I' m sure it has it' s uses ...snakes maybe. most people on this board wouldn' t recommend the .410 for deer, no way would it get recommended for bear unless the bear was in your tent with say your arm in it' s mouth .... might as well give it a try it' s going to eat you anyway.

I' m a 410 nut. I have several...and they' re capable of things most aren' t aware of. That said...they aren' t for big game. They' re great for rabbits, quail, squirrel, and even grouse and pheasants...if in proper hands.

A slug in a 410 isn' t much medicine for a bear, though.

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Frankly, I' m disappointed.

Who would consider a .357 magnum good for nothing larger than jackrabbits.

Here are the facts as listed by the Remington website.

.357 165g coreloct hunting 610 ft lbs 1100 fps @100 yds

.410 1/5oz rifled slug 651 ft lbs 1040 fps @100 yds

I wouldn' t go as far as to say .410 isn' t good enough for deer, it' ll do it, but it' s just like a .357, too limited range for most guys to want to carry a full sized arm. With a pistol, he' ll be lucky to get that 651fps at the muzzle, let alone out there at a hunting distance. Basically what makes the .410 poor for deer is it' s inaccuracy, even an above average .410 is barely as accurate with slugs as most .357mag pistols, so when they are just as powerful, but you can' t hit as well, you' re using a more marginal arm.

great for small game, not for bear, go 357 or 44 revolver for adequate protection

three fifty seven and a ticket right to heaven!

You might also try a Taurus titanium 2" barreled .44 special. Use hot hand loads and make them count. But since you live in Canada and can' t own handguns. I would buy the new Winchester M94 chambered for .480 ruger.

The responsibility of staying away from bears is YOURS. Remember you wouldn' t want a bear camping out in YOUR house and you are going into HIS. Be careful and look for the signs. Be safe.

But why do you HAVE to SHOOT the bear? Unless you have a really, really HUGE GUN (even a NITRO) there is no GUARANTEE he' s gonna stop.

Get yourself a BIG CAN of the pepper spray designed FOR BEARS and keep it holstered and on your person AT ALL TIMES in bear country.

OR MAYBE BECOME BEAR KIBBLES. Your choice.

(Good thing to remember though is that he won' t " eat you alive" , bears like to bury you in brush, let you rot....AND THEN EAT YOU!

Uncle Matt (in IL)

In some places like National Parks where firearms are not allowed I would carry the pepper spray, it is better than nothing. If I was hunting, and had a fresh kill on the ground I would want a firearm of somekind as well. Same for camping and fishing especially out west where you have to worry about grizzlies as well.

A fishing guide in the Flathead National Forest of Montana sums it up best: When you wear the bear bells and spray the pepper spray you are just ringing the dinner bell and seasoning yourself for the bear.

ANY CENTER FIRE PISTOL is better than pepper spray when the bear goes the WRONG way. I agree MOST of the time, in fact PROBABLY BETTER THAN 99% you won' t have to shot the bear, but I would want to have the means to do so if I had to.

Kindda like a home protection gun, you hope and pray that it is never needed but it is there if you do need it.

I have had encounters with black and grizzly bears in 5 states and Alberta and the bear always ran the other way. Sometimes I had pepper spray (National Park) sometimes I had a pistol or shotgun (National forest grouse hunting and fishing) and sometimes only a camera (when I was a kid on family vacation) and I never had to use the spray or the gun. The time I had the camera was when I needed either, we had to run the bear off by throwing ROCKS!!!!

Regarding the .357 .....I' d prefer the .410 slug out of a 26" shotgun barrel to the .357 handgun. Both are woefully inadequate....but I have a chance of hitting my target with the long gun. I' ve hunted deer with the .357 revolver.....what a joke for a hunting cartridge.

The .41 Magnum is an absolute minimum for a big game handgun cartridge.

Even in a rifle the .357 is woefully inadequate!!!