armedwalleye
Newbie
Kind of a "different" self defense gun choice question, but here goes...
My Dad is a 72 year old bowhunter for deer, but trail cameras in the area he hunts have shown more than 1 large black bear in the area. WITHOUT getting into the legalities of carrying a handgun while bowhunting, he's asked me to look into a gun that will serve as a backup for him in case the bear decides to appear at a less than opportune moment (like while he's on the ground getting there or leaving at twilight). While there are loads of ways to try to chase a bear off, and a gunfight on the ground with a bear isn't the best choice of either opponent or weapon, his requirements are: semiautomatic, and right handed, and limited to about $600. My added requirements, being left handed myself, are ambidextrous safety, ambi mag release, .40 or 10mm, which to me appear to be the only choices given his requirements. (Were it me, it'd be a LARGE caliber revolver). Based on the numbers, 10mm gets the nod in terms of ballistics, but not by much, but .40 gets the nod in terms of ammo availability and cost. Let's face it, if it's cheaper, he's more likely to shoot it often enough to get familiar enough with it...
Please offer your thoughts on make, model, and caliber withing these constraints.
My Dad is a 72 year old bowhunter for deer, but trail cameras in the area he hunts have shown more than 1 large black bear in the area. WITHOUT getting into the legalities of carrying a handgun while bowhunting, he's asked me to look into a gun that will serve as a backup for him in case the bear decides to appear at a less than opportune moment (like while he's on the ground getting there or leaving at twilight). While there are loads of ways to try to chase a bear off, and a gunfight on the ground with a bear isn't the best choice of either opponent or weapon, his requirements are: semiautomatic, and right handed, and limited to about $600. My added requirements, being left handed myself, are ambidextrous safety, ambi mag release, .40 or 10mm, which to me appear to be the only choices given his requirements. (Were it me, it'd be a LARGE caliber revolver). Based on the numbers, 10mm gets the nod in terms of ballistics, but not by much, but .40 gets the nod in terms of ammo availability and cost. Let's face it, if it's cheaper, he's more likely to shoot it often enough to get familiar enough with it...
Please offer your thoughts on make, model, and caliber withing these constraints.