The Best & ONLY Bear Defense Revolver Worth Carrying in Alaska

Which revolver is actually worth wearing in Alaska brown bear country? A retired Montana game warden runs six real contenders through three questions: will you wear it every hour you're out of the truck, will it get through a coastal brown bear from the front, and can you get fast hits with it. The .357 Ruger GP100, the Smith & Wesson Model 69, the Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in .454 Casull, the Freedom Arms Model 83, and the Smith & Wesson .500 each go out for a different reason, and one revolver is left standing. Along the way: the 2016 case where guide Phil Shoemaker stopped a charging brown bear with a hard-cast 9mm, Alaska guide Lucas Clark's brown bear and the .500, Bryce Towsley's Model 83 load, why hard-cast flat-nose bullets matter, and the real numbers. Tom Smith's study of 269 Alaska bear-firearm incidents (1883–2009, Journal of Wildlife Management, 2012) found handguns worked 84 percent of the time, and AmmoLand's count of 37 handgun cases came in at 97 percent. Also covered: what those studies can't tell you, and why bear spray belongs on your other hip. Carry laws vary. Check the regulations where you'll be.