Originally Posted by
GJM
If you are not going to rely on a warning shot or psychological body shot stop, you need to be able to penetrate the bear's skull and reach the brain, to reliably stop a bear attack with a handgun. It really becomes pass/fail, in your bullet is able to penetrate or not. A secondary but also important consideration, is how quickly can you place accurate shots, as Pat just tested, to give yourself the most chances of reaching the brain.
We tend to focus on caliber and velocity, but bullet construction is very important. One problem, is hard cast bullets, especially with a wide meplat, tend not to be as reliable in semi auto pistols, as FMJ bullets with more streamlined profiles. So when people say X caliber is sufficient, it assumes use of a properly constructed bullet. I would rather have a 9mm with an Underwood Lehigh penetrator bullet, or if it functioned reliably the Buffalo Bore 147 hard cast load, than a 10mm with a soft JHP.
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