Pistol cartridge for Black Bear

[Padre86]

SteveD, I’m not considering .40s&w. I might use it if I was in a pinch, but it’s ballistics are hardly comparable to a high end hunting .357 cartridge.

.40s&w might work for deer, but I wouldn’t trust it to work consistently on bear.


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[mowin]

19 minutes ago, Padre86 said:

SteveD, I’m not considering .40s&w. I might use it if I was in a pinch, but it’s ballistics are hardly comparable to a high end hunting .357 cartridge.

.40s&w might work for deer, but I wouldn’t trust it to work consistently on bear.


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I wouldn't hesitate to use my .40s&w on a bear that was still breathing but down.  Any more life than that, I'm using my rifle. 

But if I was looking for a round to carry only in the woods, that I COULD hunt a deer or bear if it was close enough, I'd pic the 10mm.  Shot a few, and liked em alot. Ammo is readily available with lots a bullet choices. Easier to carry around the woods then a large frame revolver.

[Padre86]

What kind of hunting loads are available for 10mm?


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[Steve D]

23 hours ago, Padre86 said:

I need a good sidearm to carry along for tracking and dispatching wounded game

Looks like you are looking for something to hunt with instead.

Not trying to convince you just trying to provide a viable option to what you said you wanted in the first place.

By all means go buy the biggest caliber you can carry and enjoy shooting it.

[Padre86]

That’s the thing about tracking wounded game: you can make educated assumptions about the condition of the animal, but you won’t know for sure until you get eyes on it.

So I intend to only use a pistol if I suspect the animal is seriously wounded. But if i get on site and the animal is still up and mobile, I need a cartridge with some umph to put it down. That’s why I’m mostly focused on the magnum pistol cartridges.


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[mowin]

18 minutes ago, Padre86 said:

What kind of hunting loads are available for 10mm?


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I believe My buddy uses Underwood 150g extreme hunter.  

[airedale]

Well the revolver I just purchased should fill just about all of your requirements, the "Charter Arms Target Bulldog" in 44 Special.

It is a revolver

It is light weight, 23 ounces

It has substantial power

Plenty of options for ammo, as with it's big brother the 44 Mag bullet weights from 180 to 300 grains

It will have recoil but any handgun firing a reasonably powerful cartridge is going to have some recoil.

For dispatching a wounded Bear I would take the 44 Special over a 357 Mag any day.

If you do not like the Bulldog, Ruger has a compact revolver in 44 Special.

Edited March 17, 2018 by airedale

[Hunter007]

Why if I have a rifle do I need a sidearm besides a knife 

To me it' just exstra weight I rather not carry around.

But if I just had a pistol cartridge it would be  ,357 mag and up for a bear 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Storm914

[Buckmaster7600]

Wolc123, I probably will test fire a .44 magnum just to get a feel for it. That said, the recoil on it (especially for hunting loads) seems significant based on the reviews and videos I’ve seen.

Like I said earlier, I know i could deal with the recoil, but if I could accomplish the same goal without that recoil that would be my preference.

It doesn’t seem that this cartridge is one that I’d want to practice extensively with. I’ve heard a lot of comments about how shooting more than a few rounds can be uncomfortable. I place a high priority on shoot-ability for target practice.

Moreover the greater the recoil, the longer it takes for me to re-acquire a sight picture for follow up shots.

I’m certainly not afraid to handle something like a .44 magnum. I’ve dealt with big recoil before. But I do question if it will be as practical for what I’m trying to do.


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41 rem mag, less recoil than a 44mag and on it heels performance wise, more energy and larger hole than a 357mag.

My votes still a Glock 29.


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[Hunter007]

14 hours ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

If you’re not carrying a long gun the sidearm becomes the main gun and that changes my answer, kinda. A light short carbine chambered for a real cartridge still has my vote. Every tracker that tracks with dogs that I know carry’s a 22lr or 22mag revolver. My wife would got to a single action revolver in 22mag for dispatching wounded critters.




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I have seen pictures of SAS and CIA weapons used for undercover work loaded in 22LR if it is  good enough for them it should work for taking out wounded game I would imagine. But if I  got a high powered  rifle you use it.

 Would not even bother with anything else 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Storm914

[Padre86]

I have seen pictures of SAS and CIA weapons used for undercover work loaded in 22LR if it is  good enough for them it should work for taking out wounded game I would imagine.

 

I disagree. Animals, certainly black bears, can take a whole lot more punishment before going down. It doesn’t take much to put a human down by comparison.

 

And I really don’t know of any units that rely on .22lr as a primary sidearm cartridge. There are better ones out there.

 

 

 

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[Padre86]

Why if I have a rifle do I need a sidearm besides a knife 
To me it' just exstra weight I rather not carry around.
But if I just had a pistol cartridge it would be  ,357 mag and up for a bear 

As I said earlier, I want the option of a pistol. I’ll always consider a rifle or shotgun based on my assessment of the hunter’s shot. If there is a strong possibility the animal is seriously wounded, the portability of a pistol makes sense over lugging around a long gun.


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[Hunter007]

43 minutes ago, Padre86 said:

 

I disagree. Animals, certainly black bears, can take a whole lot more punishment before going down. It doesn’t take much to put a human down by comparison.

 

And I really don’t know of any units that rely on .22lr as a primary sidearm cartridge. There are better ones out there.

 

 

 

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At times intelligence agencies around the world  us them in  assassination work  or similar powered cartridges. Is what a mean 

Point blank range 

Isn't it kinda of  what you want to do 

Bear  is already wounded and you walk up to it and put one in his brain cavity to speed up death .  

On farms they take out cows with 22lr to the brain  that way  it is effective. 

If the animals is at any distance where you can't take a perfect shot obviously something else would be much better .

Edited March 17, 2018 by Storm914

[turkeyfeathers]

Finishing off a pizzed off wounded bear with a.22 at close quarters ?! Not even sure how to comment to that other than we’ll want video of that fiasco. 

[Hunter007]

1 hour ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Finishing off a pizzed off wounded bear with a.22 at close quarters ?! Not even sure how to comment to that other than we’ll want video of that fiasco. 

If its that healthy why would you switch from a hunting rifle  to a pistol in the first place that is why this topic does not make much sense .

 I got a rifle in my hand im going to put that down to shoot it with a smaller gun ?  In the time you switch if the bear is that healthy you would be In pig trouble don't you think .

Why take a chance and just hit it again with the biggest gun you got the rifle right ?

Edited March 17, 2018 by Storm914

[Padre86]

Storm, it’s an ‘either/or’ sort of thing. Either I’m carrying the pistol because I believe the animal is seriously wounded, or I am bringing a long gun because I believe the animal’s wound is marginal.

 

Between handling the dog, looking for sign and navigating the terrain, I’m not going to burden myself with 2 firearms, especially if I’m going to be helping the hunter carry the animal out after all is done.

 

The condition of the animals in these tracks is never certain. If I’m bringing a pistol in place of a rifle, I still need serious kinetic energy and penetration to put down an animal that turns out to be far more healthy than I had anticipated.

 

And even if a black bear is seriously wounded, I would not be inclined to walk right up to it for a point blank shot with .22lr.

 

Carrying a powerful pistol is a very common technique for leashed dog handlers. The recovery often takes place in very challenging terrain; lightening the handler’s burden allows him/her to be more nimble and stay focused on the dog and the track.

 

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[Steve D]

The Best Bear-Defense Handgun

https://www.range365.com/best-bear-defense-handgun

[Hunter007]

7 hours ago, Padre86 said:

Storm, it’s an ‘either/or’ sort of thing. Either I’m carrying the pistol because I believe the animal is seriously wounded, or I am bringing a long gun because I believe the animal’s wound is marginal.

 

Between handling the dog, looking for sign and navigating the terrain, I’m not going to burden myself with 2 firearms, especially if I’m going to be helping the hunter carry the animal out after all is done.

 

The condition of the animals in these tracks is never certain. If I’m bringing a pistol in place of a rifle, I still need serious kinetic energy and penetration to put down an animal that turns out to be far more healthy than I had anticipated.

 

And even if a black bear is seriously wounded, I would not be inclined to walk right up to it for a point blank shot with .22lr.

 

Carrying a powerful pistol is a very common technique for leashed dog handlers. The recovery often takes place in very challenging terrain; lightening the handler’s burden allows him/her to be more nimble and stay focused on the dog and the track.

 

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Ok when you put it that way I would  go with at least a 357 mag or better 

[G-Man]

I can tell you from.experiance a bear that is still breathing is not something I'd think about putting anything smaller than a mag 44 or 45 cal in. Down never means out! They are tough quick moving and when you get close enough to use a pistol you are definitely in range for a last minute move. I've done it with a rifle and nearly.been killed and would of.been had it had the mind to the 1st and 2nd time it charged.. 

[Daveboone]

I have used most all of them for that purpose at one time or another. Keep in mind any cartridge/handgun barrel length for dispatching game must be legal for hunting with, even if just for dispatching, 

For dispatching, I am assuming an animal that is down, and you are just planning on finishing it off. anything from a .38 special with wadcutters up will do. I have always just walked around behind it and shot it at the base of the skull. The problem with larger calibers/ magnums, is shooting near the ground and close up to an animal you get ALOT of ground blast back at you, with the potential, if you aren't careful, very messily blowing the had apart. 

A very long time ago I came to the conclusion it was much easier, efficient and practical to just finish off with my rifle. After going through this phase, so will you.

[Padre86]

I have used most all of them for that purpose at one time or another. Keep in mind any cartridge/handgun barrel length for dispatching game must be legal for hunting with, even if just for dispatching,  For dispatching, I am assuming an animal that is down, and you are just planning on finishing it off. anything from a .38 special with wadcutters up will do. I have always just walked around behind it and shot it at the base of the skull. The problem with larger calibers/ magnums, is shooting near the ground and close up to an animal you get ALOT of ground blast back at you, with the potential, if you aren't careful, very messily blowing the had apart.  A very long time ago I came to the conclusion it was much easier, efficient and practical to just finish off with my rifle. After going through this phase, so will you. 

 

 

 Dave this is wounded game tracking not hunting. Any barrel length restrictions for handgun hunting does not apply to this activity as per the license I received. Even so, I think pistols can’t have a barrel length any longer than 16”; I’ve no intent of carrying a pistol anywhere close to that size. 

 

I do not think this will be a phase for me. I’ve enough experience hauling around a long gun while pushing through thorn brush, following my dog.... a hand gun makes sense for certain situations and many ny trackers use them for that reason.

 

I think there is a good balance to be found between firing a point blank and potentially dangerous shot and attempting a longer less accurate shot.

 

 And 38 special would likely be less than optimal for my purposes; I’ve discussed the nature of dispatching wounded game in previous posts.

 

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[hunter]

Second the .41 magnum. Also vote for revolver. Good luck.

[wolc123]

You have (3) good choices: .357 magnum, .41 magnum, and .44 magnum revolvers.   Try all three and see what you are the most comfortable with.   I have fired them all, and would definitely choose the .44 magnum for your application.  It's kick is not much more than the .41, but it does offer the advantage of better ammo availability, including the cheaper .44 special for practice.  Similarly, .38 special ammo would be a cheap practice round for the .357.    If you can't handle the recoil of the .44 magnum, you could always buy it anyway, and use .44 special ammo for your tracking purposes.  

[Larry]

If I read the start of thread correctly it about finishing off a wounded bear and not hunting bear with a handgun. So I will assume the bear is on the ground but not dead. Here is my 2 cents worth I would use any gun with a bore diameter .357 or bigger. Now for hunting bears with a handgun I would consider the 357 mag bear minimum I would not use a 45long colt unless I reload, factory ammo has to be loaded so it can be fired in the old peace maker so you are looking at 800 to 900 fps. I wouldn’t use 44 special ether it’s ok for finishing off but not for hunting.

[Lawdwaz]

I'd put a Crimson Trace laser on a Glock 10mm and roll on.............