Any bear stopping ammo suggestions for my Springfield XD .45?

[MP123]

The flat nose on those 255 grain hard cast looks like it might not feed all that reliably in a 1911.  It would be tough to shoot enough of them to feel comfortable that they wouldn't jam when you really need them.

Bofire, I'm suprised you only got 3 inches penetration out of a 44 mag at 15 feet.  Were those factory loads?

The best .45 load for bear would be .45-70 out of a guide gun 

[O_mykiss]

I would say that those Buffalo Bore 255's are THE ticket if you're packing a .45 and want maximum penetration and performance. The rumor is they will penetrate several feet of bear, hog, whatever.......

Buy a box and find out if they will feed in your gun. Better yet, buy two. Double Tap ammo makes a similar product at half the price too.

I would bet they will feed in your XD, they did in mine.

[MikeWalking]

The flat nose on those 255 grain hard cast looks like it might not feed all that reliably in a 1911.  It would be tough to shoot enough of them to feel comfortable that they wouldn't jam when you really need them.

Bofire, I'm suprised you only got 3 inches penetration out of a 44 mag at 15 feet.  Were those factory loads?

The best .45 load for bear would be .45-70 out of a guide gun 

Well, he said they were 240gr Soft points  at 15 feet they would have hit real fast and mushroomed quick.   A .44mag handgun for black bear protection? OK but with serious stuff from Buffalo Bore or Garret.

I like the 45-70 option better, mine carries Buffalo Bores 430gr Hard Cast Gas Check thumpers

[Bofire]

Yes, the loads were factory and new. not hollow points, soft points from a Ruger Blackhawk 7.5 inch. The bear was shot by my son with a 30/06 his friend was going to "finish" it with his pistol.
that is what happened. my son had to shoot it again with his 06.
Carl

[Alchase]

PDX1 Ive shot a lot hollow points out of my 45's and Im very impressed with the penetration and expansion of these. As long as your not hunting grizz, I have no doubt the winchester pdx1 will put the hurt to a bear or anything else for that matter. Its what I carry in my XD

I concure, PDX1 0.40 is all I carry

[JackOfAllTrades]

If.. I were to pack a 45acp in Bear country, I'd load it with 6rnds of 230gn round ball FMJ loaded to 1,100fps. That is what should never ever fail to feed and will likely have the most penetration on a bruin.

The last two in the magazine would be Black Tallon hand loads that would be for point blank 'shove it in his mouth or eye socket' range. 

-Steve

[oldleclercrd]

Thanks everyone for the input!

[MikeWalking]

If.. I were to pack a 45acp in Bear country, I'd load it with 6rnds of 230gn round ball FMJ loaded to 1,100fps. That is what should never ever fail to feed and will likely have the most penetration on a bruin.

The last two in the magazine would be Black Tallon hand loads that would be for point blank 'shove it in his mouth or eye socket' range. 

-Steve

Reminds me of one attack reported don in Alaska.   A woman hiking with her husband was surprised and knocked down by a charging Grizzly,  all she could do was stick her .357 in his mouth and empty it.  The bear shook his head a couple times and wandered off.   she said she was buying a .44mag after that.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Just shoot until the clips empty !!! 

[44 Flattop]

You sure don't want any jacketed load unless it is a flatnose.  Best would be a 250gr flat roundnose.  I personally like the original colt bullet, the Lyman 452190 which usually casts out around 250-255grs.  With 5.5 to 6 grains of Unique it penetrates like nobodies business and will stay inside 2" at 30 yards for a full 7 rounds from my 1911A1. 

I'm personally not aware of any such loads on the market.  You'd have to roll your own.

[Caseyd]

PDX1 Ive shot a lot hollow points out of my 45's and Im very impressed with the penetration and expansion of these. As long as your not hunting grizz, I have no doubt the winchester pdx1 will put the hurt to a bear or anything else for that matter. Its what I carry in my XD

I concure, PDX1 0.40 is all I carry

  in my 380 and 40

[oldleclercrd]

This is right in my wheelhouse. I have been carrying my XD Tactical in .45 while out and about. Remember the old Winchester Talon...black nosed law enforcement hollow points..well, 13 +1 with those feels pretty good on the hip. I have shot them into bowling pins and think they would put a might sting in a bear.

Also, you may want to look around and see if you can find some 150gr round nose. I used to shoot those on pins as well. I think you would get excellent penetration on a skull/shoulder.

Thats a 5 inch barrel right? Its a great gun thats for sure. Mine is grey and black..

[True Sportsman]

I don't know the website, but there were penetration tests done with various handgun rounds in all calibers. I shoot a 10mm and I chose the deepest penetrating bullet I could find. Hornandy 200gr XTP. I imagine the 230gr XTP .45 cal, would be great as well.

Deep penetration would be the goal here...

[addicted]

I carry PDX1's in my 1911.  I shot through a 3inch thick frozen hunk of meat and the bullet still went a good 8-10 inches into the ground. once retrieved it still held together 95%+ 

[7.62Warbird]

I personally carry 460 XVR as my back up when in bear country. I've seen 44mags emptied into a blackie that was now more than 300lbs keep running fortunatley the other way and this was after it had been wounded by a 7mm.
 Penetration is key for stopping game. You must damage the heart and lungs as we all no. Last year a took a deer at 45yds with my 460 from the stand using 200gr sst from Hornady. Neck shot just in front of the shoulder the took out 3 vertabrea. Hole in neck meat big enough to get four fingers through. Almost no retention on the bullet. Little pieces every. Whats a deer neck maybe 6 inches thick 8 at the most. When I skinned it there was not even one little hole in the hyde on the back side. this tells me all energy was released with very little penetration. You can shoot ballistic jelly till your barrel burns out but that won't show you chit about how the bullet will perform in bone and flesh combined.
 Shooting a round of old growth fir in the back yard with my .45 fmj yields no expansion of the bullet. You could almost reload them they look so good. Problem is they punch little holes not big ones and when your in a hurry to put rounds on target accuracy suffers.
 I am a big fan of Barnes XPB in 200/225 for the .45 colt. Solid bullet desinged to flower and damaged. Penetration from slower expansion, max retention, equals excellent performance on bigger/tougher game when using under sized guns.
  Great bullets that perform well at say 2800fps impact speed blow to peices at 3500fps impact speed and penetrate less simply b/c they expand to rapidly at faster speeds. I have found that the solid bullets like Barnes/Berger work at both ends of the speed range.
My