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45 ACP "Bear Ammo"

terry2425

terry2425

.270 WIN
It's that time of the year when I get the trailer cleaned, stocked and checked out to start the camping season. It's also time to load up some fresh 45 ACP HP bear ammo for the camping season.

Went out to the shop and loaded some Speer 230 Grn hollow points with 10.5 grns of Accurate NO 7 powder. The load is a maximum load that borderlines a +P load for a 45. The velocity is about 940 FPS and will do a real number on large, nasty animals in the woods whether it be a two or four leg varity.

I loaded up a few extras and tested for expansion. Very pleased with the Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point.

I'm ready to hit the high country and get away from the rat race for a while!
 

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I use a lot of #7 for 9mm and 10mm, but never thought to try it in .45Auto. I shoot only 230s so now your post has got me thinking!

That's good looking ammo you have there, nice and bright.
 
Funny, I asked a RMNP Ranger if 45ACP was good for bear. The Rangers response was how fast do you want him to eat you. He recommended a 12 gauge shotgun using slugs as the best defense against bear. Me, I would think a 10mm with a hard cast bullet would do the trick, but I am not a bear kind of guy, so I now have a dedicated 12 gauge for that duty.
 
MikeT,

My dedicated camp gun is a Mossberg 930 SPX loaded with rifle slugs. Only use the 45 when out hiking. A well placed shot or shots with a 45 will kill a black bear. Grizzly bears are a different story, I don't camp in "GRIZZ" country so I don't worry about it.
 
terry2425 said:
MikeT,

My dedicated camp gun is a Mossberg 930 SPX loaded with rifle slugs. Only use the 45 when out hiking. A well placed shot or shots with a 45 will kill a black bear. Grizzly bears are a different story, I don't camp in "GRIZZ" country so I don't worry about it.
Click to expand...

An old pic my father took in Alaska during a hunt for Grizz. Don't know the caliber (or other details of the hunt) the lady used to bag the bear. This was in the early '50's


Ladywithgrizzly.jpg~original
 
terry2425 said:
MikeT,

My dedicated camp gun is a Mossberg 930 SPX loaded with rifle slugs. Only use the 45 when out hiking. A well placed shot or shots with a 45 will kill a black bear. Grizzly bears are a different story, I don't camp in "GRIZZ" country so I don't worry about it.
Click to expand...

I camp in RMNP and the Rangers there will not let you carry a long gun for protection. However, you may carry open (Or concealed if licensed). I carry my M&P40 with Buffalo Bore ammo when hiking and use either my Marlin 1895 in 45/70 using Buffalo Bore ammo or my 930SPX loaded with slugs for cabin defense.
 
We have some very large black bears here. Some upwards of the 600 pound mark, despite the fish/game vehemently trying to say that the average size of a black bear is 250 pounds.

Maybe that's average in the wild, but since the bear population is so unchecked and highly protected here, and since they are so overpopulated there isn't enough food to sustain them naturally so almost all of the bears in this area are dumpster divers, so do the math.

I often carry a 9mm with high capacity magazine when I am in the woods and while I do believe that a 9mm will likely kill a bear over a period of time, I do not think it would kill one with a well placed shot or two quickly enough to stop an attack.

For that matter, I think a 22LR will kill a black bear over time, but again, is not going to stop one where it stands.

A 12 gauge with a slug would be a lot more efficient of a stopper, but there are no guarantee's even with them stopping a pissed of charging 400+ pound momma bear.

While I feel better carrying a handgun with me in the woods, I am not going to lie to myself that it would stop a determined bear.
 
sounds like a nice load but I would never shoot at dangerous game with a Gold Dot.
Sounds like the speed you are sending them are in the wheel house for a Gold Dot but in my experience in the 10mm , at speed I consider good penetrating speed, the petals damnear come off the boolet.

Gold Dot on the left and XTP on the right……Gold Dot also didn’t penetrate but half as far as the XTP. I carry Gold Dots for my conceal carry load as it performs excellent for two legged animals and likely not to go through more than one threat. These were sent at 1200fps or so at water jugs from 20 feet





I wouldn't go any less than 1100fps with 180 hardcast or fmj to penetrate far enough to reach a bears vitals and still have enough poop to break through a bone, the only HP I would trust would be a XTP.......a 45acp is simply not enough for my comfort level. I have been bluff charged by a black bear, it happens real fast and the only thing that was presented was his head ......or a quartering shot a best, Both require extreme penetration power and a fast draw and nerves of steel. Its easy to talk about on the internet but I am not afraid to admit it scared the shat out of me.....
 
I'm not sure the debate about X caliber is sufficient/insufficient at killing large game will ever end... just like AR and AK's or any of the other prolific conundrums in the gun world. What I can say is that anything is better than nothing! And if that's a hot .45 and you've got it on your person when you need it, then that's the best caliber. The reality is, even high powered rifle rounds if not placed correctly, won't kill a large bear instantly.

I've heard every end of the spectrum from folks here in Kodiak... where as you may know and Gunny's picture attests, we've got some purdy big brown bears. If you ask the guy at the gun counter he's gonna tell you that you need that SW 500 or .454 to even think about leaving your house. Fishing and hunting guides usually opt for a shotgun or .44mag. I've carried most of my guns on hikes depending on how I felt that day, and usually felt comfortable with my choice whether it was the high cap 9mm, 1911, .357 or the shotgun.

Situational awareness has kept me from needing to ever find out which calibers were sufficient, and I've stumbled on Kodiak brown bears more than once since I've been up here.;)
 
yup , but more easily changed is the type of projo .
If you have said pistol and that's all you got then so be it, at least use the most effective projectile for the duty, Hardcast flat point is where it is at for dangerous game, no way around that fact
 
Oli700,

Thanks for the pictures and the comments on the Speer Gold Dot HP's. I have some 45 loaded with the Hornaday XTP's that I'll use to carry in the woods. I'll keep the Gold Dot's for the two legged critters.
 
Some very good comments on "Bear Ammo". Coming from Idaho where there a lot of black bears and grizzlys in certain areas, they are not an animal you want to fool around with. Most people that carry a firearm that have been attacked by a bear simply didn't have the time to get a shot off before the bear was on them, they are that fast. Whenever we go out in bear country, we are always very aware of our surroundings, make plenty of noise for bears to here you coming and carry bear spray. I still carry a 45 for a last resort if plan A, B and C didn't work!
 
real fast, I was unarmed, other than a Pulaski.......I froze up in awe of the speed. Laterally he covered 25 yards in 3 big bounds and cut a 90 degree turn about 10 feet from me and headed down the hill. I had not known but I had the Pulaski lifted to strike and thought to myself "Maybe I could leave a mark before he mauled my ass to death."
Black bears are far more troublesome and dangerous then Brown, at least that's what the Natives in AK taught me........don't know why but I didn't question the Indians who lived among them for thousand of years.
I do know they are hard to kill in their tracks and have seen a bear shot , good placement with a 300 win mag and he still ran about 30 yards before he died all the way, bear hunters call it the " death run" and it is common knowledge among bear hunters.


I like the XTP's a lot , they hit hard and go much deeper before they stop.

If a black, act bigger than him, if a Brown do not confront , act non threatening.
 
lol, yup and make sure the wind is in your favor if you chose bear sparay

Hardcast......as fast as you can send it, as many as you can send
 
oli700 said:
"..... at least use the most effective projectile for the duty, Hardcast flat point is where it is at for dangerous game, no way around that fact"
Click to expand...

^THIS

I would never carry plated Gold Dots in Dangerous Game country.

But I WOULD carry something like these that I cast myself. Bone crushing penetration, that even if vitals are missed might blow out the backside and work as designed.

 
oli700 said:
real fast, I was unarmed, other than a Pulaski.......I froze up in awe of the speed. Laterally he covered 25 yards in 3 big bounds and cut a 90 degree turn about 10 feet from me and headed down the hill. I had not known but I had the Pulaski lifted to strike and thought to myself "Maybe I could leave a mark before he mauled my ass to death."
Black bears are far more troublesome and dangerous then Brown, at least that's what the Natives in AK taught me........don't know why but I didn't question the Indians who lived among them for thousand of years.
I do know they are hard to kill in their tracks and have seen a bear shot , good placement with a 300 win mag and he still ran about 30 yards before he died all the way, bear hunters call it the " death run" and it is common knowledge among bear hunters.


I like the XTP's a lot , they hit hard and go much deeper before they stop.

If a black, act bigger than him, if a Brown do not confront , act non threatening.
Click to expand...

Well, having lived in Brown bear country for four years... now moving to bleack bear country for another 5, I'll let you know what the differences are!

I've encountered brown bear at least once every summer since I've been here. Anything from a group of adolecent siblings, to big mamma with young to "old guy" who probably stood at least 5 feet at the shoulders. I have always been armed, never with anything you'd consider a "bear load", but I also never felt like the situation was going to escelate into me needing to use a gun.

Every time we ran accross a bear it was within 25-30 yards, each time the bear looked at us took a little sniff and walked away. We didn't scream, we didn't yell... we just calmly walked the other direction. Brown bears in general do not like interacting with humans, and most of the time two legged folk need not worry.

Now if you have fish on the line at the river... the bears are smart enough to know they can have your fish... and you better be willing to give it to'm. But that's just a toll I'm willing to pay when roaming in bear country.

I'll let you know how that plan works out with black bears... in the mean time I'll look to @nitesite to teach me some real hot .357 loads.
 
nitesite said:
^THIS

I would never carry plated Gold Dots in Dangerous Game country.

But I WOULD carry something like these that I cast myself. Bone crushing penetration, that even if vitals are missed might blow out the backside and work as designed.

Click to expand...

wish I had half your skill.....want to start helping a buddy cast for 38 sp soon and thought why not some 200gr for the 29......but its the hardness thing that runs me off, and sizing details
 
aksavanaman said:
Well, having lived in Brown bear country for four years... now moving to bleack bear country for another 5, I'll let you know what the differences are!

I've encountered brown bear at least once every summer since I've been here. Anything from a group of adolecent siblings, to big mamma with young to "old guy" who probably stood at least 5 feet at the shoulders. I have always been armed, never with anything you'd consider a "bear load", but I also never felt like the situation was going to escelate into me needing to use a gun.

Every time we ran accross a bear it was within 25-30 yards, each time the bear looked at us took a little sniff and walked away. We didn't scream, we didn't yell... we just calmly walked the other direction. Brown bears in general do not like interacting with humans, and most of the time two legged folk need not worry.

Now if you have fish on the line at the river... the bears are smart enough to know they can have your fish... and you better be willing to give it to'm. But that's just a toll I'm willing to pay when roaming in bear country.

I'll let you know how that plan works out with black bears... in the mean time I'll look to @nitesite to teach me some real hot .357 loads.
Click to expand...
Blacks are far worse and dangerous than brown in general. browns are just bigger and can kill you easier but like you said generally don't want to interact. Black doesn't either but they are known to be more confrontational......at least that's what they taught us in Interior AK
 
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