Backcountry Bear Defense Pistol Set-ups to Keep You Whole

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As the idiom goes: The only things certain in life are death and taxes. While I understand the sentiment behind the saying, allow me to offer another: If you spend enough time in the backcountry, you’re going to have an encounter with something equal to or greater than you on nature’s food chain, whether it be a black, brown, or grizzly bear. Predatory attacks on outdoorsmen and women are on the rise year after year as more people venture into the mountains and bear home ranges continue to expand. Read on for some tried and true bear pistol setups that have proven themselves effective and gotten their owners home in one piece.

Most backcountry hunting seasons take place during the fall when bears are actively looking for any and all food sources to pack on fat for the upcoming winter. Known as hyperphagia, it’s defined as "the period of excessive eating to fatten for hibernation." This can lead to heightened aggression to protect food sources against real and perceived threats, like an unaware hunter moving past a kill site too close for a bruin’s comfort.

I’ve had two encounters over the years, once with a grizzly on an elk kill in thick timber and another with a ten-foot brown bear in a salmon stream. Both experiences left me painfully aware of how minuscule I felt and the primal feeling that stuck with me of an apex predator moving towards me with purpose. I was curious to talk to others who’d had their own experiences, so, after a phone call with Morris Melani, owner of Alaska Arms and an avid bear hunter himself, I met with him and several of his cohorts to pick their collective brain for a few days in Alaska.

After interviewing several different men who had survived close-range encounters with aggressive bruins, two common themes were clear: the speed at which the situation transpired and how quiet the bear was leading up to and during the charge.

Bear Worthy Sidearms

Without exception, the hunters I spoke with prefer revolvers in .45 caliber for their bear rig. Murphy’s Law is alive and well in the backcountry, and inclement weather, busting brush and a host of other factors can lead to firearm issues in the field. Your last line of defense should be, forgive the pun, as bulletproof as possible.

Single-action revolvers are as reliable a weapon as one can hope for and have squared many big bears accounts over the years in hairy situations. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all setup, Melani prefers a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a Bisley frame, sporting a 4 5/8-inch barrel in .454 Casull. Another hunter I spoke with prefers the .45 Blackhawk with a 5 ½-inch barrel configuration. The common theme expressed is to shoot the biggest setup one’s comfortable and confident with to do the job.

Although a relatively rare occurrence, heavy-recoiling cartridges can be jarred as the pistol is fired. If things go sideways and a bullet jumps the crimp of a casing in the cylinder, a free-spinning pawl will allow a hunter to back the cartridges out and carry on with their day. This issue can be avoided by shooting bear ammo beforehand and verifying the crimps hold up under recoil.

An important upgrade to consider for a bear revolver is custom grips that fit the user’s hand well to maximize control, lessen recoil and get back on target as quickly as possible for follow-up shots. Another common improvement pistol aficionados make on their bear sidearm is installing a heavier hammer spring. This ensures a pistol won’t misfire in colder weather or at potentially fatal inopportune times.

Bear Stopping Power

Bears have, if not an affinity for, a predisposition for water. They fish, travel and spend a great deal of time in and around it. When their hair gets soaking wet, it hangs directionally, creating a mat that can sop up bullet energy like a sponge soaks up water.

Add that to the heavy muscle and skeletal structure of a mature bear, and you’ve got an animal that can absorb tremendous amounts of force without slowing down.

Hard cast bullets are optimum for dangerous game like bears, delivering their energy through the hair and muscle of a bruin into the vital organs and skeletal framework. While hollow points are great for many applications, they can dump their energy too soon without penetrating deep enough, leaving an angry, more-than-slightly offended animal to deal with.

Whichever round is decided on, it’s of utmost importance to load the cartridges to be carried afield and ensure functionality beforehand. The cylinder should rotate in both directions to clear a jam if necessary, and each cartridge should load and eject smoothly.

Holster Selection and Lanyards

Like choosing a pistol, hunters need to match their carrying method to what works best for them and their specific style of hunting. Every hunter I spoke with is an advocate of keeping a holster on their person, not on a pack. The common theme in their experiences was having only seconds to react to their situation. If a pistol was not immediately at hand, two of them would have been impacted by their respective bear before being able to react, if at all.

One told of an acquaintance who was dragged from his tent at night. The bear grabbed him by the head and pulled him out of the shelter; his pistol still lay next to the sleeping bag he’d been extricated from. For this reason, several hunters I spoke with put their pistol on a lanyard to keep it close at hand and unable to be dropped or left out of reach. A law enforcement officer with a plethora of hair-raising encounters over the years fumbled his pistol into the snow as a big grizzly came at him. Thankfully, he had the training and wherewithal to get a hand on it and shoot the bear at powder-burn range before succumbing to the inevitable nerves that followed. He, unsurprisingly, has become a staunch proponent of the lanyard.

Whatever the game pursued, wherever the location, it’s vital to be knowledgeable about bears and their habits in the backcountry. Adding a trusted sidearm for protection and peace of mind will lead to more enjoyable days afield and carrying it in a quickly accessible location will ensure it’s ready for use if needed.

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