Handguns for Bear Defense: a Study by Caliber

By John Falkenberg

One of the things most hotly debated by hunters, firearms owners, and flat-out bored people is the answer to the question: “What caliber handgun do I need to be safe against bear attack?”

Not to get all clickbait-y, but the answer might surprise you.

Ammoland was kind enough to make a little compilation of 35 instances since 1987 in which handguns were used against bears in defense, and funnily enough the calibers ranged from 9mm to .454 Casull.

Only one of the cases they pulled and confirmed to have actually taken place resulted in a failure — pretty impressive.

I thought we could take a look at the list in broad strokes, and see what lessons could be pulled. If you want to look at the full archive of the events, just click here.

Firstly, and most surprisingly to yours truly, there were four cases in which the 9mm cartridge was used to defend against bears — every single one of them was successful, and at least three of the four were against grizzly bears. All three of those bears died, and one of them was killed from less than five feet away.

That particular kill was credited partly to the use …Read the Rest

Source:: Concealed Nation