Handguns in Defense Against Bears by Caliber - .380, 9.3x18, .38 revolvers 7 incidents

S & W Model 10 .38 Special Courtesy of Rock Island Auction

Many readers are interested in how various handgun calibers have performed in defense against bears. This is a complicated subject. Sometimes, any caliber will do. Sometimes a level of power may be required. Sometimes, a level of accuracy or speed may be required. Many permutations exist.  The most important aspect, if a confrontation occurs, is to have a firearm available, easily and quickly accessible. The specific caliber is less important. These updates include all the incidents we have been able to document to the date of the update, after several years of intense searches. We have always asked for examples of failures. We appreciate readers who help us document more cases.

Here are all the cases which have been documented where .380, 9.3×18 handguns and .38 caliber revolvers were fired in defense against bears. There exists a fairly wide variation from standard .380 (9mm corto or kurtz) loads and hot .38 Special loads. This grouping is a way to include calibers with only one incident while including enough incidents to be illuminating.  These cases do not include incidents where handguns were used with other lethal means, or a mix of handgun calibers were used. There is 1 incident with a .380 caliber handgun (black bear), 1 incident with a 9.3×18 Makarov (brown bear) and five incidents with .38 caliber revolvers (three black, two brown). There was one failure with a .38 caliber revolver which resulted in minor injuries. The incidents are listed by caliber, chronologically within caliber.

14 April 2006, Tennessee: From ljworld.com .380 defense against 350 lb+ black bear The bear had killed a six-year-old girl and mauled her mother and brother. The attack occurred on Friday, 14 April in 2006, in the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee.

The bear bit the boy’s head, then went after the child’s mother after she tried to fend off the attack with rocks and sticks, Hicks said. The animal picked up the woman with its mouth and dragged her off the trail.

The girl apparently ran away, and almost an hour passed before rescuer Danny Stinnett found the bear hovering over her body about 100 yards off the trail.

Stinnett, a county fire and rescue chief, said he approached and was about 25 feet away when the bear charged him on all fours. He said he fired at the bear twice with his .380-caliber pistol, scaring it off.

“I know I hit it,” Stinnett said. “It reared up on its hind legs. It was as big as you and me.”

We found one case involving a 9.3 x 18 Makarov pistol, in Russia.

 2010, Russia: 9.3 mm Makarov (most likely) Police attempting to control bear.

Brown bear shot by policemen after attack on veterinarian police s uses, at that time (2010) 9mm Makarov, it was almost certainly basic FMJ (Full metal jackets) They shot around 8-9 times, no one can tell how many actually hit the bear

We found five cases involving a .38 revolver, probably .38 S&W Special. Two were successful against brown bears. Two were successful against black bears. One was a failure, against a black bear.

 October 1947 Chickaloon River, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska,
grizzly bear .38 revolver, 158 gr bullet. Page 95-105, “Narrow Escapes”,
Ben East, first published by Outdoor Life, 1960.

After 35 days of backpacking in pursuit of moose photos, Cecil Rhodes was confronted a big grizzly at 11 feet. He shot the bear deliberately off center in the head with the .38, fearing the bullet would glance off the skull, and it “slumped”, but did not go down. The bear retreated, he heard cubs, and knew the bear was a sow.

The bear came back, and paused at 20 feet away. He shot her in the head again. She “slumped” again, then came slowly past him at about 15 feet. He had a clear shot at the side of her head, but decided not to fire. She acted as if she did not notice him. After she passed he heard the cubs again, and by squatting down was able to see there were three cubs.

He climbed a tree, and shot her a third time, between the shoulders at 25 yards. She rolled down hill. The next day, he trailed her in the snow for 2.5 miles, but did not find her.

September 13, 2011, .38 Special, Wyoming Grizzly Bear, AmmoLand article.  FOIA Page 1144

Hunter Two had seen Hunter One darting up the downed timber, and the bears coming at them. Hunter Two ran to climb a downed tree near Hunter One, tossing his bow to facilitate his ascent. Hunter Two slipped and landed on his back, looking up to see the larger bear looming over him. He brought up his foot to kick at the bear, and the bear grabbed his right ankle. He yelled at Hunter One to shoot the bear!

At this point, Hunter One had drawn his .38 revolver. He fired two shots as the bear attacked Hunter two. The bear disengaged from Hunter Two, fell down, and started to come up toward Hunter One. Hunter One fired another shot at the bear, and it went down for good. Hunter One reported all shots were fired from six feet or less.

 May 2013, Missouri, Rodgersville, .38 revolver, ozaksfirst.com, black bear (dead  link:  Ozarksfirst.com, May, 2013)

“The bear was being really aggressive and foaming at the mouth,” something a game warden told him happens when bears become angry. “At that point I shot the bear.”

The bear was hit three times in the chest and then ran away, climbed up a tree, and the fire department had to cut the limbs to get him down. The bear eventually died.

(skip)

“I brought a 38 pistol to scare it more than anything.”

When it fought back and became aggressive, he knew he had to take action, “it was self defense.”Since the incident he’s gotten angry emails.

 6 September, 2015, New Mexico: Failure, .38 revolver Ocate, black bear

The hunter received bite injuries to his foot through his boot as he climbed a tree to try to escape the bear. He was taken to Alta Vista Hospital in Las Vegas, N.M., where he was treated and released.

(snip)

In Thursday’s attack, the hunter told officials he was eating lunch under a tree when he spotted the bear and her cub in a watering hole. He took photographs and started shooting video of the animals when the mother bear got angry and charged. The hunter, who officials did not identify, climbed the tree to escape.

At one point, the hunter fell 15 feet from the tree and then managed to climb back up. He fired his pistol into the air and at the female bear in attempt to scare it, but the animal didn’t leave. He then radioed for help. His guide told officers he found the hunter clinging to the tree nearly 50 feet from the ground.

Investigating officers did not find any blood at the scene. Two bullets were recovered at the base of the tree. I interviewed Clint Henson, one of the investigating officers. In the official report, obtained by a public information request, the revolver was identified as a .38. Only five shots were recorded. The revolver was placed in the archery hunter’s pocket, so it was likely a 2″ barreled 5-shot revolver.

One warning shot was fired in the air as the bear approached. The bear continued to advance, so the defender put the pistol in his pocket and climbed the tree. The bear came up the tree and bit him in the foot. He fired four more times at the bear as it climbed the tree toward him. Two of the times, the bear backed down the tree. He continued to yell at the bear, and it eventually left with the cub.

 25 August, 2023 Massachusetts Black Bear attacked, Goat, threatened Goats owner, Shot at with .38 revolver  Revolver information from Kingston Police PIO via email.

A Massachusetts man shot a black bear after it attacked his goat and appeared like it was going to strike him as well Friday afternoon, according to authorities.

Police received a report of the bear attacking the resident’s livestock, the goat, on Hawthorne Road in Kingston around 3 p.m. Friday, the Kingston Police Department said in a Facebook post.

There are many anecdotal cases of handguns being used effectively to defend against bears.  The above are the cases we have been able to document. If you know of more cases, whether successes or failures, please send the information to AmmoLand. Here is a link to the latest update.

©2024 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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