Pete D.

Y'know....not everyone is talking about the same thing here.
There's "will it kill a grizzly?" and there's "will it stop a grizzly?"
Not nearly the same thing.
You'd have to be extraordinarily lucky to stop an agitated/angry/hungry grizzly with ANY handgun. The fellow in AK who had the encounter with the Griz whilst walking his dog......yeah, he killed it but he didn't stop it, though he sure came close:
"Rolled him at 5 feet and he
skidded to a stop 10 feet BEYOND where I was
Shooting from...."
"Stop it" means that the animal does not get to you. He was lucky to survive and he knows it. His sidestep probably saved him from real hurt (he ended up on his butt). Had the animal only run him over (as opposed to mauling), he'd have been in bad shape.
Pete

Chris W.

Agree, instantly stopping, dead cold, a large bear in a full out pi$$ed off charge is very slim with any handgun and many rifle calibers for that fact but a it can mean the difference between surviving the attack and ending up bear crap.

MO-KS_hunter

There is probably nothing on this earth, short of .416 Rigby or .500 Nitro mag (or RPG or M203 grenade launcher) that will "Stop" a charging grizzly. That hot 454 casull round did a fantastic job killing that Grizzly, I don't think you could have asked a handgun to do any better. Also, what are the chances that guy would have taken a large caliber rifle with him to walk his dog?

Pete D.

Exactly.

Slim and none.
But that doesn't mean that it's a bad idea.

Pete

vabyrd

If you want to stop a grizzly, just say please...

fatheadbob

Ok guys.

Few things. One if you don't want to worry about Grizz bearing down on you - don't go out in Grizz country. For most of us who like outdoors in those areas this is not an option.
Just be smart about things. Nothing is foolproof in outdoors but one can greatly decrease chances. Don't go alone, don't have aromatic food etc, don't hike on game trails unless hunting etc , make human noise - talk, carry bear spray - it is proven to work though again not 100 % foolproof and learn bear behavior and how to act, Stuff most of us know likely.
As far as gun I believe the question is what HANDGUN will stop and or kill a grizz threatening your life? Nothing is fool proof. Practice will help. That said the bigger and stronger the load the better obviously. Anything less than a high grain .44 mag is just going to end your life quicker by pissing off an already mad grizz if you shoot it with less than .44 and as many have you have rightly stated that in itself is definitely no guarantee. Personally I don't want to kill the magnificent beast anyway and at last resort but hey if between me and being a meal yeah I would choose .454 Ruger ( 6 shots vs 5 of taurus) and practice your ass off.
Also If you shoot it in the leg I don't care how mad and big he is it is going to either face plant or stop. It may recover & still come after you but unless you get side shot near base of skull or lucky shot to heart you going to do nothing but make him end you faster. If by chance you stop it and wound it in process for love of god please track and kill it. One it is humane thing to do and 2 a wounded grizz will be a greater danger to any other soul who comes across it before it dies. I would take .44, .454, 480, or 500 if picking handgun for backup to bearspray or rilfe. As stated before sometimes rifles are not an option due to size and weight if backpacking etc. Anything less as i said will only tick the beast off unless you are lottery lucky. Peace

bronko22000

While I agree with just about everything fatheadbob said I do have one thing to say. He does say he would take the Ruger over the Taurus (6 shots vs. 5). I would say that if a bear does decide to come at you there are only two scenieros: 1 you saw him first and you have your handgun drawn. (and hopefully backing away). In this instance, if it does come, you may be able to get off 2 shots. Don't forget you have to recover from the heavy recoil. 2. You don't see the bear until its already coming and you'll be lucky to get off even one shot.

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.

d80hunter

A 325 grain bullet at 1800 fps is comparable to some 12 slug loads. If 12 gauges are used I don't see why a .454 wouldn't work. I think this one boils down to the individual. Can one shoot all the bullets quickly and accurately enough with that kind of recoil?

bronko22000

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.