.40 caliber as a bear cartridge?

[Superposed]

I had a call from my stepson last night.  He lives outside of Sevierville on the side of a mountain and raises bees as a hobby.  He got home yesterday before dark to find three black bears (a sow and two almost grown "cubs") turning over and raiding his hives.  He tried to scare them off but one of the "cubs" came at him in an obvious attack.  He pulled his .40 caliber Glock and shot the bear 4 times at close range.  The bear went down in a heap.  The game warden that came to check out the situation said the bears are on the move looking for food.  The game warden was quite surprised the .40 caliber pistol dropped an almost two-year old bear like it did.  The bear was carried off by the game warden.

[Garufa]

The .40 reigns supreme.

 

I would advise he invest in some Bear repellent spray.

Edited April 21, 2015 by Garufa

[Pain103]

RIP Winnie the Pooh.

[BrasilNuts]

Shot placement reigns supreme.

Your stepson got very lucky.

Next time he decides to scare them off, he needs to do it with a rifle in hand.

[musicman]

The stretched .40 (10mm) is a pretty common anti-bear cartridge in Alaska. When loaded to full potential it has quite a lot of snort. It's not a 44 mag, but it can get around 700lb-ft of energy and depending on its application device it can do that 15 or so times in a row.

I'm glad it worked out well for him. I have often had a 40 with me in the smokies. If I were in that situation I don't know if I'd have the restraint to stop at 4 rounds, lol!

Again, placement and penetration are what it's all about, imho.

[Jonnin]

When people talk about killing a bear with a handgun, they usually are talking the larger species and one-shot stops.  Close range and bear don't mix well, they can put the hurt on you, even the small ones, and having to fire 4 times to stop it is less than ideal.   But we don't know where he hit it either...  IMHO 40 is probably fine for black bears if you hit it properly.  Its about like a 357 mag, really and it should do just fine for this sized animal.  There is a lot to be said for having 15 or so rounds of it too.  

 

while it worked, and is fine, I would still not call it a "bear cartridge"  because the term carries with it the idea of a bigger animal and the 40 would be hard pressed to stop those.'

 

 

Actually the 10mm and the 44 overlap.  A lot of .44 momentum tables are out of extra long barrel revolvers so they are overstated, but inch for inch,  the two are close enough.  If I had to face down a large animal with a pistol, I would certainly prefer my desert eagle 44 with some hot loads,  and a good 10mm (I never got one, the DE took its place, I wanted one or the other) would be a fine pick.  

Edited April 21, 2015 by Jonnin

[BrasilNuts]

Again, placement and penetration are what it's all about...

Now you sound like my wife.

[10-Ring]

Not my first choice but we are likely talking about an animal that weighs less than 100 pounds so a .40 should do it. Contrary to popular belief black bears are not some mythically tough creatures that are hard to kill.

[musicman]

Now you sound like my wife.

I literally LOL'd!

[Tncobra]

Put honey bees in neighbors yard.

[bersaguy]

Not my first choice but we are likely talking about an animal that weighs less than 100 pounds so a .40 should do it. Contrary to popular belief black bears are not some mythically tough creatures that are hard to kill.

I would say a 2 years old black bear is going to exceed 100 lbs but things may have been a lot more dramatic had Momma been the aggressor and not one of the cubs. Glad it came out good for you and hope they didn't do a lot of damage to your hives.......... :up: 

[Good_Steward]

The .40 reigns supreme.

 

I would advise he invest in some Bear repellent spray.

If by bear repellent spray you mean a .454 Casull, I agree wholeheartedly... :) 

[Superposed]

I referred to the .40 caliber as a bear caliber tongue-in-cheek.  He has a 10 mm Delta Elite.  I wish there was some way that we could find out what organs, etc. he hit.  The bear didn't go far as he could see the other two bears looking at it after he got inside the house.  Glad he wasn't hurt by the bears but it may be a different story with the bees.  He said they were very mad.

[nightrunner]

Am I the only one wondering if he killed the cub, why mama didn't charge him? Usually that is the quickest way to get a bear to attack you is messing with a mamas Cubs.

With proper shot placement, a .40 would do for a black bear. They aren't brown bear or grizzly. They average 2-300 lbs full grown. Sure if rather have a 10mm or a .44mag or even a heavy .357mag that would penetrate better than .40sw

Congrats on surviving the encounter. I'd say that he without a shadow of a doubt now has full confidence in that pistol as a carry gun.

[TNWNGR]

Yeah the 40 S&W in the hands of a competent shot at the right distance will do that, but so will a .357 Magnum or a number of other HG cartridges. Black bears are nuisances but have been killed with 32/20 and 38/40 HG cartridges fired from Winchester and Marlin carbines. I'm thinking your stepson was rather grateful the bear ceased and desisted from further aggressive activity.  

[10-Ring]

If by bear repellent spray you mean a .454 Casull, I agree wholeheartedly... :)

You will generally stand a better chance with bear spray than a gun.

[Sam1]

It was because the .40 was a Glock.  a .40 from a Springfield or Sig will not be as effective.

[Sam1]

On a side note, if he does honey, send him this link:  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flow-hive-honey-on-tap-directly-from-your-beehive

 

Those things are genius! 

[deadeye111]

I have posted this before but a black bear was killed at Marquand, Mo with a .22 caliber rifle so the .40 cal taking one down doesn't surprise me.

 

Black bear killed near Marquand

Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Scott Moyers ~ Southeast Missourian

snip from Article:

 

The man said the bear stood up on its hind legs as the man's dog advanced. Standing up, the bear was 6 feet tall.

"He was afraid the bear was going to tear up his dog," West said. "So apparently he shot the bear three times."

The man used a .22-caliber rifle. The wounded bear ran into the woods, West said, and the man called the Bollinger County Sheriff's Department, which contacted the Department of Conservation.

The bear couldn't be located that night. The next morning, the man called the agency and said he'd found the bear dead 150 yards from the shed.

Monday morning, conservation agents retrieved the bear, a male, and stored the carcass in the walk-in freezer of a Fredericktown, Mo., taxidermist.