy walking his dog and he dropped it in his tracks with a .454 Casull from a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan (i.e. the 2.5" snubbie version for clearing holster quickly). The .454 Casull was on a 7 month back order and .44 mag was available on the spot so I bought the Ruger snubbie in .44 mag and when the .454 Casull arrived I sold the .44 mag.
At the time, Anchorage had 50 brown bear and 350 black bear living in the city year around so bear encounters weren't just a bush issue. In addition to the Ruger snubbie, I had a 12 gauge with Brenneke black magic slugs at my home. One thing that surprises people is that neither the police nor fish & game were the official trackers of bear encounters, but instead it was tracked by the refuse dept (aka garbage) as most bear encounters were on trash pickup day. Some parts of town (e.g. hillside) had to have steel rolling trash cans, but my part of town plastic rolling trash cans were fine.
Yes, there were a couple of instances where people defended themselves from brown bear with a 9mm. Based on recall from 12+ years ago:
a guide in an area with larger coastal bear had a subcompact 9mm (seems irresponsible to me for a supposedly professional guide's gun choice)
a couple hiking in the interior (i.e. bear tend to be smaller since there aren't salmon runs to really put on the pounds) the guy shot a brown bear that was charging his GF.This message has been edited. Last edited by: tatortodd,
Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity
DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
July 31, 2026, 02:48 PM
Scooter123
I want to simply point out that an RPG eliminates any concern about having enough "caliber". Basically blow that sucker into itty bitty bit's and the caliber of your sidearm doesn't matter at all.
I've stopped counting.
July 31, 2026, 03:13 PM
Gustofer
And it
quote:
Originally posted by MNSIG:
quote:
Originally posted by wrightd: I don't believe that. 6 shot is the minimum shot size for gray squirrels.
I wouldn't try it from 30 yards, but at charge stopping distance of a few feet off the barrel, that load of #6 is going to hit in a solid mass. That's going to put the hurt on any bear.
And it did. Rolled her up right at his feet. He didn't admit it, but I imagine he had to put on a clean pair of skivvies afterwards.
Surely, the bigger the better is always the rule with critters above us on the food chain, but you shoot what you've got...and hope for the best.
________________________________________________________ It is long past time for a Convention of States. The Founding Fathers gave us this tool to fix an out of control government and we need to use it.
July 31, 2026, 03:20 PM
Sharkey717
A fully loaded Glock 20 would be the absolute “bear” minimum I would consider for a pistol defense again a bear! But I guess any caliber is better than nothing.
July 31, 2026, 04:52 PM
armored
I doubt that I will ever have to deal with large ferocious game in my lifetime but I do find it interesting to hear from those that truly are experts on the subject and have actually done it many times. One of my favorites is; Tim Sundles (owner of Buffalo Bore ammo). His YouTube videos are always very informative. Tim has shot perhaps thousands of big game both here out west and Alaska and in Africa where he owns a hunting lodge. He has been there, done that many times.
When I lived in Alaska, I modified the Navy Seal motto to "never shoot a large caliber bear with a small caliber bullet." I originally carried a .44 mag and upgraded to .454 Casull carried in chest holster. I picked it as right before I moved there a brown bear on Kenai Peninsula (i.e. coastal bear which tend to be larger due to the access to salmon) charged a guy walking his dog and he dropped it in his tracks with a .454 Casull from a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan (i.e. the 2.5" snubbie version for clearing holster quickly). The .454 Casull was on a 7 month back order and .44 mag was available on the spot so I bought the Ruger snubbie in .44 mag and when the .454 Casull arrived I sold the .44 mag.
I love the Alaskan. I have owned .480 Ruger and .454 Casull variants. The .480 Ruger was returned to Ruger under warranty. They finally communicated that it had to be completely replaced, and a .480 Ruger would not be made for months, if ever. So, I chose the .454 Casull.
I miss that revolver. I still have the leather for it. I always felt safer with DA than SA.
As I recall, the .454 Casull cylinder is in a special Carpenter Steel stainless, to handle the pressures. I had a custom ammo maker create heavy for caliber .45 Colt loads with .454 Casull brass, just subsonic, and IIRC 300 grains or so. I didn't want the in-cylinder smoke ring of a .45 Colt case length in a .454 Casull cylinder bore.
