We don’t have grizzlies in Texas, thank goodness, but every summer a stream of my customers heads to Alaska, Montana, or Wyoming and asks me the same question: what should I carry in bear country? The video above is a good discussion of the topic, and it lines up with what I tell people at the counter. I’m Lance Rankin, owner and gunsmith at Western Sport in Roanoke, Texas, and here’s the honest version.

The gun you’ll actually carry wins

Start with the least exciting truth in this whole debate: a .375 H&H in the truck loses to a pistol on your hip every single time. Bear encounters happen while you’re fishing, hauling water, or walking to the latrine, not while you’re standing ready with a rifle. So the first filter isn’t power, it’s whether you’ll wear the gun all day, every day, for the whole trip. If the answer is no, you picked wrong.

The handgun conversation: 10mm vs. the big revolvers

Among people who actually work in bear country, three chamberings dominate. The .44 Magnum is the traditional answer with a long track record. The .454 Casull brings even more power for those who can handle it. And the 10mm Auto, usually in a Glock 20 or similar, has taken over much of the conversation in the last decade.

My take matches the video’s: for most people, the 10mm is the right call. Not because it hits harder than a .44, it doesn’t, but because it’s easier to shoot fast and straight, it carries 15-plus rounds instead of six, and the flat polymer pistol rides on a chest rig or belt all day without complaint. A magnum revolver you flinch with is worth less than a 10mm you can run. If you already shoot big revolvers well, carry one with my blessing.

Ammo matters more than the gun

Here’s where people get it wrong most often. The premium hollow points I’d recommend for defense against people are the wrong answer for bears; they’re built to expand, and expansion kills penetration. A grizzly’s vitals sit behind a very thick hide, heavy muscle, and serious bone. You need a bullet that punches straight through all of it, which means hard cast lead flat-nose loads, or similarly tough non-expanding bullets, from makers who build specifically for this. It’s the opposite of my advice in the 9mm self-defense ammo guide, and that’s the point: different threat, different bullet. We can order hard cast 10mm and .44 loads through the shop.

What about long guns?

If you’re stationary in camp or guiding clients, a 12-gauge loaded with heavy slugs is a proven bear stopper, and rifles in the .35 Whelen class have earned their reputation on big North American animals. Carry one if the situation allows. Just be honest with yourself about the carry problem: long guns get set down, and Murphy schedules bear encounters for exactly those moments.

Speed and nerve beat paper ballistics

Real charges are fast, loud, and over in seconds. Whatever you carry, you need to produce it and hit a moving target under the worst stress of your life. That’s a training problem, not an equipment problem, so practice your draw and your first two shots until they’re boring. And carry bear spray too. This isn’t either-or; plenty of encounters end better with spray, and the awareness habits in my 360-degree awareness post apply in the backcountry as much as the parking lot.

Headed to bear country this season? I’m glad to set you up with a 10mm, a chest holster, and the right ammo before you go. Order online at the store or come by the shop in Roanoke, north of Fort Worth, by appointment: [email protected], 817-393-4000.