Bear defense with a 308

Use any bullet you can shoot confidently with - i would use a big heavy slow bullet in 308 - they are not hard to kill with a proper shot. My choice is a 12g slug - under 20yds is Thors hammer on blacks...been there, done that....
Since they can fight back, you're best shot would be a side shot thru front vitals/shoulders - Drops them in their tracks

X2 for the 12ga, this was a defence situation during hunting season a couple years ago, the nervous laughter was replaced with smiles once the situation calmed down as we had a bear tag to fill

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Johnn Peterson: nice rifle and nice caulks, they don't make them like that anymore...

Thanks. As I mentioned, that's the 2nd 71 I've had and and wasn't cheap. It was probably the nicest and cleanest deluxe I've seen so I thought I'd never likely do better so I got it.
The caulks are Pierre Paris and my 'souvenir' from my days logging at Gold River. Bought them the week before I quit and basically kept them for hunting in the timber.
 
A pair like that would make a good hunting boot, the modern plastic ones are basically torture, even if you have a well broken in pair and some bama socks you are running to the truck at the end of the day to get your leather boots on.

You can still get custom made leather pairs similar to that, but they cost an arm and leg, worth it if you wear them daily though.
 
For defense (close range), so it doesn't have to be uber accurate but does have to be reliable! I like 200gr Accubond but a 200 gr Partition would edge it out in the reliability dept. Should run these 2450fps with out breaking a sweat. I have heard of AccuBonds not doing as advertised and I have seen on 4 occasions (over 20+ years) a Barnes X fail to open up, but never heard of a Nosler Partition fail.
I run the 200gr AccuBonds in a '06 with complete confidence, I've shot a few bears, big and slow seems to be what anchors them.
 
I've shot three close range bears over the years with a Rem 600 in .308, one about four yards, one probably just under ten yards and one about twelve yards; I was using factory 180 grain partitions and all three bears hit the dirt on shot. Two here face-on head shots and one was a high double front shoulder.

Having seen how far a bear hit broadside in the boiler with a .338 win mag and .375 H&H can run, I think a person in a bear defense situation would be better off paying attention to close range sights or scope, and close range practice, than worrying too much about bullet selection, to be honest. I don't see a bear shot in the head at 5-8 paces NOT piling up on the spot with most any big game bullet; but if a person has a 6-24 scope on their rifle, and/or has never practiced instinctive close-range shooting, they may be in trouble if the bear means business...
 
Only Grizzly I have shot with a 308 piled up DOA from a 150 gr. Imperial Factory load. But then he wasn't an internet bear -- those need at a bare minimum an 20mm
 
Anyone remember the good olde days on CGN when "Bear Defence Threads" and arguing about short mags with BigRedd were the norm?

Yup ... some entertaining stuff. Miss BIGREDD and we hear precious little from Tod on a regular basis. Brought a smile to my face when Gatehouse recently posted a
picture of the Klingon "Worf" in another thread on the the Remington 750 ! Fun times.
 
Back in about 1980 I came face to face with a 7 foot black bear, it was a tense stand off until the bear looked at the FN FAL with a 20 round mag of Winchester 180 silvertips I had pointed at its chest, then it turned and walked away, proving smart bears know they are no match for a .308
 
It did shatter a moose humerus at 125y, you might be smarter than you sound.

I thought we already went down this road and decided on 180 A-Frames. Bored at work? Order my scope already!

Kris, I've killed and seen killed a number of big bears with the 130gr TTSX, including a frontal body shot that put it right down. I would be equally confident with a 130gr TTSX as say a 180-gr Nosler Partition.
 
Anyone remember the good olde days on CGN when "Bear Defence Threads" and arguing about short mags with BigRedd were the norm?
In a very tense situation when a person's finer motor skills evaporate, the only suitable firearm would be a semi-auto. Many people don't practice cycling a bolt, pump or lever action firearm to get off that critical second and third shot off in rapid succession. Aimed shots BTW. Remember, if that first shot doesn't hit the bear in the brain pan or spine, you still have a live bear just itch-en to tear you a new A-hole.

:stirthepot2:
 
I'm still trying to find that gawll darn knife in Johnn's photo................ I know it's suppozed tuh be there,
but ain't till this day fownd it.
Do tell Johnn?
 
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