only pick one of the two. bear stopper.

powder burner

powder burner

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for a bear stopper, would you choose:

45-70 lever

0r 12ga pump action?

Tell me your concerns. Of course add the pro's and negatives for making your choice. The reason i selected these actions is because they can be fired from left or right in a suprise situation.
 
Out of the two I'd go with a pump 12ga. A conservation officer friend of mine says that puts them to sleep everytime.

However, after reading a study in the last field and stream about guns or bear spray for bears I'm packing spray with me on the trail now.
 
I own both, carry both at work (guide & pilot)

12.5" Dlask 870 is the more compact of the two prefered when I'm flying. the .450 lever comes with me more when I'm guiding or in grizzle country.

flip a coin?
 
12ga pump action rifled barrel shooting 3'' winchester XP3 300gr saboted nosler partitions

Muzzle Velocity: 2100 fps
Muzzle Energy: 2937 ft lbs

NUF SAID!
 
I think the shotgun would give you more versatility in the long run.

It wouldn't have to be strictly a bear defense gun.

Ask yourself, what else you would use the .45-70 for if you weren't using it for bear defense?
 
you just can't miss at close range
Click to expand...

Spoken like a man who has practiced more then the average gun toter. LOL.
You can always miss, especially when the target is moving from 30 yds to 5 yds in a straight line toward you.

Instead of thinking " I can't miss" you should be thinking "I will hit that exact spot on that animal" aim small!
 
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The rule of thumb for DG in Africa has always been a bullet with an SD of .300 or better travelling at 2200 to 2400fps. Look at the classic, time proven cartridges llike the 375H&H with 300 grainers, the 416 Rigby with 400 grainers, the Lott or 458 with 500 grainers, the 505 Gibbs or 500 jeffrey, etc. Now, granted, this is with solids, and african DG is usually bigger than NA dangerous game, but still.

Neither can really approach this; though the 45-70 is much closer than the 12ga. Many guides consider a 12 gauge as inadequate for leopard, and they're MUCH smaller and lighter-built than a grizz.

Heck, there was an article by the alaskan forestry folks posted here a while back on the performance of various guns on Grizz, and the 12ga came in near the bottom of the list. The only way slugs can offer decent penetration is with the use of sub-caliber sabotted rounds; but if you're going to be shooting .45 cal projectiles, why not go with the 45-70 and use the heaviest ones you can get a hold of?
 
Shotgun in a heartbeat.

I shot my charging bear with a .280 Browning A-bolt. With a shotgun I could have picked a spot instead of firing as soon as black showed up in the scope.
 
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