What do you all think? Would a 454 Casull stop a grizzley at short range? I don't yet own a handgun and if I do get one, I want something that has multiple purposes; home protection, whitetail hunting and something to give me a little piece of mind when I go fly-fishing in bear country again. I'd be interested if anyone had new of an article on the net or (god-forbid)had first or second hand knowledge of a large caliber handgun killing a grizzley. I've always been kinda skeptical of ANY handgun round having the knockdown power to take down one of these beasts but after looking at some of the energy produced by the Casull, I'm not so sure.
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CZ-550, .30-06
--Leupold Vari-X II 3-9 x 40
Remington 870 express
--Indian Creek Black Diamond Strike Choke
--SureShot Stock
Winchester 1300 Upland special
Parker Ultra-light 31
--Slick Trick Magnums, 100 grain
CVA Accura Stainless, .50 Cal
--Leupold USMS, 3-9 x 40
sure it will, if you can do your part.
Can you calmly stand there with a gizzley bearing down on you and precisely place the bullets to break him down before he gets to you?
Alot of handguns will kill a grizz, its what he does between the firing of the killing shot and when he decides he's dead.
A friend was describing his Brown bear hunt in Ak, where he took a beautiful honest to god 10.5 ft bear. the bear appeared at 50 yards, he put the first bullet into the chest from a 338 win mag, the bear charged immediately, roaring popping its teeth he fired again and again. His face went ghost white just reliving the moment his voice trailed off, in a bit he said " A 338 win. Mag. ain't nearly big enough, thank god the guide had a 375 H&H".
As far as home protection, there are much better choices than the 454, those big bullets penetrate alot, wouldn't be good to be defending your home but shoot someone else either in another room of your house or ouside.
Think about a lighter cartridge firing a highly fragmentile bullet. 40 S&W, 357 SIG etc.
RR
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Born To Hunt, Forced To Work.
Last edited by Ridge Runner; 02-14-2010 at 05:21 AM.
My opinion on this is no handgun is suitable for bear defense. Sure you can hunt and kill big bears with a nice broadside shot, but being able to place a nice well aimed shot through the massive, thick chest of a bear that is charging you is totally different. And if the bear isn't charging you, then you have no right to shoot it as far I am concerned. I would be carry some of the bear pepper spray myself, and try to do everything else smartly. People who leave their food out and stuff like that, that is just retarded. The chances of a bear attacking you unprovoked are so slim. If you were dead set on a gun, I would be packing a short barreled 12 guage loaded with some big slugs.
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A handgun is better than no gun in bear country.Pepper spray seems to work well but I'd feel a lot better with a potent rifle along.
+1, and reasonably sized handgun is better than your fingernails but they are all far less than ideal and there will be an element of luck involved in actually stopping a bear. My elk hunting partner, who has hunted in thick grizzly country for years and had his share of encounters, told me to bring the largest handgun I owned but not bother buying anything new just to have "a bear gun". He said if a bear is committed to getting you, no handgun is going to stop it short of a lucky shot. All you can hope is to make yourself seem un-tasty enough to break it off and give you time to get a REAL gun turned on him.
As far as home protection, there are much better choices than the 454, those big bullets penetrate alot, wouldn't be good to be defending your home but shoot someone else either in another room of your house or ouside.
Think about a lighter cartridge firing a highly fragmentile bullet. 40 S&W, 357 SIG etc.
RR
Yeah, I don't think I would use a .454 round for home protection, the gun I was looking at (the Taurus Raging Bull) also fires a .45 Longcolt as well.
If I do buy one, it would be a whitetail hunting weapon first and home protection/bear protection weapon second.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ridge Runner
sure it will, if you can do your part.
Can you calmly stand there with a gizzley bearing down on you and precisely place the bullets to break him down before he gets to you?
Alot of handguns will kill a grizz, its what he does between the firing of the killing shot and when he decides he's dead.
A friend was describing his Brown bear hunt in Ak, where he took a beautiful honest to god 10.5 ft bear. the bear appeared at 50 yards, he put the first bullet into the chest from a 338 win mag, the bear charged immediately, roaring popping its teeth he fired again and again. His face went ghost white just reliving the moment his voice trailed off, in a bit he said " A 338 win. Mag. ain't nearly big enough, thank god the guide had a 375 H&H".
RR
I can't believe a 338 win mag couldn't take down a grizzley and a 375 H&H could. They have similar energy profiles and the .375 H&H isn't that much larger in diameter than the .338 win mag. Do you know what kind of bullets they were using?
__________________
CZ-550, .30-06
--Leupold Vari-X II 3-9 x 40
Remington 870 express
--Indian Creek Black Diamond Strike Choke
--SureShot Stock
Winchester 1300 Upland special
Parker Ultra-light 31
--Slick Trick Magnums, 100 grain
CVA Accura Stainless, .50 Cal
--Leupold USMS, 3-9 x 40
no I don't, I think the main thing was just the fact it was the first charge the guy ever faced, although an experienced hunter there is nothing that prepares you from a full blown charge from a 10.5 ft brownie, the guide had probably saw it a couple times before.
The first shot was probablt fatal, but a dead bear can do alot of damage while he's diein. I've never grizz/brown hunted but my understanding is your best bet is get the first round in the vitals, then break heavy bones till he goes down hopefully before he reaches you.
Nothing like a big blackie, they can't even walk on 3 legs.
RR
Alot of guides pack a short barreled 12 gauge. Damn fine with bird shot for home defense too- a .454, or even 44 mag could keep going through target and walls to someone you dont want to hit. Even an adrenalin charged white tail can go a long way with a heart shot.
The issue with pepper spray - any pepper spray - is that you best not have to spray it into the wind. So that kinda gives you a 50/50 chance at it doing anything at all for you.
454 Casull, big enough to stop a grizzley?
