IF a new Grizzly hunt, what gun

Ardent said:
That’s a straightforward one to answer, I was killing bears for a living, and having a gun you don’t ever put down is insurance. I had to fly a floatplane and run boats around the territory in the course of that, and a long gun is a PITA in those scenarios, and unfortunately I couldn’t do my job unarmed. Would be like showing up to hockey without a stick and hoping nobody passes to you. Fishing in the same place I don’t carry ATC, happily rafted down one of the old rivers from the top with rum and bear spray instead.

If anything carrying 10mm only was an indicator of my dropping level of concern the longer I spent in the grizzlies, in the beginning it was .375 H&H all day every day. Then I tried a short 12 gauge, then went ATC as a better understanding of the risks became clear. I wouldn’t go ATC only on a follow up of a wounded grizzly, but that’s the only time it feels insufficient.
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You know that is what is called complacency. At any industrial workplace that drum is beat on often.

Of course it has been known for a very long time that the Coastal Bears are fat and happy and much less aggressive than the Mountain Bears. One need only look at the attitudes of the Natives in the respective areas towards Bears. Same in the literature. Same in the news today.
 
Fly a light plane in the mountains for work, and you quickly understand the packaging. The fishing guides go full careers unarmed and see more bears close than anyone on this forum ever will.

As for bang for your buck, a coastal sow with cubs and the constant predation they face is as respected as any mountain bear we run into in the day job, on edge is understating it. All get respect, very, very few want anything to do with you except to say “I’m here back off”.

Surprising them is the worst thing you can do, coastal or mountain. Spent ten years earlier in my career in the boreal grizzlies, they were still brown bears at heart. I do believe the risk of a predatory attack is higher inland.
 
Ardent said:
The fishing guides go full careers unarmed and see more bears close than anyone on this forum ever will.

I do believe the risk of a predatory attack is higher inland.
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Sounds like you agree with me on the Coastal vs Mountain Grizzlies.
 
Ardent said:
Except on sows with cubs, yeah. The sows are exceptionally over protective as their cubs face constant predation from males on the coast.
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So really the Coastal Bears aren't relevant to a discussion on Grizzlies along the BC/AB Border because they don't behave the same, the Mountain Grizzlies being more aggressive/predatory.
 
You can try to oversimplify, but any perceived difference is more than made up for by exposure. The most grizz I encountered hunting in Wilmore was three or four in a hunt, none of which wanted anything to do with me. The most grizz I’ve encountered in a day on the coast is I stopped counting.

People want cut and dry, these bears will kill you, these ones you can suntan with. All deserve respect, and are a far lower risk than many here seem to think and that’s statistically well supported. Far more people die driving to their hunts than by grizzlies, anywhere on the continent. I know several people who’ve died flying or driving, none who’ve died from bears despite their working in them for a living.
 
10 mm autoloader instead of a bfg wheel gun? says something about the danger rating of coasties
though in the right hands I suppose a pattern of 10mm lead is better than a single massive dose
 
MiG25 said:
So really the Coastal Bears aren't relevant to a discussion on Grizzlies along the BC/AB Border because they don't behave the same, the Mountain Grizzlies being more aggressive/predatory.
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where are all these incidents happening? if the Kootss have so many gbear problems, considering the amount of tourist traffic out there, there must be issues every weekend
 
boxhitch said:
10 mm autoloader instead of a bfg wheel gun? says something about the danger rating of coasties
though in the right hands I suppose a pattern of 10mm lead is better than a single massive dose
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10mm in either Glock or 1911 form seems to be the consensus south of the 49th for Backcountry hunters.
 
boxhitch said:
10 mm autoloader instead of a bfg wheel gun? says something about the danger rating of coasties
though in the right hands I suppose a pattern of 10mm lead is better than a single massive dose
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Had a Freedom Arms .475, Smith 629 .44, neither of which left the range as I prefer the 10mm. It penetrates just as far, and is much lighter on the hip every day, and most importantly I just plain shoot auto more instinctively and intuitively.

Far more important than the bark is where it goes, and I hit better and faster with the auto than a big double or single action so that’s what I use. Sentimentally I’d love it if my sidearm was a pretty ‘Smith or FA, but the functional side won.
 
boxhitch said:
where are all these incidents happening? if the Kootss have so many gbear problems, considering the amount of tourist traffic out there, there must be issues every weekend
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How many do you want?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/4-grizzly-bear-attacks-1.3227490

https://www.myeastkootenaynow.com/2...-bear-after-it-killed-three-miniature-horses/

https://www.castlegarnews.com/news/kootenay-bear-attack-victim-did-nothing-wrong/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...ear-shot-dead-inside-kimberley-home-1.3185310

https://www.terracestandard.com/new...rs-not-doing-enough-after-3-grizzlies-killed/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...ed-on-b-c-man-in-attack-near-fernie-1.1329837

https://globalnews.ca/news/1611225/grizzly-bear-attack-in-fernie/

https://www.myeastkootenaynow.com/23684/news/fernie-trail-closed-after-grizzly-bear-attacks-dog/

https://www.e-know.ca/news/hunter-attacked-by-grizzly-near-sparwood/
 
MiG25 said:
How many do you want?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/4-grizzly-bear-attacks-1.3227490

https://www.myeastkootenaynow.com/2...-bear-after-it-killed-three-miniature-horses/

https://www.castlegarnews.com/news/kootenay-bear-attack-victim-did-nothing-wrong/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...ear-shot-dead-inside-kimberley-home-1.3185310

https://www.terracestandard.com/new...rs-not-doing-enough-after-3-grizzlies-killed/

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...ed-on-b-c-man-in-attack-near-fernie-1.1329837

https://globalnews.ca/news/1611225/grizzly-bear-attack-in-fernie/

https://www.myeastkootenaynow.com/23684/news/fernie-trail-closed-after-grizzly-bear-attacks-dog/

https://www.e-know.ca/news/hunter-attacked-by-grizzly-near-sparwood/
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Do you have the one where the 2 hunters were killed by a gbear while gutting an elk in the koots? One of them worked at Gorman's lumber in west kelowna.
 
Ok, around 20 something people in BC have died from bear attacks from both species combined since 1986. Around 300 per year, or over 10,000 have died in vehicular accidents in that time. Covid killed far more people than bears, and few of us here considered that a real risk. The average for bear fatalities appears to be 1 or less annually in BC. That makes cows and livestock substantially more dangerous.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/roadsafetybc/data
 
And a good splash. Outdoor personalities, writers, and A&W morning crowds lap up a good bear attack story, of which we get a handful a year at best to enjoy. It’s why we watch Jaws, we love to have monsters in our worlds.

The real risks in life are incredibly boring and less dramatic, and most importantly don’t justify gun purchases as comfortably. It’s a lot less exciting to look at the third strip of bacon on your plate and consider it poses more of a risk to your life than something enigmatic like a grizzly.

I don’t play golf in lightning storms, and I don’t push my luck with grizzlies. But I also don’t spend my time in the bush in constant worry. Live your lives, have your adventures, and carry your favourite guns. All with a smile.
 
Ardent said:
Ok, around 20 something people in BC have died from bear attacks from both species combined since 1986. Around 300 per year, or over 10,000 have died in vehicular accidents in that time. Covid killed far more people than bears, and few of us here considered that a real risk. The average for bear fatalities appears to be 1 or less annually in BC. That makes cows and livestock substantially more dangerous.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/roadsafetybc/data
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Dairly Bulls are widely regarded as being very dangerous as are Pigs and Stallions.

Cars really are a poor analogy, 3.7 million cars in BC, ~290 fatalities thats around 1.17/15,000 cars, 15,000 being the conventional number of Grizzlies in BC. Given that most Grizzlies live in low traffic, low access areas and how ubiquitous cars are, I would say that the Mountain Grizzly is many multiples more dangerous than a car.
 
MiG25 said:
Dairly Bulls are widely regarded as being very dangerous as are Pigs and Stallions.

Cars really are a poor analogy, 3.7 million cars in BC, ~290 fatalities thats around 1.17/15,000 cars, 15,000 being the conventional number of Grizzlies in BC. Given that most Grizzlies live in low traffic, low access areas and how ubiquitous cars are, I would say that the Mountain Grizzly is many multiples more dangerous than a car.
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Have you been mauled more times than you have been involved in a fender bender? Odds of a traffic accident are much higher....
Dairy bulls are another thing altogether!
 
Mr.Rigpig said:
Have you been mauled more times than you have been involved in a fender bender? Odds of a traffic accident are much higher....
Dairy bulls are another thing altogether!
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Can't say I've ever been in a fender bender in hundreds of thousands of km driven and indeed in a few years as a professional driver.

Grizzlies are completely incompatible with intensive human use, and by that I mean houses and agriculture, and frankly, anyone that says otherwise is full of sh*t..
 
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