Either a .44 Mag. or a .45 Colt loaded with semiwadcutter or LBT hard lead bullets to a velocity of 1200 FPS or more will do the trick. The only viable shot to protect yourself from a bear attack is to hit it on the end of the nose so that the bullet travels up the nasal passage into the brain! (Even a 230-grain GI hardball round from a .45 ACP will kill a bear, if you shoot it on the end of the nose while it is coming toward you!) If the shot goes high, it can glance off the sloped skull bone and fly right over El Oso's back!

One of my NCO's at Ft. Wainwright AK killed an 8-foot coastal brown bear with such a shot using a factory-loaded .357 Magnum with 158-grain SWC Keith-style bullets-one shot up the nose!

However, unless you have nerves of steel, and can be at close proximity to such a critter without panicking and place your shot exactly, you're probably better off to hold your fire!