I am looking for a semi automatic hand gun that will be capable of stopping a bear or mountain lion.?

Any of the calibers you mentioned are suitable assuming you are only dealing with black bears, not grizzly bears. In the lower 48 states grizzly shouldn't be a concern.

Black bears are generally non-aggressive as long as you don't cross paths with a mother & cub. Typically they can smell you from miles away and they will avoid you. So frankly I wouldn't worry too much about them. They're also not nearly as big as grizzly, so for the most part any of the larger self defense calibers such as .45 ACP, 10 mm etc will be fine. You don't need to .44 magnum or anything in that category for black bear.

Its the mountain lion you should really be concerned with. Again, its rare to hear of them attacking humans but it does happen. They're smaller and don't have nearly as thick layers of fur & fat as bears, so any of the calibers mentioned are adequate. I'd be comfortable with 9mm as well.

If I were in your shoes, I'd look at a Glock or another reliable/durable gun in .45ACP and call it good. You might see signs of the animals frequently, but your odds of being attacked are quite low and a .45 ACP will be adequate in almost every situation as long as we're only talking about black bear & mountain lion. Plus, this way you have a gun that is somewhat practical for other purposes.

Of course this is all based on the assumption that grizzly and moose aren't a factor here. If so, you're back to the .44 magnum or similar category.

So, you are looking for high energy heavy bullet sort of calibers. That puts you in the range of some exotics. For example, you can get a .357 Magnum in a 1911 configuration from Coonan Arms. No one argues with .357 as a woods caliber.

You can certainly get into a 10 mm, 1911 styles are available, Glock has a couple of models and EAA Witness has the Hunter model.

You can also get into some conversion kits which are a decent option. Guncrafter Industries has a .50 GI cartridge that is plenty heavy, but slow so it is shootable while still hitting hard. Basically they sell 1911 and Glock conversion kits so you can practice with something cheaper.

Clark Custom makes a 1911 conversion kit for .460 Rowland which hits extremely hard as well.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the .357 SIG in this application simply because of the light bullet weight compared to the other options. I know the classic weight for .357 magnum is 125 grains, but I would carry the 158 or 180 grain weights for dealing with outdoor critters of the sort.

Are any of these options cheap? Not really. However, quite literally that's the price you pay to get magnum revolver performance out of a semi auto.

Personally? I've got a 10 mm 1911 on order that I am very much looking forward to shooting. I highly doubt the 10 mm is going to disappear - particularly when there are so many other calibers that are even less popular that haven't. Also because it's similarity in size to 40 S&W makes building guns for it relatively straightforward, just a function of demand, as opposed to .357 SIG that has to sort out the bottleneck piece for magazines and such. Also because it is the only mainstream magnum class round designed for a semi - auto. 185 grain at 1400 FPS hits pretty hard.

Thinkingblade

I won't carry anything short of a .44 magnum handgun to stop a bear, so that pretty much leaves you with a Desert Eagle in a semi auto. A .44 magnum or .454 Casull REVOLVER would be a more reliable choice than a DE; too bad about your wife. I would prefer a shotgun with slugs or lever action rifle over any pistol. .357 sig and .45 ACP are completely insufficient and 10mm is mostly insufficient to stop a bear.

On the other hand, a mountain lion is smaller and a quick mover, so I would go with a 9mm handgun because capacity is king in this case. I might prefer a shotgun with buckshot.

I carry two guns, the reason is I have a spare to loan someone should their gun jam or get damaged or even lost. I will not give anyone my Smith and Wesson 500, but I will loan out my Taurus tracker 357. Both more then enough firepower for taking down a grizzly mountain lions might be overkill.

A revolver would be a better choice but a 10mm 1911 or Glock, Conaan 357 Mag, or a 45 Super/450 SMC could possibly stop a black bear but are more targeted toward human size attackers. Your wife won't shoot those either once she feels the recoil.

Pistol caliber cartridges aren't ideal especially in a semi-auto platform for being out in the woods, your best bet will be a rifle or shotgun.

Joshua, if this is a firearm that both you and your wife will be shooting then I would look at the 10mm or the 45 acp as a common type. I would load the first three with a heavy hollow point and the rest with FMJ type ammo. There are a few other semi autos that you can look at if both of you can handle a slightly larger frame handgun. The Grizzly LAR in 45 winmag is a potent firearm, Coonan makes a semi auto in 357 magnum, there are the desert eagles, and Wildey makes a mean 45 magnum cartridge. The only other maker I would look at is Schutzen but man their expensive and I didn't like the action.

I have a Glock 20 SF in 10mm and I love it. I know it is a much argued subject about the future of the 10mm but hopefully it will remain around for a little longer. If I were going to be around big bears, I would carry a revolver. or a shotgun with slugs and leave the 10mm at home. Most anything else I would carry the 10.

So you wish to carry a fire arm that in an "Emergency" is more than likely to jam.

Well go ahead as you are clearly not interested in hearing the type of fire arm suitable for your needs.

If fact you would be better off carrying a bear spry rather than a gun.

Whether you like it or not a revolver is the best for this type of situation.

I live in Alaska - a place where protecting yourself from bears is a daily reality.

I spent years doing bush and moutain rescue all over Alaska. No shortage of folks who are 'set in their ways' getting packed out in body bags every year. We are still looking for the body of that 'super cool survival instructor from Michigan' who came here to test himself.

Up here - you about never, never, ever see anyone with a semi-auto when they are out camping, fishing, 4x4, ATV, small plane, hiking, etc etc etc. Why? First - because they dont have the power to reliably stop a dangerous animal...... and second..... why take a gun that will jam from a small piece of belly button lint into an outdoor enviroment???? Answer - you do not.

If you hate your wife and have a really good insurance policy on her - then by all means get her a baby Desert Eagle or 10mm. If you actually love the gal - then dont be pussy whipped - you need to teach her the importance of the right tool for the right job - and when in the woods and out on your ATV or 4x4 that is a revolver.

My wife - loves her Ruger Super Redhawk in 480 Ruger. This - is a pistol with the potential to one-shot kill a black bear or similar size critter. And if you think for a moment a bear is gonna just stand there and let you dump a full magazine into it - you are not well informed about bears. Big bears - do not become big by being stupid around people........ it's the old, the sick, the injured bear that is half starved - this will be the bear that risks attacking a human for a meal. An unlike Hollywood - it is not going to announce itself from 200 yards and slowly walk toward you in a leisurly pace. This will be a bear that pops out onto the trail a few meters in front of you...... literally out of nowhere.

What ever your gal's reason for not liking a revolver - she needs to get over it. I can toss any revolver into a pile of mud, rinse it in water quickly - and it will fire and cycle just fine. I own 5 semi-auto pistols - I cannot do that with any of them. Revolvers - can easily be 3x to 8x more powerful than a semi-auto. Only revolvers provide both the reliability and the power you need to defeat an attacking animal. There is a reason you never see guys pistol hunting with a semi-auto.......... it's about always a revolver or a single shot pistol.

Revolvers - learn them, love them, live with them.

Mountain lion are easy. I am another vote for 12 ga shotgun for bear. If you are stuck with a handgun, go with the .44 Mag. You wife will shoot it if there is a choice of stopping a bear or winding up as bear duty.