New bear defence question.... 20g slugs?

Buckshot is for Varmints... Slugs are for Bear Defense.
This topic has been round and round on the site about a hundred times.
The overwhelming consensus is that 12 gauge brenneke slugs are the preferred shotgun defense for bears. Buckshot is not considered an option for Bear defense by many, if any, of the experienced Bear hunters or Guides on this site.
Obviously a large caliber Bear rifle is a preferred firearm for bears but not practical in many situations... hence the light fast short barreled 12 gauge pump shotgun :idea:
Clarke would you like me to send you a bunch of different 20 gauge slugs for your test... or maybe you could give me the test parameters and I'll shoot them here :?
 
8)

Thanks GH and Bigredd;

I'm not really concerned about bears, but now that I have made the switch to 20g for all my upland hunting, I will keep a few slugs on hand if they are worth it.
Plus, I always have a bear tag, just in case. :wink:
 
Understood, guys. My (uneducated) thought was that if you can't usually get a decent shot off (especially in close quarters), maybe you have a better chance with buckshot, especially in Ontario where most bruins don't outweigh me by much (except those big ones up in Renfrew!), although they usually have thicker skin and a bigger layer of fat (I hope... :( ), which might be the reason you can't take one down easily with buck? Not sure why a spray of heavy buck isn't as good as a poorly placed (or completely missed!) slug, though. But since some of you guys are out on the left coast and talking Grizzly I would think a well placed slug from a 20 is your only hope. Hey, guys, I'm learning and appreciate the info, too.
Hey, popcan, if you want to save your butt listen to guys like Gatehouse and BIGREDD! Sure as heck don't listen to me! :lol:
 
Terrence

Up close, buckshot doesn't open up much. SO if you will miss with a slug, you'll miss with the buckshot.

At farther ranges, the pattern opens up more, and you may only get a pellet or 2 in the head.

Buckshot doesn't penetrate as well, either.

There are amillion different threads on bear defense, do a search. :mrgreen:
 
Gatehouse said:
There are amillion different threads on bear defense, do a search. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...
Okay, finally you're wrong, Gatehouse. There are only about 730,000 topics on bear defense. :p
I guess bears ain't smart enough to go "Ouch!" and back off after being hit with shot. Slugs it is, then. And thank you and BIGREDD for the info.
 
Hehe! I hear ya! :mrgreen:
I'm learning and that is the main thing. All of you pro's are surely here to help us newbs, right? This would be a rather boring site if you were all pro's agreeing on everything, wouldn't it?
Terry
 
Terrence said:
Hey, popcan, if you want to save your butt listen to guys like Gatehouse and BIGREDD! Sure as heck don't listen to me! :lol:
Click to expand...


:shock:

I haven't met BIGREDD yet so I can't comment.... except that he seems relatively sane.

but Gatehouse, on the other hand ..... it is a well known fact around here that he is mortally afraid of bears, and usually runs away with feces streaming down his pants legs at the sight of a 150 lb blackie.

I'm not sure if he's even SEEN a bear before. But he is good at testing loads though.
:lol: :lol:

:wink:
 
:shock: BOOM!!! :twisted: I think Bigredd is on to it here. I can remember not that long ago, reading about guides in Alaska who use .12 Gauge pumps loaded with slugs for back-up guns if forced to fish Yogi out of the brush because some bone-head client who couldn't shoot his five figure magnum well enuff to kill the critter. I think in that kind of case, if I were a guide, my fee would double on the spot. :x and the Bee-atch would walk back to civilization! :x :evil:
 
kcoop9999 said:
:shock: BOOM!!! :twisted: I think Bigredd is on to it here. I can remember not that long ago, reading about guides in Alaska who use .12 Gauge pumps loaded with slugs for back-up guns if forced to fish Yogi out of the brush because some bone-head client who couldn't shoot his five figure magnum well enuff to kill the critter. I think in that kind of case, if I were a guide, my fee would double on the spot. :x and the Bee-atch would walk back to civilization! :x :evil:
Click to expand...

Well, I have fished bears out of the thick stuff, and frankly, I'd rather have a large rifle than a shotgun...

Fishign bears out of the bush is part of the process of bear hunting. Noone likes it (I don't) but it happens.

I use a 375H&H for bears these days, since it seems to dump them a bit easier, although I've killed them with a number of smaller cartridges. :D

In any case, this thread isnt' abotu 12 vs 20. We all know that 12 is better...It's about how well your 20 will work, since that is what you have in your hands at the time! :wink:
 
In any case, this thread isnt' abotu 12 vs 20. We all know that 12 is better...It's about how well your 20 will work, since that is what you have in your hands at the time! Wink
Click to expand...

Exactly. I have, and we all have, enough 12g shotguns and big rifles to do a bear in....

but nobody is going to carry an extra gun in case of bear problems, while out chasing grouse with a 20g.

And, like the countless other defense threads, it's all likely just hypothetical, as the odds are against anyone having to break a bear charge while out and about. It would be handy info though, since there are so many 20g hunters around.
 
Finally, we are getting back to the original topic... 20 gauge slugs.

Let's get these tests done so we can move on to the classic grouse gun bear stopper... the .410 slug gun. If that does not say "siddown and shaddup" I don't know what will! :lol:

All joking aside, i'd love to see how the 20 gauge slugs perform, I may have to do some tests of my own this weekend.
 
BIGREDD said:
Exactly how many bears have you killed with a 20 gauge shotgun :?:
Exactly 13 as of last nite. And before you ask, they ranged in weight from 150 to over 400 lbs.
Click to expand...
You need a rifled barrel to shoot sabots effectively... if your out small game hunting with a 20 gauge it is not likely to have a rifled barrel :?
Not so "Little Red". Perhaps I'm just spending way too much time at the range. However, I consistantly shoot 3.5 inch groups at 100 yards with my smooth bore 12 gauge. And shoot 2" groups at 100 yards with my 20 gauge rifled barrel.
Click to expand...
This is exactly right and in a defense situation it is very hard to place a shot on a bear... you are just as likely to hit it in the head as the chest. :shock: That is why a 20 gauge slug is a poor second choice to a 12 gauge slug. :roll:
Click to expand...

The question wasn't whether or not a 20 gauge is a poor second choice to a 12 guage or not. It was would a 20 guage slug/sabot/rifled slug effectively kill a black bear. My answer was and still is, ab so fukin lutely.
 
Precisely! :D

We already know the 20g is not as good as 12g, (or do we?) and that a large caliber rifle is better than a 12g....

But you shoot what you have in your hands... and for this thread at least, what you have in your hands is a 20g smoothbore, as you beat the bushes for grouse.

It'll be interesting to see what GH and BIGREDD come up with during testing.



Perhaps we will be starting a new craze.... everyone will trade in their 14" 12g shotguns, and start sawing off 20g doubles!

I have mechanical triggers in mine, so I can get two shots off faster than the guy with the pump :idea:



:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I'd certainly use a 20gauge slug.... if I were holding it in my hands during a bear attack!

My theory on bear defence........

The best rifle/cartridge combo is the one you're holding at the moment he decides to make you his!!!!!!

Certainly the question I would ask is not "What is the best bear defence cartridge", but rather:

"How would I handle a charging bear situation.... will I short stoke the bolt... piss my pants.... or remain calm and make the shot?"

All the energy in the world won't save a fella's carcass if he can't keep it together and make put the bullet where it counts....and you can almost guarantee that ONE shot is all you'll get!!!!!

Just my 2 cents

280_ACKLEY
 
maxtrooper said:
Buckshot will take down any black bear!!!! I know I've done it with bears, deer, and cougar, and had no problems
Click to expand...
How close were you? Nothing like facing a grumpy bear waiting for it to get closer so your buckshot will work as well as a slug will from a further distance. 5 yards for buckshot, 50 for a slug. Not much of a choice from where I sit. :roll:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom