theoretical caliber question

[Lawdog]

trank,

Most black bear are no bigger than a big man. There's 600+lb men, you know? there's a reason why Boone and Crocket scores bears HEADS, because fat for the winter can add 200 lbs, but it doesn't mean the bear was bigger, ya know?

Forget the fat, a 200 lb. Black Bear has a much more dense skeletal/mussel mass than any man of the same size.  One cannot compared a bear to a human.  Humans die easily and bears don’t.  Keep one thing in mind, Black Bears kill more humans every year than Brown Bears and Polar Bears combined.  Reason for this is the growing Black Bear population and man’s encroachment into their territory.  Thinking you are going to be able to hang onto your handgun at the point of attack is optimistic thinking at best.  Just check the reports of bear attacks and almost every case the person attacked lost hold of what they had in their hand.  Thinking you can pull a handgun while lying under the bear as it mauls you?  Again according to reports of attacks, bears routinely attack any part of the body that moves.  Ones best weapon against a bear attack is located between your ears.  Lawdog
 :toast:

[jro45]

I would use my S&W 500 with 400 gr bullets.

[trkytrack]

Yep!  A fellow I went to highschool with got attacked in his tree stand, deer hunting (bow).  bear went up his tree, & took a big chunk of his side out with a swip of her paw. many stitches.  tree stand broke under the sows weight and gave out. thats what saved him.  

Hey! myronman3 Birchwood ain't too far from me.  I know its legal to carry on the outside but it's a pain if ya got waders on. Also I have known guys who were carrying (on the outside) and had been hassled by the dnr. One guy got a ticket for not having a small game license (since that was the only thing open for hunting at the time) and having a loaded firearm in the woods. :roll:  Makes ya wonder if thease fellas ever herd of the second amendment.

Thaks all for the responses

It's a pain if you got waders on? You'd put your waders over your gun?

[DirtyHarry]

Personally I would feel confident with a S&W 500 using at least 400gr hard cast (preferably 440gr hard cast) moving in the 1500-1700 fps range...

[Old Griz]

:cb2: Forget the Taurus trash. S&W has added two 3" 44 mag. Trail Bosses to their catalog, as well as a .41 mag. Mountain Gun. And don't forget the bear version pepper spray. www.udap.com  This will stop him and give you time to either run or shoot.

[S.B.]

Gallahad, for me personally, I'd go with a shorter barreled .44 mag. Good selection of different bullet weights, very versitile load range and proven preformance. I even load shot loads for my M/G and take them bow fishing in the spring, in this gun. I like the .44 special but, wouldn't suggest this caliber. Against bears, bigger would be better, in my opinion? I do agree that a new buyer is best served by staying away from Taurus guns. S&W, Ruger, Dan Wesson,  and even the Colt Anaconda would make a good choise. Good luck and have fun with what ever new toy, you decide on.