Will a 44 magnum pistol kill a bear at close range?

Black bear - yes.

Brown bear - depends on if it is your lucky day.

The fish and game biologist on Kodiak Island used to talk all the time about how people would bring in bears - and how they had found 44 Mag slugs stuck in the fat layer that had healed over.

To sucessful kill a bear quick you need to break bones and damage vital organs. Shooting it, which makes it more mad - and waiting two minutes for it to die - while it is ripping off 2-3lbs of your flesh every few seconds is not a very smart option.

The grizzly bear on my ex-wife's wall she and I took in Sitka was a small one - only 6.5 feet. One of the smallest legal brown bears they had seen in 10 years - but it had a really sweet hide and fur! She nailed it with a 338 Win Mag in the shoulder - the entire shoulder did not have a bone left that was bigger than one inch when that round it. But, that little bear still charged us at full speed 75 yards like it had not been hit. Until the second one finished it.

Go check out the exterior ballistics of a 338 Win Mag compaired to a 44 Mag. Now image instead of a small 6.5' bear, an actual decent sized 9' to 10' sized bear that weights 4x as much.

In Alaska we carry the 480 Ruger and 460 S&W that are 4x more powerful than a 44Mag and the 500 S&W and 454 Casul are popular because they are 6x and 7x more powerful than a 44 Mag. The 44 Mag - not so much in Alaska anymore - people used to carry them allot up here in bear country until folks figured out they just do not do the job.

I am leaving for Kodiak Island in a few days for fishing and hunting. Even with a 480 Ruger strapped on - I always have a 12ga with slugs or a 338 with us. Handguns, no matter how big - just are not a good solution to any brown bear.

Yes it will. Thirty to forty years ago,gun writers ranted and raved about the .44 magnum as the be-all, end-all handgun cartridge. It isn't THAT glamorous being a .44 magnum owner myself, but it will stop a bear at close range. A person would be better off with a Linebaugh or a Casull, or a .460 or .500 S & W magnum, but a .44 will suffice if that's all you have. Don't think that a grizzly-size animal will go down with one shot though. With a .44 it might take more than one shot. A .44 magnum, powerhouse that it is, is nothing but a popgun compared to something a .338 Winchester magnum.

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Will a 44 magnum pistol kill a bear at close range?

44 Magnum Pistol

Absolutely, like the others note here, if the shot counts.

Actually a wide range of firearms have been used to down all North American game, some of which would be scoffed at today as just plain too dinky. 44-40 has taken every North American big game animal and put a LOT of people in the ground, and it is nearly extinct at this point for sporting or self defense use, it started out life as blackpowder, after all. 30-30's didn't win the west, 44-40 and 45-70 rifles with 44-40, .44 and .36 caliber revolvers did.

Research the kill zones, practice. .44 mag is more than enough-though opt for 4 inch or bigger barrel.

Sure! So will a 45 Long Colt.

(Personally, I like 44 Magnum barrels that are longer than 6 inches. Mine have always been 8 + inches long; and, when loaded up with Norma ammo, really, 'shake the leaves off the trees'.)

With the right bullet in the right place, it will. Keep in mind, though, that may be the right answer to the wrong question: this or any other handgun may not ensure your survival in an attack by one of the great bears. Even after he's received a bullet through the heart, a big brownie may still be capable of covering ten or twenty yards and killing you. And that's assuming you're using a bullet that will penetrate (not the usual 240 grain HP).

Yup, its one of the more effective bear defensive handgun rounds. Others would be .454 casull, .460 S&W, and 500 S&W. the .45 LC and .357 magnum, with the correct type of loads (heavy semi jacketed soft points, or purpose made hunting rounds)

yes it will if the right bullet is chosen. 300 grain hard cast wide flat nose . this bullet will penetrate 3 or more feet, break bones and will not break apart no matter what part of the bear is hit.

yes