[SharpDog]

I have a scoped S&W 629 hunter and I'm going to add a scope to my Bushmaster Carbon 15 pistol and this got me to thinking of how effective each gun would be for self defense against a black bear (the only kind we have here in East TN).

Looking at the Federal Premium Ballistics charts for .223 Rem and discounting a bit for the shorter barrel in the Carbon 15 I thin we would have maybe 800 ft lbs. of KE at 25 yds. using the 60 gr. Nosler Partition load. I think we can assume this load will leave the muzzle somewhere around 2500 fps.

Looking at the Federal Premium 280 Gr Swift A-Frame load in .44 Magnum for the 629 we can see maybe we can get 775 ft lbs. of KE at 25 yards. The muzzle Velocity of this load is 1170 fps.

The .44 magnum round will have twice the momentum of the .223 load. However, the .223 will have 20 rds. vs the 629's 6 rds. (of course, I don't think I could fire all that many rds by the time the bear starts chomping on my tender body).

Ok so two questions. First, Which round will be more effective at stopping a bear at around 25 yds. I think this would be the .44 mag but would like opinions. and the second question is whether the .223 would be able to stop a bear attack at this range.

The reason I'm wondering is I'm preparing a bug out bag. Both guns are similar in weight but the .223 has better ammo availability.

[mountainman13]

I'll vote .223. More shots on target faster and its gonna tumble in the bear and cause massive damage.

[SharpDog]

also, this is not to decide which to put in my bug out bag, just a minor consideration for that decision as I don't expect frequent bear attacks (or really any bear attacks). The bug out prep is just what got me thinking about this question. If I did choose the 629 for the bag for whatever reasons I could always add my carbon 15 carbine as the .223 option for example.

[vincent]

I vote give Orangello 5 minutes alone with said bear and problem solved...

Bear tastes like pot roast...

[Vincine]

And here I thought this was going to be an 'Intellectual Excersize' on how to spell 'Exercise'.

[willshoum]

Weight, speed, pissed off bear, divided by scared sh$tless, shaking out off control shooter. I put my money on the bear. In a situation as this they say shoot for the nose......I'm not going to be the one to find out......A bear can out run a horse, you only have a split second........

[c3shooter]

Sorry- the lack of penetration of .223 is going to give you one HIGHLY aggravated bruin. BAD choice, IMHO. If energy were the ONLY consideration, I would bear hunt with my .220 Swift. 1800 ft lbs of ME with a 55 gr bullet- but will it get to the parts of the bear that matter?

"you have to ask yourself- Do you feel lucky? Well- do ya?"

[SSGN_Doc]

I've found that most black bears are pretty shy. I've never gotten around them when cubs were around, but the few times I've actually seen them, as soon as they figured out a human was aware that they were there, they took off at a high rate of speed.

[c3shooter]

Doc- exception to that would be the bears in the National Parks. They have become accustomed to equating people= food. Yogi looking for a pic-a-nicka basket. If you are in an area with a pest bear problem, bear spray may be more effective.

Please note- one story from an Alaskan bush pilot taking a greenhorn in to fish a remote area- bear spray is NOT used like mosquito spray. Do NOT apply to self!

[clearsights]

Originally Posted by c3shooter

Please note- one story from an Alaskan bush pilot taking a greenhorn in to fish a remote area- bear spray is NOT used like mosquito spray. Do NOT apply to self!

I thought it was just an allergic reaction I was having. So you put a lighter under it, create a mini torch like I do with the mosquito spray and get REAl close...