Originally Posted by
younggun308
I suppose the moral of the story then, bronko, is there's no good reason to go into insanely thick cover in bear country without one's handgun, or big-bore lever rifle, or shotgun with slugs at the ready. Even if you're on a rifle hunt and see an elk or deer you're after in such cover, chances are you're at a close enough range that you're best off using the handgun, instead.
I understand of course that bear loads are generally hard cast bullets not designed to expand, but is punching a well-placed .44 or .45 wound channel through the body of a deer or elk so unjustifiably worse than using a more hunting-suitable .30 cal bullet, especially when the hard cast round is dependable in case you run into a bear? That's a genuine question.
There's a big difference in what we are saying. The OP is asking about carrying a 454 in bear country and will it stop a bear. He also said he never owned a handgun before. So if he is in "bear country" my impression is that he is either hiking, camping or fishing or some other outdoor activity other than hunting where he would be carrying a rifle or shotgun.
And while I believe the 454 is capable of killing a large bear the chances of doing so and stopping it on a charge is relatively small, especially for a novice handgunner. And to get off multiple shots would be damn near impossible. Even the FBI states that at only 21' a person (ref:Tueller Drill), being attacked by another would have difficulty removing a holstered firearm and getting off a shot. And a bear is a heck of a lot faster than a human.