In the last week of May 2024, Bowhunter Tyce Erickson used his 10mm S&W 2.0 handgun to defend against a large Kodiak brown bear. The 10mm handgun was loaded with Underwood ammunition utilizing 220-grain hardcast bullets. The hunt was on Kodiak Island in Alaska.
Tyce had wounded a large Kodiak bear in the last two days of the hunt in a shot at a moving bear from 200 yards with a borrowed rifle. The bear was tracked for two miles when it decided to ambush the hunters. The guide was about 10 feet in front of Tyce with a .375 magnum rifle. Tyce followed with his 10mm handgun. His hunting companion was out of sight, about 50 feet away in the dense alder thicket.
The following occurred in a few seconds:
The bear charged the guide from the front, appearing 20 feet away. The guide managed to get off one shot, which hit the bear in the chest/shoulder area, slowing the bear. The guide fired another shot as he backed away, tripping on the brush. The second shot missed as the guide fell backward, trapped in place by the tangled vegetation. The guide yelled for help. Tyce crawled forward to get a shot at the bear without shooting the guide. Alongside the guide, Tyce used the 10mm to fire three rapid shots at the bear, which was whirling around 12 feet away. The bear dropped, rolled downhill, and lay still.
In one account, the guide yelled, “Stop. Don’t shoot the skull!” The initial wound was to the bear’s hind leg, leaving the bear mobile. The guide’s first shot might have proved fatal, eventually. Two of Tyce’s three shots from the 10mm hit the bear in the neck and back, incapacitating it.
When the guide poked the bear to see if it was dead, it groaned. The guide delivered a coup de grace through the bear’s chest, ending the bear’s pain. Tyce details his adventure on backcountryhunting.libsyn.com podcast:
Few men know whether they’ll have the courage to stand their ground and fight an irate Kodiak brown bear—or whether their defense gun will be adequate.
Backcountry hunter Tyce Erickson knows the answer to both, having recently proven himself when a wounded bear his group was tracking attacked at close quarters in thick alder brush.
The coverage of this story shows how the narrative on handgun defense against bears and bear spray has changed in the last few years as more data has been collected and analyzed.
The debate over whether bear spray or firearms are a better defense in grizzly country might never be settled, and among those choosing guns, squabbling over which preferred firearm is best is likewise never-ending.
Previously, the narrative was bear spray is “scientifically proven to be a more effective defense than firearms.” Cowboy State Daily shows how evidence has affected media coverage:
Now he swears by the pistol and told Cowboy State Daily he’ll pack it in Wyoming if his hoped-for elk hunt here works out.
“I love that pistol. I just got it, and that trip to Alaska was the first hunt I took it on,” he said. “And I’m glad I had it.”
Similar sentiments were expressed to Cowboy State Daily by Lee Francis of Evanston, who tangled with a grizzly bear in the remote Gros Ventre range in October 2022.
Tyson tells the Cowboy State Dailey that mature male bears kill bear cubs. The biggest killer of bears is bears. Because trophy hunters target mature male bears, this allows more cubs to survive. It is a bit of natural history that bear proponents studiously ignore.
The 10mm has become a popular handgun to carry as a defense against bears. Light, with 8-15 rounds available, relatively easy to shoot compared to a .44 magnum, with power close to the .41 magnum, the round has shown itself to be adequate to stop bear attacks at short range. The 10mm cartridge, out of a pistol, has ballistics very close to the black powder .44-40 out of a rifle.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
Waiting for the story of how a handgun (whatever caliber and loading) goes to Georgia and goes up against Cocaine Bear!
😀
When I’m in the woods to invite Bambi home for dinner, my chest rig holds an ancient pawn shop GLOCK 21 with a Storm Lake 10mm conversion barrel (conventional rifling and full chamber support) and a stout Wolff recoil spring. It’s full of Buffalo Bore’s spiciest: 220gr hard cast with 1200fps of urgency along its way.
Why did the guide say not to shoot the skull? For mounting purposes? Seems that could be repaired if so but I would think a shot to the head would be far quicker in a head on life or death situation like that.
About 2 years ago I bought a S&W MP 2.0 10mm. I carry the weapon in a chest holster when I’m in the woods. I’m really glad I tried out several different cartridges BEFORE taking it to the woods. The pistol is very finnicky in the rounds it will handle. It doesn’t like short slugs with truncated cone geometry. I suggest trying out cartridges from several brands and types of slugs. Some of the 200 hard cast rounds consistently jam (as in an average of 1 in 5 or six feeds). Other rounds that have a steep, short slug also… Read more »
The Glock 21 or a 1911 converted to .460 Rowland makes for a superior bear hammer compared to 10mm. Check it out.
Correction. In the second to last paragraph, Tyson should be Tyce.
It is my opinion that bear spray is little more than seasoning that a bear would use on it’s victims. A powerful enough, well practiced, quick to get into action sidearm gets my vote over bear spray every time. It is a rare day when a determined predator, either four or two legged, is convinced to get away from you with pepper spray. Long ago, when serving in the Army, stationed in Germany, I once did 100 four count push ups for a case of Hoffbrau in a c.s. chamber without a mask. Yes, that was c.s and not pepper… Read more »