Brown Bear Pistol

[thebomb6_99]

This guy where charged going in on a moose kill on base. Look at that hump on that bear!!!

[Walker]

375 Remington ultra mag, it was a light weight rifle without muzzle break, no fun at all to shoot.

Ok, got it, but its not a H&H

[Dave]

I would go with bear spray over a pistol especially since your already carrying a rifle.

When up there fishing I carry a marlin 45-70 carbine for defense cause I can shoot that better in tight spaces and just as fast as I can shoot a 44 mag or bigger, but that’s me, I’m not a marksman with a pistol.

This is good info. Go with bear spray and carry a rifle. Most Grizzly "attacks" are bluff charges. Filling that nose with a shot of bear spray will end that and spray is a lot easier and faster to deploy. That makes the chances of it being used correctly a lot higher.
Carry the rifle for when you see the bear and they get curious and want to come check you out. Then you will have the chance to get the rifle off your back and a much higher chance of using it correctly.

[diamond10x]

Wanna add something here as well that is some what on/off topic. Shooting a bear should be absolute LAST resort. If that were to happen you must take pictures and document everything and be ready for a lengthy investigation from fish & game because they take these instances very seriously and want to protect the bears as well as the hunter.

To the OP you will have a blast and I can almost guarantee you that this will not be your only trip to Alaska as it is a very addicting place.

[Hunteraudit]

Never even seen a bear alive but I think I’d go with bear spray on one hip and my favorite double action big bore revolver on the other. I’d deploy both at the same time too if was coming at me. Think I’d go with 8 shots of 357 mag out of a S&W 627. Mainly because that’s big enough to make anything hurt and 8 shouts out of a double action revolver... cmon. Plus I already have one and wouldn’t need to buy another gun.

Good luck to ya, hope you avoid it all together.

[Uncle_Milty]

Bear Spray and a Glock 10mm and short 45-70 and a 12ga and a slow hunting partner.

[Kdog]

Good luck on your hunt, sounds like fun!

[308 Dave]

Thanks all. This is all very good information. I think I am going to go with the Glock 10 mm since I already have one. And yes, I will bring a 300 win mag as back up. I really appreciate all the input.

Dave

[TKC]

Whatever you go with keep in mind the clothing and carry method. If it goes down it will usually never happen when tinning is on your side. I would carry my choice on my strong hand side, then practice, practice and then practice some more unholstering. Also always keep that hand free from flashlight, rifle buttstock etc. if it pops off in front of you whatever you have in that weapon hand will remain there. It is unbelievably hard to drop something when it hits fan. You need to create muscle memory to help you survive an attack. God Bless!

[canny]

When we hunted in WY back in Sept we all carried bear spray and a big bore revolver. Its common to carry the revolver cross draw on the weak side as for us it was easier to ride horses and also I felt easier to draw than strong side, especially with a longer 6-8" barrel. Bear spray was strong side and would commonly be in hand if we were walking through willows or such where visibility was not very well.

[JTCowpoke]

I would take a glock 21 converted to 460 Rowland

[beefiedoubleoh]

[QUOTE=Dave;13767255]This is good info. Go with bear spray and carry a rifle. Most Grizzly "attacks" are bluff charges. Filling that nose with a shot of bear spray will end that and spray is a lot easier and faster to deploy. That makes the chances of it being used correctly a lot higher.

This. One of that animal's greatest strengths is the huge powerful nose that can smell stuff miles away. That also makes it a great vulnerability. Fill that sucker up with a blast of pepper spray & he'll run away whimpering.

That said, I have a G20 & I would take it along for good measure

[Acameron52]

Whatever is it, it better be big.

[Clay C]

Even if you are using a rifle I'd want a handgun that will be on me and easily accessible at all times. Your rifle could be out of reach at any given moment for any given reason, and handguns actually have pretty good track records against bears. Also, there are more reasons than just having ammo to dump into the animal for having a high capacity side arm. Warning shots/trying to scare away the bear, help signals, small game hunting etc. My choice after research would be a Glock 20 or 40.

Relatively lightweight, power proven to take down grizzly/brown bear, and plenty of ammo for whatever you may need it for.

[Clay C]

There are several cases of Bear spray being ineffective, not to mention it being made ineffective by weather conditions.