Ok...what is it about this that sparks such controversy & contrary views?
Secondly, I am not "obsessed with bears, terrified, or incompetent...I do not care how 'fast' you think you are with a mechanical action...I will be faster with an auto-loader under duress... not only placement matters, but tissue, skeletal & organ damage matters and you have few seconds for that, so yes, I'll take 3 well aimed shots with heavy-penetrating projectile to your one...).
Originally,(OP)... all I wanted was to be as sure as humanly possible that I had the most capable gun/caliber/projectile for the purpose, as unlikely as an encounter & Brown bear attack may be, I will be in high populated area...the neighbors there have had "encounters" with serious consequences and I take that seriously.
You do not go out as an officer, soldier, hunter into your field of combat where the predators (2 or 4 legged) roam unprepared or under-gunned!
So how is it...all you "bullet & ballistic" experts...that the .338 Win. Mag w/jacketed hunting rounds, are the #1 cartridge/rifle of AK. guides backing hunters...light bullets 200-250gr. (light by craigC standards???...no offense)
...some say nothing under 500gr. cast FN solid will stop the bear?
I am an old combat hand-gunner & occasional deer-elk hunter, what do I know about bears & defense of?
However...I need to review what I have learned from all you survivor-hunter-thousands-o-rounds a month shooters and bullet & ballistic gurus have taught me:
#1. Bear attacks=unlikely=paranoia (even in proved areas like Glacier MT. & surrounding area which rival or surpass AK., have family there, I know)
#2. SG w/slugs even modern hi-tech hardened Brenneke BM…are inadequate:Fact;"the diameter of a Brennele* 12 ga slug is .73 inches,*much larger then most every rifle or pistol bullet.*The Frontal area of all Brenneke USA slugs*immediately on impact open to .80 caliber and maintain*their original shape and*most all of its weight throughout the wound channel.* The high momentum factor allows*penetration of both hard and soft barriers, while maintaining a*higher average terminal velocity. This, along with its massive frontal area means more tissue damage, hemorrhage and trauma, it will stop an animal immediately."
#3. Only guns & cartridges that "look like" guns used in Big Game Hunting & the Big "5", along with "cowboy" rifles used to win the West & kill the Buffalo, is sufficient for Grizzly defense.
#4. The real best defense against a Grizzly sow protecting to-the-death, her cubs... or a p.o.'d boar determined to tear you limb form limb, is spraying them with pepper, no need for violence…lol
#5. The 1st, and any other shot you most likely won't get... better be CNS or break shoulders & hips or your dead.
#6. In most attacks…the bear is "on you" within 3 seconds or less…so you won't even get one shot off if you carry "sanely", "cruiser ready".
I am just a guy who wants to be well prepared…even for the "unlikely".
I am not now, nor after hundreds of rounds with the gun I choose, lacking confidence in my shooting ability…but I still believe more well placed shots in the shortest time (Fact:attack is quick) with enough energy and biggest/heaviest deep penetrating projectile is better, than just one shot that even with the best marksmen may miss in this scenario.
Semi-auto's deliver this better than mechanical worked actions.
So if a .80 cal. Brenneke slug@ over 3,000ft.lbs.,...hardened slugs that cause massive tissue damage, are "iffy" and 45 cal. .458SOCOM 405gr. bullets are also…then why would a .338 be good "bear medicine" as the hunters & guides say, not just for "hunting", but defense?
Secondly, I am not "obsessed with bears, terrified, or incompetent...I do not care how 'fast' you think you are with a mechanical action...I will be faster with an auto-loader under duress... not only placement matters, but tissue, skeletal & organ damage matters and you have few seconds for that, so yes, I'll take 3 well aimed shots with heavy-penetrating projectile to your one...).
Originally,(OP)... all I wanted was to be as sure as humanly possible that I had the most capable gun/caliber/projectile for the purpose, as unlikely as an encounter & Brown bear attack may be, I will be in high populated area...the neighbors there have had "encounters" with serious consequences and I take that seriously.
You do not go out as an officer, soldier, hunter into your field of combat where the predators (2 or 4 legged) roam unprepared or under-gunned!
So how is it...all you "bullet & ballistic" experts...that the .338 Win. Mag w/jacketed hunting rounds, are the #1 cartridge/rifle of AK. guides backing hunters...light bullets 200-250gr. (light by craigC standards???...no offense)
...some say nothing under 500gr. cast FN solid will stop the bear?
I am an old combat hand-gunner & occasional deer-elk hunter, what do I know about bears & defense of?
However...I need to review what I have learned from all you survivor-hunter-thousands-o-rounds a month shooters and bullet & ballistic gurus have taught me:
#1. Bear attacks=unlikely=paranoia (even in proved areas like Glacier MT. & surrounding area which rival or surpass AK., have family there, I know)
#2. SG w/slugs even modern hi-tech hardened Brenneke BM…are inadequate:Fact;"the diameter of a Brennele* 12 ga slug is .73 inches,*much larger then most every rifle or pistol bullet.*The Frontal area of all Brenneke USA slugs*immediately on impact open to .80 caliber and maintain*their original shape and*most all of its weight throughout the wound channel.* The high momentum factor allows*penetration of both hard and soft barriers, while maintaining a*higher average terminal velocity. This, along with its massive frontal area means more tissue damage, hemorrhage and trauma, it will stop an animal immediately."
#3. Only guns & cartridges that "look like" guns used in Big Game Hunting & the Big "5", along with "cowboy" rifles used to win the West & kill the Buffalo, is sufficient for Grizzly defense.
#4. The real best defense against a Grizzly sow protecting to-the-death, her cubs... or a p.o.'d boar determined to tear you limb form limb, is spraying them with pepper, no need for violence…lol
#5. The 1st, and any other shot you most likely won't get... better be CNS or break shoulders & hips or your dead.
#6. In most attacks…the bear is "on you" within 3 seconds or less…so you won't even get one shot off if you carry "sanely", "cruiser ready".
I am just a guy who wants to be well prepared…even for the "unlikely".
I am not now, nor after hundreds of rounds with the gun I choose, lacking confidence in my shooting ability…but I still believe more well placed shots in the shortest time (Fact:attack is quick) with enough energy and biggest/heaviest deep penetrating projectile is better, than just one shot that even with the best marksmen may miss in this scenario.
Semi-auto's deliver this better than mechanical worked actions.
So if a .80 cal. Brenneke slug@ over 3,000ft.lbs.,...hardened slugs that cause massive tissue damage, are "iffy" and 45 cal. .458SOCOM 405gr. bullets are also…then why would a .338 be good "bear medicine" as the hunters & guides say, not just for "hunting", but defense?
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