here is some data collected , there have been a fair number of LEO vs bear encounters and the standard LEO side arms and ammo are proving reasonably effective.

it seems like people , bear often decide that maybe that wasn't a good idea and it is a good time to leave.

shot placement is big but 12-14 inches of penetration most personal defense ammo is calibrated for can work on bear the hide really isn't that tough when a bullet is considered

only other thing is more rounds seems better , misses happen having enough to miss under the stress and still have rounds to use is good

https://www.ammoland.com/2018/02/de...e-37-incidents-by-caliber/#axzz5OS0pKc1O

I never use to worry about bears and never carried a gun while checking traps but about ten years ago while walking the edges of a swamp checking muskrat traps in late March, I saw bear tracks walking right on top of my tracks that I'd left in the mud the day before so, I knew that bear was probably close by. Was just a little nervous.

Then, just a few years ago my younger sister and I were walking a trail to a small pond on state land to do some catfish fishing. We heard a little noise and my sister instantly said "Deer!". Joking around, I quickly said Bear! We pushed a couple branches aside and looked into this small swampy area alongside the path and sure enough there was a bear of about 250 pounds staring right at us from only about fifty feet away. We started yelling at him but he wouldn't run off. I picked up a large dead branch and smacked it against a tree a few times and that got him to slowly walk away a bit before turning around and staring at us again. My sis and I continued our walk to the pond and took a couple of casts but because it was already nearing dusk and we knew we had to walk back the way we came in, we decided to head home. Neither of us were generally scared of bears, we hunted together the Fall before and killed a 450 pounder from only 100' away while Still Hunting, but that little guy certainly made us nervous. Nowadays, when walking into big woods to check traps, I usually bring along my shotgun just in case.

Just remember black bear attacks are rare but when you get a predatory black bear attacking you fight back like your the third monkey getting on the ark and brother its starting to rain!

So that's what happened to my ex-girlfriend! At least she is now doing something useful with herself.

As long as you have a beer in one had and your big spatula in the other, your good

Even the ladies are safe