I don't have any experience with the bayou bullets but you could do some penetration testing into various media to see how they perform. I'm also using the MBW 200 grain WFN-GC. I don't think it is too much bullet for anything. Granted, I live in Alaska and may have different woods defense needs than most folks but I've never heard anyone say they shot their black bear (or grizzly/brown bear) in defense of life or property with "too big" a bullet.     

I own both the Dan Wesson Bruin and the Kodiak. I like them both but for different reasons. They are both well built and would serve you well. The Kodiak does have less felt recoil due to its heavier weight but I wouldn't use that as a reason to buy one over the other. I would buy whichever pistol has the features you like most. I won't be parting with either one of them.     

I shoot their 200 grain NOE WFN-GC. Also tried their LBT 200 grain WFN-PB. I see they now also offer the 200 grain NOE coated boolits in lieu of the gas check. However, their website recommends the gas checked version for hunting.  No explanation why.

Either way, they make good bullets. I also shoot their hard cast boolits in 357 Magnum and 44 Magnum.

No problems yet. I'm not expecting any issues going forward.

Some people do not carry pistols, rifles or shotguns with rounds in the chamber. If they choose to carry that way, they should train accordingly.

My assumption is most people don't train at all, let alone accordingly. A Navy Seal once told me "You will default to your level of training". I wholeheartedly believe that. It's sad really and preventable. Welcome to humanity.     

I only load my hunting and woods defense cases a couple times. Then they become used for plinking loads til they split. Sometimes they split upon firing, sometimes they split when trying to seat a bullet. It's amazing how long they last.     

Congratulations! Dan Wesson turns out a very nice pistol. I have a Bruin and a Kodiak. Love them both. Excellent build quality for the price. 

Couldn't see either attachment. Hickok45 has a video shooting 220 hardcast through a stock Glock 20 and the bullet keyholed. I would test them before I carried them for defensive purposes. I carry a 200 grain WFNGC for bear defense. I'm confident a CNS hit with them will stop a bear.     

I tried that boolit using 10 grains of Blue Dot seated to a COAL of 1.24. My reloading notes say at that COAL they tended to bind a little towards the end of the magazine. I chronographed the load in my STI Perfect 10 at a velocity of 1216 fps. I also shot them for function through my Glock G40 and Dan Wesson Bruin with no malfunctions noted. 

I switched to MBW's NOE 200 grain WFN GC boolit seated to 1.24, fueled by 10 grains of Blue Dot. It chronographed in my Glock G40 with KKM barrel at 1275 fps and in my STI Perfect 10 at 1257 fps. The NOE version has a narrower meplat at .300 vs a meplat of .325 on the WFN PB version.  No binding in magazines noted with the NOE version.   

I added a stainless steel guide rod up front and a grip plug in the rear to add more weight. I also tried adding brass bottoms to the magazines but it made the pistol unbalanced. So, I returned it to stock except for the stainless guide rod. The grip stings my hand when shooting full power 200 grain WFGN handloads. So, my Dan Wessons get carried more than the Glock as they handles recoil better. Particularly, the Kodiak.   

Wow! That is impressive.

I'm with CtYankee on this one or you could call or email Sig to ask them what their groove diameters run in size.   

Quote from: sqlbullet on October 29 2021 12:06:37 PM MDT
My personal testing.  A 200 grain WFN cast of 11-14 BHN alloy will go through 70" of water and keep going.  I would feel very safe hunting boar with those as long as I didn't miss.

+1

I only shoot 180s for plinkin/target loads. No particular reason. 

Welcome Chan,

I'm from Minnesota originally too and live in Alaska now. If you don't handload, as the others have posted, 200 grain or larger hardcast or the largest monolithic bullets you can find should work. I would recommend you practice head, neck vertebrea and/or spine shots for bears. Hitting them there should immediately stop the attack.

I've read there are more black bear attacks in North America than grizzly attacks. I would expect that is because there are so many more black bears than grizzlies. Ironically, I have seen far more brown and grizzly bears in the wild than black bears but I have only been bluff charged by bears twice. Both times they were black bear sows with cubs. Fortunately. we didn't need to shoot either time.

We have a saying about bears up here in Alaska. "If it's brown, lay down, if it's black, fight back." For some reason, the general impression up here by many is if you are attacked by a lone black bear, it is a predatory attack and it will consume you. Brown/grizzly bears don't seem to do that as frequently. I don't know if actual bear attack statistics match up with that impression but that is what is believed by many. In either case, I'm convinced head, neck or spine shots are the best solution to your bear problem. I know four people up here who have killed brown/grizzly bears in what the State of Alaska refers to as "In defense of life or property". Three of the four were head shots and immediately stopped the bear. (10mm, 44 magnum, 300 weatherby) One took several rifle body shots before dying.

I know of no such self defense shootings of black bears in recent years but there have been black bear attacks. Two people were killed in Alaska by black bears in 2017. So, my view is if a head shot works on a Brown/Grizzly bear, it will work on a black bear. Enjoy your time in the woods!