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Old 03-30-2014, 08:27 AM
Sailfish 40 Sailfish 40 is offline
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Default bear defense question

when i worked in alaska i was issued either a 375 h&h or a remington 870 loaded with slugs when i was in brown bear country. thinking back on it i wonder if a magazine fed 308 like and ar 10 or in my case an fal with 20 rounds would be more effective.
what to you guys think?
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Old 03-30-2014, 08:32 AM
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Default Self Defense First

If I'm sport hunting bears, I'd go with a potent bolt action rifle. But, if I'm carrying solely for self-defense with no thought to traditional hunting ethics, I'd go with the higher capacity semi-auto.
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Old 03-30-2014, 09:08 AM
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Legendary African hunter Karamojo Bell used a 7X57 Mauser exclusively, taking hundreds of elephants with brain shots and 175-grain solids. For this to work the animal had to be stalked very carefully and the shot taken at an oblique angle at relatively close range. I seriously doubt that an experienced hunter would make the same choice of rifle and ammunition for use against an agitated bull elephant charging him, exposing little more than the thickly armored skull and massive front shoulders.

The big bears (grizzlies, browns, polar bears) are tough critters. Thick hides, massive bone structures, and vitals in locations that require deep penetration. They live at the top of the food chain within their environments and can be very aggressive at times, with attack methods that do not present the ideal circumstances for shot placement into the vitals. Such conditions would favor the enormous shocking power of the big bore rifles and 12-gauge slugs, capable of breaking or penetrating the heavy bones, and even without an immediately lethal hit they are still able to deliver a massive dose of energy.

The .308 Winchester is fairly comparable to the 7X57 Mauser. The range of bullet weights is similar, as are muzzle velocities and energies generated. Heavily constructed .30 caliber bullets are available for use with the .308, however the actions and magazine dimensions of many semi-autos will rule out the use of some of the longer and heavier bullets. Gas operated semi-autos also require ammunition operating within a somewhat narrow range of performance for the action to cycle properly, further limiting ammunition choices.

I have little doubt that a .308 Winchester is capable of killing the large bears. I think I would prefer to limit its use for this purpose to stalking and shooting at ranges that would permit multiple shots if necessary. Even under those conditions the larger bore rifles with heavier bullets would be preferable.

Of course, if I were being attacked by a large bear I would use whatever was at hand and hope for the best. But if given the choice I think I'd prefer the big bore rifles or the shotgun.
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Old 03-30-2014, 09:15 AM
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I once suggested to Remington that their semi-auto hunting rifle (M7400?) in 338 Magnum would be a big hit with folks in bear country. They sent me a 3 page contract releasing any and all interest in such a design before they would respond to my comment. I signed the release and returned it so they could reply "This concept doesn't fit our needs at this time."

I'm thing a 16" semi-auto rifle with a 5 round detachable magazine in a short 375 caliber. The 35 Whelan is the '06 necked up to .358, has anyone made a 358 from the 7.62x39 case? Might work well in a compact action, Wonder if meaningful velocity would be possible with 200 grain bullets?
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Old 03-30-2014, 09:54 AM
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I would think the .450 bushmaster loaded hot with solids in a 16" AR would work pretty well. And it's already out there.
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Old 03-30-2014, 09:59 AM
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Here in the Smoky Mountains, we take a more simple approach to Bears. Anytime we go into the woods we always take a real old friend or a real fat friend. That way if we come across a bear, we only have to outrun our friend.
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Old 03-30-2014, 10:00 AM
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I once suggested to Remington that their semi-auto hunting rifle (M7400?) in 338 Magnum would be a big hit with folks in bear country. They sent me a 3 page contract releasing any and all interest in such a design before they would respond to my comment. I signed the release and returned it so they could reply "This concept doesn't fit our needs at this time."

I'm thing a 16" semi-auto rifle with a 5 round detachable magazine in a short 375 caliber. The 35 Whelan is the '06 necked up to .358, has anyone made a 358 from the 7.62x39 case? Might work well in a compact action, Wonder if meaningful velocity would be possible with 200 grain bullets?
The .35 Whelan is about as large as the '06 case can be opened up and still maintain adequate shoulder for headspacing. The 7.62X39 case would probably present even greater limitations, especially sufficient case capacity to launch much heavier bullets. Existing semi-auto actions might, or might not, be able to function reliably because of the differences in peak pressures and pressure curves.

The wildcat .35/30-30 was moderately popular back in the 1960's and 1970's, usually with heavy cast bullets for use in lever action hunting rifles. Probably a fairly short range combination.

About 30 years ago I caught a deal on a used short action Remington 700 on hand with a badly bulged barrel. I devised a cartridge based on the .308 Winchester necked up to .338 caliber, RCBS made the dies for me, and Douglas produced the barrel. I dubbed this the 8.5X51mm.

Performance with 200 grain spitzers was in the 2300FPS range. The 250 grain bullets topped out at aroud 2100FPS. Purchased a bullet mold for a 220 grain RN-GC (cast in Linotype metal @ 206 grains with gas check) and loaded those to 2000FPS. Groups well under 3" at 100 yards, and pie plates at 200 yards weren't difficult. Kept the sights adjusted for 3" high at 100 yards and used the same point of aim out to 200.

I considered it to be excellent for elk hunting in the timber. Redfield receiver sight and ivory bead front ramp sight. Under 8 pounds with sling.

Rifle was stolen in a burglary of my home and never recovered. Someone probably found out that there was no such thing as factory ammo for it and threw it away. I'd like to have it back, but at today's prices for barrels, custom reloading dies, and good gunsmith work I'm not willing to recreate it just yet.

Bolt action, lever action, and single shot rifles present fewer challenges than the semi-autos which require ammunition functioning within a specific range for which the action was designed.
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Old 03-30-2014, 11:05 AM
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Oh Goodie, a Bear thread!
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Old 03-30-2014, 11:13 AM
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Stalking and shooting a bear for sport versus defending yourself against one are two different things.

If charged by a bear you have two areas to shoot at. Head which is inadvisable, or the chest. Even if you destroy the heart, if may not be enough. We advocated shooting at the top of the chest/low neck area to hit the spine or shoulders.

IMO 12 ga slugs are best. Bigger is better in this case.

In our fishing parties there was always at least one 12 ga and everyone carried a 44 magnum revolver. Sometimes 45-70 and 444 lever guns too.
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Old 03-30-2014, 11:17 AM
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I'd be inclined to shy away from a magazine fed .308 and stick with a big caliber bolt or lever gun. I've always been enamored by the .45-70 brush guns and even entertained the thought of indulging in a Wild West Guns Co-Pilot. Since the WWG TV show, prices have increased to ~ $3K for one of the take-downs, so that dream has gone up in smoke. For a fraction of that, I'd search out a vintage Marlin lever action in .45-70 or even .444 for bear, and leave the mag fed .308 for some other task.
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Old 03-30-2014, 11:28 AM
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You are probably not going to get more than three rounds off at a charging bear................. that 20 round clip is not worth a hill of beans.

In thick cover or on a trail two shots off would be nice.......

I don't want to limit myself with a little 308 !!

A friend that does studies up there trained with a 12 Ga. He said he wanted a 10 Ga. but.................
his shoulder was black and "Purple" from the 12 Ga. recoil.
The 10 would probably dislocate his shoulder ?!
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Old 03-30-2014, 11:40 AM
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You bring up a good point Ed. There is the possibility that you may have to shoot from the hip. That won't be so easy with a black rifle. A pump shotgun would be much easier.
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Old 03-30-2014, 11:51 AM
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You bring up a good point Ed. There is the possibility that you may have to shoot from the hip. That won't be so easy with a black rifle. A pump shotgun would be much easier.
Impractical with a bolt gun too. I'm with Brother Kanew on this one ... Pump Gun first, then I'd go lever action.
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Old 03-30-2014, 11:56 AM
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I lived out in the boonies and could have a bear problem (among other dangerous animals). They are around and do come down off the mountain that comes out right at the back of our property.

As we also are far from LEO aid I wanted a do all gun that would do a good job on both type of predators. (Human and 4 legged)

My choice is a 12 gauge 9 shot pump. As I figure my primary use is evil people the first few rounds are 00 buck with slugs behind them in the magazine tube.

Taking the humans out of the picture and having a bear attempting to enter the house or climbing up to get at the screened front porch my drill is to shoot off the 00 buck into the face and upper chest of the bear and then putting the slugs into the upper chest area. I'm well versed in operating a pump gun as I shot skeet for many years with pumps and learned long ago to fire & pump basically as one fluid motion (repeat as many times as needed.) I have practiced/do practice and I can empty the mag even with those heavy kicking loads quite easily and proficiently.

A bear incursion to the house is possible as my side door leads to the kitchen (all those cooking smells) and we have 3 large Coon cats’ 20-30 pounders and if a hungry bear saw them a house visit could be a comming. Definitely possible not so probable, BUT IT COUD HAPPEN.

Twelve gauge slugs at reasonably close distances will get the attention of anything in North America that needs an attitude adjustment!
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Old 03-30-2014, 12:06 PM
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Quote:
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You are probably not going to get more than three rounds off at a charging bear................. that 20 round clip is not worth a hill of beans.

In thick cover or on a trail two shots off would be nice.......

I don't want to limit myself with a little 308 !!

A friend that does studies up there trained with a 12 Ga. He said he wanted a 10 Ga. but.................
his shoulder was black and "Purple" from the 12 Ga. recoil.
The 10 would probably dislocate his shoulder ?!
this is a great point and why i preferred the 12 gauge, as long as i didnt miss. i was thinking about the 308 and wondering if the first couple of rounds would slow a charging brownie enough to dump the rest of the magazine in him.
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Old 03-30-2014, 12:15 PM
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Ballistics have brought the .308 up to 30-06 level, and as ex army-I like your idea. Just keep pulling the trigger, and with less recoil in an auto loader. I understand a guide outfit not wanting a "greenhorn" spraying down the area, but hey...?
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Old 03-30-2014, 12:17 PM
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this is a great point and why i preferred the 12 gauge, as long as i didnt miss. i was thinking about the 308 and wondering if the first couple of rounds would slow a charging brownie enough to dump the rest of the magazine in him.
I saw a brown bear take three solid hits from a 338 magnum at 200 yards. He dropped dead 150 yards later. All three rounds went through the chest the first being through the heart and the other two through the lungs.

On the charge they are difficult to hit effectively and even harder to put down.
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Old 03-30-2014, 01:00 PM
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The 375 H & H (Holland & Holland) or the 12ga 400gr slug either one I think would do the job.

Today I don't hunt with anything under a 338win. mag. In my retired, old golden years I'm not built for running nor speed. I also believe the newer 338cal whizz bang improved calibers of today are replacing the old longtime faithful 375 H & H slowly but surely. The more the gun rags do articles on the 375 H & H the array of different New 338 rounds are there with it. The Winchester 338wm is also starting to take a back seat too.
With its 4,000ft.lbs. @ muzzle and 2,700ft.lbs. @ 200yards that's the muzzle energy of a 30-06 @ 200yds with a 250gr bullet . This grandpa of the 338calibers still can hold its own.

When I wanted to bump up my power from the 30-06 I went away from the 30 calibers. Even the 300win. mag. wasn't too far a head from the 30-06. I didn't want a baby step up in power I wanted a leap ahead in power.
The 375 H & H was next on my list but I liked the ballastics of the 338win. mag. This was before the new whizz bang calibers were offered.

Plus my hunting ethics instilled in me from my older brother my mentor is to make a quick clean kill. I don't want to give him a bee sting I want to drop him like yesterday's lunch on the spot. I don't like helping people look for there wounded bears they probably shot in the butt, we were in the monsoon type pouring rains looking for someone's wounded bear. It wasn't fun. We went out looking many times. The blood trail dried up. Seeing this told me it wasn't a boiler maker shot it was a butt shot were the fat closed up the hole.

A year later we caught a female bear coming from the Apple orchard going to her den on the ridge. When we butchered the bear I cut steaks and found a 30cal bullet in her butt that was healed over. This was the bear we were looking for in the rain. What scared me was the perfectly shaped 30cal bullet it had in her. It makes me think it was under powered.

Make your shots count.

I had one guy hunt with us who told me he could hit a bear five times with a 45/70 and kill it. I told my brother not to help him out until he wets his pants if he's that stupid. Then he told me if he helps me kill my bear it's his. I never invited him again. I seen my 338 bullet go threw the bear taking vitals out in its path breaking 3 ribs on the exit hole that the taxidermy had to sew up.

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Old 03-30-2014, 01:05 PM
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A few years ago I built a cabin in the middle of British Columbia bear country (both kinds) and I asked the same question. I was pointed toward an Alaska study that, for purely self defense, recommended 12 gauge shotgun. The large rifle calibers were deemed inappropriate unless the person had a lot of experience handling the gun. I carry a Mossberg 500 Mariner with slugs, buckshot, and even rubber buckshot as options. 1st load is always a slug. In 13 years I've never had to use it. Closest incident was actually with a rutting bull moose that was seriously eying me over as a mate! (with drool and snot)
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Old 03-30-2014, 01:31 PM
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The 375 H & H (Holland & Holland) or the 12ga 400gr slug either one I think would do the job.

Today I don't hunt with anything under a 338win. mag. In my retired, old golden years I'm not built for running nor speed. I also believe the newer 338cal whizz bang improved calibers of today are replacing the old longtime faithful 375 H & H slowly but surely. The more the gun rags do articles on the 375 H & H the array of different New 338 rounds are there with it. The Winchester 338wm is also starting to take a back seat too.
With its 4,000ft.lbs. @ muzzle and 2,700ft.lbs. @ 200yards that's the muzzle energy of a 30-06 @ 200yds with a 250gr bullet . This grandpa of the 338calibers still can hold its own.

When I wanted to bump up my power from the 30-06 I went away from the 30 calibers. Even the 300win. mag. wasn't too far a head from the 30-06. I didn't want a baby step up in power I wanted a leap ahead in power.
The 375 H & H was next on my list but I liked the ballastics of the 338win. mag. This was before the new whizz bang calibers were offered.

Plus my hunting ethics instilled in me from my older brother my mentor is to make a quick clean kill. I don't want to give him a bee sting I want to drop him like yesterday's lunch on the spot. I don't like helping people look for there wounded bears they probably shot in the butt, we were in the monsoon type pouring rains looking for someone's wounded bear. It wasn't fun. We went out looking many times. The blood trail dried up. Seeing this told me it wasn't a boiler maker shot it was a butt shot were the fat closed up the hole.

A year later we caught a female bear coming from the Apple orchard going to her den on the ridge. When we butchered the bear I cut steaks and found a 30cal bullet in her butt that was healed over. This was the bear we were looking for in the rain. What scared me was the perfectly shaped 30cal bullet it had in her. It makes me think it was under powered.

Make your shots count.

I had one guy hunt with us who told me he could hit a bear five times with a 45/70 and kill it. I told my brother not to help him out until he wets his pants if he's that stupid. Then he told me if he helps me kill my bear it's his. I never invited him again. I seen my 338 bullet go threw the bear taking vitals out in its path breaking 3 ribs on the exit hole that the taxidermy had to sew up.
I been shooting and hunting with a 30-06 since I was 18 years old. I took my new 338 in '94 and put two bullets thru the same hole at 100yds. while sighting it in. My point is to practice, practice and more practice. Build up your shooting skills to the max level and keep it there. My '06 has about 1,000 rounds thru it now. Know your weapon before your life depends on it.
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Old 03-30-2014, 01:50 PM
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My wife had our dog loose in the field we have. She spotted a 350/400# black bear at the rear of our land in the tree line. She ran 35' from the bear trying to save our dumb curious lab. She was screaming the whole time. The bear froze at the sound of this crazy woman. I told her your crazy you could of been lunch in four or five steps. I went out side with my 9mm after hearing the screams and spotting the bear out of the window. 9mm? What was I thinking. But he slowly, very boldly walked off.

The first clue was my fruit trees that I raised finally had there first fruit. I never got an Apple, peach or pear. I had 10 or 12 nice pears on one little tree I spotted while mowing the grass. Then there was six left the next time I mowed, the last time I mowed there was none left. My bigger peach trees were wiped out too nada one white peach. He cleaned it all out. I figured it's the deer. But another clue was the deer blocks I put out for the winter. Some walked off the next day. I never seen them again. This should of told me have a resident local bear. I did see cub tracks a few years back. I kept my moultrie deer feeder with whole and cracked corn running all that winter. I don't run it after I seen the full grown cub.
I count up to 9 deer at night and 24 Turkey's the other day go by. No big Bruin yet.
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Old 03-30-2014, 01:51 PM
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I have said it before and I will say it to anyone who will listen. Two words "Bear Spray" I have seen it in use, and recommend it as the only way to change the attitude of a bear without something having to die. That said I am a strong believer in a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt with Cor Bon or Buffalo Bore solid's, but my thought is to spray first and shoot second.
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Old 03-30-2014, 03:30 PM
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Don ...........
Attached Images
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Old 03-30-2014, 04:02 PM
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Old 03-30-2014, 04:10 PM
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No semi autos for me of any kind. I 've had some jam on me during rapid fire. I prefer a large caliber (.44 Magnum) revolver which will fire every time and get "any" job done.

A wheel gun has the simplest action there is for multiple shots- it can't fail.
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Old 03-30-2014, 04:14 PM
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A new Russian Izmash Saiga AK/AKM semi auto in 308 never jams.
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Old 03-30-2014, 04:18 PM
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Don ...........
Fat or Skinny you can run as fast as you want too not as fast as you can when your scared. Just make sure someone is slower than you. This is no 300# football player coming after the ball. This is a carnivore coming to take a bite out of you.
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Old 03-30-2014, 04:35 PM
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Default Old slow friend

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Here in the Smoky Mountains, we take a more simple approach to Bears. Anytime we go into the woods we always take a real old friend or a real fat friend. That way if we come across a bear, we only have to outrun our friend.
Just be sure the old/slow/fat friend doesn't have a gun or cane he can kneecap you with!

Jim in Iowa
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Old 03-30-2014, 04:41 PM
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Default I don't think this is thread drift...

I don't think this is thread drift because it is about killing bears. I like that scene in 'Jeremiah Johnson' where he finds the man frozen holding his rifle with a note that says, "Whoever finds me can have my rifle. It is a good rifle, it killed the bear that killed me."
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Old 03-30-2014, 04:49 PM
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I don't think this is thread drift because it is about killing bears. I like that scene in 'Jeremiah Johnson' where he finds the man frozen holding his rifle with a note that says, "Whoever finds me can have my rifle. It is a good rifle, it killed the bear that killed me."
i like that part. no such thing as thread drift in a bear thread!
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Old 03-30-2014, 05:07 PM
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Default Jeremiah

I like the scene where the bear chases him into the cabin, and as he bails out the back he tells his partner " you skin this one, I'll go get another"


Jim in Iowa
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Old 03-30-2014, 06:02 PM
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I'm thinking chest-mounted Claymore. Face the charging bruin and click away. Just remember, "FRONT TOWARD ENEMY."
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Old 03-30-2014, 06:35 PM
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I believe Bear Spray is the best way to go, provided one knows how to use it. But people need to remember that these are very large, vicious animals, which can outrun the fastest sprinter, despite crashing through uneven ground. That gives any gunner extremely little opportunity to hit whatever target they may see. And while a 30-06 will fold one that is stalked to, one that has its target /enemy in sight seemingly requires an Army tank to put down. I think that aside from the spray, a 12 gauge with slugs might be the best, hard hitting bet. Easier to aim at lightning fast targets, and easier to fire quickly should the rare opportunity for a follow up shot occur. I don't live in brown bear country, so if it ever did matter I have my .44 mag, aside from either a rifle or shotgun, to protect myself from black bears. Thankfully, in almost 50 years of ''mountaineering'' I haven't needed it.
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Old 03-30-2014, 06:48 PM
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If I were to go hunt grizzly/brown bear in Alaska I'm carrying a rifle with a large bore diameter shooting well constructed projectiles. I want something that will break down those front shoulders. It will be a .338 Win. Mag. or larger.

I do spend a bit of time photographing bears. I always carry bear spray. I've never used it but I know people that have. They say a cloud stops and turns them.

Where I can use a firearm if need be I add a .44 but if a charge comes I'm reaching for the spray and laying down a cloud. The .44 is a last resort. Shooting and being accurate with a handgun when a bear is headed at you at about 30 mph is some mean feat.

So taking photos of these guys.





I carry these

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Old 03-30-2014, 07:21 PM
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I have said it before and I will say it to anyone who will listen. Two words "Bear Spray" I have seen it in use, and recommend it as the only way to change the attitude of a bear without something having to die. That said I am a strong believer in a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt with Cor Bon or Buffalo Bore solid's, but my thought is to spray first and shoot second.
Spray the bear first and shoot yourself second? Seems like the only viable option here if the bear's not dying at the end of this encounter.
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Old 03-30-2014, 07:52 PM
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No semi autos for me of any kind. I 've had some jam on me during rapid fire. I prefer a large caliber (.44 Magnum) revolver which will fire every time and get "any" job done.

A wheel gun has the simplest action there is for multiple shots- it can't fail.
At my level of practice, I think that a Browning Auto-5 is far more reliable than a pump. Some folks with far more experience might reverse that, or at least say it's a tie.

I like a .44 Mag revolver only because I know I'll have it with me. If I were really worried about bear, the Auto-5 with Brenneke slugs would have the watch.
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Old 03-30-2014, 08:35 PM
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No one mentioned Browning's BAR in .338. ??

I'd use a Winchester M-70 or CZ in .375 H&H. Probably with Nosler Partition bullets.

My handgun would be a S&W M-629-3 with six-inch bbl.

I read the article in, Sporting Classics where the doctor in Alaska used a Ruger Super Blackhawk to kill a charging grizzly. And I know about the Norwegian scientist who killed the polar bear with a S&W .44 Magnum, model not stated. Some liberal, National Geographic readers lambasted him in letters. I was disgusted by their attitude. The man would have been killed if he hadn't shot!

Disney and PETA have infected far too many minds re animals.

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Old 03-30-2014, 08:41 PM
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Push come to shove the only sure way to stop a charging bear is to take away his credit card.
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Old 03-30-2014, 10:19 PM
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Push come to shove the only sure way to stop a charging bear is to take away his credit card.
Not feeling well, Caj? I'm concerned that it took you till the 38th post to launch that one.
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Old 03-30-2014, 11:26 PM
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Brown bear or grizzly bear, if I encounter one of them while in the woods and it's comes charging at me. I am going to stop and I think the bear will stop also cause I just messed in my drawers, and I am sure he don't like the taste of poo. At least I hope he doesn't like poo.
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Old 03-31-2014, 12:16 AM
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Default What were those old ads????

What were those old ads (comic book ads??) that had a Daniel Boonesque character diving headfirst out of a tree onto a Grizzly bear with a Bowie knife in his teeth. Probably said something like "Real Bowie Knife" for 50 cents.
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Old 03-31-2014, 01:49 AM
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I would ask several Alaskan guides and see what they use. I bet it would be the older 45/70 or .444 Marlin guide gun.
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Old 03-31-2014, 02:39 AM
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Amazing photos Bill!
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Old 03-31-2014, 06:15 AM
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With regards to the old slow/fat friend technique, I would point out the other method using a 25 ACP. One round to the kneecap is usually sufficient.
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Old 03-31-2014, 08:01 AM
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With regards to the old slow/fat friend technique, I would point out the other method using a 25 ACP. One round to the kneecap is usually sufficient.
The perfect use for the Governor.


Real question. Would a 12ga Bird Bomb shell (basically a 12ga firework used for scaring away birds) be effective?
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Old 03-31-2014, 08:17 AM
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A handgun on a charging bear. I don't know. All we have is a frontal section shot. The fog of bear spray sounds interesting.
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Old 03-31-2014, 08:25 AM
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I would ask several Alaskan guides and see what they use. I bet it would be the older 45/70 or .444 Marlin guide gun.
There probably carrying the marlin 450 guide gun or the wild west 457 magnum lever co- pilot as its called. Big bore slow lumbering bullets that hits like a Mack dump truck.
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Old 03-31-2014, 08:28 AM
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Did Elmer Keith have riflemen as backups when he was hunting large and dangerous game with a handgun?
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Old 03-31-2014, 10:43 AM
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I have given up on responding to bear threads. There is too much BS and too little experience, in general. I have experience in the wild with bears and live in grizzly country. If asked, I will say what I carry.

Texas Star: Can't remember us ever disagreeing, but I do feel people should use spray first and a gun second.

I will comment on one thing I have noticed: Over the last 5-10 years, there has been a decided shift from Macho man ="all I need is a big bowie" to the more rational response of bear spray
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Old 03-31-2014, 11:07 AM
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The reason I will reach for my bear spray first isn't because I don't want to shoot or harm the bear. I'll go for the bear spray first because it take much less skill to use and deploy in a high pressure situation.

I've never been charged by a bear. I have seen a bear charge another bear. After watching a bore make continued passes at a sow and cub over a two hour period the sow grizzly charge the bore grizzly that was trying to split off the cub. She covered 100 yards in a split second. A mad charging grizzly bear makes a good quarter horse look slow.

Honestly bear spray or gun in a holster might be little to no use if a bear charges without warning. Luckily the few bears I've photographed that took exception to my presents did a little jaw popping and minor two or three step false charges. I can take a hint. I backed off slowly with the spray in hand just in case.

This momma with two cubs didn't need to ask twice.



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