Opinions on 10mm in Grizzly country?

[Ovis Venator]

I have a Glock 29 that I conceal carry everyday but when I am poking around in grizzly country I carry my 329PD. Luckily I have not shot either out if necessity yet so I can't say if one is more effective than the other. I do kick around the idea of carrying the Glock into the backcountry just because I have a light on it and it is nice to know what is going bump in the dark.

 

[Jbotto]

I love a .30-30 I think it’s way underrated. Most whitetails I have seen with it are DRT. Just can’t find one with a 6 inch barrel lol.

Here ya go if you can live with 7" barrel https://shopkahrfirearmsgroup.com/firearms/magnum-research-3030-win-revolver-75-inch-barrel.asp

Closest a they got is 7.5”, but ya know the age-old stupidity of removing the front sight?? Might as well lop off 1.5” and kill two birds.


Edited: late to the draw as @VikingsGuy beat me with the link

 

[3855WIN]

Why? mtmuley

I’d already have something that could kill a bear. No need for extra weight.

 

[mtmuley]

I’d already have something that could kill a bear. No need for extra weight.

I carry one anyway. mtmuley

 

[geetar]

Yet another redumdant grizz country gunslinger thread ... will there ever be empiracal proof of the right answer?

Sorry if I ruined your day with it. I live in the south. Black bears and coyotes are really the only predators we have. So instead of thinking I know everything I’d rather ask here from guys who might have carried one than read a bunch of magazine articles written by a guy got paid to love on the 10mm.

 

[runningmt]

Great chance of shooting yourself or a hunting partner in a panic. An extremely small percentage of people can shoot a handgun accurately under duress; even law enforcement and military (who are trained) screw up quite a bit.

Carry bear spray, it works. If you shoot yourself or a family member with it, it excruciatingly painful, but not deadly. Shoot yourself in the leg, or shoot one of your kids with a 10mm......

So many studies have been done on this, it shouldn’t even be a topic anymore, but I guess nowadays everything is “fake news” right?

 

[Tradewind]

Better then a 9mm. You'll be fine

 

[HandgunHunter]

Great chance of shooting yourself or a hunting partner in a panic. An extremely small percentage of people can shoot a handgun accurately under duress; even law enforcement and military (who are trained) screw up quite a bit.

Carry bear spray, it works. If you shoot yourself or a family member with it, it excruciatingly painful, but not deadly. Shoot yourself in the leg, or shoot one of your kids with a 10mm......

So many studies have been done on this, it shouldn’t even be a topic anymore, but I guess nowadays everything is “fake news” right?

As prior LE....1 range day a year hardly counts as training.

as prior usmc infantry....there are a whole lot of different jobs in the service...and all different levels of training.

neither of these comments made above have any merit in this discussion.

if you feel unsafe with a handgun....you are more than likely unsafe with a rifle and should have neither.

 

[Straight Arrow]

Sorry if I ruined your day with it. I live in the south. Black bears and coyotes are really the only predators we have. So instead of thinking I know everything I’d rather ask here from guys who might have carried one than read a bunch of magazine articles written by a guy got paid to love on the 10mm.

No problem at all, geetar. I merely find it humorous that there are so many, many threads on this forum which hash and rehash this question ad nauseum. Same with regard to the efficacy of a sidearm versus bear spray. It never ends. But sometimes gets overly serious and sometimes gets funny. Your question is valid.
Carry on. 'Sorry if I distracted.

 

[Jape]

While not addressing your question directly @geetar, there is another option that we employ when hunting in grizz country. Nobody hunts alone (usually in pairs) and the non-shooter has a shotgun (usually Benelli M4 semi-auto) with buckshot for the first shot and slugs thereafter. A lot more accurate, although I understand it may not work for your application.

 

[fmnjr]

No problem at all, geetar. I merely find it humorous that there are so many, many threads on this forum which hash and rehash this question ad nauseum. Same with regard to the efficacy of a sidearm versus bear spray. It never ends. But sometimes gets overly serious and sometimes gets funny. Your question is valid.
Carry on. 'Sorry if I distracted.

I know, it's kind of like a lot of topics here, right? Maybe folks just like to BS a little bit.

 

[fmnjr]

Better then a 9mm. You'll be fine

Let us know what you think about 9mm after reading this:

Brown Down

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2016/8/10/alaska-outfitter-defends-fishermen-from-raging-grizzly-with-9mm-pistol/?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com#.V6uFoJylXX0.facebook

www.hunttalk.com

 

[geetar]

No problem at all, geetar. I merely find it humorous that there are so many, many threads on this forum which hash and rehash this question ad nauseum. Same with regard to the efficacy of a sidearm versus bear spray. It never ends. But sometimes gets overly serious and sometimes gets funny. Your question is valid.
Carry on. 'Sorry if I distracted

No problem at all, geetar. I merely find it humorous that there are so many, many threads on this forum which hash and rehash this question ad nauseum. Same with regard to the efficacy of a sidearm versus bear spray. It never ends. But sometimes gets overly serious and sometimes gets funny. Your question is valid.
Carry on. 'Sorry if I distracted.

I gotcha. No hard feelings.

 

[LopeHunter]

I have a 9mm Walther. Have shot a lot and can unjam and load in the dark. I looked into carrying my 9mm on my goat hunt in active grizzly country north of Yellowstone. I looked into hard cast bullets though think not a good idea for semi-auto.

I decided to carry bear spray. No encounters so no idea how my strategy would have played out, especially in some of the wind that hit over 25mph during my hunt. I did have fresh grizzly scat 100 feet from my tent one morning. That made me spend a bit more time checking out my backtrail that morning.

 

[Tradewind]

Let us know what you think about 9mm after reading this:

Brown Down

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2016/8/10/alaska-outfitter-defends-fishermen-from-raging-grizzly-with-9mm-pistol/?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com#.V6uFoJylXX0.facebook

www.hunttalk.com

I saw that article when it first came out. It looked to me, from the article that the bear was facing, menacing his clients and not attacking him, so he had the benefit of
a broadside shot that wasn't moving real fast. He also had a semi-auto rather then revolver to get off a lot of rounds.
I would rather have a 9mm then a .22.
Bigger is better in my world.
a lot of attacks the victims mention that it happened so fast, they hardly had time to react.
If I have only a chance for 1 shot, I'd like to make it a big one.
I carry a big heavy .44 mag. It's a pain a lot fo the time, especially after a 10- 15 mile day and doesn' ride real well on my hip.
I have been considering a semi (10mm) in leu of a six shooter. especially after my revolver froze up on me opening week in the snow.
I do check it a couple x per day when out. The front chest rig that JLS suggested to me and is shown in a pic earlier on the thread looks appealing
from a comfort and access point of view.
To your question:
In the end I think caliber doesn't matter quite as much your ability to quickly unholster the gun and attain the target. I wouldn't want
to get hit with any of them.
During summer and early fall scouting I practice drawing and attaining the (practice) target through the sights (w/ the gun unloaded).
Muscle memory.
Some are happy w/ bear spray. It's all good. I think bear spray is wonderfully effective in a lot of circumstances and you both get the chance
to walk away. But if only 1 of us gets to walk away it had better be me. I leave the spray behind later in the season when the weather get cold.

 

[geetar]

I have a 9mm Walther. Have shot a lot and can unjam and load in the dark. I looked into carrying my 9mm on my goat hunt in active grizzly country north of Yellowstone. I looked into hard cast bullets though think not a good idea for semi-auto.

I decided to carry bear spray. No encounters so no idea how my strategy would have played out, especially in some of the wind that hit over 25mph during my hunt. I did have fresh grizzly scat 100 feet from my tent one morning. That made me spend a bit more time checking out my backtrail that morning.

I have considered the wind issue myself as a reason to a pistol. Although I do carry bear spray as well.

 

[HandgunHunter]

I have considered the wind issue myself as a reason to a pistol. Although I do carry bear spray as well.

Options are good. Carry both.

 

[Gary]

Carry whatever makes YOU feel comfortable. Bears have been killed with everything from a 22 LR on up. (I'm not saying a 22 is a good protection round. For those with reading comprehension problems.) The feelings of confidence you emanate will go more towards avoiding an encounter than a 500 S&W.

 

[Carnage2011]

There was a grizzly killed in the gravellies this year with 1 shot from a 10mm. There was also one killed with one shot from a .223. Shot placement is key.

 

[Addicting]

That guy has a lot of stuff strapped on him. Wow. mtmuley

He isn’t wearing bear mauling proof camo. By wearing this he won’t get mauled, maybe something else but not mauled.