Posted on 05/16/2026 4:55:39 AM PDT by marktwain
In the continuing study of how effective handguns are when used as a defense against bears, I posted two articles on Ammoland showing the distribution of the number of cases vs the number of shots fired. The first article was for the statistics for all cases, which included brown bears, black bears and polar bears. The second article separated out the statistics for brown bears. Unsurprisingly, ursus arctos (brown bears, grizzly bears and Kodiak bears) showed more shots being fired per case than black bears and polar bears.
This article shows the statistics for black bears and polar bears. There were 63 cases where only handguns were fired in defense against black bears. In 57 of those case, the number of shots were known. In six cases, the number of shots fired was not shown in the documentation. In 1 case, the effect of shots could not be determined. In 1 case, the use of the handgun did not stop the bear attack. Here is the distribution:
(Excerpt) Read more at ammoland.com ...
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It appears that the caliber of the handgun doesn’t seem to be a factor.
Brown bears, grizzly bears and Kodiak bears are on top of the food chain where they are. They have lived in many cases generations without even seeing a human like in Alaska. They have little fear and are willing to push the territory claim. Another animal like that is the gators in the southeast US. They have been getting more aggressive since they became protected.
wy69
'Handguns for Bear Defense: Lessons from Real-World Attacks [2026 Update]' (13:57)
Number one: Just like with feral humans, it's far better to have a gun even when you "don't need it" than to be without one when you do.
I think caliber makes a difference. The sample size is too small for it to become measurable.
Even a .22 rimfire can and has been used to kill the largest bears. Where it makes a difference is the potential target size is very small and the caliber does not allow much error.
A .44 magnum allows potential body shots and can break big bones.
That difference only comes into play in a tiny number of cases.
As most people who carry handguns to protect against bears carry relatively powerful handguns, there is not a huge sample of small caliber cases to examine.
A 9mm with the best penetrating loads does pretty well. It becomes a tradeoff between controlability, number of shots, and per-shot damage.
Shot placement trumps most other things.
9ne 5hing ive heard or read about bladk bears is if you pepper spray them, it will temporarily drive em off, but the6 get ticked and come back not long after. Dont know if true or not.
Had a black bear over a hill clapping it’s teeth at me when hiking once. Could hear it’s claws raking wither up or down a tree, not sure which. I didnt climb the hill to find out.
Let our black lab out to do his bidness in the woods once, he ran off a ways, i waitee, 5hen saw a black figure in the distance wqlking my way. All of a sudden it wtood up, sniffin the air. I thought hmm, jake’s learned a new trick, lol.
Fortunately, it got wind of either me or the dog and took off th3 way it came.
Friend of mine was out hiking, and sat down against a larg3 old tree to eat his lunch. He heard some movement ‘real close by’, got up to investigate, and walked aroudn the tree and noticed a cavatie. Inside was a bear. He said he didnt know who was more scared, him or the bear. He found somewhere else to finish his lunch lol.
The video is done at Lucky Gunner Ammo by Chris Baker, using the data published at AmmoLand.
He does a good job of presentation. It is perfectly legitimate to examine data collected elsewhere and do your own interpretation of it. It is a basic part of seeking for truth.
Many people want to get their information by video rather than by reading.
[[Even a .22 rimfire can and has been used to kill the largest bears]]
A neighbor killed a bear with 22. Not advisable, but can be done. Poachers in our neck of the woods use 22’s on deer. Cam3 across 3 dead does, all shot with what looked like .22. The poachers musta got scared and fled, probably wqn5ing to go back at night and retrieve them.
The 10mm is becoming popular as a bear defense gun.
I think the old adage of picking the most powerful caliber you can shoot both accurately and quickly is good advice. Much depends on how much time you invest in practice.
The first few hours of practice, the gains are very great. Then the advances take longer and longer. At the highest level of competence, the shooters a practicing with hundreds to thousands of rounds a week.
You can reach a high level of competence with a hundred rounds a month and lots of dryfire or lazer simulation practice.
Practice drawing without firing will make a very significant difference in a short time.
“I think caliber makes a difference.”
My guess is noise and surprising pain makes MOST bears decide to break off an attack. A bit like a skunk spraying them. Unless the bear is REALLY angry or defensive, in which case a 44 magnum probably won’t do much.
A guy I knew working in Alaska was required to carry a .375 H&H Magnum rifle. If you want to do serious damage, that’s about as small as I would go.
Well, maybe one day we can get Trump top kill all the bears so you cans top obsessing about killing bears and posting a daily thread on FR about it.
My guess is noise and surprising pain makes MOST bears decide to break off an attack. A bit like a skunk spraying them. Unless the bear is REALLY angry or defensive, in which case a 44 magnum probably won’t do much.
The only fatality recorded, where only handguns were used, was the attempt to defend against a polar bear with a .22 rimfire handgun in the Svalbard archipelago.
My suspicion is the vast majority of the time rifles and shotguns are successful in stopping the attack, but the results seldom make the news.
Failures to stop are largely recorded. Successes seldom are.
It appears pistols are effective at the very short ranges where contact with the bear is high.
Wait...
What?
Black Bears Matter
I seem to recall a thread here years ago where a problem bear was killed and found to have been carrying a number of 9mm slugs.
I do not recall if the slugs were from the same gun or different guns but the writer's presumption was they represented cases of successful deterrence since there were no known cases of dead/missing humans in the area.
I seem to recall a thread here years ago where a problem bear was killed and found to have been carrying a number of 9mm slugs.
There is quite a bit of mythology about bears being killed and carrying a lot of lead in the form of bullets.
Because bears carry so much fat in the fall, and because it is common for people to harrass bears with birdshot, taxidermists who deal with a significant number of bears will tell you they find lots of bird shot in and just under the hide of large bears. They also find a significant, but much smaller number of .22 rimfire slugs.
Body shots which enter the thoracic or abdominal cavity are usually mortal, but may take some time to take effect. Thoracic cavity shots are usually mortal within minutes or hours. Abdominal cavity shots, hours to days. Depending on the angle, size of bear, and fat deposition, .22 rimfire often has enough penetration to enter either cavity. A combination of thick skin, thick fat layer, muscle and bone can stop a .22 rimfire in many circumstances.
The “9mm bullets found in a problem bear” sounds like a variation of the “Old Groaner” myth from Alaska. Here is a link to a series of articles debunking the myth.
https://www.ammoland.com/2022/07/old-groaner-alaskan-myth-about-a-bear-and-pistol-defense/
I talked with a police officer decades ago who hated his body armor but always wore it because the only time he would need it was the time he was sure he didn’t need it. I am sure now it doesn’t pinch like then.
I cannot understand why someone would take the risk of a warning shot. Shoot straight, shoot to kill. A Bear can close the distance faster than you think.
Many times it is not clear if the bear is going to attack.
Sometimes, with a warning shot or shots, the bear leaves. It is very common with black bears, works a good bit of the time with polar bears, and some of the time with grizzly/brown bears.
Sometimes a shot precipitates a charge. Most of those are with grizzly/brown bears.
The reasons people do not want to kill the bears are multitudinous. Today, most of the reasons are legal entanglements.
Having thought about it some more, I seem to recall that article indicating the "other" slugs were 9mm hollow points which were effectively slowed down by the thick fur and late summer/early autumn fat layer.
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