.308, 00 buck, or slug for grizzly?!

Keep in mind that many places one camps , firearms must be left in vehicles and secured, unloaded. I'd say bangers and a big old can of pepper spray as a first line of defense. At least you'll have always have those on you when doing other things camping.

Out of the parks, .308 is bear minimum, as is .30-06. Heaviest bullets you can find.

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/ab/banff/visit/visit19.aspx


IMO and YMMV.


i camp in the middle of nowhere. rarely would i ever pay for a stall, unless i needed to fill up with their water or rely on their power to run the heater.

thank you to everybody that provided a reply. i will probably go with the 12ga and sabot slugs.
 
Personally a big bore lever would be my choice. 44 magnum with 300 grains minimum.

would a 44mag be more powerful than a .308?

i have heard this before, but wasnt offered a reason why. i understand the increased velocity of firing a pistol calibre round through a long barrel, i just cant see it being more power than a .308 rifle round.
 
If I was carrying a gun for bear protection I would probably choose a 12 gauge with slugs because a heck of a lot of other things could happen to you as well.

Who knows, you might be out portaging and your canoe flips and you loose your food. Having a 12 gauge with a variety of loads will best serve you.

Say you break a leg falling down a hill and your flare gun goes flying - toss those flares in the shotgun and shoot em - (you might need 3" chambers)

Get a defense model, don't plug the tube. See a bear - load up 8 slugs and I'd say your ready for him to come full speed at you.
 
Forget the buckshot. It's unreliable for any game past 30 yards.
"...get 15 .33 cal projectiles to shove in his face..." As Yogi tears your's off.
A griz is faster than you'll ever be. He can run at 35 mph. That's 100 yards in 5.8 seconds. If you can't get to any rifle or slug loaded shotgun faster than that, you might as well use bear spray. Bear spray is mostly cayenne. You'll be seasoned.
No rifle bullet or 12 ga. slug is going to stop anything in its tracks unless you get really lucky and break the spine with the first shot.
 
Personally a big bore lever would be my choice. 44 magnum with 300 grains minimum.

You're much ballsier than me. You'd take a PISTOL round over a rifle round against a HUGE predator? Uh, no.

Unless you can strap on a .44 revolver and have it with you all the time (prospecting, trapping, wilderness), I'd take a rifle/shotgun with slugs ANY day of the week over a pistol round.

Pistol round in a rifle for bear defence is dumb, IMHO.

A shotgun with a good quality slug (Brenneke or equiv) will kill ANYTHING in North America.
 
Choose a Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70 or a shotgun with 2 3/4" slugs.

As for the shotgun...

Do not waste your time with 3" 00 buck, 000 buck or slugs. I used to always carry 3" until I realized that I'm better off carrying one more round in the mag - so I went with 2 3/4". And carry slugs, not buck shot.
It's fair to argue that 3" is a bit more powerful, but one could also argue that 2 3/4" is faster. Besides, if you are talking about 1oz slugs, would you rather have a tiny bit more stopping power or an extra round in your chamber? I know I'd rather have one extra round in the mag (for my 870 police, it is either 6+1 of 2 3/4" or 5+1 for 3").

Forget the .308, unless you're shooting at stuff from a distance.
 
I'll be packing a 45/70 with 400 Grain in a hand loads in big bear country...and at just under 5 Lbs it kicks the Sh!t out of my shoulder but better my shoulder then the rest of my body looking at replacing the recoil pad with something a little softer then the stock pad.

Though if I had a .44 RM lever gun like the 94 trapper that would be the gun to take. The most important thing is to be comfortable with your gun and know your POI so shoot the gun lots so you can work it even in the dark.

Good luck.
 
Don't forget to consider bear spray. Since most of us can't pack a handgun in the woods, at least you can keep bear spray on your belt and carry it at all times. When you're camping, you're probably won't be carrying your rifle or shotgun all the time.
 
Don't worry too much over bears. Chances are you'll never need anything as you won't have an encounter. I happily march along during grouse season with nothing more then a .22 rifle. However, I keep my 12 gauge as a camp gun. It comes with me if I'm camping, hiking, taking photos, fishing or even going for a drive to the mountains. I stuff it with 1 oz slugs and I have no concerns. In my opinion, a 12 gauge shotgun is still the best utility gun around. And if you do have to use it, I think the chances of having a rabid skunk or coon to deal with are a greater threat then a bear. Keep some small shot handy.
 
Coming from someone who was charged by a very large pissed off momma late last summer I was glad I had my 14" fabarm loaded with breneke slugs. I was in the wrong place as she was looking for her cub and saw me instead. Her cub was infront of me aways and I heard it ball just after I heard her. I did not shoot but I was able to get behind a tree while screaming at it with enough time to put the bead on her chest and face area. She went from 80 feet when I saw her to abot 15 feet faster than I could unsling and pump. She ended up pounding the ground for a bit then left. Thank god it was a bluff. After I had about 10 cigarettes and changed my shorts. Then practiced unslinging and pumping a round when I got back to camp. They are big mean and move very fast. Now when I'm in the back counrty I take extra care to watch my surroundings.
 
Don't worry too much over bears. Chances are you'll never need anything as you won't have an encounter. I happily march along during grouse season with nothing more then a .22 rifle. However, I keep my 12 gauge as a camp gun. It comes with me if I'm camping, hiking, taking photos, fishing or even going for a drive to the mountains. I stuff it with 1 oz slugs and I have no concerns. In my opinion, a 12 gauge shotgun is still the best utility gun around. And if you do have to use it, I think the chances of having a rabid skunk or coon to deal with are a greater threat then a bear. Keep some small shot handy.

did you really get the impression that i am worried from my post? i put my sealtbelt on when i drive, but that doesnt mean that i am worried about crashing.

its for camping. one in a billion chance of needing it and it probably wouldnt even be handy at the time, but if it ever happened i would be kicking myself in the rear for not having one with.

i have camped all of my life and only started owning my own guns last year.
even a .22 would have been more armed than i was.
 
I can't believe I'm saying this, but even I'm getting tired of bear defense threads.

A bear can only hurt you if it can touch you. The purpose of the defense gun is to prevent that from happening. Buckshot has a very limited roll in bear work and should be chosen only when over penetration by a slug or bullet could endanger others. Shotgun slugs are the poor man's powerful rifle, and will work, but they seldom penetrate as well as a rifle bullet. A .308 or a .30/06 is suitable for bear hunting, but bear defense poses a different problem, one that IMHO is often better answered with more power. This question of power must be tempered with the shooting ability of the individual in question. In defense shooting, your shot must hit a small target, on a large moving animal, under a tight time limit, while under stress. Usually when hunting you have a large target, lots of time, and little stress other than excitement. I chose a .30/06 for my wife's bear gun, loaded with 180 gr TSXs, she shoots it well, and I believe she is appropriately armed should she have a dangerous bear encounter.
 
Finally a Bear Defense thread.....

Open sighted slug gun...best slugs you can get......operating a scoped rifle (lets say its scoped) on a close up and possibly charging bear is rather undesirable (for me anyways).
 
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