Best .45 ACP round for black bear protection.
03-31-2020, 02:49 PM
#11
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: south eastern PA
Posts: 15,436
Because a .45 holds more ammunition, can be fired faster (espcially if he is using a compact .44 magnum revolver) and is better against the far bigger threat in the real world- 2 legged predators....and both calibers have a 100% successful track record anyway. Also, he probably doesn't own a .44 magnum.
I would not fault someone for wanting to choose a .44 magnum because it gave them more piece of mind, but a .45 ACP is never the less a perfectly reasonable and rational choice for defense against bear attack. One that has never failed- ever- in any documented case of bear attack.
If he wants to be extra certain of his choice, several companies sell heavy weight .45 acp deep penetrating hard cast flat nose +P rounds specifically intended for stopping grizzly bear attacks. Documented attack is the operative word.
Like this one:
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...t_detail&p=381
Keep in mind people travel black bear and even brown bear country all the time with no weapons at all, and 99.9% of them are just fine. Carrying a gun of any kind gives you a huge step up on bob the tree hugging hippy.
I would not fault someone for wanting to choose a .44 magnum because it gave them more piece of mind, but a .45 ACP is never the less a perfectly reasonable and rational choice for defense against bear attack. One that has never failed- ever- in any documented case of bear attack.
If he wants to be extra certain of his choice, several companies sell heavy weight .45 acp deep penetrating hard cast flat nose +P rounds specifically intended for stopping grizzly bear attacks. Documented attack is the operative word.
Like this one:
https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...t_detail&p=381
Keep in mind people travel black bear and even brown bear country all the time with no weapons at all, and 99.9% of them are just fine. Carrying a gun of any kind gives you a huge step up on bob the tree hugging hippy.
As Bill Hickok was found of saying,"you can't miss fast enough to make up for poor marksmanship". If you are going to carry a gun to protect you from something or some one, know how to use it and carry enough gun. You could carry a .45 ACP with an extended magazine to hold 20 rounds, if you can't shoot, especially under stress you may as well carry a club for all the good it will do you.
04-01-2020, 07:05 AM
#13
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 1,846
As Bill Hickok was found of saying,"you can't miss fast enough to make up for poor marksmanship". If you are going to carry a gun to protect you from something or some one, know how to use it and carry enough gun. You could carry a .45 ACP with an extended magazine to hold 20 rounds, if you can't shoot, especially under stress you may as well carry a club for all the good it will do you.
If you read the report I posted, a majority of the actual documented bear attacks involve multiple hits.
I also dont' think that 1 hit from a .44 magnum is likely to be significantly more effective than a hit from a deep penetrating .45 ACP flat nose. Neither generates the kind of velocity to cause significant wounding effect from temporary stretch cavity, so both rely almost entirely on permanent crush cavity. Meaning .45 ACP is very comparable. The one real edge .44 magnum would have is energy level, which could be useful for smashing through heavy bone structure from sub optimal angles of entry.
I would not worry either way. All service calibers have shown a very high degree of success vs bears in actual documented attacks.
IMO the type of projectile is a heck of a lot more important than the caliber.
For example, 9mm hard cast flat nose > 44 magnum lightweight hollowpoint.
04-01-2020, 07:10 AM
#14
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2019
Posts: 1,846
A good .357 or .44 magnum lever action carbine (for you old school guys) or short barrel AR-15 carbine seems like a far superior choice for that sort of thing.
