Not hunting but need the power

[T. O'Heir]

Late, so I am. If Yogi, of any flavour, is within 100 yards, you'll never be fast enough. He can run at about 35 mph. He'll cover that 100 yards in less than 6 seconds. You think you can recognise the danger, make the decision to shoot then draw, aim and accurately place a shot in that little time? In any case, no handgun bullet will guarantee a one shot kill, never mind stopping him if he's PO'd.
"...some 00 buck wood(SIC) work fine..." Absolutely not. Not enough energy to be reliable. Certainly totally useless past 40ish yards. Yogi will be on you in 2.33 seconds.
"...considering loading .30 black tip A/P..." Those will go right through even a very big bear's and do nothing. .30 AP was for penetrating light armour. Yogi isn't armoured at all.

[mbb300]

a shotgun with slugs or sabots (if your choke will allow it) is by far the best, but unless your paranoid or will be very close to a boat or vehicle you will probably not have immediate access to it. I have heard reports of rubber shot being effective at preventing negative human bear interactions before they start. ie problem bear keeps sniffing around camp and you teach him a lesson. not sure about legality there as its not something i do. bear spray is iffy in that you can unintentionally fog yourself and bystanders so be wind aware. it is also very dangerous in small planes where if it accidentally go off in the cabin. ziplock it and put it in the float if you can. additionally the only time i used it it was at ten feet and the brown bear was dead down wind, while the bear went away it was back in ten minutes so we left the area. i feel that handguns are a viable option but not in the quick draw scenario that most people imagine but rather to dispatch a bear that is on top of someone at minimal distance with particular and crucial attention being paid to putting your shots into the bears skull and not your companion. also be aware of how relatively unpowerful most big bore handguns are as compared to a rifle you would select to harvest a bear under favorable circumstances.

More important than any of this is to not cook where you camp. keep food in bear resistant containers and clean up your trash. if possible cook in a tidal area where the tide will reduce cooking smell somewhat when they flood the area. there are also portable bear fences that never seem to go back into the bag they came from but are most definitely effective even at very low voltage. make human noise as you go though beary areas and dont wear those bear bells or use whistles as they mean nothing to a bear, your voice is much more effective and will not infuriate your companions. also unless you feel like you will die if you do not never fire infront or over a bear to scare it as it will learn to disregard gunfire. if you need to use your weapon to deter a bear be sure and use it for what its intended for. that got a little longer than intended but it should be reasonably thorough.