Phaedrus/69
Member
Mosin M44. If five rounds of 7.62x54r doesn't stop him I still have the bayonet.
Is the bayonet for the bear or for yourself?!
Mosin M44. If five rounds of 7.62x54r doesn't stop him I still have the bayonet.
You still relying on that outdated USFS study???Winchester 70 SS Classic, 30-06 loaded with 220 gr Partitions. Those bear have been killed with 9mm and 223. There is no evidence that anything bigger than 30-06 loaded heavy works any better.
I think my reply to that would be “Have the bears since that study gotten tougher?”You still relying on that outdated USFS study???
No but the bullets we have available are drastically better! There were better choices even then. They used the most common, milquetoast samples possible. Should the .45-70 be judged by the 405gr Remington factory load? Should the 12ga be judged by the Foster slug? Should the .44Mag be judged by a generic 240gr jacketed loading? No. The study was outdated and limited when it was done. It is certainly more than outdated now. What is more asinine are the conclusions I've seen made based on it. We'd be better off if it disappeared off the world wide web.I think my reply to that would be “Have the bears since that study gotten tougher?”
Then he used the wrong bullet.The one guide I've talked to that does Big Coastals has a 375 H&H. He did say he was aquanted with a Guide that had used a .450 Marlin but had gotten rid of it. He had some issues with adequate penetration when shooting a wounded bear from a bad angle. It doesn't have enough ump to shoot end to end. I would expect the .45/70 to behave similarly but again I'm just living vicariously. I'm not likely to ever have to face one and have zero experience at that game.
A number of years ago I built a rifle for Alaska. It began life as a Remington XCR II in .375 H&H. I took the barreled action (SS with factory Nitride coating, express sights) and had it free-floated and glass-bedded in a Bell&Carlson Weatherby aluminum bedding block stock, replaced the X-Mark trigger with a Timney trigger that was factory set at 3-1/2# and added Leupold QD bases and rings to allow choice for sighting depending on what I'd be doing. Four rounds of .375 H&H should work out with 300 gr solids and softs. For big Kodiaks only central nervous hits are guaranteed show-stoppers...hits that don't take out the CNS may kill a bear, even quickly, but won't guarantee a stop, and this is true with any rifle rounds no matter how big.
The rifle I built was pretty weatherproof...the action was corrosion-resistant and the stock won't warp. It was superbly accurate, <1MOA with Federal Premium with 260 gr Accubond. Were I starting over today, I'd go for a Sako 85 Kodiak or Winchester M70 Alaskan and skip the cutomizing. I believe that the rifle choice is at least as important as the caliber choice.
It was also a wonderful Elk/Moose rifle with 260gr Nosler AccuBonds and the recoil felt a lot like a Rem 870 shotgun firing slugs.
Good hunting,
I, have seen this come up several times. Not sure there is a ferfict answer. Every one has there own ideas. To bad you could not set out a few claymores, then pick them up when finished.Another post about pistols for bears got me thinking. What would be the ultimate bear stopping rifle?
If you were on Kodiak with a deer down and a Big Coastie circling and woofing in the fog what would you most want in your hands.
Would you want a traditional controlled round feed bolt rifle in .375 H&H?
How about a Heym 89B Double in .450/400?
Or how about something custom like a Browning BAR or BLR .300 Win Mag converted to .416 Ruger?
Personally I would prefer a Ma Deuce but they are s little aggravating to lug around.
The word "stopper" in the title should automatically lock a thread.Didn’t the other threads about bears and wolves just get locked down, for good reason?
The word "stopper" in the title should automatically lock a thread.
No offense to you intended. Threads on guns for defense against animals typically deteriorate rapidly into a pointless argument and then get locked. Stay tuned and you will see for yourself.I don't know how else to describe it. A rifle used for hunting has a different purpose than one used for last ditch close up defense from a large predator.
If you need a stopping rifle (and you were actually hunting the animal in question) something has gone drastically wrong.
The bayonet was originally invented for bear hunting. Bear hunters in the Pyrenees Mountains on the French-Spanish border used a large knife with a cross-guard and a tapered handle -- it took too long to reload if a bear charged you.Is the bayonet for the bear or for yourself?!
Then he used the wrong bullet.
I certainly would NOT use the 350gr Hornady for anything that bites back.
The bayonet was originally invented for bear hunting. Bear hunters in the Pyrenees Mountains on the French-Spanish border used a large knife with a cross-guard and a tapered handle -- it took too long to reload if a bear charged you.
The town of Bayonne, France, which was a manufacturing center, made a lot of these knives, which is why they're called bayonets.
“Have the bears since that study gotten tougher?”