Grizzly bear downed at 10 feet by Jimmy Cox with a 10mm pistol. Sept. 18, 2018, AK
Posted on 10/30/2025 7:16:25 AM PDT by marktwain
One of the significant advantages of using handguns to defend against bear attacks is that defense with a handgun is far more likely to result in a dead bear. This is a highly desirable result. Bears that attack humans should be killed. Killing aggressive bears is a way to condition the bear population to avoid humans.
The false premise implicit in the argument for non-lethal defenses against bears is that there are such small numbers of bears that killing a bear removes a valuable resource from the bear genetic pool. This view had some legitimacy about 1975-1980, when the population of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states was at its lowest level. This is no longer true.
Bear populations are on the rise all over the world. None of the three bears that live in North America has ever been endangered. Even the populations of grizzly bears that lived in the lower 48 states were only listed as “threatened”, not endangered. Today, we have at least three times as many grizzly bears in the lower 48 as in 1977. The grizzly bear population in the lower 48 is increasing at a significant rate. It is well over 2,000 bears and is probably approaching 3,000 grizzly bears.
When grizzly bears were not protected in the United States, only those bears that learned to avoid humans survived. By 1900, grizzly bears had become wary of humans and even dogs. Once bears were given artificial protection from humans, they started to lose their fear of humans. The grizzly bears in the lower 48 states kill humans at 30 times the rate per bear of grizzly bears in Alaska. The small population of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states is responsible for more human fatalities than the larger population of grizzly bears in Alaska.
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
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Yes, there are more humans in the lower 49 states, but grizzly bears in the lower 48 tend to be found where the human population is sparse.
Grizzly bear downed at 10 feet by Jimmy Cox with a 10mm pistol. Sept. 18, 2018, AK
Wow, what a typo! Should be lower 48 states, not lower 49...
Nerves of steel to get an accurate shot off at 10 feet that was able to drop that animal.
He was only going to get one shot.
What, no grizzlies in Hawaii?
Might as well say 49 because lots of those 48 states don’t have grizzly bears.
My friend who hunts elk in Montana and Idaho grizzly country always carries a 10mm Glock as well in case they are surprised by a bear.
So far, he’s never had to use it.
Because the bureaucrats are blowing it, worldwide.
It's a cultural thing, with ICLEI and the NGO/legal communities as principal vehicles.
I still like .357
"Nuke the bear from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
> Wow, what a typo! Should be lower 48 states, not lower 49... <
Well, Hawaii is south of states like Washington and Oregon. So I think you were right after all. 👍
Nerves of steel to get an accurate shot off at 10 feet that was able to drop that animal.
He was only going to get one shot.
The bear has that WTF look about it.
I should have said one chance; ya, can easily pull two shots but the accuracy under pressure is the issue.
Well, there’s always Alberta.
Guess you were counting Alberta already. :)
Guess you were counting Alberta already. :)
Subconscious?
The Glock 20 is the go-to handgun in Alaska for bear protection. Pretty much every guide carries one when out on a hunt.
I should have said one chance; ya, can easily pull two shots but the accuracy under pressure is the issue.
I have been surprised how many cases similar to this are documented. 13 incidents mentioned in the article below. (out of 174 incidents).
https://www.ammoland.com/2024/01/are-extreme-speed-and-accuracy-necessary-to-defend-against-bears/
I think it represents decades of intense development of the handgun as an intuitive “point and bang” device.
Do you hate bears? You keep posting articles about killing bears.
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