Alaska side arm?

[SWOHTR]

If only I could come across a crate of these…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just get some “blue body” trainers. Remove the dummy fuse and fill with black powder…

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I lived in Kodiak from 96-99. My gun of choice was a Ruger Redhawk 44 magnum with a 5.5 inch barrel. If I had to go back, I'd take my Glock 40. I am so much better with putting rounds on target quickly with it.

 

[tyler0421]

Sig p220 in 10mm will get the job done!

 

[bwlacy]

If you want a pistol, check out the Springfield XDM 10. It comes in several versions. I prefer the grip over the Glock. I have the 5.25 barrel with moveable sights. My brother has the shorter barrel that is suppressor ready. He also has a Glock 10mm that he no longer carries.

 

[Elk97]

Choose your sidearm based on what you are trying to kill with it, not how many rounds it holds (how many shots do you think you're going to get with a charging griz?) or how much it weighs. Compare ballistics of 10mm vs 44 magnum (about half the stopping power), then decide which you want in the worst case scenario where you will probably only get one shot. The last thing you want is to be under gunned when you need it most.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I have a 10mm glock 20 (3 of them actually). Thats about the only sidearm I've used for the past few years.

 

[jhm2023]

Choose your sidearm based on what you are trying to kill with it, not how many rounds it holds (how many shots do you think you're going to get with a charging griz?) or how much it weighs. Compare ballistics of 10mm vs 44 magnum (about half the stopping power), then decide which you want in the worst case scenario where you will probably only get one shot. The last thing you want is to be under gunned when you need it most.

I think firearm weight and round count are important things to consider and heres why. With my 460 Rowland I can have 5 shots in the a zone of an ipsc target before the first piece of brass hits the ground, that's fairly fast compared to what can be achieved with a high recoiling wheel gun. The auto loader also gives a shooter the ability to stay on target better and have a much better follow through during firing. As for weight, the lighter firearm is much more enjoyable to carry compared to a heavier so a person would be more apt to always have it on them which is good since a gun isn't useful if it's not on your person. Obviously weight doesn't bother everyone.

Based on the 2 charging grizz (small sample size so take my opinion with a grain of salt) I've had to shoot I would say number of shots one is able to fire depends on the situation and one's proficiency. It's easier to become more proficient with the cheaper to shoot lower recoiling option. Now back to the bears. One of the bears allowed me to get 4 rounds out and only one shot on the other bear. That was with a 454 casull that isn't exactly fast on the follow-ups, an auto loader will improve this. Both were back to back and I fired those 5 rounds out of a 6 round cylinder with no time to reload thankful the second bear didn't need 4 rounds like the first bear. That's more justification to higher round counts. I'm sure you have experience with shooting charging bears with a sidearm that makes you comfortable with your choice of gun given your style of doing things. At the end of the day it will always be personal choice and I hope it always works out for anyone who finds themselves in the unfortunate situation to need a sidearm for bears.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Lelder]

Having shot both the G29 is not fun or easy to shoot compared to the G20 which handles nice. I carry a G27 in 40cal. Small, lite, and if you can’t get it done with fifteen 40 cal rounds (Glock 23 mag) your probably S.O.L with any gun.

 

[FLATHEAD]

I've got a 27 and that lil sucker is snappy even with normal loads.
A BB load would be a handful.

 

[Beendare]

Compare ballistics of 10mm vs 44 magnum (about half the stopping power),

.

 

[ddavis_1313]

As of now I’ve found a sig p220 legion in 10mm at a gun store locally. I know of a guy that has a sig hunter in 10mm in kryptek for sale with chest holster (don’t need) for $1350. Also wanting to see/handle a XD-M 10mm. I have a friend that has the xd in 9 and a legion in 9. I kinda prefer the grip on the xd bc it’s slightly longer however if the legion had an extended mag of 1/2” it would handle nicely.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Whaledriver]

ABV is the name of the game. Accuracy by volume. Wheel guns can work with surgeon hands and 500 pounds of mass running 30mph at ya. The 329 is sweet but a hard pass for shootabity in a charge situation. Glock 20, 15+1 of hardcast, if you are still in a bind, it wasn't your day. A 12 gauge slinging lead pumpkins would be my second choice.

 

[mcseal2]

For what its worth I have a Glock 20, Sig Tacops 1911 and Sig 220 Hunter. The 220 is the heaviest, but has been 100% reliable with hardcast. The others are good now but not 100%.

All were good with 180 fmj or jhp ammo. The 220 only jams with light loaded 170gr factory ammo.

The G20 hits about 5” high at 20 yards with the Underwood Extreme penetrator ammo but its reliable.

If I was to go Glock I’d try the buffalo bore dangerous game monometal stuff.

As of now I plan to take my 220 next time I go to bear country. Its reliable, accurate, and easy to take down and clean if I need to. Downside is its weight.

The Legion SAO 220 would be great too, I have the 226 in that version. If I was not running a light on the gun I’d want the night sights that version has.

 

[Lionhound1975]

I have a Springfield XDM 10mm with the 4.5" barrel. It fit my hands much better than the Glock 20 did. It is very accurate and handles well. It also has a rail so you can clip on a light for night duty in camp.

I load it with Underwood 200 gr. hard cast and it has no issues cycling. I did try a box of 220 gr. hard cast but had cycling issues. Underwood said that the stock XDM spring is not stiff enough for the 220 gr. hard cast. So I stayed with the 200 gr. hard cast.

 

[Alaskanopolis]

43x with hardcast 9mm and S15 mags.

 

[adventure907]

What are you going to shoot the caribou with? I'd probably suggest that for "self defense".

 

[crich]

I've never shot a brown bear with a handgun (just like 99% of people on this forum). Personally I dont think any handgun is going to stop a possed off bear unless you hit its central nervous system and then its lights out. If you're more accurate and faster with 15+1 rounds of 9mm then I'd say that's your huckleberry. Of course a more powerful cartridge is going to penetrate deeper. If your good with the 10mm or 44 thats one thing. I'd rather be able to get max number of rounds on target where I want them than sling 220gr slugs toward a bear and hope one hits home. All that said I just bought a glock 20 to start training with. Once I can get close to the accuracy and proficiency of my VP9SK I'll start carrying it. Moral of the story is guys need to shoot and actually train with their guns and not just talk about them.

 

[Marbles]

I vote revolvers. They don't come out of batter and fail to fire if the muzzle is pressed against something. They are also much less likely to become a single from failure to cycle if forced to fire when partially drawn, Etc.

44 mag or 454 in a package with a 4-6 inch barrel and under 50 ounces unloaded is what I would look for.

That said, a 10mm should work if you are more proficient with that platform. Honestly, bear spray and a rifle (assuming you are rifle hunting) give you pretty good odds, and that is not even considering how low the odds of a bear attack are. Even so, I still opt for a revolver more often than not.

 

[boliver29]

460 Rowland

Glock 41 conversion shoots great


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Elk97]

Hard cast bullets are a game changer and they have made the “Stopping power” argument irrelevant.

.

Irrelevant? Not sure in what context you're talking about. Foot pounds of energy is just a fact of ballistics and whether you compare hard cast to hard cast or fmj to fmj they all have an energy component that definitely isn't irrelevant. 10mm is going to have approx. 525 ft/lbs of energy (stopping power) compared to 44 mag at around 800 ft/lbs. 454 Casull is up around 14-1500 ft/lbs. Those aren't irrelevant numbers. The penetration of hard cast bullets will be relative to the velocity and energy of each different round. Are you saying that the difference in stopping power ( damage inflicted) between say a 9mm and 454 Casull is irrelevant because of the type of bullet used? Or a 12 ga slug (my preferred bear gun but impractical to carry while bow hunting)? Maybe I'm just not understanding what you're trying to say.