Watch As Paul Harrell Shows Us How Effective 45 ACP Ammo Is For Defense Against Bear And Cougar

It’s been a while since I have used one of Paul Harrell’s videos here at Great American Outdoors, so I thought I’d make up for that. In the video below, Mr. Harrell talks about the use of 45 ACP ammunition for defense against bears and cougars.

There is alot of discussion as to what type of weapon and ammunition would be the best defense against a bear, or cougar. Some say that the .44 Magnum,  .357 Magnum and 10mm are the logical choices, but what if you don’t own any of those firearms? Speaking only for myself, I own a 1911 45 ACP and I believe, that is adequate.

Truthfully speaking though, the 45 ACP is by no means marketed, or intended as a “bear gun”, but like any typical hard headed American, I’m not too good at following someone else’s expectations all the time.

Compared to other “bear calibers” like the 44 mag, 454 Casull, or 500 Smith and Wesson, the 45 is pretty wimpy looking. Most guys would laugh, at or ridicule the idea of anything under the 44 Magnum as a bear backup gun.

In general, the .45 ACP is a poor choice for bear defense. The round is slow, fat, and has fairly poor penetration on tough-skinned animals; however, some people carry .45 acp with modern Plus P ammo and hardened bullets for bear defense,

If you are using a .45 ACP for bear protection, I highly recommend you watch Pauls video, it is a little lengthy (23 minutes), but I genuinely think it will be worth your time and will give you plenty of good information.