Which would you take to Colorado for bears?

Heading to Cortez Colorado in a few weeks for elk with a bow. Be my first time doing this, and going with a group that this will be their 10th year in a row to go back to the same area. Apparently they are covered up with bears in the area. So my question is which side arm would you take for bear back up? I have a nice .357 revolver with 4" barrel, and recently acquired a Glock 20 in 10MM. So which one and why?

If you buy some quality ammo (double tap or Buffalo bore) I would go with the 10mm all day.

10mm all day

Of those two choices, I would take the 10mm and get very good with it.

The one with more rounds

Get with Chad to give you some potent stuff

I carried a 357 sig into grizz country. After shooting 200lb plus hogs from truck with the underwood xtreme penetrators, I'm not stressing on bears with it. But if you are in doubt the 10mm.

With that said, I would carry what every you are most comfortable pulling and shooting. For me that is not my 357mag or 44mag revolvers

A loud whistle, and give it to someone else in the group. It is a proven fact from examination of bear poop they eat whistles and bells.


Or practice your sprinting.... Like the fellow said to his friend,"I don't have to outrun the bear, just outrun you"

Sorry, Monday morning is rainy and gloomy.

Don't stress out over encountering black bears on your archery Elk hunt. I've spent many Septembers archery hunting Elk in Colorado. The only times I've had one close enough to shoot is when I didn't have an archery bear tag in my pocket. A lot of my encounters have been bears feeding on carcasses of mistake kills or unfounded dead Elk. The stench will let you know when your close. LOL
I've never had one show up during processing of a fresh kill or on trips back to the kill site to pack out meat.
I've never felt threatened by a black bear but they are strong animals with teeth and claws. The 10mm and .357mag are both adequate with a heavy jacketed bullet. As previously stated, which ever pistol your most familiar with would be your best choice.
Good luck and enjoy your hunt.

Like Pappy said, don't stress on it. Only run-in with a bear I had was a curious cub that ran up on me while I was taking a mid-day nap while archery elk hunting. I think he/she/it was more scared than I was.
Momma bear wasn't too pleased but other than a 'woof' she took off after the cub.
For that little adventure I was carrying a 6" Model 19. I'd think the 10mm would work if you had to use it though. I'd really not sweat it though. Just enjoy the hunt!

Are you going to have time to lock and load if you have a bear problem? 357 revolver is ready to shoot without having to rack it hot. I wouldn't carry a glock with one in the pipe while archery hunting but a revolver on a empty chamber would be my choice. One pull of the trigger and it's shooting.

Easy- 10mm with 200 grain Hornady XTP! I shoot both the 180 and 200 XTP out of my G20 and G40 all the time. Like them both a lot.

.http://dallasreloads.com/product-category/pistol-ammo/10mm-auto/

Thanks for all the input, Chad I will be hitting you up soon for some ammo

I carry a revolver in Bear Country, 99% of the time the Bear does not want an encounter however the 1% of the time it is going to be a contact sport and in that case an auto pressed against a bear can come out of battery a revolver cannot. A bear can cover 44 feet per second at top speed, practice accordingly what ever you decide to carry. A bear at close range will test your nerves.

I have spent 3 weeks a year for that passed 16 years chasing elk with archery equipment and have never had an issue with bears. If you see them they are hauling arse away from you or on a kill you decide to go investigate. I have shot 4 only because I had a tag so I see one in a meadow and sneak up and send an arrow through them. If your in the MTs these bear are spooked by humans, they are not the ones hanging around town and have no fear. If I was to carry (which I don't) I'd get bear spray not a pistol...just my 2 cents

When we lived in CO a friend of mine was a mountain man reenactor - did the jamborees, trapping, tanning hides for clothes, etc. He would trek from Durango up to Silverton, or maybe Lake City, on foot, with a map and compass, a black powder pistol, and bowie knife. The only modern item he took was bear spray. His feeling was spray would turn a bear faster than anything other than an immediately fatal gunshot - which can be iffy under duress. And FYI - at that time he told me he saw bear regularly, but he had never had one attack or act overtly aggressive - and most he saw were the little cinnamon bears which are pretty timid.

I was just watching razor dobbs taking cape buffalo and several other african game down with the 10mm. 10mm or 44 is what I will decide on the day I go to bear country.

I elk hunt during archery season and take almost 500 grains of arrow.

I was talking to a US Forest Service worker in NW Colorado last year during Archery Elk season about recent sightings of mountain lions in the area. He said that he doesn't worry about bears or mountain lions when he's in the woods because the bears generally run away from you and you probably won't even know a mountain lion Is near until he's on top of you grabbing your throat.

I have spent the last 20 Septembers chasing elk and dealing with bears. I would recommend the bear spray. All the bears I have encountered were mostly curious but they sometimes get way too close (like 3 to 5 feet). Usually you can scare them off but bear spray will work and you don't have to kill a bear and scare the elk away. They will come in to cow calls on occasion. Like I said I encounter a couple dozen a year and never had one get aggressive.

More like .001%

I wouldn't waste my energy carrying a gun for bears in the lower 48. Its fear of the unknown thats bothering you. You will get killed in an auto accident driving to Co or back before a bear gets you....so why go? Stay home and enjoy the family. I get the feeling the modern hunter who carries for bears and lions also truly believed in the boogey man while growing up. But if you feel the need to carry, just so you know its really for for the 2 legged creatures lurking that you might feel the need to carry the extra weight around for.

When elk hunting in CO and NM, I've come across bears only twice. Both times all I saw was the back side of the bear leaving. They knew we were there before we did, and were already on the way out.

But, my brother who camps in MN has had some aggressive encounters with bears in camps.

This. Don't pester a bear with her cubs and you've got nothing to worry about. And if a cat wants you for dinner you will never see or hear it coming.

I grew up in Wyoming and and to this day I spend weeks every year in bear country so I think my Bear Cred is better than yours. I had my first bear encounter at 10 years old and many more over the last 30+ years, I have no fear of anything in the woods. I have faced down Sow with Cubs, been in a tent with a bear circling in the pitch black, and last year watched a huge boar grizzly walk withing 25 yards of me. My points were made based on experience and trying to bring up points that are lost on those with limited bear experience. I also carry bear spray but the original question was about which gun to carry.