Can u kill a bear with a 9mm? how many shots? whats the best 9mm ammo to use on a bear?

Question

my all means, im not hunting bear...using it as a backup weapon along with my pepper spray

Answer 1

Yes you can, but it is not the best tool for the job. Dead is dead, but it will take more skill than many of us have to accomplish. If he has his mouth open, such as in a roar, I would also put a few into the back of his throat hoping to sever the spinal cord and make him a quadriplegic. Hope you can shoot a three inch group off hand at 25 yards. If you stay calm you may be able to allow him to close some of the distance. I would guess once he rushes, head down the shots to disable will be much more difficult. If you can blind him you may increase your chances as well as continue to shoot to the head. Shots in the ear, the temple may also work. Study bear anatomy and you will have a better chance. Shots to the body I would certainly avoid as the oxygenated blood in his brain will keep his body moving for a while even after his heart stops.

Bear spray is a good choice for a deterrent. It also saves the bear. I would find the hottest, heaviest, deepest penetrating nine mil ammo you could find. And consider purchasing/carrying a larger gun...

Also read up on bear behavior, previous bear/human conflicts and see what has worked for others. Take it all with a grain of salt.

Answer 2

Sure, but probably not quick enough to save your own life. Then again, depending on the kind of bear, maybe not at all. A Grizzly in Wyoming at the turn of the last Century was killed and found to have over a hundred rifle bullets, all kinds, in it. There were five pistol bullets lodged in the brain, again, diverse calibers. These were shot up from beneath the bear. Many hunters went after this bear (for the $10,000 in gold bounty the Wyoming Territory had placed on this bear) and they never returned. Years later a rusted out rifle or belt buckle was found. So if you are hunting in bear country my advise is, 1. Leave the pepper spray at home; 2. get something bigger than a nine (or a .45 acp for that matter); get something along the lines of a .44 Magnum or at least a .10mm.

Good luck.

H

Answer 3

You can kill anything with about anything. It has been proven a 22 magnum can kill an elephant, however the more extreme the example, the more factors you have to have covered in order for it to work and stay alive doing it. For example to kill the elephant they drove up to it and shot it through the skinniest part of the skin between ribs into the lungs and drove off and it died probably of infection much later on.

With a 9mm on bear it is not so extreme, but definetly still not considered safe under normal circumstances.

If you were close enough a single bullet will penetrate the skull of the biggest bears head, but you will need to hit it at the right angle.

Same with to the chest, enough shots will drop one, using FMJ would be best as they penetrate the furthest, however whether the bear escaped or ate you first and then crawled off to die later is the problem.

All in all you might stop one charging if you emptied a clip into it...or you might not.

All in all if I were carrying a 9mm for defence in the woods it would be better than nothing.

Some of the old african hunters used to have a pistol handy as well as their powerful rifles for tracking lions and buffalo. While they were not ideal if the rifle got knocked out of their hands in a charge etc. as they said a pistol is still a damn site better than trying to stick your fingers in a lions eyes to kill it!

Answer 4

I'm sure you could, however it would be difficult. You would have to hit in just the right spot. I would aim for the eye. I live and hunt in Alaska and have always come across bear, while hunting and not. Most of the time they will not pay any attention to you as long as you don't try to piss them off. However one time, it was necessary for me to draw my revolver and engage a very large brown (grizzly) bear. I had to completely unload my .44 magnum (6 shots) to bring it down. A 9mm bullet is not heavy nor powerful enough to do anything other make it REALLY mad. If are hunting in an area when you could run across bear, I personally would not carry anything less than a .44 magnum. After that incident, I have actually been looking into the new .500 S&W for hunting protection. When I came across that bear, it was the scariest moment of my short life. I wouldn't even trust a 9x19mm bullet to defend myself from a human, nonetheless a half ton bear.

FYI: By the time your are close enough to use pepper spray on a bear, or anything dangerous, you're already dead.

Answer 5

What kind of bear is in your neck of the woods? If you've got grizzlies, head shots will just piss them off.

The grizzlies skull is very thick, and also very angled. Shots aimed for the head will hit the plates and skid along the plates, further pissing off said bear. Repeat, THEY WILL NOT PENETRATE WITH A 9mm. Heck, I don't know if a pistol round will penetrate a bear skull. Maybe the SW 500.

This might be true with browns and blacks. Check Google Image to see what I'm talking about.
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&tab=wi&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS177US215&q=brown%20bear%20skull

The skulls have a sloping angle, which makes it really hard for handgun bullets to not slide along instead of penetrating.

9mm is not the round you want to have to use, but it has stopped a bear on the Kenai River up here in Alaska. I don't remember what type of bear. It was with a 9mm FMJ, and got the heart. I have no idea how many rounds it took to kill the bear, but they did say it was a heart shot that stopped it.

Now, if you are set on using a 9mm, I'd go with something like Corbon FMJ, which is considered a hot load. Then I'd have 3 hi-cap mags, 15-17 rounds each. FMJs will penetrate the body, and hopefully hit something.

Hollowpoints are generally bad as they hit the fur and start doing their damage outside the bear.

I wouldn't stop shooting until the bear has either stopped moving, retreated or has decided I don't taste good with all that pepper spray and peed pants. =)

Answer 6

If you are using a 9mm as a backup in dealing with a bear it doesn't matter what type of ammo you use. Just stick it in your ear so you do yourself in with one shot; it will be less painful than feeling the bear chew off chunks of you while still alive. Along with the pepper spray carry a three pack of road flares, bears don't like fire in any form.

Answer 7

Your chances of sucessfully defending yourself from a bear attack with a 9mm are just as good as getting a complete meal at a buffet with Rosie O'Donnell present. :)

It is obviously better than nothing if you must shoot the bear, but shot placement is vital. Don't bother for the head, the bullets will just glance off and anger the bear. You would want to empty the magazine in the heart/lung area in order to assure significant damage is done.

Answer 8

a nine on a bear is most likley going to piss him off,and it is completely not legal to hunt a bear with a 9mm,as it is way too small bore a cartridge for such a animal,,,you need at least like a 44 mag or greater,,,yes greater to kill first shot a bear,,,,,i know,,yes you can kill almost anything with say a .22 ,,one of the smallest cartridges,,but its the amount you have to use to do the job!,,,,if your looking for a good camp gun for protection if you go out in the back woods,,,well dont forget the non lethal stuff like pepper spray,but if your hell bent on a gun,,,id say 44 mag,,454 cassull,,,460 s+w,,480 ruger,,,500 s+w mag,,thats your best shot.

Answer 9

I read an article where a brown bear was killed by a 9mm. The shooter used FMJs for penetration. IMO, you should pack 147 Gr FMJ loaded to +P+ levels.

Answer 10

i do no longer think of a Glock could be a good first gun. to respond to your question i could positioned funds into magazines, cleansing equipment, and ammo. i understand there are a number of the ten around magazines nevertheless floating around so make constructive to no longer get tricked into paying for any. 9mm is a good starter high quality so good luck and continually prepare firearm risk-free practices regardless of the gun unloaded.