Bear Defense Sidearm for wife?

elks96

Long Time Member
Messages
3,778
I am looking for a good gun for my wife to carry around the woods in Grizzly country. She is smaller framed and needs a smaller grip to feel
Comfortable. I am more concerned about shots on target than stopping power, but want to balance both.
I am thinking a 357 or a good solid 9mm. I know they do not have ideal stopping power but much bigger and she likely will not practice enough to feel confident!
Any suggestions in an easy to handle option?
 
My wife carries a 380 in her purse in town but a 40 cal in the woods. But not in Griz country ?. Not sure she could carry one big enough for that. However I did see a woman in Alaska carrying a postal grip short barreled shotgun. Maybe with a slug?
 
I like that setup except for the goofy grip. Looks like it would hurt. I have an old mossberg that came with a real pistol grip. It wasnt bad to shoot. I think that one on the shockwave looks like its gonna be a nose breaker. They make a shorter than normal tactical type butt stock that's looks like a good alternative. I have never carried one in bear country but my son has and there may or may not be something similar behind my bedroom door.
 
454 CASULL!

ruger alaskan.jpg
 
Call an Alaska warden and ask them. If it where my wife, I'd be going with a short shotgun with slugs & or buck shot. I have a friend who is a Biologist in Alaska and I believe she was carrying a shotgun when doing remote work. If it has to be a side arm, my thought would be maybe a 44mag but have her shoot low velocity 44 special rounds all the time so she's comfortable with it, but then put the 44mag rounds in when she's in the woods....? Hope she never needs it!
 
I have always heard a 9 mm just pisses the bear off. Need more gun. Big pistols can be hard to handle for a little lady. So I would say 12 gauge shotgun. Some go slugs and OO bucks shot every other round. A eight shot shot 12 gauge shotgun. I wouldn’t stand in front of that gal. Make sure you are always walking behind her. ???
 
41 mag. Hands down one of the best

I would suggest something besides the 41 mag. I have packed this caliber for 10 years thinking I was heavily armed, shot a treed bear last spring as was pretty surprised. I would have been chewed on pretty good if it was a self defense situation.
 
I like my 10mm or my 41 mag revolver. Double action revolver and it's always ready to shoot.
 
Maybe think about the Ruger, SP101 357. Without getting into the whole 357 is not big enough debate. (I admit it's probably not enough for big bear in allot of cases) but It allows practice with lighter 38's and then loading a 200 gr hard cast 357 (Underwood, Buffalo Bore...) for carry in the woods. At least if she is practiced and confident it is better than a bigger cal. she doesn't like to shoot? Makes a good concealed weapon as well. Just a suggestion, to each their own.
 
If you're thinking .357, Smith and Wesson makes/made an 8 shot, 4 inch barrel revolver. Agree with Smokepoll, practice with .38spcl/+P, carry the biggest projectile for Grizzly country carry. Another option might be a Glock 10mm, slim grip. As others have stated, a short barreled shotgun with slugs would be best, IMHO.
 
I have a small wife as well and went through this similar questioning. Settled on a Ruger SP101 with a 4.2" inch barrel and load it with 180 gr hard cast lead hand loads. We went to a gun shop where she held several different hand guns. The second choice was a Blackhawk in 357 with a 4.5"ish barrel that would have required a set of smaller grips and some hammer work to fit her. Got her the biggest hand gun she could comfortably and reliably operate.
 
Find something nice and light to carry and a solid caliber. No way can my wife shoot my .44 mag with my buffalo bore rounds. So she usually takes my .45 auto with buffalo bore rounds. I don't suggest a .45 for a bear gun but when we go horn hunting we are always near each other.

I agree with the .41. double action. one less thing to think about when shooting. don't have to pull the hammer back each time. just let it fly

Everyone around here raises a big stink on how great the 10mm is but nor for me. I have heard guides pumping a whole clip into a bear and finished with a 7mm. I have also heard and know the wrangler in camp that shot a grizz with a .22 and dropped dead. talk about lucky. best part is he shot a griz the day before with slugs in camp. $10,000 fine on that one and one pissed off outfitter.
 
Call an Alaska warden and ask them. If it where my wife, I'd be going with a short shotgun with slugs & or buck shot. I have a friend who is a Biologist in Alaska and I believe she was carrying a shotgun when doing remote work. If it has to be a side arm, my thought would be maybe a 44mag but have her shoot low velocity 44 special rounds all the time so she's comfortable with it, but then put the 44mag rounds in when she's in the woods....? Hope she never needs it!
That is what I'd say. Pistol grip 12 gauge and slugs. A bear will eat up that 38 / 357, then start on you. Outfit that shotgun with a sling and its easy to carry - easy to access!
 
45 long colt , 200+ grn slug probably stop a big bear, after enough wind thro the hole causes pnemonia
 
what ever you get for her....file the sites off.

It won't hurt so bad when the bear is jamming it up her assss....
 
Hey NVB?

Hold Your Dodge Steering Wheel in one Hand!

And This RUGER ALASKAN In the Other Hand!

Then You Can Say:

I Got My F'N Hands Full!:D
 
I would suggest something besides the 41 mag. I have packed this caliber for 10 years thinking I was heavily armed, shot a treed bear last spring as was pretty surprised. I would have been chewed on pretty good if it was a self defense situation.
My grandpa and dad hunted bears with hounds and packed 41s as back ups. Never, ever had an issue with a cripple getting away or chewing up people or dogs.
 
Glock 29- 10mm. With a small grip extension. This is a smaller pistol, with some good power, but not overwhelming recoil.
 
10 MM is a stopper
10 shots if she gets that many off should work and it doesn't have the recoil of a larger pistol. IMO
 
The Judge and alternate the barrel with 45 long colt and slugs. Every trigger pull can be a surprise for the bear.
 
Earlier post. Scroll down, and several on here posted a 10mm was OK for bear defense.

 
So as women trying to compete in a man's hobby, they feel they need to prove they have bigger balls than their man. What's your excuse Bess?
 
No Excuse!

If These Two Can Pull the Trigger on a Real Gun!

You Should be able to do it too!

Did You miss My Post up above NVB?:D

Hold Your Dodge Steering Wheel in one Hand!

And This RUGER ALASKAN In the Other Hand!

Then You Can Say:

I Got My F'N Hands Full!:D
 
I dont feel I need to compensate for the size of my manhood by having a big gun. Same with making my diesel smoke.

You on the other hand...
 
Bear spray. Easy to use, no hesitation. Not many people have enough experience to get a shot off quickly. Been there, done that and it ain’t pretty. Plus she can keep it in her car if some douche bag gives her trouble?
 
The Glock 23 mid sized .40 best
" Wife" hand gun made.... she should carry it 24/7...for men. Bear spray and the 23 in the woods. Good luck training her to shoot 5 boxes of Winchester white box!!!! When her friends come out to shoot....i was a little sad to find 5 empty "Tan" box's of Winchester "Ranger" on the deep freeze last week....not the best of times to be mag dumping our "carry" ammo stash......ugg.
 
Bear spray. Easy to use, no hesitation. Not many people have enough experience to get a shot off quickly. Been there, done that and it ain’t pretty. Plus she can keep it in her car if some douche bag gives her trouble?
Do not let her keep bear spray in her car unless you want to buy her a new car. Once it explodes from the heat, doesn't take hot weather, your car is totaled.
Bear spray can be just as difficult to use in a pinch as a firearm.
Get her shooting lower recoiling rounds for practice, if she has to use it as defense from a bear she will not notice the recoil in the heat of the moment.
41 mag, 44 mag or 10mm are all calibers that a female can shoot just fine. Heck 454 is not bad when rounds are loaded accordingly.
I have them all and would prefer a double action revolver for ease of shooting in a hurry unless she is going to carry with one in the pipe.
 
Didn't get a chance to watch the videos when I first saw this, but stumbled across it during a search, so I watched.

I think Farm Boy just likes showing off Farm Girls assets. Just saying.
 
Hey x7 I have one of those and love it not as bad shooting as the .44 but all of the stopping power
A lot of the guys who hunted with hounds back when it was legal packed 41 mags for back up weapons here in California. I can't tell you how many my grandpa killed with his.
 
There are several studies that prove the effectiveness of bear spray over sidearms, especially with shooters who are anything less than pro level shooters.
 
When I venture out into bear country, I roll with my 41 mag as my side arm and spray if its grizzly country.. Smith and Wesson made a model years back that was made of scandium i'm pretty sure. Less than two lbs. I carry every thing on my back so a light side arm that I will hopefully never use is a must. Thats what I love about hunting Nevada....No bears

Offtrail
 
44 mag bullets are .429 in diameter....41 mag bullets are .410 in diameter....no bear, dead or alive could feel the difference...
 
Here's my .41. Never fired it, still have the box. Im gonna guess I've had it almost 30 years. Some times I will buy two of the same gun, just to keep one. Two Grendels, Two Pre-64 .338s, etc. Not with this one as it is the only one I could find.

VyUQIYw.jpg
 
10mm hands down, the 10mm lots of round capacity, the go hand gun of locals in Alaska. Check out ballistics charts on foot pounds of energy. 10mm in equal to a .41magnum. Use Underwood ammo Underwoodammo.com full charge, special powder. Most other mfg water down the loads no true 10mm charge.
 
Here's my .41. Never fired it, still have the box. Im gonna guess I've had it almost 30 years. Some times I will buy two of the same gun, just to keep one. Two Grendels, Two Pre-64 .338s, etc. Not with this one as it is the only one I could find.

VyUQIYw.jpg
We go a little bigger in Utah. A 44 mag 8 3/8 barrel. I have had this since I was 19 years old. I did kill a bear with it in Idaho.

7384FE1C-2AE1-4A19-95C9-5E6BFE2A2AD9.jpeg
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom