whats the smallest handgun that could stop and kill a black bear?

Question

I am not bear hunting, and i do not belive in killing, but just in case i am in the woods i want to know if i would be safe with a .40 cal 9 millimeter 357 or any pistol. If you do not have experience please do not anwer because you could get me hurt.

Answer 1

I care not about getting best answer on this. I am very concerned however, about you being safe.
We have our share of mauling and deaths here in Alaska from bear. And also please do not shoot a bear unless you have no choice.
Bears will make fake charges to scare you off. Never run from a bear this can encourage the bear to chase you.
Have a can of bear repellant spray in a belt holster for it as your fist line of defense.
Speak to the bear in a firm loud voice like this;
“ Hey bear! Go on! GO GET OUT OF HERE!” Wave your arms high above you to make you look bigger, speak with authority.
Black bears respond to this many a time and run like hell to get away. Grizzlies have run from people who have done this. BUT! Not all the time.
This is where your bear repellant comes in. As he charges you let him have it right in the face and eyes with the pepper spray. If he returns to charge again then you pull out your gun and fire a warning shot in the ground right in front of him. If that doesn’t stop him you will have to kill him with well placed shots. A .357 magnum is about as small as I would risk my life with a bear, granted a 10 mm auto will also kill a black bear. However the 44 mag would be better if you can shoot it accurately.
The important thing is what gun can you nail a baseball size object at 40 feet with.
This link show different bullet placements to kill a black bear. http://groups.msn.com/THEGUNROOM/yourwebpage4.msnw

A bear brain is a small target to hit when he is running towards you. But a brain shot can be done by aiming right between his eyes. A spinal shot to the neck will stop him. A heart shot will kill him but may not stop his charge. Some aim for the shoulders to turn him and slow him down for a better shot.

A .380 = useless, .22 rim fire = not a good choice, 9mm = can kill him but not a good idea, .45 colt = will kill him but doesn’t have the penetration for stopping power like the .357 mag and the .44 mag does. And lastly you want a heavy bullet do not use a light hollow point, like the ones for home defense.

I was walking along a Montana logging road when a large black bear stood up from a berry bush 20 feet away. I had nothing but a pocket knife. I stood still and talked to the bear in a calm low voice and then told him to go. He did. Black bears may have killed people but most will leave you alone. They usually do not have the mean temper of a Grizzly, Brown Bear or Polar Bear.
Never have food on your clothes or eat in your tent, cook food away from your tent. When walking in bear country make noise so they can hear you coming. Do not approach a bear that’s eating. And if you find the remains of a dead animal covered in leaves and branches; get out of there for that’s how a bear hides its kill for later.

Ok people, it seems you all are a bit too afraid of bears. Yes they can kill you but look, here at this link and you will see people just a few feet from Brown Bears and no one is getting eaten.
http://alaskafocus.net/blog/where-to-photograph/grizzly-bears/
My wife and I fish salmon just a few yards from big brownies and we have NEVER been attacked. I have had them drag a deer away, my native friend just shot. But we didn’t have to shoot the bear, we just walked away.
Just last month I had a big female brownie with cubs in my back yard. Brought my rottweiler in so he would get hurt; no problem.
We have millions of people visit Alaska every year that are within a few yards of our bears and very few get hurt. The ones that do are the ones who break the rules of bear country.
I urge you to go to the link above and learn more.
He is one who broke the rules;
http://www.southeasternoutdoors.com/wildlife/mammals/treadwell-fatal-grizzly-bear-attack.html
Here is what a polar bear attack victim looked like;
http://www.uncorrelated.com/images/polar_bear_attach.jpg

Answer 2

Many posters have said it better than I can, but to take a bear with a handgun you first need to be proficient enough with the firearm to place a good aimed shot, secondly the load you are firing needs to be sufficient to make the kill if placed properly.

The best advice I can give you is that you should never consider what the "smallest handgun that COULD stop a black bear." If you are going to go with the handgun route I suggest getting a handgun you are CERTAIN could stop a black bear. I would say the absolute best thing you can do is stay in a group if possible, make sure someone is slower than you at running and keep a couple skillets around.

The last reference is advice from an outdoors article I read years ago, along with the falling to the ground and playing dead option, (Which I wouldn't have the nerve to try). The article said the clang skillets together as it frightens the bears mainly because it is supposedly a sound they never would hear in nature normally and only would encounter around man. They said even a gunshot does not scare them as much because that is a sound that does occur out in the woods where the skillets does not.

Answer 3

You may not be aware, but there are sling-type scabbards - the wildlife specific trooper on the show "Alaska State Troopers" uses one sometimes - for carrying 24" barrell or shorter shotguns and rifles either across one’s back, or in front of them, across the chest/abdomen, laterally; gun slides right out of em. My cousin had a LOT - over 40 years - of experience hunting Alaskan brownies using handgun, iron sights, and unless you’re an excellent shot, accustomed to hitting your target under extreme pressure, I wouldn’t take a chance with a pistol, no matter how large the caliber. Most people underestimate the speed and endurance of the brown bear; they can run as fast as a quarter horse for up to 30 minutes! What a lot of hunters - or hikers - don’t know about, is what is called “the dinner bell dynamic”. Brown bears, in Alaska at least, will not run from the sound of a gunshot, and often are attracted to the report, knowing something has been killed and it’ll be easy pickings. Most hunters killed by browns in Alaska, are done-in by bears other than their targets that were browsing nearby, and come upon the hunter after they’ve fired their weapon, and have often foolishly laid the gun down. No sir, I’d do some weight training and carry a 12 gauge with at least 8 rounds of 00 buck in the tube and another 20 or so rounds in my pack. Just my opinion…. Good luck.

Answer 4

Smallest Handgun

Answer 5

If you already own a .357 then buy a box of FMJ's. If you are looking to buy a handgun for this purpose, nothing less than the .44MAG will do and the .460 or .500 is better.
Bear are very tough. The .357 may require several rounds to stop an angry bear and that translates to too close for comfort. Last year I dropped a black bear in his tracks at 50 yards with a .460 S&W with one shot. Now that's feels much safer.

Answer 6

With all due respect, if you have to ask this question you have no business with a gun, and you shouldn't be out and about in Bear infested area's by yourself anyway. I have killed 8 Bears in my lifetime in the U.S. and Canada, and all of them were taken with a rifle except 3 that I took with a S&W 44 Magnum Revolver (A 6" Barrel S&W 629) I was actually hunting them and it was not a "chance" encounter so I was fully prepared for a confrontation..

As others have already said you could possibly get lucky with ANY caliber weapon, but your total lack of experience will get you seriously hurt or killed. THAT is what you need to focus on here. If you were to take a single step into an area where there is even a slight chance of running into a Bear, you are already at a disadvantage, wether you are armed or not. That is just the simple truth....As I said before the best defense you can have is to be with a group of people when you are camping, hiking etc. A handgun without experience, is a psychological crutch, but will offer you no true protection. In an emergency, it will be whatever you can get your hands on...

Answer 7

Here are the Bear Facts by Alaska Department of Fish and Game;
http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=bears.bearfax
I live near Haines Alaska also called Valley of the Eagles.
Please read this information about bears at the link above.
Hand guns are NOT advised at all unless you are very good with it and it’s a hand cannon. Otherwise carry a big bore rifle or 12 ga shotgun with slugs.
But Beedsarefunak is right on many points, as is JD on some.
When we pick berries my wife carries a 30-06 with 220 gr bullets, we take turns carrying the rifle while we pick berries. I have been as close as 5 yards from bears here and I just keep slowly walking away and never have we been attacked. But a friend of ours wife was attacked in the village of Hoonah a few years ago, tore her face up bad. Her husband shot it in the ham while it had her with an '06 and it ran off in the woods, never to be found by fish and game personal.
Truth be told you have a far greater chance of getting killed in a car accident than by a bear.

Answer 8

Just in case, take the .357 Magnum. Bears have been killed with smaller guns, but why chance you life to anything smaller? The .357 Mag with 6" barrel is generally considered the minimum hunting handgun caliber.

Best.

H

Answer 9

My experience with California Black Bears is that they are more frightened of me than I am of my ex wife. All four that I have seen in the wild have taken off running as soon as they realized I was there.

But having said that, when I'm on the ranch in Mendocino county I carry a Glock 20 with 16 180gr hollow points at over 700 ft.lbs. I _hope_ that if I meet a bad bear those will be enough to stop him before he can end my life. I could haul a 6" 44Mag with me, but I am not as comfortable shooting a full power 44Mag and I think a dozen hits is more effective than six misses at twice the power.

We also have seen bobcats, mountain lions and Mexican drug gangs on the place. Only the last of those really worries me and we are talking to the DEA and Mendo Sheriff's department about that.

Answer 10

I would not go for less than a .357 mag. I've taken deer and black bear with em. But don't think for a minute that the .357 mag is gonna stop it in it's tracks. A perfect shot, might, but who can shoot perfectly every time? I have never stopped one with less that 3 rounds of .357 mag, and on one old boar that was really worked up, it took 7 rounds to finish him. A .44 mag is a better choice, but you wanted to know the smallest.
A 9mm?? No freaking way. A .40S&W, again, no way, yes it.s better than a rock, but not by a lot. And don't use any hollow point ammo, use the heaviest semi jacketed soft point you can get. In .357, I always used 158 grain jacketed softpoints.

Answer 11

In handguns, I would not rely upon less than a .44 magnum to stop a bear. If luck is with one, the smallest guns made might do. Notice that I said "might", but I give the bear the benefit of the doubt. A .44 mag revolver has comaparable power to the .30-30 rifle, and that is minimal for bear.