Glock model 40 mos gen 4

Been thinking of buying this as a defense weapon against bears up here in AK.
I have been looking at the 44 magnum, 357 magnum, and then the 10mm 6 inch glock 40

I know the 44 mag is by far the most powerful, but looking into the ballistics of the 10mm out of a glock 40 it isn't too far off of a 356, plus it holds 15 rounds versus 6, being an out it will be easier to get off more shots if needed.

What are you thoughts?

I am open to revolvers, but really like the thought of the auto with more capacity

 

They are impressive and for what they are firing not much rise with quick target acquisition. Now I haven't tried the 40 but I did shoot about 100 thru the Glock 20 and I loved it. What I normally carry is the 357 ruger security six.
It would be nice to have more rounds to throw and it will be lighter to carry for longer periods like when I'm hunting...

 

I was thinking of the model 20 as well.
I will mostly use it as back up for hunting or if I am out camping. I have shot the 9mm glocks and loved it, and my fathers 44magnum and just remember it being like.. well I would be lucky to get 3 shots off with this.

 

As someone who has spent considerable time around brown bears in Alaska, if I was really interested in bear protection, the 10mm wouldn't even come close to making the list. First off, bears in Alaska are huge. Over 1000lbs. The best thing to have is a rifle. I carried a Marlin Guide Gun loaded hot when I could. When a pistol is all I could really carry, a 45 colt loaded with 325 hard cast LBTs at 1200fps was my choice. If I was buying a hand gun now for bear protection, it would be a Ruger 5 shot Bisley in 480.

If you really need it and you are REALLY lucky, you have two shots at most. More like one, poorly placed.

If you want a glock, buy a glock. If you want bear protection, buy a handgun in a round appropriate for the task.

 

45 long colt?

 

Technically there is no such thing as a 45 long colt, but that's an argument that's been going on for over a hundred years now. The standard 45 colt is the same length now as it was in the 1800s. The "long" description was something users used to differentiate between the 45 Schofield and a shorter government issued round that could be used in both the schofield and the colt as the army used both.

So in a long answer, yes, the 45 Colt and 45 Long Colt are the same cartridge.

 

Do you have an opinion on the Henry line of rifles for dangerous game? It's tube feed instead of loader gate but I can't imagine that would matter much when a bear charges. I absolutely love the ruger SA convertible revolvers and plan on a rifle/pistol cambo.

 

I used to have several single action/lever action combos. Kinda the cowboy dreamer in me I guess. One thing you run into on the lever actions is most use a slower twist rate than the revolver. When they first started making lever actions, it was for short bullets and black powder. The short bullets didn't need a fast twist and the slower twist fouled less with black powder. For some reason, most manufacturers never updated their twist rates, so any of the better, longer, heavier bullets rarely shoot well. I know a few people who have had theirs rebarreled to be able to shoot bear bullets. Marlin even had that issue with the 444 as the 44 magnum rifles are using the same twist the black powder 44-40 used. makes no sense. Ruger at least updated their 96/44 so you could shoot heavies, Marlin updated the 444 quite a few years ago, and Marlin has been saying they would update their 44/45s for many years but still haven't.

Depends on what kind of bear we are talking about and what your chances of really needing one are. For Alaska, something along the lines of the 45/70 in a guide gun would be a better lever action or one of the many custom wildcats being produced on the Marlin. For lower 48, I would be comfortable with a 44mag or 45 colt if the same gun is chambered in 44 mag so I knew it is safe to load the 45 to higher pressures. There are also several levers in 454 that would be good.

 

You can scare PA bears off with choice words lol.

Only thing I have to add is hold/shoot the handguns first OP. The 10mm glock grip was big for my hands, same with the larger frame revolvers. If it wasn't for the grip I would own a 10mm.