Best 45 ACP for Bear Defense: Yogi's SOL

The music stops. The guests sober up, albeit only slightly, and begin lumbering toward their hotel rooms. Slim men in red vests bus away a sea of empty drinking glasses. You turn to your loving wife of 40 years and look her in her big, beautiful eyes as you speak.

“Well honey, it seems that our youngest daughter’s wedding was a big hit. I’m glad we held it at the Hilton. They did a real nice job. Now, what do you say we take this half bottle of flat champagne back to our room and—”

Suddenly, screams fill the banquet hall. Your wife buries her big, beautiful head into your chest in pure terror. You see the source of the uproar the instant you raise your eyes off of her. There it is. The biggest, meanest Kodiak bear you have ever laid eyes on. And in Charleston, SC of all places!

The brute lets out a terrific bellow and launches all 1,300 pounds of its bulk straight at you and your wife. She has fainted, and is far too … let’s say “beautiful” for you to carry without herniating all 23 discs in your spine simultaneously.

But all hope is not lost. In one deft motion, you reach underneath your tuxedo jacket and pull out your gold-plated pearl handle Colt Commander. It is the 1911 you only carry on special occasions. You put the charging devil under your sights and take some solace knowing you loaded your pistol with the very best 45 ACP ammo for bear defense earlier that day.

Is 45 ACP Good for Bear Defense?

No.

Many cartridges are better for bear defense than 45 Auto. If you can be convinced to carry a revolver, then a beastlier cartridge like the 44 Magnum, 454 Casull or 500 S&W Magnum would serve you much better. And even if you are limiting yourself to a semi-automatic, you’d do well to choose the 50 AE or 10mm (the latter of which is issued by the Danish military for defense against polar bears).

But the 45 ACP isn’t your worst choice for bear defense by any means. You’re probably already thinking it by now, and the answer is yes: any 45 ACP cartridge can quickly turn any black bear into an extremely dead thing. But it’s still considered underpowered for actually “hunting” black bear. General consensus holds that a minimum of 1,000 ft lbs striking energy is ideal for harvesting the species. Even an overpressure 45 ACP cartridge strikes with less than half that much energy at close range.

The minimum recommended striking energy for taking grizzly is much higher: 2,000 to 3,000 ft lbs, depending on whom you ask. Factor in the 45 ACP’s relatively wide bullet, which exhibits characteristically poor penetration on thick-skinned and densely muscled animals, and you’re just not talking about a great bear slayer.

None of that means the 45 ACP can’t get the job done. Recall Bella Twin’s famous feat: a record-setting grizzly toppled with naught but a .22 cal rimfire bullet to the eye. This underscores the most important thing you can say about shot placement. It counts for nearly everything. And if you’re already accustomed to carrying and firing your 45 ACP handgun, then you might reason it’s your surest solution for bear defense even if it’s widely considered to be underpowered for the job.

Shot placement’s not the be-all and end-all when it comes to bear defense, though. You also want to choose the best ammo for the job – and that ammo won’t look like your conventional self-defense fare. It will be loaded with bullets which do not expand.

Whereas expanding bullets are inclined to anchor themselves within the quarry before they can strike a vital organ, a bullet that is exclusively designed for penetration is less likely to exhibit such shortcomings. In other words, you want 45 ACP ammo that invests virtually all of its energy into inflicting the longest wound column possible.

Top 45 ACP Bear Defense Ammo Selections

How I Chose the Top 45 ACP Cartridges for Bear Defense

I wish I could dedicate my life to shooting bears with my Glock 21, but that’s just the sort of dream reality has a sad tendency of crushing. Oh well. At least I have time to test out 45 ACP ammo, which I most certainly did in preparation of writing this article.

I stuck to trusted brands: companies I know to load ammunition that is consistently reliable. I limited my selections to overpressure ammunition (which is loaded to generate a maximum chamber pressure of 23,000 psi as opposed to the standard 21,000, and therefore transfers relatively more kinetic energy to its target). I almost exclusively tested ammo loaded with hard cast bullets, which are extremely rigid and therefore able to forgo deformation in the interest of inflicting the deepest wound possible.

Good manufacturer. Overpressure. Non-expanding bullet. That didn’t leave me with very many choices. I subjected the few remaining candidates to a rather unscientific test protocol, which involved firing them into stacks of old phone books that I had previously soaked with a garden hose from a distance of 10 feet.

I understood that any one of these rounds should penetrate bare ballistic gelatin to a depth of around 50 inches. They entered much shallower into my damp yellow pages, albeit still deeply enough to reach where I assume a grizzly bear’s ticker to be located. It wasn’t FBI-level ballistic testing, but it satisfied my curiosity all the same.

Federal Solid Core +P 240 Grain Syntech Jacket FN

Federal Solid Core 357 Magnum Ammo - 20 Rounds of 180 Grain Syntech Jacketed Hard Cast Ammunition

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Why I Chose It

First things first: Do not fire 45 ACP +P ammunition in a firearm that isn’t rated for +P. Expect snappier recoil when you do fire it, too.

Federal Solid Core +P 240 Grain Syntech Jacket FN (and every other cartridge on this list) exemplifies the benefit of overpressure performance. Instead of lobbing a 230 grain bullet at a velocity of 830 fps (out of a 5” barrel), this round chucks its heavier 240 grain bullet to a velocity of 1,000 fps (ditto). The payoff? Close range striking energy in excess of 500 ft lbs – substantially higher than a normal load’s muzzle energy of around 350 ft lbs.

This round’s bullet isn’t identified as such, but it is what’s known as a “hard cast.” Like most other bullets, it’s primarily made of lead, though it is also alloyed with other metals (usually antimony and tin) which make it much harder than any conventional LRN or FMJ. The result is a bullet that doesn’t deform as it pierces thick hide and dense muscle. That raises the hard cast bullet’s likelihood of striking a big bear’s vital organ, which is precisely what you want to strike.

This round’s bullet is coated in “Syntech.” It’s polymer, and it’s specially designed to create a more effective seal against the bore during ignition. That promotes a higher muzzle velocity, and in turn higher striking energy. Syntech also extends barrel lifespan by reducing friction, and eliminates lead fouling to boot. Not necessarily your primary concerns while a bear is trying to kill you, but hey – nice all the same.

As a side note, this ammo is loaded with nickel-plated brass cases. They do pose frustrations at the reloading press, although they also succeed at facilitating cycling in a semi-automatic. That added reliability provides a little extra peace of mind while a bear is attempting to use you as a piñata.

Buffalo Bore Outdoorsman +P 255 Grain Hard Cast FN

Fiocchi 45 ACP Ammo - 500 Rounds of 230 Grain FMJ Ammunition

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Why I Chose It

We’ve already touched on why you want a hard cast bullet. But why one with a flat nose profile, specifically? Two reasons. First, a flat nose profile generally inflicts more damage to soft tissues than a round one; second, a flat nose profile helps the bullet penetrate in a straighter line, thereby maximizing its chance of striking a vital organ.

You may already have noticed that every round on this list is loaded with a heavy bullet (i.e. one that is heavier than the usual 230 grains). This is intentional. A bullet with higher mass also has higher inertia. It conserves its momentum more effectively, which in turn helps it – have you noticed the theme yet? – penetrate deeper.

I already warned against firing 45 ACP +P ammo in a firearm that isn’t designed for it. Buffalo Bore goes even further by recommending that you modify your pistol prior to firing this ammo: a Wolf Spring, which provides around 4 to 6 more pounds of spring weight, and a shock buffer too for good measure.

Underwood +P 255 Grain Hard Cast FN

Winchester USA 45 ACP Ammo - 500 Rounds of 230 Grain FMJ Ammunition

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This cartridge is extremely similar to our previous selection. Its hard cast bullet just so happens to be coated in Underwood’s “Black Cherry” polymer, which serves all the same functions as Federal’s Syntech. Its case is also nickel plated, which makes the round just a little bit easier to see during a chamber check in a dark environment.

Underwood’s special propellant suits this ammo for use during night or dusk. It is formulated to minimize muzzle flash, and therefore prevents the shooter’s eyes from suddenly deacclimating to low lighting. Temporarily blinding yourself with muzzle flash is never advantageous – especially when you’re trying to avoid winding up inside a maniacal bear.

Doubletap +P 255 Grain Hard Cast SWC

Remington UMC 45 ACP Ammo - 500 Rounds of 230 Grain FMJ Ammunition

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Technically speaking, this is the first cartridge on our list not to feature a flat nose bullet. To be sure, the semiwadcutter projectile has the broadest nose profile of them all. It additionally features an angular shoulder which helps punch out a broader, cleaner entry wound before continuing on to traumatize soft tissues. And because it is a hard cast, the SWC possesses the rigidity requisite for effectively deep penetration.

Although overpressure, this round’s muzzle velocity is comparably tepid at “just” 875 fps out of a 5” barrel (which is even more impressive in light of its heavyweight bullet). A well-placed shot will still get the job done on a bear, albeit with less accompanying recoil.

“Bear” in mind that all of these overpressure cartridges have stronger recoil. They’ll kick harder, and they’ll also jerk the muzzle farther upward with each shot. That “muzzle flip” increases the amount of time it takes to restore your aim on target, which is why this lower-recoil round can help to accelerate your follow-up shots. That’s hugely helpful in case you miss, which isn’t unthinkable in light of the fact that a charging bear can cause even the studliest outdoorsman to fill his diaper instantly.

Parting Shots

Once again, let it be said that a 45 ACP pistol is not ideal for defense against any bears, least of all great bears. But if you’re a dyed-in-the-wool .45 cal man – or you’d just like to have ammo on hand to suit any imaginable occasion – then you won’t be let down by any of the options on our list (provided your firearm is rated for +P, that is).

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Written by

Chris Dwulet