Bear Carry Ammo Recommendations

[Potsie]

For those of you that do carry a sidearm for bear defense, what are you loading up with?

I've got a Kotzebue caribou hunt next summer, so I'm picking pepper from the flychit now, as opposed to later. Upon the recommendation of a friend that guides costal bears I'll be carrying my 329 PD, but what should I be loading it up with. Stick with the tried and true Buffalo Bore Hard Cast or similar, or are people using stuff like the Lehigh Mono bullets?

This is a dream hunt for me, and I'm a planner by nature - just have to have everything right before we fly out. Any recommendations and experience, especially from you AK folks, would be much appriciated.

 

[MTLabrador]

The Lehigh bullets are interesting, but I’d probably stick with a heavy hard cast.

 

[TheNorthStar]

I believe hard cast is the standard. The more penetration, the better.

 

[Doublecluck]

https://www.underwoodammo.com/10mm-auto-140-grain-xtreme-penetrator.html

 

[wseidel]

I use Garrett cartridges in my .44 magnum...best I could find for bear protection (penetration/hardcast/full power). Worth checking out and contact them to see if they have a recommendation for a 329 PD - likely the 310 Grain Hammerhead Defender. Hope this helps.

Garrett Cartridges Inc.

 

[buffybr]

I'm going Brown bear and Moose hunting next month. My rifle will be my .375 RUM shooting 281 gr Hammer Hunters. Plenty of knockdown power there. I'll also be carrying my 4" S&W 629 loaded with my hard cast 250 grain bullets, but probably only when we are packing meat, hides, etc., where carrying a rifle would be cumbersome. That bullet has worked fine on their smaller Black bear cousins.

 

[Don Fischer]

Lived in bear country in Montana and Alaska for a number of years. When I first got to Montana, it bothered me being in bear country with out a big gun, got a 338 mag! Over time I learned bears don't really want to mess with us, except the female with cubs or an old guy having a hard time finding food. In time I quit carrying any magnum rifle at all. While living in Alaska there was a place friends and I went fishing where we found huge bear foot prints on the ground, huge! I started carrying along my Rem 660 in 308 with 200gr handloads. Might not sound like much to some but will probably out preform your 44 mag on a bear! It had a 20" barrel and 2 3/4x widefield scope and I had no intention of shooting anything very far off. It was to stop a bear in an emergency only, that was all. Saying up there by resident's who lived their life up there. Carry a 44 mag in the bear country so if you get charged by a bear shoot your buddy in the foot and run like hell! No hand gun is gonna replace a fairly light short 30 cal rifle with heavy bullet's stopping a bear!

 

[std7mag]

While we don't have the big brown bears in PA, we do get some truly big black bears.
After a run in with about a 400 pounder last year (we were both surprised, but i didn't get angry about it. ), i started carrying a rifle when scouting & setting up game cameras.

My lightest rifle right now is my Stevens 200 rebarreled in 250 Savage. Loaded with 120gr Partitions, still way more power than my 9mm, or 45 ACP.

 

[Trial153]

Second the Underwood, I have shot it a bit out of my 10mm Glock.