# Is a .40 enough for black bear?



## Bo0YaA

So I have a .44 which is a great gun but it never gets used other then when I go into bear country. I was putting some thought into selling it and taking the money buyin a .40. I read quite a few things about the fact that a .40 is to small of a caliber for a black bear but I have also read articles where people say "Ill take 17 shots from my .40 over 6 for a .44 any day when it comes to a 300lb black bear". 

Im just curious what you all think.


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## jpolson

I carry my 40 with 180 grain fmj's in it. Carried a 357 when I lived in Northern Michigan. Never used either, but I trust that it would do the job. 17 rounds in the mag won't make much of a difference. You would be lucky to get 6 shots off with a charging bear. Never used either, but I trust that it would do the job.

Bear mace is supposed to be fantastic. I'm thinking about getting some for my hunting trip into grizzly country this fall.


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## Donttreadonme

IMO yes it is. I only know of one person who has ever defended themselves against a bear. He did so with a .357. Two shots and one dead bear are enough evidence for me.


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## Wind In His Hair

A 10mm is a good choice if an auto is what you prefer. In a Glock 20 you would be able to switch back and forth between 10mm and .40 S&W if you got yourself a conversion barrel from Lone Wolf. In terms of power, it wouldn't be as hot as the .44 mag, but it would be more potent than the .40 with the hotter loads from companies like Buffalo Bore, Cor-Bon, or DoubleTap.


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## Bo0YaA

Well what Im looking for is more of an all around side arm. Ive got a .357 but its in a snub nose and its actually the gun I purchased for my wife. The 10mm is nice but with boxes of ammo that expensive I would want to reload which creates a problem when they are flying all over the place out of an auto. With the .40 the ammo is still cheap enough that reloading isn't necessary for normal shooting then I could have a box of the +p hardcast type stuff for when I go into areas like the Uintas. I don't know, just kicking around some ideas.


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## StillAboveGround

Every time this kind of question comes up, I remember a story I read many years ago. 2 guys were working around camp on an African safari where they were attacked by a lion. One guy had a .357 mag and the other a .22. Why did he have a .22 as a side arm in the African Bush??? 

Anyway they both got off single shots and the lion fell dead at their feet. When they skinned it out, the .357 had deflected off the skull and the .22 had penetrated the skull into the brain. 

No doubt the .357 wallop on the skull would have been a serious hit, but these guys concluded that the .22 saved their lives. If you did that 10 times in a row, I would bet on the .357 every time (if it fires every time), but sometimes you may need a little luck.


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## xxxxxxBirdDogger

> Is a .40 enough for black bear?


It's a helluva lot better than chucking a rock.


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## Frisco Pete

With a .40 S&W the most important thing, like with any caliber, is to use a good premium bullet that would give good penetration and hold together well in 180-grains. Speer bonded core Gold Dots might be a good choice, but there are others. Avoid lighter bullets.

A black bear encounter is a remote possibility, but could happen. The nice thing about many autoloaders anymore is that they take a weapon light. Wake up with a bear sniffing around your tent in the blackness of 3am and a light on the gun would be good to have to see the dark bear in the dark night.

Will a .40 stop a black bear? I know of a guy who killed one on a Canadian hunt with his .40. I'm not sure what bullet or weight he used, but as he is not really a "gun guy", the ammo was probably not optimal. He took several shots, but that can happen with the .44 as well.

Here is a story about an Alaskan man who used his Glock to kill a Grizzly bear - he heard noises in his kitchen:
"It was 2:30 am. I used a Surefire 6P flashlight to illuminate my hallway. It all happened so fast. There was a bear coming my way. It was at about 7 paces when I rapid-fired 10 rounds at center mass. Nine bullets connected, 4 were fatal wounds.

The gun used to take down the bear was a .40-caliber Glock. The hollow-point bullet performed as advertised... As it turned out, the .40-caliber 180-grain CorBon hollowpoints... were enough to take down a bear in short order. A lot of folks were saying that I got lucky or that I should have used a bigger gun... Fore years I trained with local IDPA and learned skills that saved my wife and myself from being mauled in our own bedroom! I used the gun I had at hand.

Lessons learned: Keep a gun of at least .40 caliber or better in the room that you occupy at all times; use real bullets, not target loads; train to the point where you'll be ready for anything. B.K. Anchorage AK"


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## Wind In His Hair

StillAboveGround said:


> Every time this kind of question comes up, I remember a story I read many years ago. 2 guys were working around camp on an African safari where they were attacked by a lion. One guy had a .357 mag and the other a .22. Why did he have a .22 as a side arm in the African Bush???
> 
> Anyway they both got off single shots and the lion fell dead at their feet. When they skinned it out, the .357 had deflected off the skull and the .22 had penetrated the skull into the brain.
> 
> No doubt the .357 wallop on the skull would have been a serious hit, but these guys concluded that the .22 saved their lives. If you did that 10 times in a row, I would bet on the .357 every time (if it fires every time), but sometimes you may need a little luck.


This reminds me of something as well. I've heard a few Alaskans say they're favorite handgun for the outdoors is a .22 LR. Naturally, people will look at them with a puzzled expression after which they say they pack a .22 to shoot their partner in the foot and then make a quick getaway knowing a predator would concentrate on the slowest and weakest target first. I thought it was a joke at first, but they weren't laughing.


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## Gee LeDouche

Put yourself in the bears shoes for a minute. lol.

If YOU were the bear, do you think you could be shot numerous times with a 40 and have it effect you? I see it as one of those "use what ya got" type of situations.


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## StillAboveGround

Wind In His Hair said:


> This reminds me of something as well. I've heard a few Alaskans say they're favorite handgun for the outdoors is a .22 LR. Naturally, people will look at them with a puzzled expression after which they say they pack a .22 to shoot their partner in the foot and then make a quick getaway knowing a predator would concentrate on the slowest and weakest target first. I thought it was a joke at first, but they weren't laughing.


Funny... Lose more clients that way... either that or put a tack in their shoe every night...


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## timberbuck

Not the worse choice if staying with a pistol with a full length barrel (4 inches or more).
The .40 is a high pressure cartridge-basically all loads in it are +p, you do not see +p .40 ammo for this reason. Penetration with 180 grain loads surpasses 9mm and .45 auto loads. The .40 has more energy in most loads also. Never seen any hardcast .40 factory loads.

But as stated earlier, ammo capacity is not going to be a factor, you are only going to get so many shots off. For that same reason it could be argued that it would be wise to pick a pistol/caliber you can shoot fast and accurately under stress. Depending on you willingness to practice ect. something like a Glock 22 is much easier to learn and be proficient with than a big revolver.

I shoot a lot and my choice is a four inch barrel all steel .44 mag loaded with 300 grain slugs, either 300 hornady xtp or hardcast depending on the bears in the country I am hunting.

I feel the magnum double action revolver is the best choice in a mountain carry gun.

Don't know the barrel length or make of your .44 mag but I would sell it and get a four inch Smith 629 or 629 mountain gun as they are the lightest all steel (controllable) .44 mags available, have nice triggers out of the box also.


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## Bo0YaA

I have the 5" Ruger Super Blackhawk which has been magnaported. Single action is great for shooting pins but not so good if it were to come down to self protection. Ive also been looking at a Glock 20 SF in the 10mm and for another $114.00 I could get the .40 SW or .357 Sig barrel as well.


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## Bax*

Wasnt there a story some years ago about a guy who was treed by a brown bear and had a .22LR pistol that shot the bear in the eye and killed it?

Point being, I guess any gun is enough if you are lucky enough to hit the bear in the eye! But I wouldnt want to trust my safety with a .22. I would think a .40 SW would carry enough energy to kill a bear, but I wonder how the bullet would hold up passing through all that fat and muscle?


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## bowgy

When I first was looking into going to Alaska I asked a friend of mine who has hunted there a lot, if I should take a .44 mag pistol for bear defense. He said; "Sure...just grind off the front sight and polish it up real smooth....that way when the bear takes it away from you and shove's it up your........ it won't hurt so much".

Anyway, I also thought a good bear pistol might be the Desert Eagle in .50AE. More power and less recoil than the .44 mag revolver.


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## buckley

i have a .40 and i take that thing everywhere. and i shoot it enough to feel comfortable enough that i know if the situation occured i would feel confident in that round.


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## Gee LeDouche

bowgy said:


> When I first was looking into going to Alaska I asked a friend of mine who has hunted there a lot, if I should take a .44 mag pistol for bear defense. He said; "Sure...just grind off the front sight and polish it up real smooth....that way when the bear takes it away from you and shove's it up your........ it won't hurt so much".
> 
> Anyway, I also thought a good bear pistol might be the Desert Eagle in .50AE. More power and less recoil than the .44 mag revolver.


I'm afraid your friend in alaska needs his head checked. I dont know of any animal on the planet that can withstand 1000+ pounds of ballistic energy.


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