Smaller Calibers in Grizzly Country

Ardent said:
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.
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Thanks for your reply Ardent !
Leavenworth
 
I have carried a 375 H&H with 300 grainers down to 270 win with 140 accubonds in grizzly country. It all depends on what gun I want to carry that hunting trip. While on a solo sheep hunt, I had to shoot a black bear at 15 feet cause I emptied most of my bear spray on it. The bear spray only bought me some time, it didn't work like they advertise it. Bear spray still comes with me on extended hunts, being aware of everything possible is number one on the list.
 
hoytcanon said:
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.
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Thanks Hoyt !
Leavenworth
 
I usually carry some sort of 7mm magnum and ive packed a 270 and 25-06 a lot in grizzly country. Basically if it will kill an elk it will kill a grizzly. I would worry more about putting the bullet in the right place if a dangerous situation arises then worrying about carrying a larger caliber.
 
I always wonder about these small calibre guys?
Do they hunt and hike alone or in a crowd..
I posted this a while ago..But a guy and his son from Hazelton were hunting up around where I was.. around Bell 2
Son had a .270wssm ..But dad had a .338 They did get a nice grizz and black on that trip
 
I had to shoot a black bear at 15 feet cause I emptied most of my bear spray on it. The bear spray only bought me some time, it didn't work like they advertise it.
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Sounds like you emptied your can too soon, I bet if you read your can the range of that spray is around where you shot the bear.

I wasn't there or anything but its not made to spray at a bear 30m away.

One brand that comes in red can has some wild as claim that theirs will shoot that far but I can't verify it.

Any claims that hunting is especially dangerous because of the meat etc may be valid, but these situations represent a small amount of actual hunting and your average hunter spends considerably less time in the woods than a forester. Then again you are always hearing about foresters getting chewed on by bears...

My concern while hunting has always been that I am actively trying to be quiet when the opposite is true while at work...
 
20 years or so ago a hunter that lived in Langley BC at the time was attacked by a grizzly if I remember the story correctly he emptied his 270 into the grizzly.

While he was laying in his hospital bed recovering he was asked by a reporter if he was going to stop hunting.

His response was "no going to get a bigger gun"

If I'm in grizzly country I'm packing 30 cal and up and preferably a 338 or 375 cal and you will catch me with a single shot more often than not now but I have a few bolt rifles I'd also pack.

As to the 10mm over a 454 Casull I only carried my semi-auto 10mm's when I was jumping in and out of the truck - boat - quad when I was deeper in the bush I carried my 4.25" barreled Crimson Trace laser gripped Ruger Super Redhawk in 454 Casull loaded with up to 405gr WLNGC's @ 1330fps.
 
I live/hunt/fish in BC.I am 57 and have been in it for a while.A great caliber for hunting out here is also a great caliber if you may want to stop a Grizzly: 7mm rem mag.
I live in a suburb of Vancouver but we are right on the edge of forest that goes a long way north and east.Black bears are like Ticks around here, and I bump into them way too often now walking the dog.They run off but we bumped a sow and two cubs last June just 10 min. From my house that could have gone badly.
Grizzly are not in town but they are more common now within two/three hours drive...They don’t yell and wave at you but they are out there.I have seen them, and also bumped into one near Squamish few years ago that was way too close for comfort- and I did not have a rifle or shotgun on me.
If you are in the mountains of BC( don’t have to be in Rockies!) you could run into a Grizzly while hunting.Chances are that the bear will smell you and run away;however,Grizzly are unpredictable and I think they are moving back into the South West of the Province.
If you think a big knife or Bear spray will help you- you are kidding yourself.I don’t think I would even risk a hand gun for protection.
I feel best with a 7mm rem mag on me.Chances are you will never need it to protect yourself-but out here you never know.
 
When I hunted, I thought the all around calibers like 7mm mag and 30-06 were adequate and felt comfortable in grizz country with them.

People have a good point about shot placement ... there are many stories about grizzlies mauling hunters despite being shot. I know one of the largest grizzlies was shot at close range in a defence situation with a 22lr by a young, native girl decades ago. My Dad was a decades long hunter of moose and said to me that once they started hunting way up north, those huge Alaskan moose wouldn’t drop as readily to his partner’s 270, so they all starting shooting 30-06 or 7mm or similar. Seems prudent to me to not use the lightest of calibers even though shot placement is still number one in importance.

I think people might be forgetting that deer, sheep and goats were the main objective here and I think the bear protection is secondary to that. I’m not sure what calibers are preferred for long range sheep hunters, but I didn’t find 7mm or 30-06 to be too big a gun for deer.
 
pounder said:
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.
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I recall an exception or two; in both color phases, and its the exceptions that are the spice of life.

While its beneficial to have some practical experience in the effect of gunfire on large game if you're going to play bear tag, I believe the majority of big game hunters are mentally unprepared to stop any sort of sudden charge or attack from any game animal. Keep in mind that in the context of the world's most dangerous game, the grass eaters are far deadlier than the predators. Many hunters are predisposed to chest shots, and this becomes their default should they find themselves in an intense, close range, dangerous game encounter, when stopping, not killing is the point of the exercise. Game cannot injure you if it cannot touch you; prevent it from touching you, and you get to go home.

A bear presents some problems and benefits in target identification that are not apparent in other game. The head is massive, yet appears small on a big bear, while the brain is often difficult to locate if the target indicators are ignored or unknown; the brain pan is the width of the snout and is located behind the eyes and ahead of the ears. The good news is that a shot that strikes high has a good chance of breaking the spine. Conversely, a bear is one of the few game animals that can be decisively anchored with a shot placed at the root of the tail.

Are sub .30's enough gun? If I was going to recommend a practical minimum bear gun cartridge, it would be the .30/06 loaded with 180 gr Partitions, which provides a balance between not enough and what might be too much for an occasional shooter. However, I have often championed the medium case size 6.5s as a minimum general purpose caliber, where the hot .25s won't qualify until some heavy premium .257 bullets become available, along with 1:8 twist barrels to shoot them in. If I was sheep or goat hunting with a 6.5X55, and had to hike through grizzly habitat to get above the tree line, I would find some 150-160 gr round nose soft points to fill the 6.5's magazine, while 125-140 gr spitzers could be single loaded to make the shot on a sheep or goat. While the quality of the bullet matters more than it's diameter or weight, a bullet that expands well, yet penetrates 30" ( like a 300 gr .375) while perhaps not essential to your survival, instills much more confidence than the 12"-18" of penetration of the more typical loads commonly used for North American game. A bullet can't break what it doesn't reach. If a 6.5 can be made to work, a .270 or a .280 will work better . . . if a good bullet is chosen.
 
Boomer said:
I recall an exception or two; in both color phases, and its the exceptions that are the spice of life.

While its beneficial to have some practical experience in the effect of gunfire on large game if you're going to play bear tag, I believe the majority of big game hunters are mentally unprepared to stop any sort of sudden charge or attack from any game animal. Keep in mind that in the context of the world's most dangerous game, the grass eaters are far deadlier than the predators. Many hunters are predisposed to chest shots, and this becomes their default should they find themselves in an intense, close range, dangerous game encounter, when stopping, not killing is the point of the exercise. Game cannot injure you if it cannot touch you; prevent it from touching you, and you get to go home.

A bear presents some problems and benefits in target identification that are not apparent in other game. The head is massive, yet appears small on a big bear, while the brain is often difficult to locate if the target indicators are ignored or unknown; the brain pan is the width of the snout and is located behind the eyes and ahead of the ears. The good news is that a shot that strikes high has a good chance of breaking the spine. Conversely, a bear is one of the few game animals that can be decisively anchored with a shot placed at the root of the tail.

Are sub .30's enough gun? If I was going to recommend a practical minimum bear gun cartridge, it would be the .30/06 loaded with 180 gr Partitions, which provides a balance between not enough and what might be too much for an occasional shooter. However, I have often championed the medium case size 6.5s as a minimum general purpose caliber, where the hot .25s won't qualify until some heavy premium .257 bullets become available, along with 1:8 twist barrels to shoot them in. If I was sheep or goat hunting with a 6.5X55, and had to hike through grizzly habitat to get above the tree line, I would find some 150-160 gr round nose soft points to fill the 6.5's magazine, while 125-140 gr spitzers could be single loaded to make the shot on a sheep or goat. While the quality of the bullet matters more than it's diameter or weight, a bullet that expands well, yet penetrates 30" ( like a 300 gr .375) while perhaps not essential to your survival, instills much more confidence than the 12"-18" of penetration of the more typical loads commonly used for North American game. A bullet can't break what it doesn't reach. If a 6.5 can be made to work, a .270 or a .280 will work better . . . if a good bullet is chosen.
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Anyone on here tried the .277 160 grain partition? I think it’s a semi-spritzer?
 
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