handgun choice HELP!

[Jason K.]

had a question if anyone would care to answer for me. I am looking to buy a handgun, I want it to be big enough to provide good protection from a bear and also something that I can enjoy deer hunting with at home and also a gun that won't beat me up too bad when I go to the range. I am good with the kick from a rifle (300 win mag) but have only ever shot a .22 revolver before. I was thinking of a .45 but I want to try one before I actually spend that kind of money. Any advice? THANKS!

[bambeklr]

My good friend has a smith&wesson 500. This gun is awesome. I have shot it many times. I have a smith 44 cal with a 8 3/8 inch barrel and the 500 kicks less than it. All you will ever need to shoot anything!!!!

[deerhunter4life]

.45 is a good home protection gun but i would step it up a notch to a 38 special or a 44 mag. you can put normal 38 rounds in the 38 special making it a great gun for kids and what not and if your ever out and about and a bear comes toward you just bust out the big bangers will drop a bear pretty quick and you can reach out farther with a 38 special to shoot deer.

[RICHARDCatdaddy]

A38 special for protection against bear?Well thats not exactly the smartest thing I have ever heard.All you will do with a 38 is make a bear really mad.Like shooting a 300 pound man with a bb gun.The smallest handgun I would advise for that would be a 44 mag.And then you best make a head shot a couple times or hope you can outrun that very mad bear.If you can put your hands on 50 cal. Casul or Grizzly that would be even better,for you.Just so you know,a 38 is way smaller and less powerful than a 44 mag.I dont care if you shooting 38 special or plus p its not going to stop a bear.Also,a 45 is bigger than a 38,hits harder and is a man stopper.Notice I said man and not bear?Bear are very hard to scare off once they get mad enough to charge a humanand a 38 or 45 just aint gonna stop him.

[deerhunter4life]

cat daddy is right i did some ballistics looking of my own and realized i made a big mistake 38 special is a no no, i compared a 357 to a 38. i will check ballisics before i post next time. sorry guys.

[DocHolladay]

It is an honest mistake DH4L.

I used to have a .454 Casull and it was a great gun. You could shoot .45 long colts out of it at the range and it kicks very lightly as heavy as the pistol was. If you want to hunt deer, bear, hog, antelope, elk, etc you could get .454 Casull bullets from 250gr. up to 360gr.. It tends to kick with those bullets, but you wont notice it when the animal walks into range.

I had the Taurus Raging Bull with an 8 3/8" ported barrel and it was very accurate with open sights. I never got around to putting a scope on it, but I am sure that I could have shoot 100yds and killed an animal.

I do agree with Richard on the .44 being the minimum that I would go for bear.

[RICHARDCatdaddy]

Thanks Doc,I had forgotten bout the 454.One small word of advice,if you miss the bear with all your shots,run son run,

[RICHARDCatdaddy]

As a moderator I am only human.But if I have offended anyone or upset anyone with the comments I posted about the gun/bear subject I will be more than happy to say I am sorry and had no intention of doing that.

[john1911]

Any handgun is a poor choice for bear defense. Big rifle or a shotgun with hardcast slugs is a better choice.

If you really want to carry a handgun for bear defense, .44 mag with hardcast (think Buffalobore http://www.buffalobore.com/ammunition/default.htm) bullets is the minimum. These should allow sufficient penetration to do the job. After that, you step up (.454, .460, 500S&W). You want a bullet that penetrates.

As for deer hunting, .41mag or .44mag is my choice.

Defense against two legged critters, .357mag, .44special or .45acp.

So, in essence. a .44 mag revolver could be what you want. Heavy, hardcast bullets for bear, 240 gr. bullets for deer and .44 special for home defense. S&W makes nice revolvers, as does Colt. I happen to prefer Ruger, but as always, YMMV and IMHO.