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bird_dog · January 7, 2013, 08:26 AM

You'll probably hear a lot of this: 'it's better than nothing'.

It is better than nothing, but bears are tough animals with very thick skulls. If a bear was on top of you, you could probably kill it point blank with a .45. But the trick is to kill it before it gets on top of you and at any distance other than a foot or two, I think the .45 is going to have a problem given that the bear will likely be facing you, presenting you only with the skull or front/chest shot, both of which are marginal kill zones with less than ideal calibers.

I like carrying a .44mag in bear country, and highly recommend picking up something in that caliber.

January 7, 2013, 08:26 AM	#2
bird_dog Senior Member Join Date: May 26, 2004 Posts: 225	You'll probably hear a lot of this: 'it's better than nothing'. It is better than nothing, but bears are tough animals with very thick skulls. If a bear was on top of you, you could probably kill it point blank with a .45. But the trick is to kill it before it gets on top of you and at any distance other than a foot or two, I think the .45 is going to have a problem given that the bear will likely be facing you, presenting you only with the skull or front/chest shot, both of which are marginal kill zones with less than ideal calibers. I like carrying a .44mag in bear country, and highly recommend picking up something in that caliber.