Hello all, I have a tc encore in 460 smith and wesson and want to use a cast bullet for alaskan brown bear. Currently have the lyman 325 grain mold for it. My debate is is the 325 grain bullet enough or do i need to step up to something heavier? Any thought or input greatly appreciated.

I will qualify my answer first with the fact that I have not yet shot a brownie (even though I have rather unsuccessfully hunted them). I would think that bullet weight would work rather well.

I agree with Whitworth, the 325 gr. bullets should work fine.

Sure the slug you specify should be adequate. However a couple ofg caveats apply , and I mean no insult by this. I base these on having lived bush and trapped for a living and living in several other locales in Brownie country , having been in several DLP scenarios including one wherein I ended up having to kill a sow that was stalking me with a 4 5/8s Blackhawk in .44 mag at very close range , I had put my rifle down to do a bait and reset and she came around a copse after me ( I backtracked her after and she had been stalking me a robbing my traps) at a distance of less than twenty feet , all I had time to do was skin out the sidearm arm and shoot her three times in the head with a 300 grain xtp over 22 grains of 296 , I freekt admit that hitting her three times was *luck* , but then again it's kind of hard to miss a head the size of a five gallon bucket at fifteen feet , and FEAR? Hell if I'd eaten anything that morning I'd have crapped out a diamond.

At any rate if you're going to hunt brownies with a handgun then *do not* hunt by yourself , make sure you're backed up by someone with a heavy caliber rifle , these bears can cover fifty yards faster than you can believe and once their adrenaline is up are extremely hard to stop , I cannot possibly stress this highly enough , they're the worlds biggest meanest junkyard dog and besides teeth the got a buncha switchblades at all four corners. Just about any handgun is in reality marginal for the big bears. Nowadays for far north work , while still habitually carry a handgun too I'm always equipped with a guide gun in .45-70 or my .375 rum both of which are set-up with ghost ring sights.

And watch your backtrail in bear country , they can be quieter than you might believe. Additionally though you are unlikely to do so I'll state this *NEVER* consume bear liver , it contains vitamin A in toxic quantity.

Can I surmise by your story that you got inadequate penetration with the XTPs, requiring multiple shots? More details please! Thanks!

Thanks for relating your experience and thoughts bluenote1 !
And Welcome to the forum!!!

Dave

Welcome bluenote. Neat story!!

1- What time period were the XTPS from? Early 300 XTP's expanded excessively and would not penetrate as deep as the Hornday 260 grainer. Todays XTP penetyrates rather well. If 3 shots were needed then the brain was missed with the first 2.

2- A proper caliber handgun with a proiper bullet is more than adequate for big Bears





Even these very large brutes can be taken cleanly with 1 shot with revolvers

Three hits with 3 shots is very good, it tells me the shooter was controlling the recoil & thats very, very important. Shooting an unsuspecting bear is much different that shooting a bear that is coming straight on at 35 MPH from very close range.
You can handle a lot of recoil if the bear doesn't know you are there & you can probably get multiple shots off. If the bear is charging its more important to have a load that is maybe less powerful but easier to control because things can happen very fast.
People who have never seen how fast a bear can move would be amazed, actaully they would be more than amazed, its something to behold! They are a blur!
I too have never had any experience with a brown bear but I have been close to one grizzly & a whole lot of black bears including one this last spring, again the speed of these great animals has to been seen to believe.
OK, I'm going to say use more bullet weight & do it at a speed that allows you to control the recoil. A 325 gr slug that is tough is very good, maybe something a little heavier is better, again, you have to hit the target.....& you might not have much time so it makes no sense to shoot heavy bullets at extreme velocities where the recoil is severe.
Just my opinion but jacketed bullets on the big bears need to be very tough, you're not looking for picture perfect expansion & just a few inches of penetration, you're looking for lots of penetration with a slug that will drive straight & deep!
I like these posts on guns & loads for bears! Three for three is outstanding!!

Dick

I wish I had the experience with Brown Bear to comment more. I too think 3 shots on target is darn good shooting. All I know for sure, is all of the guides I have talked with and some of my customers say "always hit them at least twice no matter what and use all the gun&load you can handle accurately" Personally if I get the time money and oppritunity, my backup to my 9.3X74R rifle would be the .454 Casull loaded with 400 gr. cast at 1200 fps.
Dave

I think it speaks highly of your self control and experience to only shoot 3 times ,and get 3 hits. Things happen very fast in an emergency and you had the presence of mind and the skill to do what was needed.I think I would of shot some more just to be sure,you had the presence of mind to save a few for what ever came next.Your experience shows,exelent work and story.

Thank you for the feed back all. When i get the oppurtunity to go brown bear hunting it will deffinately be a guided hunt just for the reasons stated above. Want someone with experience hunting them at my back so if there is any trouble or situations that come up there is an experienced person there for it.

wow,I almost messed myself just imagining that bear coming at me!