Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

jdonovan wrote:Lots of people keep suggesting a 357, and frankly the 357 is not up to the bear defense part of the request.

If it was up to ME, and I was expecting bears, then a 44mag would be the MINIMUM I'd be walking around with.

The Alaskan's are marginal in .44 and IMO a waste having such a short barrel for a 454.

If I'm going to haul the 45oz load of the alaskan, I might as well have a 6" bbl .44mag. It will have similar velocity from the same weight projectile.

grumpyMSG wrote:

jdonovan wrote:Lots of people keep suggesting a 357, and frankly the 357 is not up to the bear defense part of the request.

If it was up to ME, and I was expecting bears, then a 44mag would be the MINIMUM I'd be walking around with.

The Alaskan's are marginal in .44 and IMO a waste having such a short barrel for a 454.

If I'm going to haul the 45oz load of the alaskan, I might as well have a 6" bbl .44mag. It will have similar velocity from the same weight projectile.

You folks must not spend too much time in VA's woods, bears around these parts don't get to the huge sizes they get to out west and Alaska. 300+ pound Bears here in VA are pretty uncommon and 400+ pounders downright rare.

Size
Black bear weight tends to vary according to age, sex, health, and season. Seasonal variation in weight is very pronounced: in autumn, their pre-den weight tends to be 30% higher than in spring, when black bears emerge from their dens. Black bears on the East Coast tend to be heavier on average than those on the West Coast. Adult males typically weigh between 57–250 kg (125 and 550 lb), while females weigh 33% less at 41–109 kg (90–275 lb).[33] Although they are the smallest species in North America, extremely large males may reach a weight of 300 kg (660 lb), 1.1 m (3.5 ft) in shoulder height and 2.2 m (7 ft) in length[34] which does exceed the size of all other bears except the brown and polar bears. The largest subspecies on average is U. americanus carlottae of the Queen Charlotte Islands and Alaska.[35] The biggest wild American black bear ever recorded was a male from North Carolina, shot in 1998, that weighed 400 kg (880 lb) and measured 2.4 m (7.95 ft) long.[33] Adults have a typical size range of 120–200 cm (47–79 in) in length, and 70–105 cm (28–42 in) in shoulder height. The tail is 7.7–17.7 cm (3–7 in) long.[30][36][37][38] The North American Bear Center, located in Ely, Minnesota, is home to the world's largest captive male and female black bears. Ted, the male, weighed 950–1,000 lb (430–450 kg) in the fall of 2006.[39] Honey, the female, weighed 555.5 lb (252.0 kg) in the fall of 2007.[40]

grumpyMSG wrote: You folks must not spend too much time in VA's woods, bears around these parts don't get to the huge sizes they get to out west and Alaska. 300+ pound Bears here in VA are pretty uncommon and 400+ pounders downright rare.

BW1911 wrote:Love the sign!

OleMan wrote:These days, that would tend to be .44 mag and larger. Second, use ammo with a high sectional density bullet and good penetration. .

Jakeiscrazy wrote:

OleMan wrote:These days, that would tend to be .44 mag and larger. Second, use ammo with a high sectional density bullet and good penetration. .

Definitively true go for the hardest bullet you can find.

This article is gear towards hunters but can be useful for those concerned with protection.
http://www.foggymountain.com/handgunnin ... unt3.shtml

You'll have to make your own specific choice. After all, that's part of the fun of dreaming about and getting ready for a hunt. And if you use a minimum .40 caliber, a minimum 200-grain solid deformable bullet, and a minimum 1000-fps velocity from your chosen gun, you'll have a load that will anchor any black bear that stands in your sights.

m4a1mustang wrote:Thanks for all the info and discussion, guys. I think my problem is that I really want that damn GP100, and I think I'll get it.
But I might also get something a little bit bigger.