which pistol would you recommend for my situation??

[HK4U]

Bear country. Nothing less than a 44 magnum. Bigger if you can. If you ever run into a bear you will not be mad because you brought "to much gun".

[NRA UR2]

Ericrush is right, but if you have to jog in Grizzly country You'll need a 2 1/2" Ruger Alaskan in 454 Casull or a S&W 500EX in 460 or 500 S&W. Good luck.

[GeneralSumter]

Get 2 guns. With the inexpensive cost of a Kel-Tec, you can afford to find a used 44Mag revolver and come out under $700 for the both of 'em.

[1911 Headbanger]

Bear country. Nothing less than a 44 magnum. Bigger if you can. If you ever run into a bear you will not be mad because you brought "to much gun".

Ha-Ha! Yeah, my response was based on that it appears he needed something extra light weight for running. Bears are generally a little bit pissed off when you shoot'em with 380's, 38's and snubby 357's. Bigger is ALWAYS better when facing a Bear. Any Bear. I can't think of any time, that if I had to shoot a bear in self defense, I'd complain about the performance, weight and recoil. POW!! Wow, he went down fast. I should used something smaller.

[boris]

But standard 9mm lugar round has less stopping power than the 9m18 Makarov round

9mm makarov's stopping power is comparable to .38 spl. main thing is bullet placement but that is not the answer to the question being asked. maybe don't run in bear country, stick to the gym or a treadmill or something. do you really want to run with a heavy gun? i don't care who you are a .44 magnum/ super mag is too big too run with in my opinion.

[utimmer43]

... maybe don't run in bear country, stick to the gym or a treadmill or something. do you really want to run with a heavy gun? i don't care who you are a .44 magnum/ super mag is too big too run with in my opinion.

I don't think he wants to jog in bear country. Jogging, hunting, hiking in the woods, all seperate occasions. He's just looking for a one-size-fits-all gun, which doesn't really exist (unless maybe someone knows where to get one of those little pocket pistols that Will Smith had in M.I.B., I wouldn't mind one of those myself).

[wolfhunter]

A Cricket!!! I knew there was a gun missing from my collection. Thanks, for pointing it out to me, UTimmer43.

[1911 Headbanger]

Of Course, if you want something very light for running and heavy for Bears, may I suggest a Ruger LCP 380 and a couple of Fragmentation Grenades.

[pianomistro]

However, I also think I might like to hunt or at laest take the same pistol into bear country and rest assured I could stop a bear if need be.

...what kind of bears are you talking about. I feel safe with my 45 around black bears as I am confident that a few well placed shots could do the job, but I would go 44 mag or 50 cal for grizzly, or kodiaks. Even then I would probably empty the gun and reload and empty it again. There isn't really a handgun that will bring one of those down, but the 45 could scare it away.

I couldn't agree more. Personal protection is one issue, and hiking in bear country is a completely different scenario. I've heard of quite a few well placed high-powered rifle shots just really pissing off a bear. They say that large game like elk, moose, and bear must be shot at a minimum of 100-150 yards, or else you still might get severely hurt or killed. The adrenaline of the animal will drive him to push through the pain, and attempt to kill the person whom caused the pain, even if he does die later.

Having that said, my choice for a handgun for personal protection would be anything in at least .40 S&W. .357 magnum is alright for some instances, but is most of the time a little overpowered, as is the .357 SIG. 10mm is a no no, as of the over-penetration issue. really stick with .40-.45 as these will be a strong round, with more surface area than a .357, therefore having more stopping power. I carry a Sig Sauer in .40 S&W, and I couldn't be happier with it's performance. You'll find that 9mm sometimes just doesn't do the job.

[Glockster20]

Glock 29 in 10mm Auto... Just my .02