All of the bear guns that I've seen on cruise ships for polar bear defense have been bolt action rifles. Most were 30-06 but one ship had .308s. If I recall correctly Stainless Browning X bolts or Tikka T3s with Leupold optics depending on the cruise line
Top 10 Bear Guns, What the Professionals Use
- Thread starter geologist
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Regardless of the debate over penetration and energy of a large caliber bullet vs a 12 ga slug, the main reason why most people working in bear country pack a 12 ga shotgun is because that is what the company policies allow them to carry (if they qualify to through their training), and what the BC gov't has now imposed as the firearm allowed for use for Bear Watch work in BC...and most specifically specify the Rem 870 12 ga with slugs.
Why; because it it the most common and reliable weapon out there. And good enough for the military and police forces around the world.
(I do agree that a large, heavy bullet fired from a rifle has more energy and will reliably penetrate better than a 12 ga slug, and would rather have the former in a confrontation...but when other s make thee rules and we must adhere to them or be left holding a spray can...I will do what is necessary to ensure that I also have a shotgun!)
For many of these people, they did not grow up with firearms and shooting and have only been introduced to shooting and the training they receive on the job, and it is the easiest weapon for new shooters to quickly learn to put on target and hit with some degree of proficiency using the simple bead, and obtain the necessary certification to pack the shotgun. (Me, I prefer sights...open or ghost ring on a slug gun - actually just picked up a set of Wilson Combat ghost ring and tritium front sight for my LH Rem 870 slug gun, and previously had the Rem 870 Tactical that had the same factory set up).
The pump action shotgun, and with a large caliber slug that will hit big bone hard and put the animal down quickly, even if it does not kill the bear immediately.
Stop first, kill with follow up shots.
Nice to know you have the extra capacity within an extended mag tube!
(The training and qualification testing does teach one how to reload quickly during shooting drills, as multiple scenarios must be practiced and demonstrated to qualify - or at least they did when I last went through it, but it has been a few years now for me)
I know when I worked for a gov't regulator and had to take annual training and qualification for certification to pack a firearm when inspecting alone in the backcountry, I was the only one who even took the testing to also qualify for use with the lever action rifle and the bolt action rifle, along with the shotgun, at that point in time.
But mostly, because I was the one with the most experience amongst the working inspectors, in shooting and hunting.
Why; because it it the most common and reliable weapon out there. And good enough for the military and police forces around the world.
(I do agree that a large, heavy bullet fired from a rifle has more energy and will reliably penetrate better than a 12 ga slug, and would rather have the former in a confrontation...but when other s make thee rules and we must adhere to them or be left holding a spray can...I will do what is necessary to ensure that I also have a shotgun!)
For many of these people, they did not grow up with firearms and shooting and have only been introduced to shooting and the training they receive on the job, and it is the easiest weapon for new shooters to quickly learn to put on target and hit with some degree of proficiency using the simple bead, and obtain the necessary certification to pack the shotgun. (Me, I prefer sights...open or ghost ring on a slug gun - actually just picked up a set of Wilson Combat ghost ring and tritium front sight for my LH Rem 870 slug gun, and previously had the Rem 870 Tactical that had the same factory set up).
The pump action shotgun, and with a large caliber slug that will hit big bone hard and put the animal down quickly, even if it does not kill the bear immediately.
Stop first, kill with follow up shots.
Nice to know you have the extra capacity within an extended mag tube!
(The training and qualification testing does teach one how to reload quickly during shooting drills, as multiple scenarios must be practiced and demonstrated to qualify - or at least they did when I last went through it, but it has been a few years now for me)
I know when I worked for a gov't regulator and had to take annual training and qualification for certification to pack a firearm when inspecting alone in the backcountry, I was the only one who even took the testing to also qualify for use with the lever action rifle and the bolt action rifle, along with the shotgun, at that point in time.
But mostly, because I was the one with the most experience amongst the working inspectors, in shooting and hunting.
Got a link to that legislation?
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Having done that job, yes I would every time long as I get to choose the .243 bullet and turf the scope for the irons. Naturally I’d choose more given the option, but if it was only these two.
Rifles are a completely different class of terminal ballistics than shotguns.
Ok, who carries a 50BMG into the woods ... and in case an aggressive bear shows up?
Nobody, right? But it would have the most stopping power ... Ok, maybe not ... maybe a grenade launcher would have more stopping power!
The 12ga pump is popular because it is relatively cheap ... readily available ... reliable ... and it does the job up close with the right ammo.
And that is it!
It is not the best .... but it is enough to do the job!
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1635960-Unofficial-12ga-Slug-Penetration-Comparison
Nobody, right? But it would have the most stopping power ... Ok, maybe not ... maybe a grenade launcher would have more stopping power!
The 12ga pump is popular because it is relatively cheap ... readily available ... reliable ... and it does the job up close with the right ammo.
And that is it!
It is not the best .... but it is enough to do the job!
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1635960-Unofficial-12ga-Slug-Penetration-Comparison
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- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
Ye should try some proper 12 bore bullets for big critter whacking. I hardcast 835 gr bombs for my Rem 870 w/rifled tube & load 'em in 3" hulls to 1100 fps.
Makes for deep penetration and bone busting power without scary recoil.
My 375 Win load shown next to the Old West Molds 835 gr boolit.
Makes for deep penetration and bone busting power without scary recoil.
My 375 Win load shown next to the Old West Molds 835 gr boolit.
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yeah, we were screaming about the grizzly population lies/problems up to 2 decades ago weren't we, 15 years for sure..
and so here we are, here comes a condensation from my pov
first some interesting facts, Alberta cancelled grizzly hunt 2006, from 2010 to 2021 Alberta has had more wildlife attacks than all other provinces/territories combined...yet the news won't tell people that, they won't tell you the numbers of pairs/bears are above the wildlife goals for our province...way above, and so in my mind they (the news and our amazing leaders) are complicit in every single one of these tragedies (what's new...plandemic anyone?) and there's a bunch of these tragedies
there's a book out called 'Mauled', I played in there similar timeframe, I caught up to a guy on way out of one of my hunts who had a griz wake him up in his tent at 11pm and didn't leave him alone until about 4am, he was in a non-motorized zone with his atv(which was overheating on way out limping home, which is why I was able to catch up to him on foot), he said warning shots didn't do anything, but the alternating alarm beep sounds worked best as he alternated from his alarm and his phone, bear circled him at couple dozen yards for 5 hours but he didn't want to shoot it as I'm guessing being in there on atv would also not go over well, within one or two years tops of that but I think it was the very next year the guy from the book I just mentioned got mauled
not long before that a friend of my uncles who butchered in old sobey's I think or some other local butcher shop got mauled, killed and eaten in bergen just west of there while going into his tree stand just off hwy 22 with his bow in archery season
another night near this time I passed Rick Cross the night before the sheep opener as we looked for our evening sleep on the seat of the truck before the 4am hike above tree line opening day, he was mauled and killed on his hike in, we were only a mountain apart, I found out a few days later after I came out, I ran into him on a successful ram hunt with his nephew a couple years earlier with his nephew, actually took field photo's for him and emailed them to him (they were used on the news also) and great guy
another day just putting miles on a glassing day through south kananaskis country I had laid eyes on or was around 8 grizzlies in one day (some were in traps so didn't actually lay eyes on that one and her cubs nearby)...8 in one day!
but they keep telling us there's only 500 right? what a load of sh1t
and I'm one guy, sure seem tied to enough grizzly killings and mailings, imagine some of the other hardcores out there would have similar accounts...you want to play in Alberta's wilderness? well from hwy 22 west...better play as safe as you can, because they grizzly's start there...the very edge of the foothills where crops and cattle ranching are thick, they are all over the 300 zones not just 400 zones, I just got back from some 300 zone hunting where only expected to see black bears and we saw sow/cub griz.....no big thing, we know they are everywhere but the latest prairies now and have been for a couple decades at least....they are not just in the mountains!!!
Pathfinder would likely have a much busier summary of accounts from that south end of eastern slopes country of all the issues down there with said ranchers as well as playing the mountains in the most southern 400 zones
sorry, these rants come out from time to time, but if they reach and help at least one person play a little safer here and have proper awareness of how many grizzlies are actually here, be nice to see this educated better, for only having a sliver of 'grizzly country' on the eastern side of our province we sure do seem to have a lot of issues don't we?
be nice to have some 9mm carry one day, sounds like 2 cans of bear spray were found with the couple/dog just killed here, I didn't hear if they were deployed or not though, still likely early to get all the details
back to subject I guess...I'd take the rifle over shotgun also
Back in the 80's and 90's ATC's were pretty common, as in I personally knew at least a dozen back when we were crawling around the tatsenshini, tatsamenie, and iskut/stikine, and that's only counting the legally carried handguns. Nobody I remember actually packed a shotgun of any sort, just too awkward.
In the mid-80's Canadian Amax had a Husky 1600 carbine in 30-06 in every fly camp kit and in the Anaconda office downtown Vancouver, they had a filing cabinet full of nickel 6-1/2" barreled 29-2 S&W revolvers you could sign out and the office gal would do your ATC application for you and get the Exploration Manager to endorse it.
Nowadays you get offered a 70 year old local in gum boots with a rusty 12 gauge to tromp around with you, which I always decline and go with the don't-ask-don't-tell approach with how I manage my safety in the wild.
Yes, El cheapo long barrel bolts with 2 shot mags.
I bought a 30" Mossberg 500A and drove to Peterborough and bought a 18.5" barrel from the Lakefield factory.
That SG went a lot of places with me early on in my career in Ontario. I didn't have much money to buy something better.
