10mm Caliber Pistols & Their Defensive Use Against Bear Attacks: Known Incidents

AmmoLand ^ | March 9, 2022 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

The 10mm is gaining a reputation as a reliable bear stopper.

[No.6]

Rumors but no reality on Glock Gen5 in .45 and 10mm. Yet.

[riverrunner]

Some say the Gen 3 Glocks are the best.

Having shot all the Gens and many different models.

I don’t think I have a preference they have all worked for me.

[DuncanWaring]

I’d prefer something belt-fed.

[riverrunner]

A decent caliber handgun with a good stout bullet that gives you over 18 inches of penetration in 10% ballistic gel seem to work well.

Having shot bears with rifles, shotguns and handguns.

I prefer heavy for caliber bullets and velocities over 1000fps when using handguns.

[riverrunner]

To heavy to carry around.

Onw of the reasons handguns work so well is because you have them when needed.

[Carriage Hill]

I’d be looking for something shoulder-fired.

[muir_redwoods]

I’d love to find a 10mm carbine reasonably priced.

I’d love to have Salma Hayek stalking me too so…

[Old Yeller]

I’d prefer something belt-fed.

To keep from being bear-fed.

[Prole]

Who wanders around Grizzly Bear territory without a S&W .500?

[circlecity]

In Alaska 44 mag seems to be handgun of choice for bears.

[dblshot]

Known incidents, well yeah-unknown ones didn’t report back.

[Prole]

.44 MAG should do the trick.

[Prole]

Better a Revolver than a Jam-O-Matic any day.

[Spok]

I favor my 45/70 and not having to stop a bear 10 feet away. IMHO, handguns are defensive weapons of last resort when hunting big game, unless you’re hunting with a handgun by design. For that purpose, I think my model 29 is adequate. But then, I’m an old wheel gun guy to begin with. I also believe, again in my opinion, that there enough calibers already in production to satisfy the requirements of hunters who can skillfully place a bullet where it needs to go. But that’s just an opinion.

[StAntKnee]

I never miss reading these. Thanks for the post.

[gundog]

People carrying rifles, rather than fly rods.

[Joe 6-pack]

I have a first generation Colt Delta Elite. The first time I took it to the range it made some very distinct impressions on me. First, I was shooting at steel targets. With a .45 ACP, there is (to me) a very short, but perceptible delay between the time the trigger is pulled and the, "Clang!" of the target. With the 10mm, it seemed far more instantaneous. Second, at longer shots, the trajectory is so much flatter. With a 25 yard zero, at 75 yards, the 10mm generally drops about half of what the .45 does (3-4" depending on load vs. 6-8").

My impression of the recoil was that it was not, "heavier," per se, but delivered differently. The .45 recoil comes as a slower, rolling force, while the 10mm comes back snappier and faster, kind of like the difference between arm wrestling vs. being punched in the hand. IMHO, I can make quicker follow up shots with the 10 than I can the .45 given comparable loads.

[Disambiguator]

As a point of reference, the revolver caliber that most closely matches the ballistics of a 10mm auto is the .41 Magnum.

Have there been any reports of bear defense using this cartridge?

[Scarlett156]

Reading these accounts is always fun. But scary. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a bear around here but the last time I did see one, it was on the front porch. Heh. It was a pretty small bear and ran off when I yelled at it.

Makes me hesitate to go out for a hike. But upon further thought, I would rather deal with a bear than one of my insane crackhead neighbs.