For anyone interested, I find this useful when considering calibers and loading.

Muzzle Energy Computer

Ginger and Mary Ann.

It's always interesting reading about peoples choices of sidearms for survival, having been a survival instructor and SF trooper for over 24 years. So much information is necessary to begin choosing, but among the most important is to consider what the "threats" are where you will be at. There truly isn't ONE sidearm that does the trick. Living in Montana I have a RUGER .480 because I often horseback in Griz country, however one of my favorite sidearms is a RUGER .22 stainless with a fluted barrel. I guess it's all up to your tasts and being knowledgable about the threat, and capabilities of each firearm to meet those threats. JB

Chris, I live with bears, it's not as funny as you think meeting one on the trail and realizing they have you somewhere on the menu.............Have you ever read the book "Bear Attacks", even though I have a BS in Wildlife Science and know the contemporary yet a bit "yuppy" feeling on carrying guns in bear country, I shall continue to do so, and it will not be an old military weapon..........Griz still scares the dickens out of me because I know how unpredictable they really are. Happy in MT, JB

Shotgun. Loaded with full caliber slugs, none of the saboted frilliness, if you want to scrape up every erg of power and aren't worried about range.

Handguns, until you get into the monster stompers starting with .454, just don't do much to bear. I'm assuming your concerns involve the bear being unhappy with your existance already. Hunging them is another matter- you catch them when they are mellow and eating and just minding thier own business, so you have time to get a good shot off. Pistols are handy, but they don't have the energy you want with a ticked off bear. An animal that is angry and gets hurt gets angrier, in my experince.

If you REALLY need to go with a handgun, you are close with the .45, but I might suggest tradding it in for the compact 10mm that Glock used to make if you want to stay with an autoloader. (Don't know if they still do.) Load it with the heaviest FMJs you can find that are at FULL pressure, not the FBI's "not a .45 but acts like it" pressure level. Aim for the head. Maximum pentration of the brain pan, and repeat it. A lot.

Save the last one for you.

If you don't mind a wheelgun, lots of options. The .454 might give you the most versatility and availability of ammo, but expect to shell out the big bucks for your practice. The .480 from Ruger has a slight edge. 357 and 44 Magnums can do it, but again, I'm assuming the bear really would like to see you in parts and you want to make sure that doesn't happen.

I've seen what black bears can do to plywood and 2x4 garbage bins. Thats just being hungry. Being really, really pissed, I wouldn't want a pistol, myself.

I can't comment on hogs, never been around them, other than to say that they have a reputation for being ornery and stubborn. Again, I'm not sure I'd put my faith in a handgun.

18 months duty on Kodiak Island, 12 months park survey member in Kenai studying mainland brownies, 3 weeks in Churchill, Canada- Polar Bear capital of the world, 2 archaeological contracts in Montana in grizzly habitat, countless horsepacking trips in California bear country, honour of meeting with the Seus family and Bart, acquaintance of Douglas Peacock and told Timothy Treadwell he would get himself and bears killed someday and that I would mourn the bears. I also watched Han, the great white bear enter the pavilion during a religous procession with my Hopi friends. The slaughter of ursus is in the thousands. The number of human deaths miniscule, with most the result of human stupidity. To give our most arrogant of species a dedicated bear stopping firearm assures a single option and sad end for the bear when We intrude on HIS world. My Choctaw clan lineage precludes making war on family in any case. " If we have a race war, I'm siding with the Bears." - John Muir .

You should take a look at Ruger's Super Redhawk Alaskan in .454 Casull.
It is a superb revolver for those who need extra safety from boars, bears and such. I really like it a lot, you can shoot heavy .454 loads or .45 if you feel like it.

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My dictionary Is not really up-to-date and does not include the various hunting techniques.

Does it mean you HUNT bears by HUGGING them very, very hard ?!?
Waooohhh !!
Isn't such a technique a bit dangerous (I mean, not for the bear ... but for you) ??
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(yeah ... I know... it's an easy joke... but at first, I really did not get it and tried to image s.o. hugging a bear.... <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> LOL ....)

Could not agree more!! This post was not really about a "survival sidearm". It was about a defense handgun for backpacking in bear country.

Any wheelgun .44 mag or larger (e.g. 454 Casul, .480 Ruger, .500 S&W) in a light weight version seems to answer the question asked in the original post. A .357? maybe? A 45 ACP? I would not if I was truly looking at a sidearm for defense against bears (but if you go 45 ACP, forget the Glock and get a 1911 - I like Kimber but there are many great 1911s on the market).

For a true survival side arm, I think a 22 is the way to go. Ruger and Browning both make great semi-autos. It will not ruin as much meat when used for hunting and you can probably carry 10x more ammo for the same weight.

Planet Earth, calling Chris, Planet Earth calling Chris - we have received the above message but it does not appear to be in a language this forum can understand - can you please transmit a translation in a standard calibre...

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