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Light weight 45 auto.- advice!

5spot5spot Member Posts: 2 ✭✭
edited March 2008 in Ask the Experts
I was wondering if anybody out there could recommend to me a good 45 cal. semi-auto pistol. I am a bowhunter and interested in buying a pistol to be used pimarily for bear protection. I would prefer something as light weight as possible since I get way out there and weight is a factor. I like the idea of a semi-auto because of the ease in packing and the large capacity. Maybe 45 cal. isn't even the way to go, I am just not familiar with what's out there and available. I am open to any and all suggestions.

thanks in advance to all of you!
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Comments

  • William81William81 Member Posts: 25,509 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    S&W 629 Mountain Revolver. .44 Mag.

    Anything less is not enough gun IMHO
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  • RCrosbyRCrosby Member Posts: 3,808 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    5spot,
    First, welcome to the Forum.
    Second, I wouldn't recommend a .45 for bear protection, especially not if you're talking about the browns and grizzlies.
    If you need to use a handgun for bear defense, by definition you need to think in terms of stopping the animal, not simply killing it. You may want to look at a .44 Mag. minimum; .454 or other "super" mag if you have the time and inclination to learn how to use it well. A good single or double action revolver could fit that bill and not be overly heavy for packing, though not as flat as the auto. A family friend spent years studying brown bears on the islands of S.E. Alaska and claims that of hundreds of close bear encounters, there was only one time when, had the bear come any closer, he'd have fired. 2 other neighbors actually suffered considerable damage at the "hands" of angry browns. One was blinded after shooting at, and wounding a bear. The other had the misfortune of wandering too near to a bear that had been wounded earlier, possibly in a fight with another bear, and suffered deep skull wounds and a punctured lung from an animal he never actually saw.
    This should be an interesting thread to follow. Good luck.
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  • cpermdcpermd Member Posts: 5,273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Glock 36 45ACP for black bear
    S&W Mountain Gun for anything larger.

    CP
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  • CubsloverCubslover Member Posts: 18,601 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have to agree with the above....

    45 May do the trick for small black bear, but it would be stupid to use for anything bigger.

    I'll recommend a HEAVY 357 Load as minimum for * bear, and a 44 mag for the big boys.

    The mountain revolver is great or the Ruger Alaskan. It's not small or light, but it's built TOUGH.
    Half of the lives they tell about me aren't true.
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  • dcs shootersdcs shooters Member Posts: 10,870 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I don't carry anything less than a 44mag. loaded with 300gr.SP when in any bear country.
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  • XracerXracer Member Posts: 1,990 ✭
    edited November -1
    While I'm a big fan of .45ACP as a manstopper....it's really not a bearstopper.

    I, too, would recommend .44 Magnum....and there's no such thing as a "lightweight" .44 Mag.
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  • savage170savage170 Member Posts: 37,572 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Kicks like a mule but very light s&w 329
    [img][/img]163414_thumb.jpg
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  • AnonymouseAnonymouse Member Posts: 4,050
    edited November -1
    Buy a full size HK USP 45 and shoot 45 super ammo out of it. 13 shots of Buffalo Bore 45 super 200 grain at 1200 FPS should work. You can only shoot 45 super out of the full size USP 45: due to the weight of the slide and the recoil spring setup, it works just fine.
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  • beantownshootahbeantownshootah Member Posts: 12,776 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If you have to go with a standard sized auto pistol, think about 10mm.
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