I am moving to the fairbanks area in the next couple of months and was wondering what type of sidearm that you guys carry up there if any. Is a 45 acp or 357 mag under gunned for protection from our fuzzy brown friends? thanks for the help and info. Also if you have any other helpful hints about the area or anything els you think would help i am all ears. Thanks in advance.

In 2000 when I went up to work on the Alaska Railroad I took my Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 mag.

No other gun was needed

My first trip to Alaska, I asked a Game warden about bears. He asked what kind of guns we were carrying, I told him a 44 mag and 12 ga shotgun.
He told me to load the shotgun with two slugs and the rest with 00 buck. If I had a run in with a bear, he said two slugs in shoulder to slow him down
the rest of the buckshot into the sinus and eyes to blind him and disrupt his sense of smell. Then I was supposed to run.
He told me a Large bear can be shot in the heart, run 100 yards at 30 mph, kill the shooter before he dies.
How big a gun do you think you need?

In reality, I use a pistol as more of noise maker. Hopefully the Bang! will scare off a bear with only a casual interest.
The other advice I was given was to carry a gun whose caliberbegins with a 4
I'd look for something that can deliver 240-300grain bullet at least 1000fps at impact.

Most Alaskan guides that I encountered who carried handguns carried 44 mags loaded with heavy hard cast bullets... However, a rifle or shotgun is a much better alternative than any handgun.....The game wardens I encountered carried 12 gauge 870s with OO buck and/or slugs...For rifles a 30-06 with 200 or 220 grain bullets is considered minimum...The Marlin guide guns in 45-70 with well constructed bullets would be a good choice...

If handguns have an advantage, it is the fact that you are more likely to have it ON you, and it's easier to carry than a long gun...

Possibly the best compromise between portability and firepower would be a light, pistol grip pump shotgun...

I'd put a .454 Casull on my hip and as short a barrelled 12 gauge with a large a magazine as was legal loaded with slugs on my shoulder.

thanks for the replies guys. I am looking more twords the pistols because i archery hunt almost exclusivly. I am hunting the interirar of alaska so the bears i will encounter wont be the big costal monsters but a bear is a bear none the less. i was thinking a XD in 45 ACP or something like that. what do you all think. I would carry a 12 gauge will baiting but while hunting the pistol.

The .45 is a good manstopper, but is pretty puny as defense against a bear..The interior grizzlies are smaller than the coastal bears, but hey have to work harder to earn a living, and thus tend to be more aggressive...An ill tempered 500 to 700 pound critter is pretty formidable..

I'd get a good revolver in .44 mag or something more powerful and pray to God I never have reason to use it..

Go with the shotgun or a large caliber rifle, a pistol is not effective backup, you would be better off with pepper spray than a pistol.

mac87,

I live in Fairbanks and have spent plenty of time in the wilds of AK. Don't get yourself too wrapped up in the whole bearanoia issue. Contrary to what most believe there really aren't that many bears in most places in Alaska, and most of them have a healthy respect for people. I have an XD-45 and while it makes a great nightstand piece I wouldn't hold much faith in it in a bear encounter. Before you go down to the local gun shop and buy the biggest .700 Dirty Harry 12" barrelled T-rex killer remember two things. A handgun should be comfortable to carry and quick to draw. Bear attacks happen fast and if you can't pull your piece quick enough or it's at home because it's too big and cumbersome then it doesn't doo much good. If you want an auto a number of people here carry 10mm Glocks because they're light, quick handling, reliable, and pack more punch than most auto cartridges. The Titanium S&W .44's are another good option for being light, relatively small, but still fairly potent. Don't get too wrapped up in high magazine capacity either. I'd bet dollars to donuts that you'd never be able to get off more than 2 or 3 shots in an honest to goodness bear scrap. A quick handling long gun is much more effective overall. A short barrelled 12 gauge, 45-70 lever gun, or the new 375 Ruger Alaskan would be great choices.

Good luck in your move to AK. So are you Air Force and going to be stationed at Eielson? I've got some great friends that are stationed out there. You should meet a lot of good folks.


AK Jeff

Most of the time a handguns sole purpose is to be a backup. I'd rather be the guy spraying some 240gr hardcasts at a bear then the guy spraying some cayenne pepper in its face.