10mm For Bear Defense

[4949shooter]

Below is the link to a Petersen's article on using the 10mm for bear defense. I thought it was pretty interesting:

https://www.petersenshunting.com/editorial/is-10mm-enough-gun-for-bear-defense/368366?fbclid=IwAR0f1Q3A4vWT-A5y5Vx-KoPjj2IqdyxrK12NAL3EpJuTQ6ML1j7mqpoWw-I#:~:text=Joseph%20von%20Benedikt-,Is%20the%2010mm%20Enough%20Gun%20for%20Bear%20Defense%3F,grain%20Dangerous%20Game%20monometal%20load.

[sqlbullet]

Good read.  Well reasoned.

[4949shooter]

I thought so as well.

[Muskrat]

Not a bad article. I'll take bear spray over a gun any day of the week and twice on any day I might meet a bear.

[bigboredad]

Not a bad article. I'll take bear spray over a gun any day of the week and twice on any day I might meet a bear.

Curious about your decision. Not saying good or bad just curios

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[Bluebird5000]

That was a really nice article.

I think the part that hits home for me is, while the choice of gun may be relevant to some, I just do not have experience with large revolvers.

If I were real concerned I'd probably carry a short shotgun loaded with heavy hardened slugs since that would be easier to operate.

Bear spray there are arguments for but I'd rather have a slug if I were being attacked. Maybe bear spray if they were eating my food ... I probably wouldn't shoot one to protect minor property.

[Lyle_Savant]

Good read, thank you. [emoji1360]

[Muskrat]

Not a bad article. I'll take bear spray over a gun any day of the week and twice on any day I might meet a bear.

Curious about your decision. Not saying good or bad just curios

I believe bear spray is much more likely to keep a bear from making contact with me than any firearm...especially a handgun. Bear spray isn't infallible, but it works most of the time. At least with bear spray there's a very good chance that a person will be able to deploy it effectively, which isn't true for firearms. I shoot between six and twelve-thousand handgun rounds per year in dynamic environments, with a shot timer telling me exactly how quickly or slowly I'm making accurate hits...no standing in a shooting lane and punching holes in a piece of paper, but rather shooting reactive steel targets, moving targets, and shooting stationary targets while on the move. I'm real far from the best handgunner around, but I shoot significantly faster and more accurately than people who don't compete on a semi-professional level. I've got a reasonably good idea of the difficulty of getting bullets into the vital zone of a charging bear while under a startle response, and I'll take my chances with bear spray. I cary a 10mm as well, but it's the bear spray I reach for when I hear a "woof" from the willows.

In addition, while I have no intention of ever being a chew-toy, I don't think bears should get shot for acting like bears. Most bear (grizzly) attacks are a territorial response to a person who cluelessly and rudely intrudes into the bears' personal space, and the bear is just acting on instinct. Had the person been paying better attention or modified their behavior to accommodate the wind, terrain, and vegetation, an attack could have been avoided in many cases. Bear spray is more effective than bullets, and it allows the bear to go on being a bear...win-win in my opinion.

One of the few instances where bear spray has a poor track record is with predacious bears...bears who see you as a piece of slow meat. Predacious bears are REMARKABLY rare, but there are at least two verified instances where predacious black bears were sprayed to no effect prior to getting their manwich. In that situation a firearm is the better option...providing you can hit something with it.

[bigboredad]

Thanks for sharing your reasoning. You have obviously put some thought on the subject.

I've been playing action games at the club level and I agree on the difficulty in getting off fast shots to go where you want.

When you look at the target frames at any public range and see how shot up they are at 10yds and then some guy is banging away at a target with a 44mag. A and tells you he stop a grizzly attack but he can't hit the paper from 10yds.

Due to my health I'll likely never get to see Alaska and all it has to offer so the chance of ever running into a big bear for me is highly unlikely but I do enjoy hearing people's opinion on the subject

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[Sneed]

Not a bad article. I'll take bear spray over a gun any day of the week and twice on any day I might meet a bear.

Curious about your decision. Not saying good or bad just curios

I believe bear spray is much more likely to keep a bear from making contact with me than any firearm...especially a handgun. Bear spray isn't infallible, but it works most of the time. At least with bear spray there's a very good chance that a person will be able to deploy it effectively, which isn't true for firearms. I shoot between six and twelve-thousand handgun rounds per year in dynamic environments, with a shot timer telling me exactly how quickly or slowly I'm making accurate hits...no standing in a shooting lane and punching holes in a piece of paper, but rather shooting reactive steel targets, moving targets, and shooting stationary targets while on the move. I'm real far from the best handgunner around, but I shoot significantly faster and more accurately than people who don't compete on a semi-professional level. I've got a reasonably good idea of the difficulty of getting bullets into the vital zone of a charging bear while under a startle response, and I'll take my chances with bear spray. I cary a 10mm as well, but it's the bear spray I reach for when I hear a "woof" from the willows.

I've spend a fair amount of time in Alaska and BC around both blacks and griz. I've noticed it was often windy and frequently very windy. If you could be sure a bear would attack with the wind in its face then spray is fine. When the wind's in your face and the bear is coming with it then good luck with spray. Better to curl up and play dead. If I'm alone I want a gun, preferably a .338Win Mag or better, but if I'm with someone then a gun for me and spray for my companion.

[4949shooter]

The combination of gun and spray is the best idea. Like in law enforcement, you may have an officer with a tazer but there should be another ready to go with a firearm.

[Kenk]

Absolutely, if the threat is agitated, be it a two, or a four legged critter, preparedness is critical To walking away alive

Ken