What handgun do I need to kill a black bear?

If the bear is causing you trouble, call animal control to come and relocate it to a national park or something...don't kill the poor thing!

Using a gun is cowardly, why not get yourself some bear armour and challenge a grizzly to a fair fight, hand-to-hand, now that I would respect you for!

Pretty funny timski coming from the UK and all considering that my ancestors killed all the bears out of merry old england 380 years ago before they moved to america for happier hunting grounds. Guess your's sat around drinking tea, eh? I thought it was funny.

Non moderator reproof:

Come on arius quit making fun of the british. They do a good enough job making fun of themselves. By all means the tea quip was way out of line.

I'd reccomend and Desert Eagle.


And if you wanna get funky, make yourself a pike/phalanx and enjoy the rush.

I like the pike idea. I've googled pikes but am having trouble finding a good picture. Does anyone know much about pikes and the design. I don't know if it would be legal to kill a bear with a pike.

12-15 foot long spear, either with a wooden tip, or a metal of your choice.


they were good for stopping calvary.





might want a gladius for back up, or perhaps a mace or two.

or you could just get a dai-katana

I was thinking perhaps backed up with a viking ax.

g'luck, and if yer to fall to the bear, see ya in Valhalla.






or does it not count?

what if the bear wins?

who is going to update us on the hunt?

i suppose he'll nevah be heard from again

and then props to the bear?

You say its been 2 yrs huh. Wow so you still cant move on from it. I love my animals dearly but i would not risk hand to hand combat with a bear. I am truly sorry for your loss and I am an avid hunter for food only but I think this is a dumb idea. I have had good dogs run down by cars, should i chase down the guys and kill them, going to prison in the process?? I have lost a good irish setter to a rattlesnake bite, should i go on a snake killing spree?? I have lost a beautiful engish pointer to pancreatic cancer. Should i go kill all the doctors for not finding a cure fast enough?? No. So why kill an animal at close range not knowing what weapon to use, potentially getting yourself killed in the process.

The loss of your life to your family and loved ones by a stupid act of revenge is 100x more cruel than your dogs death. In that 2yrs you could have had another good dog and grown well attached to it. But yet you decided to carry the grief and let it eat you up inside to the point of you not thinking clearly. And btw if you dont know what a 454 is in revolver caliber, i would suggest you dont hunt any bear with a handgun. A. you wouldnt be able to handle the caliber. and B. your not qualified enough to hunt and kill a bear with a handgun. The end result will be you not getting a good enough shot due to adrenaline and lack of knowledge of your weapon and your mauling death by pissing off a bear from wounding it. IF you must know look up 454 casull by taurus or Smith and Wesson.

Instead of asking a bunch of strangers what to do, how about asking your family/loved ones if its a good idea. Im sure they will tell you NO, they much rather have you with them and alive, then grieving over a closed casket. Maybe one of them will buy you a new dog to help ease the pain. You cant blame the bear for doing what comes natural. Fighting an animal in his territory.

Sat around drinking tea? Most certainly Arius, old bean, and then it's orf to form an orderly queue for something.

Originally posted by Lysergic
i suppose he'll nevah be heard from again

and then props to the bear?

i just want to know if the bear wins so we could award him a darwin award.

If you had any cajones you would use a Bow or as suggested a lance/spear. But no
your only thought is to kill all of a race that you now hate.

I have thought about it for a long time. Two years. I don't think that bears help humans so if all they do is going around killing innocent people and dogs perhaps they should be eradicated.

Has it occured to you that this is the same rationalization used by Hitler, and the
followers of Manifest Destiny in this country? Not to mention The RCC worldwide?

The Plains tribes had a word that described you and people like you quite accurately
WASICUYA literally " those with out spirits".

I know that the .45 auto is smaller than the .45.

Again your ignorance is obvious. While the case of the .45acp (automatic Colt Pistol)
is shorter ( this due to the advent of smokeless powder), ballistically they are the same. Both use a bullet with a weight of 248- 250 grains (about 1/2 ounce as I recall) Both have approx. the same velosity and muzzle pressure, both travel at about 750 - 800 feet per second. Both have about the same result on impact ( often
equated to being hit by a freight train.)

With your obvious lack of understanding of firearms and animals I would suggest you use the 1000 dollars you are contimplating spending on a firearm to a better end. Move into the city where YOU are not likely to be encroaching on the home turf of wildlife that was there long before you.

OK i'll respond to timski first. All others know that I respect your posts and the logic contained therein. timski for a mere island of people who invented the english language you sure don't know how to speak it correctly. You use lingo and terms which make no sense. Perhaps the mere 61 million tea drinkin brits should take some online courses on how to speak english and avoid silly lingo. Find someone from ohio or indiana to teach you. No George W. Bush doesn't speak proper english. He can't even fake a texas accent correctly. Note, he went to Yale. Do you think they would let him talk like that at Yale? I don't get the old bean thing? Does that mean I'm not as tasty as say, a young bean. You brits should forget the glory days when you ravaged our countryside and tried to make us buy stamps. Good ole George Washington banished your kind 220 years ago. Ever been back? Oh yeah, Andrew Jackson sent you lickin your wounds from Louisiana.

OK everyone else. Today, I did some very good research at the gun store. I looked at the smith and wesson .50 caliber and the .460. They are both the same size and dimensions with different cartridge sizes. I am leaning towards the .460. Both stores I talked to said that the .460 allows you to shoot different size cartridges than the .460 and the .460 cartridges are twenty dollars a box v/s 50 dollars a box for the .50 caliber. Both of the guns felt like butter in my hand. The best price I was able to get was 940 dollars for either the .460 or the .50 caliber. I also asked the gun shop owner to check on the Magnum BFR it seems to be equivalent to the smith and wesson. I know that smith and wesson is a good brand but I don't know about the Magnum. Magnum weapons are made in Israel and they are familiar with making weapons large enough to shoot the camel out from under the enemy and then shooting the enemy so it may be a good gun.

If the bear wins I have told my wife to inform this thread. I think I will keep updating this thread as I scout out my hunting site and each day that I go hunting. Maybe it will keep you on the edge of your seats. She has asked me not to use a pike or viking axe so out of respect for her I will use a handgun without a scope. When scouting out before season until I get the .460 or .50 caliber I will take my 9 mm P1. This is legal on federal and state lands since I possess a concealed handgun permit. I intend to have a bearskin rug made with the bear and a necklace made out of the claws. I intend to keep the teeth as well. I will keep the meat and use the entirety of the bears body as is possible. Maybe I'll take some pictures to keep you guys interested in the thread.

IM VERY SAD TO REPORT ARIUS HAS LOST THE FIGHT AGAINST THE BEAR. HIS WIFE HAS TOLD ME TO INFORM ALL YOU OF THE SAD NEWS. it was actually caught on tape . WARNING VERY GRAPHIC.

arius vs the bear

[edit on 21-9-2006 by elitegamer23]

I'm not for hunting, per se, however I will come to arius' defense. Bear hunting is a legitimate activity in some places; ie. the northern US and Canada for example. There are many bears in some areas and, for many reasons, hunting is necessary to control the bear populations.

I don't want to get into an argument or debate over wildlife management here. Suffice it to say that, in some regions, bears are indeed a problem. Yes, bears are cute and appear to be cuddly but they can be deadly when they encroach upon populated areas.

I wonder why you didn't just get a new dog with your money? I don't guns have done anything for us but create problems, but they are here so we must come up with ways to use them to our advantage. That does not mean going out and killing a bear because your dog was attacked. I have to ask if you live in bear country and what time your dog was outside, if you do live in bear country then you would most certainly know that you were in bear country. I don't know what time the dog was attacked, but if the dog was left out overnight then you would almost have to expect an attack.

Good luck actually finding the bear that attacked your dog (if that's even possible, as i doubt that you put any kind of tag or tracking device on the bear). It's good to hear that you at least plan to use the whole bear, which is the way it should be. If you do somehow manage to shoot the bear and not get mauled to death, then I hope the bear is put to good use.

You shouldn't kill a bear just because your dog was attacked, I don't like saying it this way, but the dog was going to die eventually, so why be angry at bears. You should definately respect the bears and if you truly wish to hunt one (and use it to it's fullest potential) then good luck.