Stopping a bear

I had a 45 70 for just this purpose, but was always more comfortable with my 3030. I know that I couls pummel a bear with my 45 70, but I also know I am slower to work it, and come much further off the target for follow up shots from the recoil. I can spit 5 out of my 30 30 faster about the same as i can get 3 out of my 45/70 and still be on target. I also think my 30 30 would not be intimidating to my wife she need to fire it, or fire consecutive rounds.
She does not like to watch me shoot a 7mm mag, much less take the kick of a 45 70.
 
All this makes me feel better about my choice of a 336 in 30-30. I see that no one is recommending that I pack a 450 Marlin.
 
Woodsman said:
On a charging grizzly, I suggest a .30-30 and a fresh pair of Depends.
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Agree, and at least make sure you have one left over for yourself should the need arise. :D:D:D

I shot my very first black bear at the ripe old age of 15, with a Win94 30-30, about 30 yds away. It was a small blackie, he stood up, I fired and killed him stoned cold dead. Was it a calculated and well placed shot?....hell no, shear luck. A charging grizz on the other hand, never had the experience, but I'd feel a lot better with my .444 Marlin, or the .338 or .375. I have encountered grizz when out elk hunting, my rifle didn't make me feel as comfy as a good retrieve and distance. Sure bears have been dispatched with the 30-30, is it the best choice for defence?....no way. When threading in grizz country, nothing beats a plain old good sense of awareness. Just my two cents.
 
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.22 short will work if you hit 'em in the brain. In the non hunting season I carry the coach gun in my avatar in a special shoulder scabbard my wife made for me. I like that it's double triggers give me options of giving a charging bear both barrels (I practice shooting both at the same time OUCH). Realistically you will only get one shot anyway, might as well blow the whole load.

I have shot one agressive blackie at 20 yards with a .280 Rem. He piled up after 40 yards -- thankfully in another direction.
 
The way that I see it Sealhunter is that most people who are killed by grizzlies were totally taken by surprise. Take for example the fellow who was killed here in AB just this past season, and the lady who was badly mauled down by PincherCreek a year or so ago. Neither saw it coming. We hunt deer, moose, elk with scoped rifle, but in YOUR scenario where your're going fishing and taking your toddler along, then I would say that your best line of defence, second to smartssss of course would be something unscoped. A good dependable pump action scattergun like a Remmy 870 with a slug barrel. Stoke it up with a slug, then 00 buch shot, then a slug again, pull the plug and put in some more slugs. Be steady with your aim and don't worry about the crap in your panties. Easy to say isn't it, especially when I've never had the opportunity. But you know what? .... bears or grizz don't concern me half as bad as an ornery cat. I've riden 700 km's in the rockies in a single spring/summer season and have never been taken by surprise.....awareness my friend, awareness. :)
 
The only time I came close to a "bang-flop" was the bear James hit with his 44-40. Right in the heart one shot, and it went about 50ft.

I hit one in the chest with a 303 as it was climbing into a girl's cabin in the NWT. It ran like I had missed it. Headed straight to the Hanging Ice river, and laid there in the water and died. That was about 200 yds away.

I can't remember being present when a bear was shot and dropped dead instantly.
 
30-30 will Kill anything just how fast is the question. The bullet of the 30-30 just dosnt have the stopping power of say a 300 winchester magnum.
 
gitrdun said:
The way that I see it Sealhunter is that most people who are killed by grizzlies were totally taken by surprise. Take for example the fellow who was killed here in AB just this past season, and the lady who was badly mauled down by PincherCreek a year or so ago. Neither saw it coming. We hunt deer, moose, elk with scoped rifle, but in YOUR scenario where your're going fishing and taking your toddler along, then I would say that your best line of defence, second to smartssss of course would be something unscoped. A good dependable pump action scattergun like a Remmy 870 with a slug barrel. Stoke it up with a slug, then 00 buch shot, then a slug again, pull the plug and put in some more slugs. Be steady with your aim and don't worry about the crap in your panties. Easy to say isn't it, especially when I've never had the opportunity. But you know what? .... bears or grizz don't concern me half as bad as an ornery cat. I've riden 700 km's in the rockies in a single spring/summer season and have never been taken by surprise.....awareness my friend, awareness. :)
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That's the key Gitrdun, awareness. If you smell a dead animal on the trail be alert for what happens next. Don't go pushing through stands of willows if you have an option. Be alert for tracks, torn up logs, over turned rocks, excavated hill sides, scratches on trees, and droppings - especially the warm steamy ones! When you have a contact, never turn your back on a bear, never run unless safety is just a few steps away.

When I posted before I didn't realize grizzlies were in the mix. A shotgun will work, there's no doubt, but a shotgun doesn't have the power of a big rifle of similar recoil, and not all shotgun slugs are created equally when it comes to bear work. Neither does a shotgun have the range if you end up a distance from your family when a problem occurs. The shotgun does have a place though, and that is should you need to shoot a bear when the over penetration of a powerful rifle could endanger other folks, such as in a camp ground.

I have a scope on my bear gun, but it's a scout scope, and I know what I can do with it at close range. Gitrdun is probably right though that you should have a rifle with good irons. My rifle also has a ghost ring and post and QD rings on the scope for the occasion when everything seems to be going wrong.
 
At 50 yrds, a Grizzly is eyeing me and closes in to 30 yrds.
I firmly believe that shot with a 3030 the bear is done. if not killed I think he would high tail it or get another until he does.
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If a grizzly charges,and is at 30 yards when you fire,you will likely not get more than one additional aimed shot if you even get one more aimed shot before the bear reaches you,unless the bear is hit well with the first shot.At full charge,there isn't much time to reload and aim properly at such close distances.I have actually stopped a charging grizzly with a 338x8mmremmag.I fired at 40 yards,the bullet went into the bears throat and traveled the length of the bear and lodged in the rear hip.The bear stopped,and a swung sideways to bite at his hip,so I was able to break both shoulders with a second shot.I was very glad to be armed with a high powered rifle,and am not sure that a 30-30 would have produced the same results.
 
While bear hunting this fall (over bait) a buddy put a .444 through the side of a blackie (perfect lung shot)
The bear ran toward his stand aroung his tree and back out 150-200 yards where we found him. I was dumbfounded when i saw how far that fcker ran! He was about 250lbs gutted.

It was my first time bear hunting and i promptly put away my 300 mag and borrowed a friends 12 gauge SBEII slug gun. Not that the 300 wasn't enough but it was a bolt and i was only 5ft off the ground in my stand lol.

I never got to use it.

Mike
 
If a grizzly charges,and is at 30 yards when you fire,you will likely not get more than one additional aimed shot if you even get one more aimed shot before the bear reaches you,unless the bear is hit well with the first shot.At full charge,there isn't much time to reload and aim properly at such close distances.I have actually stopped a charging grizzly with a 338x8mmremmag.I fired at 40 yards,the bullet went into the bears throat and traveled the length of the bear and lodged in the rear hip.The bear stopped,and a swung sideways to bite at his hip,so I was able to break both shoulders with a second shot.I was very glad to be armed with a high powered rifle,and am not sure that a 30-30 would have produced the same results.
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..................x2. A charging Grizz hopped up on adrenaline is a different story compared to one that is unsuspecting and just grazing as you stalk up to it. In a charge situation, the .30-.30 is the last thing i would want. A grizz that doesn't know you are there and if you can stalk within under 100 yards and put the bullet precisely where it needs to go, a .30-.30 would probably do the job.
 
How bout .22 lr -

I shot a blackie with a .22 lr hollow point - Instant flop.
The inuit used to hunt polar bears by leaving a piece of seal fat containing a springy fish bone on the ice. When the bear ate it the bone would get caught in its throat and the hunters would follow it till it starved to death. Now they shoot with a .22 when the .303 isnt handy and follow it.
O yea - I was in a tree stand and shot directly into the top of the skull. Yes I had my shotgun , with the first up - bird (to blind a charger) , the second -buck , and the third - slug.
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chopper 1 said:
I shot a blackie with a .22 lr hollow point - Instant flop.

O yea - I was in a tree stand and shot directly into the top of the skull. Yes I had my shotgun , with the first up - bird (to blind a charger) , the second -buck , and the third - slug.
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So, you actively hunted bears with a rimfire?

Is that legal where you hunt?
 
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