.40S&W/.45 acp dual use recommendations

[Jake'sDad]

He was a big .357 sig fan. I sold him my last pistol in that caliber. His take on things was that all pistols were weak and ineffective against bears and that your only chance was to poke a hole in the CNS system and you needed penetration to do that. He felt that having a light weight auto that held lots of bullets gave him a better chance than a high recoiling revolver. We disagreed but his idea did have merit.
Pat

Perhaps, but I still think if he was going to follow that path, a .45 Auto with FMJ or hard cast flat points would be the better choice.

[GJM]

He was a big .357 sig fan. I sold him my last pistol in that caliber. His take on things was that all pistols were weak and ineffective against bears and that your only chance was to poke a hole in the CNS system and you needed penetration to do that. He felt that having a light weight auto that held lots of bullets gave him a better chance than a high recoiling revolver. We disagreed but his idea did have merit.
Pat

I think your friend got the first part correct, in that handguns are generally a poor choice against bears, but that poking a hole in the upper CNS is the way to go. I disagree with the second part, because a hard cast bullet out of a .44 or equivalent, has to be better for poking that hole in the CNS. Since you will have only time to fire a shot or two, high cap isn't a top priority in a woods gun.

My use is different, since I know what works in the field, but would like something around town for dual use -- and the $64 question is whether .357 Sig, .40 or .45 will poke that hole in the upper CNS of a bear or moose? It seems we have two schools of thought, mass versus velocity?

[titsonritz]

Glock 20 + Buffalo Bore (or equal) FMJ or Hardcast = Best auto pistol/ammo combo for big critters that put you the menu.

[GJM]

Glock 20 plus 200 grain Buffalo Bore and 200 grain Corbon penetrator load equals malfunctions in my two Glock 20 SF's and one standard Glock 20. I would be curious how much of that you have run thru a G20, and whether it has been reliable. We tried factory and the Wolff recoil springs/guide rod, and that didn't seem to make a difference.

Just got some 200 grain penetrator ammo from Double Tap, and that is running in two G29 SF's we have, but haven't had a chance to try it in the G20's yet.