SmallCaliberCentral

Today I went small game hunting in the National Forest in and around where I live. On my drive into the mountains I noticed some bear hunters on the road. When I got to where I was going, I heard the hounds aways off. But they were barking like crazy. I decided to pack my .40 in with me. I didn't want to run into a chased bear with just a .17hmr. Would I be better suited to get a 4-5" 357 or is a .40 enough?

I think that most people would want to face a bear with a .44 Mag, with that said I carry a .45 ACP. My favorite saying is "7 for the bear and if I don't stop it then the last one for me" Gary

Would I be better suited to get a 4-5" 357 or is a .40 enough?

While I've never been confronted with the situation, if I only had the two choices, I'd have to go in favor of the .357 magnum over the .40 s&w...

We (on the police department) used to carry the .357 mag. and did considerable testing with various ammo...with the 'right' ammo ( Speer Lawman 158gr SP) it is a devastating round....

If you were thinking of a .357 Sig.... I would have no opinion due to lack of experience...

If you're looking to buy just one versatile handgun (general range use, home defense, etc.) to also serve as a black bear defense gun, the .357 is a good choice. Go with a 6" barrel to maximize velocity.

If you're getting a gun to be carried just for bear defense, go with a .44 mag.

Both the .357 and .44 mags will knock a deer down DRT (dead right there) with good shot placement.

Shot placement would be very important for bear too, and I'd study the subject a bit, whichever caliber I went with.

With due respect to homefront and his LE experience, I'd also go with the .357 for general use and the remote but possible bear encounter, but I'd strongly recommend the 4" barrel for ease of carry, speed of draw in a "bear situation", comfortable to wear while driving, and from experience in carrying for "just in case" issues, I find that a 4" gun will actually get carried alot, when a cumbersome 6" revolver will get left in the truck more often than not, and not be there if/when you actually need it. A 4" revolver is just "handy".

Although the slight loss in velocity will be ever present with the 4" compared to the 6", I don't think either you or the bear would ever notice the difference. The 6" would also offer more sight radius, which usually gives better accuracy, but for an encounter such as you are considering the revolver for, you would not be aligning sights, just pointing and shooting as quickly as possible.

I live in bear country, have most of my life (British Columbia and Oregon), and when I'm out and about in the timber, my personal carry piece is a 3" Model 29 Classic .44 Magnum, full lug, unfluted, stoked with Keith 250gr hard cast bullets. But again, that's just me.



One thing to remember for your task at hand is: "ANY gun you have with you when you need it is better than the one you left at home or in the truck"

Rick,

I have a 6" stainless version of that model (heavy lug and unfluted cyclinder). Just don't see these (unfluted cylinders) laying around these days.

Jim

Jim: I agree, they're as scarce as chicken lips. I believe mine was a special run ordered by Lou Horton back in the late 80's in the 3" version. It's the handiest big bore sixgun I've ever owned, and picked it up at a podunk gunshow around 1992 for a song. I'd hang on to yours, as they probably won't come along again. If I'm not mistaken that line of unfluted cylinder full lug guns were referred to as the "Hunter" model, before Smith started drilling/tapping for scope mounts on that particular line of guns.

I've also got a stainless 6" full lug Model 629 .44 Mag, but for packin' around the woods, the 3" gets the nod every time. But for deliberate shooting, or for carrying in a shoulder holster when following up wounded elk for friends, the 6" feels purty good under my arm in the high country when my rifle is back in camp. I've got a large quantity of the Keith 250gr cast SWC on hand, and along with Unique loaded to around 1,200 fps, it's a great all-around gun and load combination.

Rick in Oregon wrote:Jim: I'd hang on to yours, as they probably won't come along again.

I'm definitely keeping it. Every once in a while, I'll rotate the factory grips (Hogue) with the oversized target grips, otherwise, it's stock, except the tuned DA trigger.