.357 or .45 in the mountains

[rgs1975]

For wilderness carry. Uses would only be defensive vs. coyote, mountain lion, black bear, human. Which one?


7 shot .357 Magnum revolver with a 4" barrel shooting Buffalo Bore 180 grain lead flat nose gas check at 1400fps muzzle velocity & 783 ft. lbs. muzzle energy

or

9 shot .45ACP 1911 with a 5" barrel shooting Buffalo Bore 255 grain +P hardcast lead flat nose at 925fps muzzle velocity & 484 ft. lbs. muzzle energy

[Snapping Twig]

Of those two, 180g cast in the .357 for me.

If you offered a .45LC, I'd run with that using a 255g cast SWC @ 900fps.

Given the choice of anything I want, like I do regularly, a 3" .44 mag with 265g cast SWC @ 1200fps.

[shooting4life]

I would go with 357

[Mr. Beretta]

I would go with 357

+1..............

[misterjake]

A Montana man killed a Grizzly bear with a .45...


Shot it in the face mutliple times, bear walked away, died 100ft or so from being shot.

So, if you can kill a grizzly bear with a .45, EVERYTHING in CA will die too.

Plus, .357 you have a lower ROF.

IMHO

http://forums.gunsandammo.com/forum/hunting/backpacker-shoots-kills-grizzly-bear-45-acp

ssociated Press Updated: 05/31/2010 0642 PM CDT


ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A backpacker shot and killed a grizzly bear with his handgun in Alaska's Denali National Park, officials said.

A man and woman reported that they were hiking Friday evening when the bear emerged from trailside brush and charged the woman, park spokeswoman Kris Fister said in a statement.

The man fired nine rounds from his .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol at the animal, which then stopped and walked into the brush.

The two reported the shooting to rangers, who restricted access to the Igloo Canyon area for fear that the bear was wounded and dangerous.

On Saturday, rangers found the dead bear about 100 feet from the shooting site.

Park officials are determining the justification for the shooting. It's legal to carry firearms in that area of the park but illegal to discharge them.

Rangers said it was the first known instance of a grizzly bear being shot by a visitor in the wilderness portion of Denali, formerly called Mount McKinley National Park.

[norcal77]

.357 all the way...

[stitchnicklas]

45acp hollow point filled with liquid mercury and a wax tip..........

[five.five-six]

.357 is a much better penetrater, which is needed to deal with thick layers of blubber and animal hides

[Noonanda]

if .45 LC was an option I would definately go with that, especially if you use it out of a Ruger blackhawk (mine has the .45 LC and .45 ACP cylinders) because it can handle some hot loads.

.357 otherwise, love .45 ACP but not "hot" enough for a bear if you know what I mean

[den888]

.357 for me and I would also carry some .38 special and .38 special snake shot, just in case

[Quiet]

Either, .357Magnum or .45ACP, is adequate for defense aganist wildlife in CA.

Most game guides in MT and AK usually carry .44Magnum revolvers for defense aganist grizzlies.

[dadoody]

Park officials are determining the justification for the shooting. It's legal to carry firearms in that area of the park but illegal to discharge them.

I don't get it.....are bears supposed to be so scared of the sight of a gun that they don't approach?

I'm sure the article just means it is illegal to target shoot right?

[newglockster]

.357 all the way

[RobG]

7 shot .357 Magnum revolver with a 4" barrel shooting Buffalo Bore 180 grain lead flat nose gas check at 1400fps muzzle velocity & 783 ft. lbs. muzzle energy

[ireload]

.357mag for me. Would be nice with a hard cast SWC 180gr. though.