357 vs 45 ACP black bear

[TNDiver]

I plan to do some backpacking in the Smokeys and have the option of a S&W 686 .357 with 4 inch barrel or a Kahr P45 in 45 ACP.  I also have a Tokarav M57 in 7.62 X 25, that has interesting ballistics.   I am leaning more towards the 357, maybe with some Buffalo Bore Loads.   I know a .44 or larger would be better and if I were hunting them, it would be a different story, but I am looking for something as a just in case.  I know black bear are not known to attack humans, but I am not taking that chance on the roulette wheel of life!

And of course, there is a very good chance I could out run the other two I am hiking with, making this a moot point, but still 

[BassmanRudy]

I would have initially said the revolver only has 5 rds but after looking it up comes with a 6 or 7 rd options. The p45 would have 7 without any sort of extended mag.

What are you more comfortable with? Revolver is probably heavier.

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[Princeton_Man]

45 is just going to piss a big bear off. I'd opt for the 357 with the hottest heaviest rounds you can find.

[Wizard]

Napoleon said, "God is on the side of the heavier artillery".  One shot from any of your guns will not kill a Black bear unless you are very lucky. Almost anywhere but a heart shot and you've pissed him off. They don't get mad; they don't get even. A bear in pain looks to go medieval on you before it kills you. If you don't kill a hurt bear and leave, the bear can smell you from over 20 miles away. It will follow you until one of you is dead.  That was what I was told around the camp fire in Boy Scouts or maybe Camp Swampy.

Wizard

[Princeton_Man]

A close friend and best man at my wedding killed a black bear with his Taurus 357. It wasn't huge but it did fill the bed of his Dodge Dakota. It is doable. The bear might have been a year and a half maybe two years old, it was hunting season, and the bear literally walked right up on him.

Had there been a sow and cubs the outcome might have been quite different. Just a couple of weeks ago over in Carrol County, VA  an older man walked up on cubs with their momma. He's lucky to be alive. Mother bear took a couple bear size bites out of him, then he was knocked unconscious. He came to and was able to call 911.
If you see a bear cub, get as far away from it as you can, as quietly and quickly as you can.

[SHC286]

Hot 357.
My .44 mag handloads are tailored for hard to put down critters. Lightweight Hornady Gold Dots pushing about 1,800 FPS.

Smaller diameter lighter slugs at high velocities punch through fur, fat, and bone quite well at close range then slow down to expend their energy in the soft tissue. Fat, heavy, slower moving slugs often have trouble penetrating those "armor" layers even at close range and they're laughable at longer distances, but of course they're great for softer targets.

Of course a big fatty zipping along at high speeds is best, but if a magnum round beginning with the number "4" or higher, or a rifle, isn't an option, I'd go with the 357 if there's a chance of bear.

[Oldfart9999]

.357 with the hottest load it'll handle, that said you should be making some noise if you don't want an interduction. Black bears generally don't want to be around humans, As Wizard said if you wound a black bear you better have follow up rounds, I saw what one did in the Adirondacks when a nimrod wounded one in the swampy area by a creek, the nimrod shot and ran, the bear ruined some real estate until an older gentleman and his 2 sons took the bear out. New York City nimrod verses an experienced elderly gentleman and his well trained sons.
Rodney 

[TNDiver]

Yeah I am not too worried but it will be spring time when we go, so we could run into some cubs.  That is more what I worry about.  Like I said, I can probably out run the other two I am hiking with if I have too!   

I actually have wrestled with 2 guys that have wrestled bears and won.  They both lost the first time and said you can't believe how strong they are and how big.  These guys were both ranked in the world at one point in their lives, so good wrestlers.  I hope I never have to!

[Princeton_Man]

Mountain Lions are making a comeback in the Appalachians too. The tend to avoid people, but you never know.

[Oldfart9999]

One of the best things you can do is walk/hike with a dog that barks a lot. Most predators' don't want anything to do with people and their hearing is very good giving them plenty of time to leave the area, you most likely won't even know they were there.
Rodney

[Wizard]

A Spetsnaz introduced himself to me rather forcefully in the Ural mountains. He was built like a bear. I think the Russkies clone them a hundred at a time. Tough sum beeches. Wish I had a .357 instead of my .177

Wizard

[TNDiver]

Wizard, I have a feeling that you and a couple other guys in this forum could write a book about your experiences and it would be a best seller! 

[Wizard]

Yes, Sir. Unfortunately, any book has to be reviewed by the Agency and receive it's blessing...which it never gives.

Wizard