# Bear load for .44 Mag



## bucko12pt (Dec 9, 2004)

I'm leaving mid May on a 2 1/2 - 3 month RV tour of Alaska. I plan on taking my Ruger RedHawk .44 Mag with me as a defense weapon for bears while fishing. Looking for some advice for a stopping round for bears. I've heard Buffalo Bore a couple times, but no specific round, grain, etc. 

Anyone with any advice, favorite bear bullet for pistol??


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## hillbillie (Jan 16, 2011)

Buffalo bore hard cast bullet . Good for Redhawk to powerful for Smith and Wesson
Check out they're web site 

Sent from my Torque using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## Luv2hunteup (Mar 22, 2003)

bucko12pt said:


> I'm leaving mid May on a 2 1/2 - 3 month RV tour of Alaska. I plan on taking my Ruger RedHawk .44 Mag with me as a defense weapon for bears while fishing. Looking for some advice for a stopping round for bears. I've heard Buffalo Bore a couple times, but no specific round, grain, etc.
> 
> Anyone with any advice, favorite bear bullet for pistol??


How do you get your handgun through Canada or are you flying to Alaska then renting an RV?


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## bucko12pt (Dec 9, 2004)

Luv2hunteup said:


> How do you get your handgun through Canada or are you flying to Alaska then renting an RV?





Luv2hunteup said:


> How do you get your handgun through Canada or are you flying to Alaska then renting an RV?


We're driving, 15 unit RV caravan tour, 40 days on the road beginning in Hazelton, BC and ending in Kenai/Soldotna.

We're travelling though BC, YT and Alberta, so had to submit paperwork to transport direct to the Provinces. Paperwork goes to one desk for all three provinces for approval. You cannot carry in those provinces, it's a permit only to transport through the provinces.

Permit is necessary for restricted firearms, not prohibited firearms. No fully auto, 25-32 cal, 4" or shorter barrel, over 10 round capacity. Check the website for other restrictions. I have a Canadian Possession Acquisition License (PAL), but it isn't necessary. RCMP 909 (same form as for long guns) and permit to transport from the provinces are the necessary documents.


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## cleew (Apr 12, 2011)

Hmm, a 44 Mag for big browns! Since these aren't your cute, cuddly black bears and the coastal ones can top 1000 pounds. I'm not sure a 44 Mag is quite enough. In any case, you don't have to worry about expansion so stay away from any expanding type, hollow point bullets. Stick with hard cast or solid copper/brass for maximum penetration. As far as "stopping" a big brown with a handgun, well, a shot to the brain would do it. Other than that, a clean kill shot will probably take the bear at least 30 seconds to fully realize he's dead. That would certainly be an awful long 30 seconds! At that point, you'd better hope that you're a step or two faster than the slowest member of your party.


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## 9mm Hi-Power (Jan 16, 2010)

bucko12pt said:


> I plan on taking my Ruger RedHawk .44 Mag with me as a defense weapon for bears while fishing. Looking for some advice for a stopping round for bears.


I read somewhere that if you shoot a bear with a 9mm it'll get up again but if you shoot one with a .45ACP it'll stay down...or was that muggers ? Guess I'm confused. 






cleew said:


> Hmm, a 44 Mag for big browns! Since these aren't your cute, cuddly black bears and the coastal ones can top 1000 pounds. I'm not sure a 44 Mag is quite enough. In any case, you don't have to worry about expansion so stay away from any expanding type, hollow point bullets. Stick with hard cast or solid copper/brass for maximum penetration. As far as "stopping" a big brown with a handgun, well, a shot to the brain would do it. Other than that, a clean kill shot will probably take the bear at least 30 seconds to fully realize he's dead. That would certainly be an awful long 30 seconds! At that point, you'd better hope that you're a step or two faster than the slowest member of your party.




Agree fully with that assessment. I know this is apostasy on this forum but - from a U.S.F. & W. study:

"When it comes to self defense against grizzly bears, the answer is not as obvious as it may seem. In fact, experienced hunters are surprised to find that despite the use of firearms against a charging bear, they were attacked and badly hurt. Evidence of human-bear encounters even suggests that shooting a bear can escalate the seriousness of an attack, while encounters where firearms are not used are less likely to result in injury or death of the human or the bear. While firearms can kill a bear, can a bullet kill quickly enough -- and can the shooter be accurate enough -- to prevent a dangerous, even fatal, attack? 

The question is not one of marksmanship or clear thinking in the face of a growling bear, for even a skilled marksman with steady nerves may have a slim chance of deterring a bear attack with a gun. Law enforcement agents for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have experience that supports this reality -- based on their investigations of human-bear encounters since 1992, persons encountering grizzlies and defending themselves with firearms suffer injury about 50% of the time. During the same period, persons defending themselves with pepper spray escaped injury most of the time, and those that were injured experienced shorter duration attacks and less severe injuries. Canadian bear biologist Dr. Stephen Herrero reached similar conclusions based on his own research -- a person’s chance of incurring serious injury from a charging grizzly doubles when bullets are fired versus when bear spray is used. "

There're a lot of other studies around that fully back this up.

9mm Hi-Power


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Here is a couple AK. opinions.
Hard cast for sure.

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/11977-44-Mag-Hardcast


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

9mm Hi-Power said:


> I read somewhere that if you shoot a bear with a 9mm it'll get up again but if you shoot one with a .45ACP it'll stay down...or was that muggers ? Guess I'm confused.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Having read attack accounts in some of Ben East's works ...the rule is when in brown/grizzly country to carry enough gun.
I'm not anti bear spray by any means but if I ever had to use it(and I have no intention of having to) I'd be wanting a firearm in the other hand ready to rock.

I might not win should one choose to close ,or never stop a charge , but would hope the bear would be recognizable after by the leaking fluid and material . Or more hopefully, by it's carcass getting cold..

Sure would not be good either way if one wanted you. 
Might as well be able to present both methods of "defense"(?) rather than only your empty can being found with teeth marks in it.


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## fish_AK (Nov 10, 2009)

Having lived in South Central AK for a 4 years I discovered a few things about Brown bears and moose. Keep your distance and don't be a 'tourist' up in their business. Also, bear spray is proven to be pretty damn effective and cheap. However, a pistol gave me the greatest piece of mind. I had a ruger 44 sbh, 320 gr hard cast. No pistol is really enough for an angry Brown bear. So in my opinion, any pistol will give you that 'peace of mind' and have another person in your party get a can and holster of bear spray. 

Also, if you handload and have a flock you can load some nasty 10mm rounds that will give a 44 mag a run for the money and have the high capacity magazine with quick realoads on your hip...something to think about.


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## 9mm Hi-Power (Jan 16, 2010)

Waif said:


> Here is a couple AK. opinions.
> Hard cast for sure.
> 
> http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/11977-44-Mag-Hardcast


While I have no doubt that these suggested bullets are potent I noticed that none of the respondents ever used them in a bear encounter - except for one that was rather parsimonious on the details.

9mm Hi-Power


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

9mm Hi-Power said:


> While I have no doubt that these suggested bullets are potent I noticed that none of the respondents ever used them in a bear encounter - except for one that was rather parsimonious on the details.
> 
> 9mm Hi-Power


I'm unsure of your point.
The original question posed was bullet type for a .44 in brown bear country.
While I wander easily enough and get drawn off topic , hard cast seems the preferred.
Depending on the arm there are other uses that favor hard cast , but the gist of large bear in a defensive situation is that penetration and bone breaking potential are favored in the majority.
Tender spots would not be a luxury , and till the brain runs out of oxygen the force it controls is capable of continuation/ controlled movement unless broken structurally.

The suitability of caliber was not the question ,or the use of arms.
Brownies have been killed with a variety of arms under a variety of conditions with varied results.
A hit with a small arm vs a 50 Barrett depends on placement as to how much mauling may follow.
Being killed unarmed has happened.
As of course has being mauled.
You want to go into such an event with spray , watch the wind and hope the bear is not furious.
May be only one in five hundred are bound determined to end you ,but I'm not that lucky it would not be the first I encountered.
A rare event a bear won't leave some one alone and the majority don't push things but it happens.
After the spray is empty: having a sidearm ready would not be the worst that could happen.


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## cleew (Apr 12, 2011)

I've had my 10mm for a number of years now and I do hand load. There is no way on this earth I would have the slightest bit of comfort with that against an angry, big bear. The energy with either a 180 or 200 gr bullet isn't close to a 41 let alone a 44 Mag. It is, however, on a good day, a tad bit more than a 357. I get 1283fps with the 180's and 1193 with the 200's. A 250 pound black bear? Maybe. A big, 1000 pound brown? Not on your or my life!


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## bucko12pt (Dec 9, 2004)

Thanks for the replys everyone. I guess the best thing to do would be to stay home and be safe, but I'm not going to do that. Most of the time I will be fishing with a friend, or two that live up there and are in bear country all the time. I plan on picking up some bear spray to carry also. 

I have a little better idea of what to buy for a bullet now and a much better understanding of the logic behind the choice. It sounds like there are a few choices for a good penetrating bullet.


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## Joel/AK (Jan 12, 2013)

A 44 mag is better than a sharp stick. I used a 320gr hard cast. There's a company in soldotna,AK that sells them. Can't remember there name but over the 18 years living up there I did numerous penitration tests and they blow a 12ga slug out of the water and actually recoil manageable. 

I luckily never had to shoot a bear in self defense so YMMV. Use your head and you will be fine.


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## vampile (Nov 4, 2008)

Only approved for certain guns. Read carefully but these should help.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=54


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## Fabner1 (Jan 24, 2009)

How do you discretely clean out your drawers after a Brown Bear attack or even a charge?

Spary sounds best wif a big bore backup! 

If I were fishin' and a bear showed up I would be moving tother way!

12 point,

Hope you catch and eat a ton of Fish! Wish I could go along to fillet!
I shoulda' been a brain surgeon!

Old


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## The Whale (Jan 12, 2001)

I'm thinking if the choice was a 44 mag or a semiautomatic 12 ga, I'll take the 12 ga. That's a hell of a lot of lead coming at ya.


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## GIDEON (Mar 28, 2008)

9mm Hi-Power said:


> I read somewhere that if you shoot a bear with a 9mm it'll get up again but if you shoot one with a .45ACP it'll stay down...or was that muggers ? Guess I'm confused.
> 
> 9mm Hi-Power


Don't know about muggers, But I will guarantee you that a 45 will stop a black bear in its tracks............been there done that, got the rug


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## The Whale (Jan 12, 2001)

I'll still stay with the 12ga.


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## Rowdy Bandit (Mar 22, 2016)

Fool proof :

...uh wait, "error-proof" (more PC)


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