Smaller Calibers in Grizzly Country

Markus said:
I spent the better part of a decade doing forestry development with nothing more than an axe and a pocket knife.

I never put Grizz into the equation when grabbing a rifle to take out hunting.
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I have a First Nations friend who regularly goes on spawning salmon counts in griz country.

I asked him what he carries on those occasions.

"A Canon EOS M50 with a telephoto lens."
 
That's all well and good until one day it's not.A 6.5 x55 with 160gr would be my minimum for deterrent rifle wise. A 30-30 with 170gr Partitions or a .303 British with 215 SP would also suffice.
 
Ardent What caliber is your Glock ? I could see that a heavy caliber handgun would be good insurance for sure ! Sadly though resident hunters are not allowed to carry while hunting . I guess with you being a guide this permits you to do so . Which is more reliable pistol or revolver ?
Leavenworth
 
I've been charged by a bear in the bush (geologist, charged by a black bear), and I don't think many people fully realize how fast a bear is. Or how little time you may have to process and react. Paying attention to your surroundings is vital, something I wasn't doing as it was heavy bush. I was charged from about 10-12 yards, and it took about 2 seconds for the bear to reach me. We didn't have a rifle with us, but I had no time to pull the bear spray from its holster on my belt before it was on me. The only thing that kept me from being mauled was my field assistant standing 4 yards behind me. Bear jumped me, looked up and heard/saw her losing her #### close by and fled.
One of my other assistants wounded a black in camp that same summer, and it came back the next night in a foul mood. The assistant shot it at point blank at the entrance to our kitchen tent, terrified with a 303, and hit the damned thing in the leg. Shot placement is a tough thing to get right when rushed and scared. I get the rationale for thinking a big bore would be handy in that situation, but I'm of the opinion that carrying something you're intimately familiar with may be better, smaller caliber or not. But if you're not paying attention to your surroundings, and/or don't have time to react, it may not matter.
 
Markus said:
I spent the better part of a decade doing forestry development with nothing more than an axe and a pocket knife.

I never put Grizz into the equation when grabbing a rifle to take out hunting.
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Let alone all the backpackers, tourists that stick their cell phones into the noses of a sow with cubs to get a selfie, etc.
 
Let’s put things in perspective however, much as hyping Grizz danger gives me chuckle. Hiking, forestry, and photography do not include meat caches, meat on your back and blood on your gear and clothes, or turning your back and making bait pile for a couple hours. The risk isn’t severe by any measure, but also is not silly to be concerned with. I just don’t think a 26” 9lb .338 with glass on it is helping anybody in that regard over a smaller rifle.
 
I live rural on wooded 50 acres. Even splitting wood I have bear spray on my belt. Better to have it and not need it. A lot of people are injured or killed in their own back yards. All it takes is one predatory animal. A teen this week was mauled in MT. Bear spray probably saved his life.

It needs to be accessible now though. Not packed or 15 yds away.
 
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Sorry guys, i disagree with most of the first posters. When im in the food chain, run into a pile of shet the size of a bread box》》》I want a rifle that i can walk down the barrel with a cowboy hat on, mounted on a carriage, crew fed.

Have two calibers that are applicable, 375 rum, and 416 Rigby.
 
My experience last year changed my view on hunting/hiking in bear country. I had 2 grizzly encounters, one with a huge sow and 2 huge cubs, the other a single shy grizz. After many debates, research and discussions with experienced outdoorsmen, I now carry bear spray and will go for that before my rifle. Many benefits that aren't even up for debate for carrying bear spray over a rifle for protection from bears.
 
We should all be allowed handguns, all the close encounters I’ve had were while I had nothing. I got myself into a situation with a cow moose a couple years ago while on an after dinner summer hike behind the house. Turns out they don’t like it when you walk up on their calves....didn’t even see it until I was 10 yards from it. Scared me good enough to throw a light rifle on when I go now.
 
nowarningshot said:
Sorry guys, i disagree with most of the first posters. When im in the food chain, run into a pile of shet the size of a bread box》》》I want a rifle that i can walk down the barrel with a cowboy hat on, mounted on a carriage, crew fed.

Have two calibers that are applicable, 375 rum, and 416 Rigby.
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Hunt a lot of mountain goats and sheep with those medium bores? ;) That’s what this thread is about.
 
Polar bears are so much more polite. Ask any one up here we would rather deal with white ones than brown ones. And yes we do get Grizzly and blacks up here.
 
elker said:
Even the number is correct, this "fact" is misleading in that it ignores that many more people are mauled or injured by bears, many others are fortunate to escape without injuries
To those who claim that they only need pocket knives in the bear country, thank you for the laugh.
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People who say they go afield with a belt knife are not suggesting that they will deal with an aggressive bear with the knife, they are just playing the odds that nothing will happen.

I have had more than my fair share of experience with aggressive bears, and hairy situations tracking wounded bears... and I have observed many people in these situations, and watched them go to pieces, physically and emotionally. I can tell you that I would prefer to have a cool head with a single shot .243 than a shaky noob with a .458 double rifle... the ability to read a bear's demeanor and react appropriately is a difficult thing to teach because it requires actual experience... in a truly intense bear encounter most people shut down and their brains can't catch up to their immediate reality. Then there are others, who see clearer, react faster, and rise to the occasion... in my opinion, you either have "it" or you don't... if you have it, you probably won't need the rifle at all... if you don't have it, the rifle probably won't help anyway.
 
Leavenworth said:
Ardent What caliber is your Glock ? I could see that a heavy caliber handgun would be good insurance for sure ! Sadly though resident hunters are not allowed to carry while hunting . I guess with you being a guide this permits you to do so . Which is more reliable pistol or revolver ?
Leavenworth
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10mm long slide with hard cast lead bullets I do believe. Problem with revolvers is the recoil makes it slow for followup shots - he can get 3 shots off with the glock in the time he can get one off with a 454 casull.
 
No first hand experience hunting Grizzly country with a smaller caliber rifle, but i would imagine not being anymore dangerous than hunting Africa with a 30-06.
 
Leavenworth said:
Ardent What caliber is your Glock ? I could see that a heavy caliber handgun would be good insurance for sure ! Sadly though resident hunters are not allowed to carry while hunting . I guess with you being a guide this permits you to do so . Which is more reliable pistol or revolver ?
Leavenworth
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Just an ATC, many professions are approved, guiding and bush piloting amongst them. I carry a G40 10mm, with 200gr. I personally prefer a polymer framed auto for weight and slimness, I’m not a revolver guy much as I like the concept. Also just plain shoot an auto better, and a 200gr 10mm in the right place has the same effect as a 400gr .475. And likewise for both when off target.
 
I had one scary encounter with a bear thats hide now dawns the back of my chair. In the mountains hiking for elk and a very pissed off black bear sow stopped jyst short of my boots with a 250gr out of my 35whelen.
Do i wish i had bear spray? No
Would a smaller cal with the same shot have worked? It may have I hope to never find out.
Not my first run in with bears. And not my first that day. But by far the scariest. I was very happy to have a quick handling rifle. And not a club of a gun.
 
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