Will a .45 stop a bear?

In general, the . 45 acp is a poor choice for bear defense. The round is slow, fat, and has fairly poor penetration on tough-skinned animals; however, some people carry . 45 acp with modern +P ammo and hardened bullets for bear defense.

What calibers will stop a bear?

For a bear cartridge anything equal to or more powerful than a . 41 Magnum or . 44 Magnum will be fine. Oldtime black bear hunters say that any load that throws at least a 200-grain or bigger solid bullet at 1000 fps or more will take any bear in the woods.

Does a .45 have more stopping power than a 9mm?

45 ACP is often called the 9mm self-defense pistol for adults. However, that's not always the case. The . 45 ACP indeed has more stopping power — one of the reasons why the U.S. military adopted this cartridge with the 1911.

What is the best caliber handgun for bear?

44 Magnum is the minimum for charging bears, many others have opted for a Glock 20 in 10mm Auto and, interestingly enough, passed right by the . 357 S&W Magnum. Several folks have even successfully killed bears with a 9mm.

Does 45 ACP have stopping power?

45 ACP pistol as its standard sidearm in 1911. Its round is designed to not only kill the attacker but also to stop him in his tracks. This is accomplished through simple physics; a larger bullet imparts more force into its target than a smaller one.

Stopping Power and the 45 ACP for Alaskan Bears

Is a .40 or .45 more powerful?

As the 40 S&W is simply a 10mm Auto lite, the 40 has considerably higher chamber pressure and fires its 165 or 180 grain bullet at a much higher velocity than a 45. This combination creates what many shooters describe as an incredibly snappy and sharp felt recoil similar to a 357 SIG.

What is more powerful a 357 or a 45?

357 Magnum is more powerful since it has more powder. However, this doesn't mean the . 45 ACP isn't reliable for self-defense. In fact, it's a great round as well.

Will 45 ACP stop a black bear?

45 acp is a poor choice for bear defense. The round is slow, fat, and has fairly poor penetration on tough-skinned animals; however, some people carry . 45 acp with modern +P ammo and hardened bullets for bear defense. There are many better options, but it can work.

Where do you aim at a bear?

Aiming towards the center-mass of the body cavity is important, I like to shoot about 4 to 5 inches back from the shoulder on a broadside bear. Bears have soft skins and the rib bones are fairly light. The biggest threat to penetration is the front shoulder—stay away from it.

Is a 10mm more powerful than a 45?

Both are popular choices for self-defense and both have a lot of stopping power. The 10mm is a bit more powerful than the . 45 ACP and it also has a higher capacity.

What is the deadliest 45 ACP round?

What is the difference between .45 and .45 ACP?

There is no difference between 45 Auto and 45 ACP. They are in fact one and the same, which leads us to the point of this article: Some cartridges have more than one name. Some have many, in fact, to the point where an inexperienced shooter may wonder if they are ordering the correct ammunition.

Is a 45 ACP a good carry gun?

45 ACP for home defense. It's the perfect grab-and-go handgun to fire in close quarters where recoil won't pose such a problem. Alternatively, the 9mm's stopping power and smaller design make it ideal for open and concealed carry.

What is the best caliber for black bear?

Not only is the . 30/30 Winchester a proven black bear killer, but it's possibly the most-proven black bear killer on the market. It's a quick expanding cartridge that can hit a bear with a 155-grain bullet coming in at 2,390 fps and 1,966 ft/lbs.

Can a 40 cal stop a bear?

40-caliber Glock. The hollow-point bullet performed as advertised... As it turned out, the . 40-caliber 180-grain CorBon hollowpoints... were enough to take down a bear in short order.

Will 9mm stop a bear?

The 9mm can kill bears but is considered underpowered by experienced woodsmen. The 9mm has 350 to 450 ft/lbs. of energy, while 1,000 ft/lbs is considered the minimum for a bear hunting gun. Proper 9mm bullets yield sufficient penetration in soft tissue, but it may not stop a bear quickly enough to avoid being mauled.

Will 357 stop a bear?

Two of the three uses of the . 357 were successful. One was against a grizzly that was stopped with one shot, but then escaped. The other grizzly was killed with six shots fired.

Will an arrow penetrate a bear skull?

Arrows can hardly penetrate the thick frontal bones of the skull, but up through the palate there would be no difficulty in entering the brain.

How many bullets can a bear take?

Sure, in some situations, you'll only have time to get one shot off, sometimes zero, but there are also very real possibilities of needing more than five or six rounds in the gun. I've seen several brown bears take between six and 13 rounds of . 375 H&H before finally expiring.

Why 45 ACP is outdated?

It's outdated because it travels at a slower velocity and cannot be carried in the abundance the alternative can. The majority of the world's militaries employ the 9mm round and even the United States Special Operations Command has gone back to the 9mm after years of employing several . 45 ACP pistols.

Whats better 9mm or 45 ACP?

As we can see from the chart above, 9mm bullets have a higher muzzle velocity than 45 ACP bullets do. Combined with the 9mm's smaller size than . 45 ACP, that translates into deeper bullet penetration. A higher muzzle velocity and lower weight also means that the 9mm usually has less vertical drop than a 45 does.

Does a 45 kick hard?

Recoil Energy

45 ACP recoil is nearly double that of the 9mm when launched from a similar pistol. Size and weight of the gun matter when calculating recoil. For example, a . 45 launched from a carbine will have less felt recoil than a 9mm shot from a subcompact CCW pistol.

What is the most powerful hand gun?

The Smith & Wesson Model 500 has held its rank as the world's most powerful handgun since it was first introduced in 2003.

How powerful is the 45 ACP?

45 ACP round has a 230-grain (14.9 g) bullet that travels at approximately 830 feet per second (250 m/s) when fired from a government-issue M1911A1 pistol. It operates at a relatively low maximum chamber pressure rating of 21,000 psi (140 MPa), compared to 35,000 psi (240 MPa) for both 9mm Parabellum and .

What is the most powerful handgun cartridge?

500 S&W Magnum is considered the most powerful commercial sporting handgun cartridge by virtue of the muzzle energy it can generate.