Handgun Help

[Tarleton Jake]

Unless you're planning on carrying something along the lines of a 4" .44 MAG for the BEAR part of the equation, you're definitely looking at 2 different pistols. I've killed a few hogs with my .45 auto, but it's NOWHERE near my first choice.

Jake

[RemMan700]

There is no right answer for your question because it really is going to come down to your personal preference. I dont think you can go wrong with Glock, Springfield, S&W, or Ruger. For what you are wanting to do with it I would get a .40 or .45 like everyone else said. If you get a .40S&W Glock you can get a conversion barrel for $99 and shoot 9MM for practice. I have and carry a Glock 27 .40S&W for CCW and as my sidearm when I go hunting. You should go to a range that has rentals and try shooting a few different models to see what feels good in your hand and shoots well for you.

[Cochise]

You might want to look at a taurus public defender
kinda fugly but it's one versatile handgun.

[TXBlkCld]

Sounds like you might need two pistols....or maybe 3

9 mm, .40 cal, .45 cal etc. OK for personal defense - NOT OK for bear hunt.

44 mag (minimum) or larger OK for bear hunt but hard for a average size man to conceal.

Another thought is to buy a .22 pistol and learn to shoot without breaking the bank (pistol shooting is very different from rifle or shotgun). You can then rent different pistols at many ranges and make your decision from there. You could trade the .22 in on new purchase if you wish. I did this and was thankful!

1st rule of a personal defense weapon - The weapon you can shoot accurately trumps bullet size, brand, etc. almost everytime!

I agree. ^^^^^ You're gonna need at least two pistols. I'd say three and buy yourself a .22 as mentioned. For bear, a revolver with nothing less than a .454 Casull. For a self defense gun, I chose a .40 but you need to choose whatever feels best to you. Go to a gun show and handle lots of different guns. Do lots of research online for facts and opinions. Lastly, go to a gun range and shoot different guns to see what you like.
My bear gun, though it is borrowed from my dad when i need it is a .460 S&W
and for personal defense I carry a Kahr pm40 and a Springfield XDm .40 compact. My "by the bed" guns are a Springfield XDm 40 and a Winchester shotgun.

[Cuz]

Springfield XD 45...!

[SNAKEHUNTER]

I don't believe I would recommend a Semi-auto for a first carry pistol. I would go with a 7 shot Taurus or maybe a Ruger revolver in the .357 Cal to start out with and after a while progress up to an auto. For conceal carry and personel protection I would stay with a Snubnose.....maybe a 2 or 2.5 inch barrel. Most personal attacks will be within 3 feet anyway. This is not the wild west, so you won't be shooting at more than 10 feet anyway. Everyone has their favorite weapon they like to use and are comfortable with. My choice may not be your choice. Lets talk safety when we recommend a pistol. I would not like to hear later that someone shot themselves in the leg because they were not familuar with a gun I told them to use. I would go as far as to say that 95% of the people that carry have never been in a real...not preceived, situation....that they have actually had to pull a gun on a goblin. Of course, these are just my thoughts and put out there only for entertainment. ALSO.....I own no firearms, they all fell in the river years ago.


SNAKEHUNTER

[boomer453]

i carry either a 4" 1911 or G27 normally and i guess im in the minority. i think a manual external safety is the only way to go for a beginner. if it takes you an extra second to release the safety then so be it. later on once your 100% certain that you will, under stress or excitement, keep your booger hook off the bang button until you are ready to fire then and only then would i recommend going to a glock (quite possibly the worlds finest handgun). if you make that mistake with the 1911 you are still protected by the manual safety, assuming you you have a full grip on the pistol and have disengaged the grip safety-not so with the glock.
just my .02 worth.

[bigmacdaddy]

A Glock 22 in 40 is your best bet. Will take care of all your personal defense needs and still take care of any animal you want to deal with. If you want a longer barrel and are not needing a weapon to conceal, try the Glock 35. Both will go bang everytime you pull the trigger, are easy to operate, and tens of thousands of cops and special forces cant be that wrong. I'm a devout lover of 1911's but carry a glock on patrol every day!

[okrattler]

Well since you said you'll be using it for bear huntin I wouldn't suggest anything less than a .357 Mag and even that seems a little light for that but I'm also not an expert on bear huntin so maybe not.I've never been bear huntin before but going by what I've heard about them they are pretty tough animals.Personally I wouldn't wanna be shootin at one with anything less than a .44 Magnum but that's just me.And seeing how you'll actually be lookin for them the chances of seeing one are probably slightly greater than they would be if you were just out hiking in bear country I'm guessin.
My first choices would be a .44 Magnum or somethin similar.
My second choice would be a .357 Magnum.
My other choices would be calibers commonly used for self defense against 2 legged varmints.I can't really say they're reliable bear stoppers because I don't know that for a fact.I've only heard of a few cases where these calibers were used in situations like that but they are capable of killin a bear though so that's good news.If I had to choose a semi-automatic pistol to carry to shoot bears with I'd buy a 10mm,40S&W,357Sig or a .45acp.The 10mm would be my first choice.I'd rather carry one of these if I was out hiking in an area where seeing a bear wasn't a major concern.If I was actually out lookin for trouble I'd want the biggest gun I could carry.

[holdem]

Depends on what kind of bear ?

[Razor Dobbs]

I carried the Glock 20 (10mm) for 15 years. Now, I'm carrying the Dan Wesson RZ-10 10mm. It's in a 1911 frame and shoots amazing.