I live in northern alaska and am thinking about buying a handgun for emergencies when out in the wilderness. I live in bear and wolf country, so I was thinking of either a 9mm or .45 acp because of availablity, I was looking through reviews of compact pistols and found that most of the reviewers have never used the guns off the range, I am just looking for some real world input from people who carry handguns for these situations. Also, do I need any special permits for owning a handgun? I am not too sure on the regulations Alaska has compared to the lower 48.

of your in bear country I would certainly get a .45, The 45 packs a hell of a lot more punch than the 9mm

Forget the 9mm, all you'll do is tick off a bear, 44 magnum, or perhaps a 357 magnum, if your brave then a S&W 50 caliber.

S/W #586 8 3/8 " barrel in the 357 mag. BYE BYE YOGI!!

I'd not fuck around...I'd want serious power. Desert Eagle .50...

.45 over the 9mm,,,R2R

[quote name='oldtimer' date='Jul 17 2007, 03:13 PM' post='2909566']
I'd not fuck around...I'd want serious power. Desert Eagle .50...
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Yup!!

only thing i carry in the back woods in AK is my .45 long colt single action....fuck auto pistols, revolvers DO NOT JAM. i dont care how good anyone thinks there .45 auto is IT WILL JAM at some point in time, plus the auto's dont pack 1/2 the punch of a .45 long colt.

look at the desert eagle "baby eagle .45", great price $500. new, and i've shot HUNDREDS of rounds though it, even cheap ass wolf ammo, and it has NEVER jammed.
http://www.magnumresearch.com/

thats exactly right. for reliable safty, a revolver is the only way to go. wet, frozen and rolling around in the mud wrasling a bear. i'd choose the revolver first. instead of a mud, ice or spent casing jammed auto.



very nice heater, but way way way to heavy to carry as a back up piece. i had a 44mag d/e. sold it back when i dumped the first letch andd needed cash. miss that gun.


big bullets make big holes. a nice s&w 4in 44mag. would be my first choice. heavy enough to do the job, and the recoils light enough to fire double action, with practice. un-like the big 50's that knock the hell out of you.
357's bullets are to small to carry any inertia and because of the high speed, they tend to explode when they hit thick hard bone. a 45 long colt's another nice round.

this one fits in a back pocket...... 45 long colt 240 gr. hornady xtp, if i have to . it a second time........ a 410 ga. double ball load makes a nice mess.

9mm is useless for bears. Some would say the 45 ACP is as well. for bear protection it would be at least a .357 mag or a .44. but if you insist on an auto, .45 would be the least i would go with.

357 mags are fine for tree shooting our michigan blackies, but this guy lives in alaska. an alaskian brown or polar bear would use our blackies to wipe their asses with. not ot mention an average black bear there will run over 500+.
in a high stress situation that first shot is the most important, make it count. don't be thinking that a clip full of sub par rounds is the answer if the first one didn't do the job. you'll probably not hit what your shooting at after the first shot anyway. don't send a boy to do a man's job.

I know that I'd want something with major stopping power that didn't jam just in case I could only get off one shot. I don't worry about bears here in mid-Michigan, but my .44 smith does a nice job on deer.

.44, 454, 460 and 500 S&W are my choices for back country bear protection. The .44 Mag is the weakest (by far) out of the ones i have listed but it will do plenty good enough, the 460 and 500 S&W are just beasts i would take either along without a second thought.

I would go for the s&w 460 or the bad boy s&w500 the only two guns for the back woods that i would trust

I have read these posts with interest and although I've never shot a grizzly,I have seen them up close.

I have also read a lot about them from what I consider very reputable hunting authorities.A 30-06 is considered too small for a grizzly so it is hard to imagine anything but a true handcannon will have any positive effect on them.This also makes me wonder what skill level would be required to shoot these effectively.I have seen people miss a man sized target,with a 44 magnum, at a mere 7 yards.By miss, I mean not even on the paper.

If you honestly think a Grizzly might attack you,carrying something on the order of a 375 H&H would probably give you the most comfort.If not this way I have what might seem like an extreme other solution.

The only way you are going to stop a charging or angry grizzly is to break down its bone structure.hit the central nervous system,or perhaps hit it so hard with an excellent expanding bullet from something like a 458 Winchester Magnum that just the sheer energy of the bullet shuts the whole animal down.

This preramble has just been to justify what may seem like an unusual idea.I think a grizzly will only be stopped by a handgun with a head shot.With this assumption,a .357 magnum revolver loaded with metal piercing rounds would seem to be ideal.If metal piercing rounds are not available perhaps a hard cast truncated cone lead bullet would be suitable..

Just my humble opinion.

Regards,
Brair

I also have been reading this post and tried not to comment. However, I just can't help myself. I assume you really want something that will stop a grizzly and still be somewhat portable. In this case, a self defense shotgun loaded with a quality slug will do the trick. If it is set up with an 18 inch barrel and a pistol grip it can comfortably be carried on a sling across your back. If you must have a pistol, I think the best choice would be a magnum research BFR. It is chambered in 45-70. It is virtually impossible to find that much stopping power in a repeating handgun at close range. Further, it would be easy to find that ammunition anywhere including Alaska.
Either way the bottom line is you must practice alot. You also need to practice with some induced stress and from many different positions.

TTT

Here's what you need!! The Smith and Wesson 460XVR Emergency Survival Kit!!! The bonus with the 460XVR is that it'll also shoot 45 Colt and 454 Casull. There, now your ready for any animal that'll potentially attack you in the wild.

Fits in your pocket and packs plenty of punch, name says it all
http://ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=5301&return=Y

I dont know about grizz or brown bears here in northern wisc. I have personally used my 9mm auto on a wolf for protection. It was during bowhunting a year ago,it got a little to close. I reported it to the dnr,and was ligit. I also used hollow points,at 10 yards it split its head wide open. These guns are light and pack a better punch than most think. But then again, I would opt to use at least a 45. up in that neck of the woods!

I live in Kodiak AK, most of the biggest Brown bears in the world come from this island and I have seen my fair share including sticking one at a distance of less than 10 yards with my Mathews Switchback XT and having it charge me and stop approx. 4 feet from me and stare me down no lie. I almost shot it in the head with my .460 Smith and Wesson. I have done alot of testing with this gun and can say it is versatile in the aspect of being able to chamber the .45 Colt round, 454 Casul and also the .460. When plincking I shoot the .45 Colt when hunting, fishing, or hiking I chamber with .460 Corbon 395gr. Hard Cast Lead, no worries what so ever about it's stopping power, the gun is available in long barrel version or 5" barrel for packing, my #1 Choice goes to the Smith and Wesson .460, just my 2cents. Anything smaller you might as well use on yourself when the bear is eating you for lunch!

i think i would have shit myself with a kodiak charging me.

I won't lie, I did check myself after he walked back into the woods, but I can honestly say it happened to me if ever asked. I think my buddy who was standing off to the side and behind me shit himself.

This selection/choice probably the best on IMHO.

To RESPECTFULLY ADD to the above, and no personal slam intended regarding bow hunting........

Anything less than a 44 magnum, on any bear, you better be a damn good shot, and you better plan on emptying it in the vitals to stop them if they decide you are on the menu. I am talking in the throat, the eyes/mouth/nose, or base of the neck. Forget breaking any bones, which idealy is what you want to do in addition to taking out the vitals. You want to be able to disable the skeletal capabilities for them to get at you, I.E. a broadside shot, breaking the front shoulder(s) to put them down, possibly the spine to disable the hind quarters as well. The only handguns that are gonna do that reliably and consistently are 44 mag and above, and with the 44 mag you better do it right. Big, heavy, hard and fast bullets.

NOT FOR AMETEURS!

I have seen bear hunters drop a black bear from a tree with an "eye" shot using a 357 magnum, and yeah, a 9 mm might do the job, but it was a small bear, 250#, UNLIKE a 6 to 15 hundred pound brown or grizzly, AND there were 12 ga shotguns w/slugs and 30-30 and above rifles on hand backing up the handgun shot.

I have a video from a hunting program on T.V.. These LUNATICS were hunting grizzly w/a bow and arrow. Now again, they had two guys backing w/firearms, one had TWO long guns, a 12 ga w/slugs, AND a 338 magnum, cant remember either winchester, or remington ultra-mag. The other guy had a 7mm magnum. Well, the archer hit the bear a little too far back behind the shoulder, it ran off into the scrub. They started in after it, but it was getting dark, so they quit for the night, and followed up the following morning. They went 30 yards further than they were the night before into the scrub and the party was on. The bear was on the ground facing them, then lept up charging and they expended 3 slugs and a couple 338's to put it down, the guy w/ the 7mm never got a shot off, it happened that quickly. Now the video was taken after the incident, the guy on the program told the story as they were panning and filming the area, and the guide from Alsaka, STILL had not calmed down. Even HE was shook up.

You go into Alsaka and get attacked by a bear, you better be damn good w/that handgun, and it better be 44 mag or larger, if I had a choice, it would be larger. No way in hell would I have the stones to hunt a grizzly or brown w/a stick and a rubber band.

I was just wondering what kind of velocity you would get with the .460 Corbon 395 Hard cast Lead bullet and the 5 inch barrel?
Thanks in advance,
Brair

I actually watched something about these hand guns on guns n ammo tv or something to that effect on the outdoor channel, and believe it or not the 5" .460 had better velocity and ft lbs of energy than the larger barreled gun I have (8 3/8") and the hunter version with the fancy crap on it. I believe my Corbon Box states that the .460 395gr hard cast bullet to be around 1850ft/sec muzzle velocity, the speer 200gr. spitzer bullet is traveling right around 2500ft/sec. Now everybody is starting to make bullets for the gun, but I will say this if you want a kick ass bullet that will not fail google "punch bullets" I believe they are spun on a lathe and filled. They are right around 10.00 a piece, but they look bad ass.

Yeah, the .460 is probably the most practical choice, because you can shoot the cheaper .45 Colt for target shooting. If you step up to the mighty .500, every loading for it is expensive. But if ammo price (and gun price) is no object, then my vote is for the .500S&W Incidentally, a friend of mine has both a .460 and a .500, and he seems to like his .460 better.

But I sure as hell wouldn't go below a .44 Mag, if it's for Grizzly protection.

Either way, it is DEFINITELY double ear protection and maybe a mouth guard for good measure. That .460 shook me to the core...the only thing I could muster was "sweet Jesus!!!!"

My son live in Alaska and I got him a Ruger Redhawk 5 1/2" barrell. I bought a box of Buffalo Bore ammo. I got the 340 gr. hard cast. It produces nearly the same ballistics as the 454 Casull. In a defence situation, penatration is vital. A 9mm, 40mm, 45acp won't do it! The 41 mag and the 10mm will but I prefer a large deep hole. You have to make him think about somethimg else besides you. The 41 is about the smallest I would go with. A deer is thin skinded and doesn't take much to kill them. A Grizz on the other hand will want to eat you! I never had that problem with a Whitetail! Besides the bigger the better does apply here. I guess I would say carry something you are comfortable with saving your life! You don't get too many second chances! Remember, GO BIG OR STAY HOME! THE BEAR DO!

http://www.buffalobore.com/

http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm#44P