Elk hunting in Grizzly country, which pistol?

[Cell4soul]

I head to Wyoming in 4 weeks for for my hunt. I have 3 deer and 1 antelope tag. I just found out there is a really good chance my buddy and I will be invited to pull some over the counter cow elk tags to hunt some public land that only has private property access in Cody, WY. This is grizzly country and from what I understand, there are plenty of them. I can't afford to buy a new pistol right now, so my choices are my .357 revolver or .45 cal 1911. I am thinking the .357 would be the better choice, although still not really sufficient. I will also get some bear mace. Hunting with a buddy, one of us will likely stand watch with rifle in hand while the other guts and quarters any kills.

 

Which pistol would you take and any ammo recommendations for that pistol?

[Tac]

I would carry 1911 with plus-p rounds and shoot at the face take away eyes and brain.

[25-06]

Both

[Campnichols]

Ruger Alaskan 454 Casull with buffalo bore hard cast lead bullets.

 

Designed to stop a charging grizzly with a skull shot.

[ready2hunt]

Ruger Alaskan 454 Casull with buffalo bore hard cast lead bullets.

 

Designed to stop a charging grizzly with a skull shot.

 

Taurus makes a relatively cheap .454 called the raging bull. It is a beast of a load and the weight of the pistol take some kick out.

 

I love the ruger red/black hawk .44 mag pistols. cant go wrong. the only .45 I would go with is a Long Colt.

 

Anything else in my opinion is just a sound deterrent. Yes, with a smaller calliber you can still kill one with a well placed shot HOWEVER, if you are like me, a well placed shot would be pure luck with a charging grizz.

[GreyGhost85]

i have a hard time believing a charging grizzly would know much difference when he was hit a full mag f 45 acp +p rounds or a big bore handgun. take the 1911, save some money and relax. there is a recent video floating around of a fishing guide that dumped a huge brown bear with his 9mm when it charged his client.

[DesertBull]

Just Put rocks in your buddy's pack so that you can be sure to out run him when the bear comes to eat.

[Benbrown]

Odds are that you can't get your pistol out of your holster and fire an aimed shot in less than about three seconds--even if you have practiced a lot. That's about the time that it takes a grizz to cover 30 yards. If you want to carry a pistol for backup after using bear spray, that's OK, but your initial response should be with a bear spray canister--the kind that hangs from your belt and that can be triggered without having to remove and aim it.

 

Alaskan bear guide Phil Shoemaker did recently dispatch a small brown bear with a 9mm handgun, but it required nine shots with special bad-butt Black Hills ammo, and he knew what he was doing. The bear never charged, but did stand up in its bed and behaved aggressively toward his clients (who fortuitously had fallen down to one side in the thick vegetation where they had stumbled upon the sleeping bear). He admitted that, had he been expecting the possibility of a bear encounter where he was taking his clients, he would carried a big bore rifle instead.

[Guest akaspecials]

Grind the sight off either of those pistols so it doesn't hurt as much when a grizzly shoves it up your a$$.

 

Jk. You'll be fine with either gun AND bear spray. I have more faith in bear spray than a firearm for a charging bear. My gun of choice for bear country is a 12 gauge with slugs, but it's too hard to carry with a bow. Just be aware of your surroundings, especially if you have meat on the ground.

[trphyhntr]

Grind the sight off either of those pistols so it doesn't hurt as much when a grizzly shoves it up your a$$.

 

i figured you would tell him to add another sight on top of the first one

[Guest akaspecials]

 

Grind the sight off either of those pistols so it doesn't hurt as much when a grizzly shoves it up your a$$.

 

i figured you would tell him to add another sight on top of the first one

Lmao.

[dustin25]

Between the two guns you have,the 357 is the clear winner.get the heaviest hardcast underwood ammo you can and it'd do the job.I just got back from alaska,and after seeing bear in the wild,as close as 30 yards,it became clear that a handgun is a last resort behind bear spray.but I do believe it's worth carrying. There was a bear attack on a hiking guide while I was up there where the bear charged again after being bear sprayed.also,it's not going to be effective if the wind is blowing in your face.I took a super blackhawk. 44mag and a glock 20 10mm with me and carried both,but next time I go I will most likely take the glock,it's just much easier to carry,and with the 220gr hardcast ammo it will do the job in a pinch. A guy I know in alaska killed a big brown bear that got within 10feet of his young son while they were fishing last year with the same setup. The 357 is just slightly less powerful then the 10mm with the right ammo

[n2horns]

Run faster than your buddy. Or 41 mag, 44 mag or 10mm g20 with Underwoodammo.com has 220 hardcast like dustin25 stated. I am in QC with a modded G20 10mm if you want to handle it, I can also loan you some 220 hardcast if you cant buy them from Underwood. In the G20 I use a KKM barrel instead of the OEM barrel due to running the lead.

 

Andrew

[Str8Shot]

.357 with Buffalo Bore 180 grain penetrators IMO with what you have ..or get you a S&W 460xvr with at least an 8 inch barrel and use it for both... Not that hard to get within 200 - 150 yards to an ELK

 

[JohnSWA]

Pack whatever you're comfortable with and just don't get in between a sow and her cub and you will be just fine! Bottom line, enjoy your hunt and don't worry about the bears so much. Black Bears are usually more aggressive than a grizz anyway.