Do you think S&W 40 cal. is enough handgun to hold off or take down a black bear.?

Question

I live in NY and at my cabin we have been finding lots of signs of black bear. We have better with garbage and still have signs around when we come back for a weekend. This is a good thing with bow and gun season approaching quick. Well what i really would like to know is if i take the kids for walk is this enough fire power (40 cal. semi-auto 10rds 180gr. FMJ hollow point or should be carrying shotgun/rifle.) THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

Answer 1

No. A .45acp barely and I mean barley is enough to stop a black bear. And that's probably with several shots .44 magnum is strong enough.

I was told a story buy a guy I worked with got chased by a grizzly. All he had was a 9mm. Pretty stupid of him. He finally got a headshot and blew it's brains out. I don't know how he kept so much ammo on him but they found 150+ bullets in the body of that bear. And it took a headshot to stop it.

Answer 2

If I were facing a bear, I would take a shotgun. Loaded with 3" inch magnum Buckshot. I wouldnt take chances with the thing.

Answer 3

Well .40 cal has killed bears...but if your facing off against a pissed off charging bear...well nothing short of a hit on the brain or central nervouse system is going to stop it immediatly, sure it will kill it and maybe stop its agression but it can be very to hard to drop a bear even with the large hunting calibers that they are usually killed by. But its definatly better than falling on your face or spraying it with bear detterent or something silly.

Answer 4

with the hollow tip rounds it will sure make him stop and rethink his approach but with one shot i doubt it would stop a full grown black bear but a 12 gauge with slug shot is gonna drop him and if you wanna take a piece out of him just get a fifty caliber pistol or rifle

Answer 5

yes it almost has the punch as a 45

Answer 6

this pretty much comes down to a gamble, your life is on the line and its your a** that's going to pay if your packing to light, in my opinion and I'm sure you'll find its in line with most serious hunters: the .40 s&w just doesnt have anywhere near the punch to reliably or humanily take down a wild animal, they are in fact illegal to use for hunting in most states, the reason being that the average .40 180 grain jhp makes about 400-450 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle.  The .357 magnum which is usually considerd the minumum for hunting produces 500-550 ft lbs of energy with a 170 grain jhp.  If you looking at bear your best bet for a handgun would be the .44 mag or .500 S&W,  the .44 produces about 900-1400 ft lbs of energy and the .500 produces an amazing 2000-2800 lbs of energy which is good enough for pretty much anything in north america and better than some rifle rounds.  of course  the shotgun with slugs stagered with 00 or 000 buck shot will get the job done while requiring less from you in the aiming department and is your best bet.

if you go for the handgun do yourself a favor and find soft points or a good fmj and stagger in the mag or cylinder, JHP have been known to expand on the outside of the skull and rib cage of bear, i.e. no hits in the vitals means your in big trouble.

Answer 7

12 ga. w/ sabot slugs is what I'd tote.

Answer 8

No.And anyone that thinks hollow point penetrate deeper, is mistaken.

On a better note, unless you threaten a cub, a black bear will leave you alone

If you want to carry a shotgun, buckshot will not do.  Buck is generally 15 32 caliber pellets going round 1300 fps in a 3 inch shell. So if you shoot, you will probably make him turn tail and run, but a kill will be difficult. Don't fool around, carry a short barrel 12 gage with slug.

If a handgun is more practical, a 44 mag with a 4 inch or better barrel, will do loaded with Buffalo bore 300 or 340 grain hard cast lead.

Answer 9

Should take it down without a problem. make sure it's a good shot though..

I wouldn't shoot it at first sight, it will more than likely run away at the sight of you..

but if it starts to charge you, i would shoot at the ground or somthing to try and scare it off.

IF it still charges, aim for the heart, liver, any vitals.. dont shoot it in the head.. they have very thick skulls and could possibly just ricochette off the head..

Answer 10

The .40 S&W, or as I sometimes call it the .38-40 ACP, is the ballistic twin of the venerable .38-40 WCF.

Lots of old-time gunmen preferred the .38-40 and claimed that it hit harder and was a better killer than the .45 Long Colt.

I'd not go hunting a bear on purpose with a .40 S&W, or any other semi-automatic pistol for that matter, but if you keep your cool, and place your shots where they will do the most good, I think you can punch old Ephraim's ticket if he starts after you and the kids.

BTW, I don't recommend you try head shots with his forehead as a target.  

Doc

Answer 11

It may be or it might just p**s it off you may want to invest in a can of bear mace.

Answer 12

A first cousin of mine told me of a time he had to finish off a Black Bear wounded by another hunter shooting a .30-06 Springfield. The hunter freaked out when his first shot from his '06 didn't do the job.  My cousin tracked the bear with his Marlin 336 .30-30 and finished the bear off.  He told me he had to shoot it another ten times.  I don't know if that was an exceptionally tough bear or what but my cousin was a good rifle shot.  Keep that in mind and consider that the S&W .40 cal. is a defensive caliber against human predators.  It is designed to duplicate the performance of the .45 acp which is NOT a hunting caliber.  It might work for you on a small Black Bear but I'd sooner trust the full-size 10mm, a shotgun (with slugs) or at least a .308 rifle.

Good luck.

H

Answer 13

Most black bear want nothing to do with humans except dig through the garbage and raid bird feeders. If you corner one or start messing with a cub...you will meet with aggression.

The 40 S&W is "probably" enough, especially if it you deliver multiple good solid hits.

There are better choices for hunting them and the BEST MEDICINE TO AVOID BEAR ATTACK IS PREVENTION.

Make noise, let them know you are there and they will avoid you.

Answer 14

Given sufficient time and sufficient rounds placed in vital areas, you COULD kill a black bear with a .40 caliber handgun.  The probelm is that the time from when you determine that the bear is going to attack and the time he reaches you is only seconds.  You may get off a couple of shots before the bear reaches you and makes a bear t**d of you.  You need a gun that will have mucho stopping power.  If it were me, I'd want AT LEAST a .454 Casull.  My preference would be a S&W .500 mag.  Why would I pick the .500 mag?  Simply because they don't make a .600 mag.  When facing a menacing black bear, I want all the firepower I can get.  I want to stop the bear BEFORE he gets to me.  It is sort of like a parachute......you want it to open BEFORE the first bounce.  If the bear gets to you, your handgun will just be something for him to rake out of the way as he makes a meal out of your bones.  If you don't have enough firepower, your family will be left to go through the woods with a shovel picking up bear turds to have somethng to bury.