I’m planning a goat hunt on Kodak and am trying to decide if my Blackhawk Bisley 454 or a compact Glock 10mm would be a better choice to carry as an emergency side arm.
I daily carry the g29 and have a g20 my wife bought me to have on my pack, OWB carry, and I suppress it sometimes. Not the prettiest handgun but I haven't had any issues. For bear country I load up with Underwood Ammo 220 Grain Hardcast. Works for me
I carry a SRH alaskan 454 in griz country but am contemplating swapping it out for a 10mm. One thing that the op might want to consider that is holding me back, is how many 10mms reliably shoot hardcast ammo without swapping out springs and/or barrels? From what I've read on various forums it sounds like it's hit and miss with glocks, xds, and others. It seems like a fair number of people are unable to ever get their 10mms to function reliably even with tweaking. For those of you that have a 10mm and shoot hardcast, will your gun reliably cycle hardcast, what make/model do you have, and did you have to swap barrel or springs?
On my glock 20, I swapped the barrel for threaded barrel, it has shot the Underwood Hardcast really well. It's also worth noting that Underwood's hardcast has some kind of coating to prevent the barrel leading up.
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If you don't own either of them yet plan on putting a bunch of rounds through whatever you pick before you leave. I really wanted to like the g20 but I couldn't get it to work for me. It needs to be automatic when if counts, which means you are really familiar with whatever you're carrying.
Personally I like my FNX-45 with 45 super, and if I was going to Kodiak I would get it upgraded to run 460 rowland, but I'm weird and that's not one of the options... go for whatever feels comfortable to shoot.
Ive experimented carrying both calibers here in the states as a test. I have the Glock 29 that was carried in a kydex holster on my packs waistbelt, and the Taurus Raging Bull 454 that I carried in the Diamond D Guide Holster. The weight on the Taurus is like 52 oz unloaded. The Glock 29 is about 27 oz. Pretty much half the weight. Extra rounds in the glock 29 or glock 20, vs more power but less rounds from the 454. Comes down to how much weight do ya want to carry, and what are you more comfortable shooting? For me, it was the glock 29. But with that said...I still have the 454 and diamond D holster and cant bring myself to get rid of it. I think id take the half weight of the glock which would allow me to carry bear spray at no weight penalty over the heavier 454. Just spitballing though....LOL...ive never hunted around the big bears.
If you have experience shooting large caliber hand guns then get whatever you want. If not, having a 454 and not being able to shoot it accurately is like having no side arm at all. I carry a G29 and am very comfortable with it and it holds twice as many rounds as the revolver.
I have the choices of a Glock 20, Freedom arms .454, old model Vaquero .45 and a smaller New Vaquero .45 Colt. For grizzly country in the lower .48 I usually end up with the old Vaquero with heavy BuffaloBore loads. Its light enough to carry all day while still being a heavy enough of a load to get me out of trouble. If I ever get up to Alaska I'll take the .454 for sure. But I carry a single action regularly and feel confident in my abilities with one.
My G20 shoots 200gr hardcast fine (handloaded). Ive put a couple hundred through it with no issues. I switched the barrel out for an alpha wolf, but more for brass life than anything. They shot fine from the stock tube. Leading was minimal, and managed with more frequent cleaning when shooting those.
I didn’t realize the Bisley was a single action, I knew it was a revolver and just assumed it was a double action. I prefer DA revolvers, but I’d still choose the much larger SA revolver over the 10mm Glock. The bottom line is, if you find yourself in a situation of being charged, there’s a decent chance that it won’t matter anyway, because many maulings happen so fast there’s no time to even get a single shot off. If you are able to get a shot off, the chances of follow up shots go down exponentially. Many people who have never been in that situation just assume that having more rounds in their semi auto is going to be of more benefit than only having the 5 or 6 rounds that a revolver carries, but it ends up being a moot point because time doesn’t allow for multiple shots, in the vast majority of cases. I prefer a high power revolver for several reasons. They are less susceptible to failure under adverse conditions, they will never stove pipe, and they come in much higher powered calibers with much larger bullet wts./ft. lbs. energy. The biggest con being that, with having those advantages also means carrying a heavier handgun.
I don’t have any experience with the 10mm Glock, never even handled one, but I do have a little experience with hunting Kodiak (9 times over the last 13 years). I’ve been involved in two DLP bear killings on Kodiak, and I’ve also killed a brown bear, that had initiated a charge, with a .500 S&W (440gr. hard cast). I know l’m bias, but that’s my reasoning for choosing a revolver over a semi auto.
So I’ve been guiding on the Alaska peninsula for 20 years and pretty well stay out of these discussions. Ak pretty well covered it. Bears look pretty damn big when your handgun close, having survived two DLP shootings and having sprayed three this year alone, you’ll likely get only one shot. For the record if I’m carrying a rifle I rarely carry a handgun.
Regardless, enjoy your hunt Kodiak is a cool place.
There’s an interesting article out on the web on bear encounters and calibers of defense. Even small calibers seem to get it done effectively when it matters. Most were .44 revolvers, but a semi auto could make sense at double capacity, reduced weight and putting lead down range. I would choose the G20 in 10mm but I can’t refute AK’s perspective and a revolver’s dependability.