Back country carry gun

[Altitude sickness]

I have the Gen 5 Glock 20 with MOS and it’s a dream to shoot. For full size carry. Hard decisions. My 1911 or the Glock 20

My 1911 is nicer to hold and look at with a much better trigger.
For bears I guess the 20

 

[sgt_zim]

If you’re looking for a .44 Mag I’d look at a new Colt. They have a 4” ported model that I think would be the cat’s meow.

Personally I’d go with a Glock 20, Gen 5, MOS, with a KKM Barrel, and a 22# recoil spring, titanium guide rod, loaded with Buffalo Bore 220 grain hardcast lead. I’ll bet you shoot it better.

View attachment 625888

Yeah, but can you file off the front sight for when the bear shoves it up your ass it doesn't hurt so much?

Asking for a friend.

 

[DrBob]

If you’re looking for a .44 Mag I’d look at a new Colt. They have a 4” ported model that I think would be the cat’s meow.

Personally I’d go with a Glock 20, Gen 5, MOS, with a KKM Barrel, and a 22# recoil spring, titanium guide rod, loaded with Buffalo Bore 220 grain hardcast lead. I’ll bet you shoot it better.

View attachment 625888

Nice rig! Three great wheel gun choices... new Colt Anaconda, S&W N frame and Ruger RedHawk. I favor the Redhawk as hell for stout.

 

[DrBob]

Canadian Conservatives regulated handguns out of existence 60 ish years ago, when other places like the UK were doing the same thing. The Cunuckistan thing had not taken root yet. And to an extent it hasn't taken root at this point given that only 12% of Canadians voted for the A-hole. That is parliamentary government for you. At times it is the best system, many argue, but these are not those times.

Technically you actually can get and carry a handgun for bear defense in Canada. Mainly if you are something like a prospector. But it sure isn't a Will Issue situation. I have never met anyone who had one.

On the other hand, until a few years ago, you could slap down 4-500 bucks and get an SKS and a crate of ammo, and leave no regulatory trace. Take that Mr. Brown. Mostly the price has just gone up. Until Trudeau came along, and it isn't evident his rules are being implemented yet. Canada was number two easiest country in the world to get guns (non-failed state, G20). And had the lowest murder levels in the world, save the real outliers like Japan, and a few of the friendlier Pacific Islands. It is just that we are next door to the US, and the view through the window is depressing, in comparison.

If one could, in the blink of an eye, send about 2% of the US population to their original homeland, the crime rate in the US would fall into the lower levels of the EU. The UK and Canada have traditionally had more homogeneous populations with a cultural quality of non-violence... but that still wasn't enough for those who sought heaven on earth... creating man in their own image. Considering that the UK is one step closer to being Air Strip One... well ... so much for heaven.

 

[Josh P]

You can get as far into the weeds of speculation as you wish, but the one person I’ve met personally who had to dispatch a trouble grizz used a 44 wheel gun*. A good bit of his arm was playing whack-a-uvula in the back of the bears mouth. It doesn’t get much closer than press-&-click. If he’d been using an auto variety of pistol, and it had gone out of battery upon application to the dome piece of said bear, he may not have gotten away with merely a set of scars and a story.

*Sample size: 1

 

[Velo Dog]

Supposed to go is the key phrase. A 1/2" bullet trying to hit a softball leaping and bounding at 35 miles an hour or one drop from a 6 foot spray.

I think we often get drunk on the idea that a gun solves a life threatening problem better than another method. Folks dream of telling their grandkids about the time their granddaddy killed a charging griz with a 44magnum and dropped him with one shot at 10 paces. That sounds more macho than telling the story about about the time a bear charged, you sprayed him in the face with pepper spray, and he ran away.

 

[DrBob]

The news story is out there of a guy walking his dog in Soldotna, Alaska when attacked by a brownie. 44 mag saved the day. The bear was old, starving and picked the guy for his next meal. A lot of interest in 10 mm, but a 44 or 45 loaded heavy is good medicine.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

You can get as far into the weeds of speculation as you wish, but the one person I’ve met personally who had to dispatch a trouble grizz used a 44 wheel gun*. A good bit of his arm was playing whack-a-uvula in the back of the bears mouth. It doesn’t get much closer than press-&-click. If he’d been using an auto variety of pistol, and it had gone out of battery upon application to the dome piece of said bear, he may not have gotten away with merely a set of scars and a story.

*Sample size: 1

Sample size of 1 from my neck of the woods: a hunting buddy had to dispatch a brown bear one dark rainy night. It was a mature boar. Distance was "shit your pants" close and he was wearing only boxers. It was a 4" barreled .44 - maybe a Ruger? He killed it dead as a hammer with his revolver. He used handloads; I don't remember what he used. I was watching when he killed it, closer than I wanted to be myself.