Would you feel undergunned in wild with a .357 Magnum?

[theGinsue]

Nope I'd be just fine with a .357, I still carry a 6 shooter .357 when I camp and sometimes hunting. That's all I used to carry before I bought my 10mm. The only time I would feel undergunned would be against a grizz.

Everything in the statement above EXCEPT the 10mm part could have been written by me. For the last 18 years all I've carried in CO woods (aside from my 30-06 hunting rifle - while actively hunting for elk, deer and beer) is a Ruger Blackhawk .357 Magnum loaded with Federal Premium 158gr Hydra-Shok hollowpoints. I have never felt under-gunned.

Are there Grizzlies in the lower 48?

Up north there is from wyoming up, but I suspect they are here to.

It depends on who you ask. Officially, per the CO Dept of Wildlife (DOW) there are NO Grizzlies/Brown Bears/Brownies/Kodiaks, etc. (whatever you want to call them) in CO but there ARE brown colored black bears.

Now, that said, MANY people have claimed to have seen grizzlies in the SW corner of CO. They have described what they saw as a bear with the shoulder hump that only grizzlies have.

I am not at all afraid of CO black bears. While I'll never be quite THIS stupid ever again, I had a face-to-face with a black bear on Sep 12, 2001 in Colorado Springs. It was trapped in a courtyard of a hospital and I made sure it didn't leave until the DOW got there... All I had to protect myself was a 3D cell Maglite and my cell phone. I didn't feel under-gunned but I realize what I did was stupid.

While I don't fear CO black bears, Mtn Lions scare the hell out of me. The sneaky buggers will stalk you until they are ready to pounce and you've gotta be ready for them. Of course, a .357mag would drop it without a problem.

I'm not really concerned about having an encounter with a moose so I'll leave that one right there.

Now, if it is found that CO truly does have grizzlies, you're gonna need a bigger gun!

[Colorado Osprey]

It depends on who you ask. Officially, per the CO Dept of Wildlife (DOW) there are NO Grizzlies/Brown Bears/Brownies/Kodiaks, etc. (whatever you want to call them) in CO but there ARE brown colored black bears.

Very true, there are differrent color phases of black bears ranging from blonde, cinnamon, brown and black.

BUT.. a very big BUT! Colorado DOW has re-introduced Brown bears into Colorado just like the re-introduction of Wolves and Lynx. They keep it quiet for a few to many years until a sustainable population is reached.

I used to be in law enforcement and talked to the DOW guys almost daily. There has been many sightings of brown bears in Colorado... not just brown colored Black Bears.

Brown Bears are NOT all Grizzlies. Calling all Brown Bears Grizzlies are like calling all dogs Great Danes. Grizzlies live next to the coast and grow substantially larger than an inland Brown due to their diet including fish that Browns do not get.

How many people have seen wolves in Colorado??
I spotted a pack back in 1986... reported it to the DOW and then they said that they were Wolf Hybrids and that wolves were not in Colorado. Years later, in 2007 the DOW admitted the wolves were within 5 miles of where I had seen them years before; and indeed they were wolves and not wolf hybrids.... but 20 years later.

[Ranger]

I used to carry my .357 S&W when camping or hiking, now I just carry my Glock .45 with 15 rounds.

[OgenRwot]

There have been several reports of grizzly in the state from enough reliable sources that I would say there are a few. If you do a quick google search a lot comes up.

[marty]

Note that a black bear is not always black. It can also be brown, cinammon, blond, honey colored. All the bears I have seen in Colorado have been black except for one very large honey colored bear.