Bear Protection Shotgun

[pounder]

Which shelf ammo is more expensive these days, .303 Br or 30-06? I'm betting it's .303Br...which is (was) also good bear medicine.

I don't think that cost comes into the equation when we are talking about protection.

 

[geologist]

A heavy slug won’t penetrate a bear as well as an average rifle bullet will either, but here we are.
Not sure where the myth started that shotguns are a good choice for bear work?

R.

They are cheap, powerful close range tools.

There's a reason why young geologists start their careers with pump action shotguns.

 

[mark2015]

Anyone aware of any good bear targets with vital areas for use on the range?

Something I found useful in gaining competence with a 12guage pump was filling the 4l milk jugs with water and placing one every 5 yards from about 25 yards on in. Then using one shot only for each jug, shoot at the furthest and then each one on in as fast as you can. See how many you hit The first few times I tried this some of the milk jugs survived due to me missing or jacking the action inconsistently. After a while all of the milk jugs died. Really gets your confidence and consistency up.

 

[Suther]

A heavy slug won’t penetrate a bear as well as an average rifle bullet will either, but here we are.
Not sure where the myth started that shotguns are a good choice for bear work?

R.

All depends on what you're using. If you're reaching for the Winchester SuperX deer slugs than yeah, penetration will be poor. Load it with a brenneke or TruBall deep penetrator and you're looking at straight line penetration pushing 30", which is better than the majority of rifle loads.