Best Bear Defense Handguns (2026)

I don’t think Mr. Schumaker recommends a 9mm for grizzly/brown. He’ll likely say it’s better than bare hands and to use Buffalo Bore hardcast bullets. Ordinary 9mm cartridges will likely prove near useless on grizzly/brown, though slightly better than bare hands. Carry, better, carry something big.

You rarely hear of anyone carrying an SA revolver anymore for big bear protection. In fact the 10mm auto is up there as the sidearm of choice now. IF a revolver is recommended, it will be a double action for quicker shots.

This is all interesting to a curious 75 yo ……..better for me to stay out of bear country. But please….no one has mentioned marine flares…..is the problem that they do not work or that they are too slow to activate.

10mm is perfectly fine for any bear.

thank you kindly for sharing your extensive knowlege and guidance.I would be interested in your opinion of Underwood extreme penetrator cartridge 44 mag or 45 lc as to changing the attitude of a not well intentioned any bear . thanx again.

Can some of the huge pistols work? Certainly, they have before. Are they prudent, not for me. I would rather lug a 12 gauge or Marlin guide gun in 45/70 for bear protection. For actual hunting a big bear, 375 H&H; I guess I love the classics.

Any suggestion that a 9mm or 357 magnum is “any gun better than none” in brown bear country is ridiculous.

Michael Barros Smith,

Regarding your story about the two men from California who discharged bear spray in their hotel room in their haste to try it out forcing the hotel to gut and refinish the room entirely, of course after evicting the two Californians.

I carefully googled this story using the location…Impossible to find any story that confirms that what you said id true. I call BS. You’re just a hokey guy who tries to be funny by putting others down. There is a term for that. It’s jackass.

Most rangers will tell you a $50. can of bear spray is your best defense, for within 50 feet. Bears have a way of sneaking up on you. A large caliber handgun is a must.

Will a 9mm or 38 spl kill a bear? Yes. Do I want to use one as my sidearm? Hell no! A perfect shot to the brain may stop a griz or black bear with a smaller caliber but you can’t count on a perfect shot every time. When it comes to the coastal brown bear, that’s a whole different animal. He makes a grizzly look like a cub. I shot a 1000+ lb. coastal on the Alaska peninsula quartering away with a .338 Win mag. The bullet entered at the last rib on the right side and ripped through diagonally and lodged in the base of the neck on the left side. It took two more rounds to bring it down, running about 60 yards. Yes, the first round was the fatal round but it didn’t stop the bear. Fortunately I was about 80 yds. from the bear. In a close encounter this bear would have had enough time to kill me with no problem. Think you’re gonna penetrate his skull with your pea shooter? When I fleshed the bear skull I filled a 5 gallon bucket with muscle meat from the skull. When a bear is facing you even if you penetrate the meat and skull, the skull is angled flat so the bullet would probably ricochet rather than penetrate. My advice would be take the largest caliber you can comfortably handle. My choice is the 500 S&W. I wouldn’t recommend anything less than .44 mag or equivalent. Your 9mm, .38 spl. , .357 mag. might be ok for a black bear, but will likely piss off a coastal bear. Not enough bullet weight. I also recommend if you’re down to your last round and the bear is still coming, use the last round on yourself.

If you are entering bear inhabited areas, be prepared for the worst situation by having a firearm with sufficient foot-pounds to stop a bear attack. You should also use common sense when traversing through these areas by avoiding mannerisms that could be interpreted by a bear that you’re easy prey. Being aware that sounds and smell plays a role in a bear’s survival by detecting prey, keep food or harvested deer meat or other game tightly contained as it would be analogous to swimming in blood filled water with man-eating sharks. If you are confronted by a bear, leave the deer or food and do not run as this triggers the predator’s instinct to charge after you as prey. Traveling with several other people may also help discourage a bear attacking as they usually want the least confrontation unless it is a mother bear protecting her cubs. Always do your homework before entering any unfamiliar land, especially bear infested areas so you will be acquainted with these and other survival techniques including escape routes should you encounter an emergency situation.

Been involved in 2 grizz encounters. The first was many years ago when I was in Alaska. I was charged and shot the first round at about 15 ft. 2nd followed immediately. The only grizzly I ever saw that was dead right there.. I was carrying my S&W M-57 4 inch gun. Loaded with a hard cast 250 gr bullet at about 1050. 1st Bullet passed completely through the animal head to rump. I almost needed a new clean pair of drawers. I can say the 41 is probably my minimum for the big bears. I still carry that early 41 mag in bear country but just recently bought an early M-58 and am going to carry it as it is easier to draw with no adj sights. BTW the 2nd encounter was by a friend who was carrying that old M57…2 shots on a wounded grizzly same load did him in. The 454 would probably be better and I did have a 500 S&W in 4 inch but as heavy as it was I figured it was easier to carry a 12 ga pump on a sling and let someone carry out the meat while I protected them. Packing out is much less distance here in Wyoming where we hunt…but the bears here seem to have much less fear of humans than they did in Alaska. BTW seems like shooting an elk here is like ringing a dinner bell for the grizzlies. They always seem to show up. and I usually see a grizzly when I hunt almost within sight of Cody Wy.

Don’t immediately dismiss bear spray from consideration.
A study done by US Fish and Wildlife produced the following results.
(https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/bear%20spray.pdf)
“… based on their investigations of human-bear encounters since 1992, persons encountering grizzlies and defending themselves with firearms suffer injury about 50% of the time. During the same period, persons defending themselves with pepper spray escaped injury most of the time, and those that were injured experienced shorter duration attacks and less severe injuries.”
A bear spray story-
Most hotels in Kalispell, Montana have a supply of bear spray on hand, which they will lend out to guests who wish to go hiking. Two young men from SoCal (where else?) took advantage of this for their hike the following day. Curiosity got the better of them, and they managed to discharge the canisters in their hotel room that night. Needless to say, the culprits were evicted, the wing was evacuated and the room needed to be completely gutted and refinished.

Excellent article! I learned more in this article about wildlife and practical sidearms than any other article to date in thirty-five plus years. I’m not a hunter, but a hiker. I have been carrying my 1911 or my Taurus PT-92 for years and know what each round can do as a former US Army medic. Both are excellent sidearms but leave something to be desired when confronting big game in the boonies. I wasn’t sure if the .357 was really optimal for “bear spanking” as my father, a hunter and 23 year US Army Combat Veteran would say and couldn’t bring myself to splurge on either 10mm or something in the .44 magnum ranges. As an Army veteran, I had no problem with my shot placement just my faith in loads. Now I know, what to expect and what to carry. thanks again from a Liberal Gun Toting Okie!

Couple I’m friends with have a vacation home in NW Montana(we all live in So. FL). They invited me out and told me that if I go, be forewarned that there are grizzlies about. I have two dogs and they said that might provoke the bears. Planning to go, I figured that I didn’t have the right gun for a possible bear encounter. So, I got a Marlin Guide Gun in .45-70Gvt. Owing to circumstances at their place, I wasn’t able to go. But, I still have the Marlin. The 400gr cowboy loads are mild and I could shoot them all day. The Hornady 325gr Leverevolution is a whole different story. It’s got the velocity, but wonder if it would have the penetration? Not handloading right now, so that obvious solution is not available; only factory ammo.

You didn’t say anything about the Ruger SuperRedHawk .454 Casull? Why not? Do you have a problem with this model? If so, what is the problem? Please reply.

I hope those guides told you that if you fire a round, bears start coming from all directions to eat the free gut pile. They have been conditioned to hear a gun and equate it to a free meal. Usually blacktail deer. So don’t go shooting just for fun especially on Kodiak.

I carry an automag ivin 45 Win mag.

The .45 Colt has long been my favorite cartridge in the Blackhawk.
My first handgun was just that at age 18, and now I tote a Blackhawk Hunter in .45, loaded with 325 gr HC with GC and 22 grains of H-110 (Ruger Blackhawk or Thompson Contender ONLY!!!)
I’ve chronoed this load at 1325fps, it’s kickass on Elk.
What I really love I the light weight of the Blackhawk, it’s great in a shoulder rig.

I often have to carry elk quarters out in the Bitteroot mountans, which is heavy populated with wolves, grizzly, black bear, and moose, all of which I have had numerous too close for comfort encounters where I’ve had to draw down. My hunting partner puts his faith in the Colt .45, and it will get the job done. I prefer to carry a .460 Roland – built on .45 Colt ACP 1911 chassis. The author is right in the close terrain on of the Bitterroors, you’re only going to get two shots off and the second one will be point blank. This is why I prefer my .460 Roland – it has compensator for better follow on second shot. Big hand guns buck like a mule, and even though adrenaline is flowing, that big gun will jump and you will have to push hard for that second shot, The .460 Roland doesn’t rise as much as the .45 Colt.

I am from Houston, TX. A good friend used to go to Alaska to fish. Told me to that towards evening they made Camp during Daylight Hours. They could see the best place to setup before the Mosquito came out. Put up the fishing gear and settled in for the night. I asked if he was afraid of the Bear’s. He said not really. I asked what type of Rifle he carried. He said none. What did you have I asked, he said he had a .454 Casull in a shoulder harness. He said he was not scared of all the trips he made. He saw a seasoned Ranger carry the same rigging and said that was good enough for Him. I haven’t seen any of his Buddy’s to verify his story, But they like Jack, they have all passed away.
I sure wanted to sit and talk to him about all the story’s they brought back. I just wander where his Pistol and the rigging went to. His wife left Houston shortly after he passed.
Great Man, and he never told a fib while I grew up At 75 I will never know. God Bless old Friend.

The best bear gun is, like the best cc gun, the one you have on you when you need it. Not back in the camper because it’s too heavy or bulky. Fly fishing in AK, and knocking around the woods I often carry a stainless charter target bulldog in 44 special. 4″ barrel, all stainless steel, adjustable sights and under 1.5 pounds. Crossdraw holster. Practice with light loads and carry it with one of Pearce’s 22k psi heavy loads. Hardly know it’s even there. Until it’s needed.

My grandparents have a home on rockytop Tennessee, with a few caves. We see bears here and there I have never had to shoot one however I carry my Freedom Arms 454 Casull 7 1/2″ Barrel. My second firearm of choice because it works for two legged predator as well is my Springfield XDM 460 Rowland.

The FORGOTTEN GUN (but one of the best Alaska Bear Guns) is the Ruger .480 7.5″ OR 10″. Powerful but lower recoil than a .454 Casull, .460 or a .500 S&W. The 30-50 yd accuracy is simple….AMAZING SHOT PLACEMENT WITH POWER. I purchased the gun from the nephew of an Alaskan Guide who had to kill several large browns with this same revolver.

The 12 ga. Shock Wave or the Tac-12 pistols leave a bigger hole ! Magnum Research 45-70 isn’t bad either ! Or even a simple GLOCK 10mm like the A.H.P. carry !

The Smith & Wesson 329 PD is by far the best handgun choice for self-defense against bears and boars while out and about in the woods.