i dont know what "north of the 60" means, but are we talking brown bears or blacks? my brother uses a glock 20, and i have shot it alot. one is in my future and is the next gun i will get. they are light, fast to get into action, reliable and powerful. easy enough to handle the recoil, also. we use 180 grain hardcast flat nose bullets, and they pack a wallop. we did some testing on steel, and you wouldnt believe what they will penetrate. combine them with a blackhawk thigh holster and you have the best black bear PROTECTION pistol in my opinion. grizzlys i dont know about. blackies, between my brother and i, last year ran into probably about 40 bears. one big one was closer than i EVER want to be to a live bear again, 1 foot off the end of my muzzle.