Cosmoline
Member
I've been doing a great deal of salmon fishing this summer, and I've done extensive hiking and some hunting all around south-central Alaska. Over the years I've tried all sorts of rigs and combinations of firearms for bear defense, and I have come to some conclusions. To cut to the chase, my vote for ultimate bear gun is the one I have--a Mossberg 500 with a pistol grip stock and tactical light loaded with Brenneke 3" hardcast slugs. No buckshot at all.
I'll run down the pros and cons of the various firearms I've used
Ruger SRH .454 Casull (used for @ six months)
--Surprisingly heavy to carry
--Power levels still lower than most rifles
--Very fast draw from a belly holster
--Fast DA firing
--Not easy to use beyond 25 yards
--Ammo expensive
--Flinch issues difficult to overcome
--Poor results when tested on a quick draw and (unaimed) fire
--Firearm nearly impossible to destroy
VERDICT: sold off in favor of lever gun
Marlin 1895G (@2 years)
--Portable and surprisngly light when carried in backpack scabbard
--Good, powerful ammo
--Accuracte out to 100 or 150 yards
--Slower than revolver to draw and fire for first shot
--Crossbolt safety unreliable and switched on and off in pulling from scabbard
--Good results with fast firing from the hip, accurate to 15 yards in this mode
--Recoil rather intense with heavy loads
--Rear tangent sight cheaply made
--Porting filled with crud
--Dirt and mud in action froze the rifle up on several backpacking trips. Little dirt could be tolerated down in the action.
VERDICT: sold off in favor of cheaper rifles
Mausers, Mosin-Nagants, etc (experimental)
--Powerful enough, but too heavy. The best balancing ones were the Mosin Nagant 91/30, which I carried over-the-shoulder on many hikes and the Iranian Mauser Carbine, a wee thing I had to sell off because it was worth so much more than I paid.
Verdict: TOO DARN HEAVY!
FN-49 (only a month or two)
--Powerful modern cartridge favoring heavy bullets
--VERY fast repeat shots
--Heavy even for backpack scabbard
--Very durable
--Very unreliable safety located next to trigger
VERDICT: Very intersting and had a lot of potential, but still too heavy.
Swiss K-31 (@ six months)
--Heavy but tolerable when carried across the front, muzzle down, on a quick-release mount.
--Nice cartridge, but hard to find and expensive
--Fast reliable follow-up shots
--Good performance when muddy
--Extremely accurate
VERDICT: A very nice rifle but too bulky. In sporter stock it might work
Mossberg 500A with pistol grip stock
--Very tough
--Accurate out to 75 yards
--Recoil not intolerable even with magnum slugs
--Ability to fire less-than-lethal bean bag loads, with slug being next round to chamber.
--No rifilng to damage with dirt and crud
--Works even when literally filled with sand and mud. Debris (within reason) are simply blasted out the barrel.
--Very handy for close quarters
--Firing from waist level possible with accuracy out to 25 yards.
--Good knock-down power
--Ammo easy to find.
VERDICT: My keeper.
I'll run down the pros and cons of the various firearms I've used
Ruger SRH .454 Casull (used for @ six months)
--Surprisingly heavy to carry
--Power levels still lower than most rifles
--Very fast draw from a belly holster
--Fast DA firing
--Not easy to use beyond 25 yards
--Ammo expensive
--Flinch issues difficult to overcome
--Poor results when tested on a quick draw and (unaimed) fire
--Firearm nearly impossible to destroy
VERDICT: sold off in favor of lever gun
Marlin 1895G (@2 years)
--Portable and surprisngly light when carried in backpack scabbard
--Good, powerful ammo
--Accuracte out to 100 or 150 yards
--Slower than revolver to draw and fire for first shot
--Crossbolt safety unreliable and switched on and off in pulling from scabbard
--Good results with fast firing from the hip, accurate to 15 yards in this mode
--Recoil rather intense with heavy loads
--Rear tangent sight cheaply made
--Porting filled with crud
--Dirt and mud in action froze the rifle up on several backpacking trips. Little dirt could be tolerated down in the action.
VERDICT: sold off in favor of cheaper rifles
Mausers, Mosin-Nagants, etc (experimental)
--Powerful enough, but too heavy. The best balancing ones were the Mosin Nagant 91/30, which I carried over-the-shoulder on many hikes and the Iranian Mauser Carbine, a wee thing I had to sell off because it was worth so much more than I paid.
Verdict: TOO DARN HEAVY!
FN-49 (only a month or two)
--Powerful modern cartridge favoring heavy bullets
--VERY fast repeat shots
--Heavy even for backpack scabbard
--Very durable
--Very unreliable safety located next to trigger
VERDICT: Very intersting and had a lot of potential, but still too heavy.
Swiss K-31 (@ six months)
--Heavy but tolerable when carried across the front, muzzle down, on a quick-release mount.
--Nice cartridge, but hard to find and expensive
--Fast reliable follow-up shots
--Good performance when muddy
--Extremely accurate
VERDICT: A very nice rifle but too bulky. In sporter stock it might work
Mossberg 500A with pistol grip stock
--Very tough
--Accurate out to 75 yards
--Recoil not intolerable even with magnum slugs
--Ability to fire less-than-lethal bean bag loads, with slug being next round to chamber.
--No rifilng to damage with dirt and crud
--Works even when literally filled with sand and mud. Debris (within reason) are simply blasted out the barrel.
--Very handy for close quarters
--Firing from waist level possible with accuracy out to 25 yards.
--Good knock-down power
--Ammo easy to find.
VERDICT: My keeper.