Carying slugs when hunting grouse

This isn't a bear defence thread and we live in a country where you can't pack a .44 on your hip so what would you suggest for the upland bird hunter that was a bit concerned with bears. There is one other good option but I won't risk offending the natives...lol Nothing that comes out of an aerosol can could ever fend off a bear....lol When I used to ptarmigan hunt a lot in polar bear country, we ran two bird-shot backed up with the three slugs. It was pretty common practice up there and recommended by the COs. If you miscounted firing the third shot into a ptarmigan could be a bit hard on meat.
 
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sheephunter said:
This isn't a bear defence thread and we live in a country where you can't pack a .44 on your hip so what would you suggest for the upland bird hunter that was a bit concerned with bears.
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what do the regulations say for his province? I can't suggest someone break the law.

If bears scare you that much on an upland bird hunt, maybe time to consider staying home. Us hunters get upset when people tell us to stop hunting, who are we hunters to tell the bears to stop?
 
Brian46 said:
what do the regulations say for his province? I can't suggest someone break the law.

If bears scare you that much on an upland bird hunt, maybe time to consider staying home. Us hunters get upset when people tell us to stop hunting, who are we hunters to tell the bears to stop?
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So basically you don't have a better answer..... With one shotgun that has a primary purpose of killing birds.....the slug in #3 isn't a bad option....nor is the other one I didn't mention :)
 
sheephunter said:
And your solution is?
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I didn't know I needed one to post? just giving some insight in to how fast a bear attack can happen. Those who think they have time to load some slugs from their pocket after unloading the shot are going to get a wake up call in a real situation.

Although I don't see bears being that much of an issue on an upland hunt like they are with large gut piles or blood covered hunters packing out meat from a remote hunt........
 
sheephunter said:
So basically you don't have a better answer..... With one shotgun that has a primary purpose of killing birds.....the slug in #3 isn't a bad option....nor is the other one I didn't mention :)
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I said so would I at the beginning of my post, although I don't use a pump or semi so it was kind of a lie.......

Brian46 said:
so would I, but you risk making the bear more angry with the birdshot guaranteeing a lethal result if he makes it to you before the slug is in him.
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Brian46 said:
can you find the one to drop load in the time it takes you to realize the situation you are in, chamber, fire, all before a charging bear closes the distance?
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I don't give two flying figs about bear defense...and I have spent more than my fair share of time with a mini- Mag-Lite in my teeth crawling through swamps blood trailing bears... I was simply pointing out that it isn't always necessary to cycle through the entire magazine... and if you are paranoid enough, about two seconds will put a slug in the pipe... if the bear charges out of the alders ten yards away, it won't matter if you are loaded or not, you won't have time to wet yourself.
 
Brian46 said:
I didn't know I needed one to post? just giving some insight in to how fast a bear attack can happen. Those who think they have time to load some slugs from their pocket after unloading the shot are going to get a wake up call in a real situation.

....
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Not every bear encounter is an all out charge...more often than not you'd have time to load from your pocket and if not, having one in the magazine doesn't seem like a bad idea. Bird shot does get their attention too.

Although I don't see bears being that much of an issue on an upland hunt like they are with large gut piles or blood covered hunters packing out meat from a remote hunt........
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Depends where you upland hunt.
 
sheephunter said:
Not every bear encounter is an all out charge...more often than not you'd have time to load from your pocket and if not, having one in the magazine doesn't seem like a bad idea. Bird shot does get their attention too.
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Yep... the vast majority of the time, bears will issue ample warning before a real charge... often stamping, grunting, popping teeth and bluff charging etc...
 
I would have a field day in court defending carrying any types of shotgun ammo I wanted. Unless they actually catch you poaching an out-of-season animal, how can they prove that you're not just holding slugs to zero in your sights? Is there a law against shooting a squirrel, crow, or rabbit with a slug?

hoytcanon said:
The Browning Maxxus has a magazine cut off that allows you to spit the one out of the chamber and drop load one directly in... speeds things up considerably... especially if you simply fire the first one out.
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Ditto my Benelli SuperNova. Very convenient.
 
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