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That said, I keep a .454 Casull loaded with Corbon hard-cast ammo in my tent. When berry picking I carry either this .454, or a Marlin .45-70 loaded with factory hard-cast ammo. But if the idea is to defend myself from a bear that breaks into my tent while I am inside, nothing beats my 1911 Ruger .45 with a 10-round magazine, if spraying and praying
But since the OP was trying to decide between a .45 and .357 for bear defense in tent camping, both with are marginal at best, a .45 ACP loaded with ammo that have hard-cast bullets may be the best choice. The problem is that at night in a tent one can't see anything, but the bear can
We had a case where a middle-age couple sleeping in a tent got killed by a grizzly bear during the night. The husband had a handgun with him when he died, but didn't have a chance to fire it. It happens that fast, sometimes. One is sound asleep, and it takes several seconds to wake-up and realize what is happening. By then it's too late.
.357 or .45? None of the above. It is supposed to be off topic, but no handgun is really suitable for defense against a large, dangerous animal determined to kill you, although a very cool, very good shot might be able to save his life with one.
I have a relative with more than 30 years in LE, and he has told me that the instant one shot stop from a single hit from a handgun round is pretty much a myth, and only occasionally happens. If this is so, if a single solid hit may not even put a puny by comparison man down, what chance would you have in dropping a 250-400 pound black bear? And heaven help you if the bear is a grizzly, which is double that size.
As others have earlier commented, a bear in attack mode will almost always start out from very close range, is very quick, and you may only be able to get off one or perhaps two shots, and has no comprehension of what being shot means. The fact that the wound may be fatal and the bear dies from it matters not, if it lives long enough to kill you what good has it done? Stopping power and killing power are not the same thing.
Best answer to the OP question? Get a rifle and carry it with you if there is a real or perceived threat from bears, one powerful enough to anchor a bear with a single solid hit.
.357 or .45? None of the above. It is supposed to be off topic, but no handgun is really suitable for defense against a large, dangerous animal determined to kill you, although a very cool, very good shot might be able to save his life with one.
I have a relative with more than 30 years in LE, and he has told me that the instant one shot stop from a single hit from a handgun round is pretty much a myth, and only occasionally happens. If this is so, if a single solid hit may not even put a puny by comparison man down, what chance would you have in dropping a 250-400 pound black bear? And heaven help you if the bear is a grizzly, which is double that size.
As others have earlier commented, a bear in attack mode will almost always start out from very close range, is very quick, and you may only be able to get off one or perhaps two shots, and has no comprehension of what being shot means. The fact that the wound may be fatal and the bear dies from it matters not, if it lives long enough to kill you what good has it done? Stopping power and killing power are not the same thing.
Best answer to the OP question? Get a rifle and carry it with you if there is a real or perceived threat from bears, one powerful enough to anchor a bear with a single solid hit.
Did you read the OP's post? He was referring to two calibers for bear defense during tent-camping. When you are in a tent it's just too dark in the middle of the night to point any type of gun at anything you can't see. Also the best bear defense are your wits plus whichever weapon at hand at the moment-if needed-be it crying like a baby, using a stick, or boxing with the bear
If a bear breaks in your tent when you are asleep, more than likely you won't have time to use anything to defend yourself, but at least you can spray a lot more lead using a semi-automatic weapon (while you pray that one of the rounds will connect) than a bolt-action rifle or any other handgun.
Now, during the day a pump-action shotgun loaded with slugs should be OK if you have time to aim, but that's my opinion. We have all kinds of gun writers and people telling which gun to use, but every situation during a bear encounter is different from the rest. Meanwhile people are defending themselves with guns of all calibers and shapes, bear spray, sticks, and the like. Some make it through the encounter, while others don't.
Read the book "Some Bears Kill," and you will see different examples of human survival from bear encounters, but please don't ready just before going out hunting
And no, one-shot kill from a handgun is not a myth. It has happened in Alaska in the past, but again, all depends on the situation. For example, this guy was bow-hunting big bears in the Copper Valley, Alaska. He shot an injured a bear, and began tracking it. His hunting partner was his "back-up" in case of trouble, and carrying a short-barreled shotgun loaded with slugs, but when the bear charged the hunter at close range and his back-up hunter saw this huge thing tearing his friend apart, he ran out of sight. The bear is performing scalp surgery on the hunter, but somehow he managed to pull out a .44 Magnum revolver he was carrying, and shot the bear one time on the neck. The bear died on top of him, and somehow he walked for help several miles bleeding along the way.
A lot of hunters up here carry duct tape with them, and some have been known to patch their heads with it after a bear encounter to slow down the bleeding. Not something I recommend, "just saying." Again, all depends on the situation.
^this shows you how fast they move and how little time there is to do anything about it. This guy shot into the water in front of the bear and luckily that scared it off.
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