Fun question: Anyone with direct experience making less lethal ammo?

[Danjoe]

I've lived a lot of my life in NW Wyoming where we have both black bears and grizzly bears, and bear spray is going to work infinitely better than anything out of a firearm.

For what?
I'll stick with the firearm.

For any nonlethal or "less-lethal" option on bears. I would feel much more confident in the ability of bear spray to stop a bear than any rubber bullets or beanbags.

[Earl Keese]

Got it now. I thought you.meant in general, not just compared to other non-lethal options.

[Clint007]

We are/I am not disparaging your opinion at all, don't get me wrong, and apologies if that was implied. I have almost zero experience in this, and I appreciate everyone's thoughts. and, it's an internet forum and you can bet there is a 100% chance that people will disagree on things.  But you offered your reasons. I'm sure members here routinely disagree on what the meaning of "is" is...with cigar in hand...

These perceptions on what's 'enough' for a bear match the never-ending controversy with self defense calibers....the migrations to and away from 9, 40, 45, etc over the years.

I think I might look with getting a .450 bushmaster upper on an AR and mount my Hybrid can and have that in the entryway, in a rifle lock stand. That can would at least reduce the noise a bit, if not the sonic crack. 

Sounds like a .44 or 357 revolver for hiking....

Thanks guys.

C

Like I said, not sure about AR rounds (sorry, should have said calibers). You asked for an opinion, I gave it. Even said JMHO. Take it or leave it, no biggie.
   As a hunter, I believe in matching the caliber to the game being taken. 5.56 is too small for bear IMO.
  Armor piercing, go ahead. Don't be surprised when the bear just gets madder. When hunting big game I stay away from FMJ or armor piercing, and HP. You want to make as big a hole as possible, with as much damage as possible, with a big exit hole. You want bone to break, and the animal to bleed out quickly. Perfect would be if the bullet juuust exits, leaving a good sized hole. That would mean that all the bullets energy was expelled inside the animal.
  FMJ and AP will go right thru. It'll do damage yes, but won't really expand that much and leave two holes the size of the bullet. Fat and tissue will quickly plug the holes almost completely stopping the bleed out process. A wounded bear would not be fun. May run away, may turn towards you. Game such as deer would take off and if those holes get plugged, may take days to die.
   HP works great for self defense on humans. Big impact, large wound, no over penetration. Bears have thick hides and thicker layers of fat. I don't think HP would do as well on them as humans. Definetly would not make a big thru and thru hole.
   Using a big cal. Solid lead or JSP is what I would use. 30/30 smallest in rifle, .357 mag for pistol. There's some out there that swear they would use smaller, some would laugh at me and say I'm nuts for using that small of caliber. It's my life, this is what I would trust. Just as it's your life, you use what you would trust. [emoji6]
    Bing or google AR bear hunting. Sure, guys do it. A lot that I quickly searched, use AR 10's in large caliber. Heck a .22lr can kill a bear. If your lucky.  Just my honest opinion.
   All I did was try to show you a different way to look at it.
   Sorry I wasted your time with even more googily moogily[emoji6]

[cntrydawwwg]

We are/I am not disparaging your opinion at all, don't get me wrong, and apologies if that was implied.

   Hey Clint, no big deal at all.
  The written language is easy to interpret the wrong tone. I very well may done that, and interpreted the wrong tone in your post[emoji6]
  No harm no foul, and absolutely it's ok to agree to disagree. So I too apologize if a certain tone was applied in my post.
   

[Beak Boater]

Born and Raised in Anchorage Alaska....fished all over the state as a kid, we never, never went into the brush fishing unless we carried at least a 10mm or 44mag hand gun. We also usually carried a 30-06, or 12 gauge with slugs. Bears where we fished were mostly curious, hadn't been around humans, really they wanted our fish for an easy meal. Bears that associate humans with food, or harm, are bad news. IMO, less than lethal would be a mistake, if you don't want to injure the animal, fire a warning shot first. If you should come across a Sow with cubs, get far away as possible, have see some Brown Bears that took and incredible amount of lead to stop. Blacks aren't as big but just as tough.
Bears are beautiful animals and fascinating to watch.....at a distance. Millions of years of survival instincts are imbedded in their small brains. They don't ask questions, if in doubt, they may try to posture or bluff. But when you see the hair on their neck stand up an they flatten their ears against their head....its pretty much game on then.  You got some good advice above in other posts. Just my .02 cents.

[Swamp ash]

Your dog will keep a black bear from approaching! 

And, bear spray is probably the best non-lethal option.

I spend considerable time backpacking and for the most part black bears will scurry away.  I have never once felt threatened, however, I also keep my canines well under control for their protection.

[Tyerone]

An air horn?  A boom box playing a yoko ono or vanilla ice song?
Keep a .357 or larger on your hip just in case.

[Wobbly]

A boom box playing a Yoko Ono song ?

"Oh No" is right !! You just had to bring her up.
20 minutes in the time out box for you, my friend !

One more outburst like that and the moderators will beat you with Dillon plastic primer guide rods. 

[Clint007]

A boom box playing a Yoko Ono song ?

"Oh No" is right !! You just had to bring her up.
20 minutes in the time out box for you, my friend !

One more outburst like that and the moderators will beat you with Dillon plastic primer guide rods. 

My personal choice would be an endless loop of Enya....

[ZardozCZ]

How about keeping the dog with you inside, and go out with him while carrying very defensive rounds? That would be my plan. I have a G27 as a bear scarer, but if I were often in their territory I'd be packing a Raging Bull .44 magnum.

[ReloaderFred]

A boom box playing a Yoko Ono song ?

"Oh No" is right !! You just had to bring her up.
20 minutes in the time out box for you, my friend !

One more outburst like that and the moderators will beat you with Dillon plastic primer guide rods. 

My personal choice would be an endless loop of Enya....

I happen to like Enya......  Also like Yanni, but I don't like bears.  They're a royal pain in the tush, but what I like even less is the fools who feed them.  Once they find out there's a food supply around houses, they hang out there for a free handout, just like hobos, only more dangerous.

At the new cabin, don't leave your trash can outside, as bears consider them a lunchbox.  The same with dog food bowls left outside.  You want to discourage bears, not draw them in.  The goal is to not have an encounter with a bear, but if you do, be prepared for it. 

If the bear has lost it's fear of humans, even a dog won't deter them.  When the bear cornered my wife and I, we had our two dogs (Shelties) with us, and the bear didn't give a rip about the dogs, and he wasn't afraid of us, either.  That same 9mm I had in my hand during that encounter later killed a bear that challenged a friend of mine, but it took 4 rounds of 147 gr. Black Talon (yes, the evil Black Talons), and he still ran a couple of hundred yards before he laid down and bled out.  That bear stomped his feet and popped his jaws at my friend while he was working on our range.  That's a signal he's about to charge, so rather than wait, my friend shot him, which was a smart move.  The vultures ate on that bear for days.........

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Chino Hills]

Bean bags don't do it.  Has a neighbor who was a biologist with  DFG and a friend who was a cop on a call adjacent to the Angeles National Forest.  The bear was treed and just seemed like it was going to wait them out.  A bean bag was tried to get him to move on home and all it did was grunt and move to the other side of the tree.  But there they had a good shot for the dart.  Then he was relocated after falling from the tree.

[armoredman]

In AZ, if you are forced to shoot an animal for self defense, we don't differentiate between "Protected" and "Unprotected" in cases of self defense, unlike our demented neighbor to the west of us.
So, next question, been trying to get some for years, never managed too - what does bear taste like?

[cntrydawwwg]

 Haven't had bear in years. All I've ever had was bear salami. The absolute best salami I've ever had. Bear itself is pretty greasy, so most people I know just make it into sausage, salami, pepperoni etc.
   I myself haven't had the opportunity to hunt bear. Maybe someday.

[eastman]

If I want less lethal ammo, I have less lethal calibers (.38 S&W, I'm looking at you  )