Bear gun
- Thread starter 5059
- Start date
I've shot several bears in problem situations close up with several different guns. I like a 30-30 for up close- heavy enough bullet, good over open sights, nice lever gun if follow-up needed. .45-70's are fun but a bit much for a 200lb. blackie!
get a 444 they work great. i saw 3 bears get it from a 444 last year all went down really quick 2 were with 265 fp from hndy which are a rifle bullet and perform really well. you can get them in hornady factory at 2350 fps.or handload them. i prefer the 300 speer unicor hanloaded at 2180fps that makes them go down fast.
Im sorry but i dislike 30-30s never been a fan have shot 5 diffrent 94s and there just not my cup of tea. most of the problem bears are in that 200-300lbs range but after a long follow up on a 450+ bear last fall , i want something thats going to really lower the boom there is no such thing as to much power on a honey robbing theft
Little Howie
CGN Regular
- Location
- North of Montreal
I bear hunt with a Mod. 94 chambered in .375WIN, handloaded with 220 grain bullets, and topped with a Williams FP receiver sight and front fire sight. More stopping power than a 30-30, not as shoulder jarring as a.450 Marlin
I tried to ignore this thread... really I did... but I clicked on it by mistake and read a few posts... I wish I hadn't.
Anyone who reccomends Buckshot for bears is to be ignored and dismissed as a Troll... these are the rules... well they are not really the rules but they should be.
Buckshot is for Varmints... I will not even discuss this further as it was already decided by the Gunnutz Gods.
new guys should have a probationary period....
Anyone who reccomends Buckshot for bears is to be ignored and dismissed as a Troll... these are the rules... well they are not really the rules but they should be.
Buckshot is for Varmints... I will not even discuss this further as it was already decided by the Gunnutz Gods.
new guys should have a probationary period....
Most would agree with you as myself, however I believe 00 buck has been mentioned as 1st round possibility followed by slugs/sabot hollowpoint 3" magnuns. The idea of shooting dangerous game with only 00 buck is crazy and no one has said that as far as I know. But I have also been told that if your 12 gauge holds 6 rounds and the 1st is 00 buck that 00 buck is only to be used for a quick snap shot scenario in the event event you meet something you don't want too at say 20 yards. That idea from what I have been told is 00 buck 1st and then accurate slug firing afterwards would be effective? Just wondering as so many here have different opinions, and does anyone feel that pump actions are too slow to be safe for backpacking? The 00 buck first slugs after debate seems to be all over the place depending on the individual and the forum, sporting store discussion. I am just sharing what I was told by a few oldtimers that live around my in-laws in the B.C. where I hike. But from what I see here everyone seems to agree the bigger the hunk of lead the better, no one has said to use a light fast round, so seems like most know what they are talking about.
Well then its down the old adage. Don't always believe what you're told.
Get some wet newspaper and try some penetration tests. You will then see that buckshot is pretty much useless for any large game, and the myth of it as a bear stopper is beyond stupidity.
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Salty said:Well then its down the old adage. Don't always believe what you're told.
Get some wet newspaper and try some penetration tests. You will then see that buckshot is pretty much useless for any large game, and the myth of it as a bear stopper is beyond stupidity.
Buckshot would probably really piss them off!
- Jeff/1911.the 'kinetic pulse' figure quoted earlier is bunk. And the 45/70 load at 1100fps is a rather anemic load, and not at all comparable to what a decent 45/70 can do, not to mention the 444 and 450 marlin brought up earlier. And, given the crap BC of most 12ga slugs, I'd expect even the wimpiest 45/70 load to rapidly change places with the slug 25-50 yds downrange.
This is what I'd take
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=123188
This is what I'd take
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=123188
I think the buckshot followed by slugs is recommended for folks using it for protection where a bear might be very close to them all of a sudden in thicker bush. The instructions are to shoot it in the head with the buckshot, thus affecting the vision and smell ability fast and then put it down with the slugs- not a bad strategy. Bears need to be stopped, not just shot so bullet placement can be important- hard to do when stressed. As one who has worked with black, grizz. and polar bears, people frequently ask me what I do when I'm in bear country(you know, pepper spray, bear bells, etc.) and I say I carry a big gun. If just blacks a 30-30 /12ga.has always worked, in grizz. country I like the marlin lever 45/70 with hot loads, and in polar bear country(12feet is a lot of bear) the biggest you can handle.
Good luck- remember black bears do prey on people and will hunt you in silence and can be there in a minute.
Good luck- remember black bears do prey on people and will hunt you in silence and can be there in a minute.
Agreed, over 50 yards the reality of 12g slugs and actually being accurate is well known, however in dense bush where clearings wider than 30 yards are not that common the 12g debate will continue. So the real question here is the terrain type/distances not so much what will work and not work. Using a scope to fire quickly under 50 yards is questionable that is why I prefer ghost rings and so many prefer open sights, such as lever action type rifles.
We have used 00 for close range shooting no more then 10-30 yards. It works on the smaller bears pretty good but for the bigger ones it falls short of a good round, Diffrent rules apply to bee yards and safety defence rounds arent a big factor we get to shoot from a safe place. So the hole buckshot then slug isnt that big of a deal but if you where out walking around in the bush im sure it would be a okay close range set up.
I odn't see the point in using buckshot (no surprise there)
If it is close, the shot pattern does not expand much, so you would either miss or hit regardless of if it was a slug or shot.
And at greater distanc,e the slug is the clear winner.
And slugs penetrate better.
If it is close, the shot pattern does not expand much, so you would either miss or hit regardless of if it was a slug or shot.
And at greater distanc,e the slug is the clear winner.
And slugs penetrate better.
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
I usually used the 1 1/4oz. Imperial slugs with my SxS.
Cat
Cat
FWIW, if I KNOW there's a chance of a bear attack, the ONLY gun for me is an 870 with a 20" or shorter barrel, magazine extension, and a mag full of heavy slugs.
Preferably the barrel has rifle sights so I can shoot accurately at 50+ yards, while up close it's more a matter of roughly pointing and slapping the trigger.
12 gauge slugs will put the big hurt on a Grizz in the hands of a halfway competent shooter and is probably the most common serious bear defense gun carried.
Preferably the barrel has rifle sights so I can shoot accurately at 50+ yards, while up close it's more a matter of roughly pointing and slapping the trigger.
12 gauge slugs will put the big hurt on a Grizz in the hands of a halfway competent shooter and is probably the most common serious bear defense gun carried.
