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As has been proven time and time again in self defense shootings, albeit with humans, it isn't the caliber that counts.

It is rounds on target, the more, the quicker and in vital areas wins the fight.

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The question isn't whether it could stop, but how reliably it would stop and how quickly.

 

In the story, the bear was within biting range of a lady's face while the guide took slow aimed shots. The bear wasn't actively mauling people and wasn't immediately incapacitated. Rather it wandered a few yards off before dying. Had it been more aggressive, this bear had plenty of time to hurt people badly before it was out of action.

 

Grizzlies have a third metabolic process which can allow them to operate for a few minutes without oxygen being added to their blood. In practice that means there are lots of documented examples of grizzlies which have mauled camps full of people AFTER having their hearts or lungs shot out. There are also plenty of examples of grizzlies being killed with .22lr, etc, but I would always prefer something that has a good chance of reaching the brain or spine from most angles.

 

That said, I think the Lehigh extreme penetrators would get the most out of 9mm for this kind of application.

Edited by GunFun
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Article touched on some of the asinine laws we have in this state.  Survive a bear attack, and you are required to immediately skin the bear and hand over the hide to the troopers...  So they can sell it for profit in an auction they hold each year.  They will sit there and watch while you do it, and if you don't know HOW to skin a bear, write you a ticket for doing it wrong.  And it seems like a lot of the time they will decide after the fact that you didn't really need to kill that bear, and prosecute you for illegally taking a bear.  As a result, a lot of bears that are legitimately killed in defense of life and property go unreported.

 

It's not all bad though...  A co-worker lives in one of Anchorage's outlying areas where bears were getting to be a real problem.  The state guys' hands are tied because of all the bunny huggers that just need to get the fuck out of Alaska, and finally they passed the word to some of the locals to take care of the problem and they would look the other way.  Co-worker said he heard frequent gunshots for a few weeks.  Now you don't hear about too many bear problems in that area.

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9mm can do some real dammage as it's known for overpenetration.  But it still wouldn't be my first choice for grizzly, unless it's from an UZI with a 16" barrel.

 

I could easily see it doing a pinball game in a bear's ribcage after what I've seen it do to a whitetail.

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9mm can do some real dammage as it's known for overpenetration.  But it still wouldn't be my first choice for grizzly, unless it's from an UZI with a 16" barrel.

 

I could easily see it doing a pinball game in a bear's ribcage after what I've seen it do to a whitetail.

 

Overpenetration is relative to two legged deer without armor, with FMJ.  That's good for around 20" in gel, but bears have denser tissue and heavy hide and bones. There just aren't a lot of guarantees. I'd rather have a 9mm than a weaker caliber and rather than a revolver with only a few shots of slightly more penetration, but I think a baby glock 10mm has it's merit for this kind of role.

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My newly acquired .445 Supermag would definitely do the trick

That is a very nice wristbreaker.

Yeah, that should stop a Grizzly, hell, just the muzzle blast might convince him to turn tail.

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To bring this more on topic, a friend of mine apparently stopped a brown bear with a Saiga 12 loaded with Brenneke slugs, however I didn't think to ask him if it was a "shovel ready" bear, or if it was harvested on a tag, or reported as a DLP kill.  A lot of guys up here will buy a tag each year and carry it in case they have to dump a problem bear.  If it happens to be in season when it happens, that way at least you get to keep the hide.

Edited by Netpackrat
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9mm can do some real dammage as it's known for overpenetration.  But it still wouldn't be my first choice for grizzly, unless it's from an UZI with a 16" barrel.

 

I could easily see it doing a pinball game in a bear's ribcage after what I've seen it do to a whitetail.

 

Overpenetration is relative to two legged deer without armor, with FMJ.  That's good for around 20" in gel, but bears have denser tissue and heavy hide and bones. There just aren't a lot of guarantees. I'd rather have a 9mm than a weaker caliber and rather than a revolver with only a few shots of slightly more penetration, but I think a baby glock 10mm has it's merit for this kind of role.

 

Try JHP.  The shot I took at 35 yards went through to the opposite leg bone and shattered it, then bounced hitting heart and lungs, through the liver, through the stomach, and stopped somewhere in the intestines.  The stomach was full of matted grass, and had a nickel sized hole punched through it.  All that with 380 ft/lbs from a M11/9.  It probably would have exited if it was from the 16" UZI barrel.

Edited by Capt Nemo
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