nice!

I think the gist of this whole debate is, just as riflemen love their rifles and scattergunners love their shotguns, pistoleros love their sidearms. And they'll invent any scenario in which they can justify packing their favorite handgun. These are the guys who always wear a sidearm out at the deer lease "for snakes." Actually, I see no harm in that and often plink away with my beloved Single Six during midday downtime.

But Alaskan bears are another kettle of fish entirely. If you watch many hunting videos, archers and handgunners are invariably backed up by experienced guides with proper stopping rifles. In Jack Brittinham's famous film clip of him taking a truly giant brownie with a bow on the Peninsula, he is wearing a powerful handgun on his hip. BUT HIS GUIDE IS HOLDING AN UNSCOPED OPEN-SIGHTED BOLT .458 READY AT SHOULDER. Do you think that Jack would take on a bear with a string stick and pistol without a proper backup?
I doubt it.

Eskimos and Athabascans kill many grizzlies and brown bears with whatever gun they have on hand, often a .30-30, .30-06, or even a .223. A well-placed shot from almost any caliber can kill any animal on earth under the right circumstances. But does that make it the ideal gun? I personally wouldn't choose even a .30-06 as an emergency stopping gun, and it astounds me that there is even a rational debate over the adequacy of ANY conventional handgun as a backup arm.

I am practiced and utterly confident in my .338 Win Mag when hunting in Alaska. If my guide hefts a rifle of equal or greater power, I'm completely comfortable. If he's wearing a pistol, then I've got the wrong guide!

Taurus Judge in the Faccccce

I do believe it is illegal to transport a pistol thru Canada if youre driving there when you move.So you'd be better off with a rifle in case you get checked at the border and they take it away and/or arrest you.

I have been handgun hunting for over 30 years and although I think the 44 mag is an excellent cartridge, it is not my first choice for Alaska.

I have taken a bear in Alaska and although it was a black bear, it was a good size one. My handgun of choice at that time was a Freedom Arms 454 Casull, which is still a great cartridge. This was before the 460 and 500 Smiths came out.

I would recommend a quality revolver in 454 Casull, 460 or 500 Smith and Wesson. Any of the three will do their job if you do yours.

12 gauge 00 buck and a roll of toilet paper. If it gets to where you have to use a handgun you will probably miss and you will wish you had a shotgun. The paper is for when its over.

About 25 years ago, I was midway through a 2-week backpacking trip in the Pecos Wilderness Area when I came up on a female black bear about 40 yards away. She started walking toward me, then broke into a run. I tried shouting & waving my arms, but she kept coming even faster. I pulled my S&W 19, loaded with hot handloads, and shot 5 times before she dropped about 10 feet in front of me (You wouldn't believe how difficult it was to not fire that last round!). When I was certain she was dead, I inspected the carcass, and had hit her 3 times in the chest and twice in the neck - all potential kill shots.

She wasn't nursing, and there were no cubs about... don't know why she charged. I had survived 2 tours in Vietnam, but have to admit that I pissed myself. So much for bravado. Never knew a bear could move that fast! Had she gotten to me, there's no way I would have survived, since I was a 5 day hike from anything resembling civilization.

Next trip, I took my 10-1/2" Super Blackhawk with hot solids, and in hindsight, have to acknowledge that even that was not really enough. If I ever do it again, I'll take my Marlin 336, loaded with the hottest handloads I can come up with, and the hell with the extra weight. In all honesty, though, to quote Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon flicks, "I'm getting too old for this s**t!"

Glock 20???

If I was going up to Alaska for hunting I would take at min. a 338 win mag if not a 375 H&H mag and maybe a 338 Lapua for a rifle with a low power fast aquisition scope.
For a side arm I would probably carry a 44 mag.

If I am going for Bear anywhere I am going to carry the same rifle or larger and a 454 cas. or a 500 or 460 smith. and I would make sure I was not alone and the guide was very familiar with the area and the wild life for the area.

http://www.hat.net/album/south_america/patagonia/001_buenos_aires/11030004_big_gun.jpg

...that should do it.

Whatever you can get 5 rounds in the eye of a charging bear in under 2 seconds will work.

As far as a pistol is concerned, I would use a .41 mag or.44 mag at the minimum. I am considering the samething u are for the same reason and am looking at a S&W 629 .44 mag or a Taurus Titanium .41 Mag. Both in 6.5 inch barrels. The titanium Taurus is nice because of the weight. DOnt get a .480 or .460 unless you load your own ammo because it can be hard to find. If you want to do it right though, get a short barrel 12 gauge with a pistol grip, sling, and slugs. That is what most of the guides carry up there.