Peacemaker said:
I don't live in Alaska but I do hike the backwoods of the Adirondacks. That's why I bought the Alaskan in .454. Easy to carry while fishing and picking mushrooms. I'd like some advice from the wise guru's on the forum. What would you suggest as a really good handload for bear protection out of this little 2 1/2 inch .454 Casul? I have three powders to work with; H-110, H-4227, and Unique. I would also like to know what bullet you would pair them up with for the ultimate stopper. Not looking for anything tame. If I have to shoot, what I shoot at has to stop. If there is another powder that you feel is better, let me know. I'm open for any advice. Thanks in advance.
Well...how big do your bears get in your neck of the woods? I will say, for magnum loads H-110 is hard to beat. Not really sure you need 454 power, but here is a bullet I can HIGHLY recommend...it's the Mihec 325 grain LFN (it can also be hollow pointed)
Here is a picture of what they look like recovered from a rubber mulch bullet trap, and the stats for each bullet. The lower left bullet is a 158 grain .357 mag for a size comparison. The solids were water dropped wheel weights (air cooled would have actually mushroomed a bit)
These bullets are accurate. My favorite load is to download them a bit, down to 1100fps by using HS-6 Even at this slower velocity, if you do your job, the non-hollow point bullet will do its job and penetrate most animals from front to back.