I’d take the 45 without a doubt! Might not kill em but a big projectile to the snout/face area might change his mind, at least long enough to get outta there.

 

My thoughts exactly but a google search had me worried nothing less than a 454 would do. both Montana and Wyoming allow constitutional concealed carry for nonresidents so no worries there.

 

45

 

We have killed a couple with a 45. No worries

 

Unless they changed the laws, you can’t carry in Yellowstone.

 

You can. It changed in 2010. You technically can’t discharge a gun in Yellowstone however.

 

Any gun will work, just shoot your buddy in the leg.

Then you only need to outrun him, not the bear.

 

9mm with appropriate ammo is very effective and has been proven successful. There are no guarantees obviously but make sure you are comfortable and proficient with what you choose, Here in CO and WY I carry 9mm with G9 woodsman , but many use buffalo bore as well.

 

Any thing less then 50 cal plan on using it to put yourself out of your misery. lol. Some people are crazy.

On a serious note. How much hiking are you doing? I would carry the 9mm of I was packing long distances and the 45 if staying close to the truck.

 

Any thing less then 50 cal plan on using it to put yourself out of your misery. lol. Some people are crazy.

On a serious note. How much hiking are you doing? I would carry the 9mm of I was packing long distances and the 45 if staying close to the truck.

5+ miles some days like I said in the original post. The 45 and 9 weigh the same so no big deal there. They’re both 1911 lightweight commanders. They also recoil about the same since the 45 has a better recoil spring system.

Edit: should have said 5 out (10 roundtrip)

 

Ammo recommendations that I will be able to find on a shelf?

 

 

I was planning to say use whichever has the shortest barrel as it’ll be easier to get into your mouth, but Lumberman already alluded to that reality.

On a serious note, I’d use whichever has the most ammo capacity of the two choices you listed. I like heavier bullets, but if my choice is a seven round 1911 .45 vs a 15 or greater round Glock 9mm, I’m buying +p 9mm and practicing my rapid fire at the range.

 

So it’s an 8+1 1911 in 45 or a 10+1 9mm 1911.
I shoot PPC with the 45 lightweight and do just fine so I’m not worried about not being able to magdump my shots on target.

 

I’d go with the .45 and solid cast bullets if it were me then based on those guns.

 

This has been hashed out with lots of info on rokslide, worth a quick search, but with right ammo, just use what you shoot best.

 

I carry a 41 Mag in the wild, but Phil Shoemaker in Alaska accounted well for himself with a 9mm.

 

I read a few articles on Phil Shoemaker before I moved to Alaska, as well as while I was living up there.
One of those talked about him moving up to a.505 Gibbs, because he was unhappy with the results of whatever caliber he was using while guiding brown bear hunters.
He has forgot way more than I ever knew from hunting the big bears myself.
My thoughts on him carrying a 9mm while guiding fishermen doesn’t matter, but I lost a lot of respect for him with that incident.

 

A friend of mine would go to that area the last day of school. He said the biggest safety thing you can do is to be able to sing kinda loudly. It makes you happy, improves your aerobic ability and the bears really don't want to deal with you either.

Oh, and don't cook your fish in a pit at your camp. He said you can't imagine how big of rocks a bear can dig into for food scent.

 

A 12 guage with slugs would be much better.

 

I agree, or my 30-30 even but I’m not lugging that around for 5+ miles per day around other tourists lol

 

What’s the alternative if I was to trade in my 9mm? A 10mm Glock 20?

 

I hate to say it. But if one needs to be traded in. I'd consider letting the .45acp go.

Something to consider anyway.

 

.460 Rowland conversion?

I'd either ise the trip as an excuse to buy a new gun, best idea, or just run with what I already own with penetrators.

 

I guided bear hunters for over 45 years always carried a 44 mag with a 4" barrel its hard for me to remember taking it out of the holster because of a bear....
But one day went to town for supplies and always carry my 45 ACP compact....well got home a little late 10 + years ago to run the baits and also forgot my 44 mag. but still had the 45 ACP on my hip.....
Walked in with 2-5 gallon buckets of bait opened the barrel dumped in one bucket went to grab the second when I saw a black spot moving threw the brush very fast towards me I unholstered my gun yelled but the bear kept coming by the time I lower the gun and fired twice hitting the bear with it stopping at my feet with smoke coming out of it fur....
One shot hit the bear a little above but between its eyes the other a little higher and to the right....I was using Federal Hi-Shok 230 gr ammo....it did its job but never thought that a 45 ACP would be needed for a bear.....

People talk about using a 9mm for bear protection you better have big kohonas to stand there and fire those rounds.....even a 10 mm or 45 ACP just doesn't have the power for a body shot and will only have enough power for a exact head shot....even a 44 mag is just not a bear stopper unless you make a perfect head shot.....

You want a bear stopping cartridge 12 ga slug will put the hurt on a bear and hopefully not you....

Just remember if you shoot a bear to protect your self it better be close like spitting distance you going to be lucky to get off one maybe two shots if your very well practiced and have nerves of steel....

 

That’s why I was thinking my .45. I had read your post back in the day about that encounter and it stuck with me. I shoot PPC with my 45 and am very, very comfortable with it.

 

44 mag Mares leg would be interesting for this too

 

Well I talked to a sporting goods store in Bozeman and they have the hardcast buffalo bore 45 load in stock. The guy didn’t recommend carrying a 45 but said plenty of locals do and with bear spray the odds of having to rely on it for anything other than a sub 10ft shot is super low and it would be just as deadly as a 10mm in that range so I’ll be totin the 45

 

When bears read threads about which pistol caliber to carry in bear country...

 

When bears read stats about pistol calibers actually being pretty effective for last ditch close quarters bear defense:

 

bear spray would likely be much more effective

 

Yes, and i will have some. The pistol will truly be a last resort.

 

Going down the rabbit hole here fellas. It’s really pretty irrelevant since i plan to carry Both. Start a new thread if you want to argue about this so it doesn’t clog up my email when you respond to this one.

 

A 9mm with case hardened ammo like Underwood or Buffalo bore is your better choice. It will allow you to get more accurate rounds on target in a short period of time and provide better penetration over the .45. If a grizzly does charge you I personally would go straight to the firearm as you almost certainly will not have time to try the spray then transition to the pistol. They are very fast critters. If possible borrow or buy a 10mm it is quickly becoming the preferred choice for bear defense. But either way case hardened ammo is a MUST!

 

According to the guy in Montana, the buffalo bore 45acp hard cast penetrates pretty much the same as their 9mm hard cast because it carries more momentum forward.

 

I think we've already established that OP isn't too worried about encountering a bear, and is ready to ignore sound advice anyhow.

Not trying to be a jerk here, just need to check myself out for caring too much, when it's really up to him.

 

I’m not carrying a 12 gauge with slugs around Yellowstone brother. You’re right I’m not overly worried about it, got some good advice and was ready to go with the 10mm before the firearms shop in Montana said don’t bother

 

All good brother... just care about you, 'cause I care about people... but I think you could recognize bear spray isn't the first thing to rely on... I've been sprayed & it was annoying - no way it stopped me. That darn Jan6 footage should say it all.

I'm just glad you're going with hard cast, +p... don't blame us guys for encouraging any excuse to buy a new sidearm.<