Something with a '4' in front

Will it look too obvious if I mention a Marlin 45-70?
No, really.

Marlin guide gun or 1895 in 45.70 stoked with 540 grain Hammerheads.

Forget about the 4 and go with a much more effective and practical something with a 9 in front:

9 oz can of bear spray

There's the 450 Marlin, but a 45-70 is far more common and it will do about the same job.

How about a 41mag. It will stop those pesky Teddy Bears DRT!!! Well it sounded funny at first...

On a serious note, I like the 444, but I believe that the 45-70 would be easier to find ammo and reloading it would be even simpler.

Expanding on that then and if you can get a hold of one, a Legacy/Puma/Rossi 92 in .454. And just to head it off at the pass, all reports say that yes, the action can handle the pressures regularly and over extended periods of time. If you go that route, Gunbroker is probably your best bet since they were discontinued on all fronts.

Would give you good capacity and short to medium range knockdown ability. Your biggest challenge will be finding one.

well my buddy has a 458 win mag, but its a Ruger #1 so follow up shots would not be as fast.

could also do a pistol in 454 oops I mean revolver, hope I didn't ruin too many evenings

Great excuse to buy a 45-70 lever!

408 Chey-Tac . that will do the trick.....

450 Alaskan...works for me...

Marlin 1895GBL for sure, boy do I want one .
But depending on budget and taste an AR in .458 SOCOM, .50 Beowulf, or .45 Bushmaster would do the trick too. (.458 socom ballistics are basically the same as .45-70)

firefighter supposedly carry the 454 in a revolver in AK

Forget about the 4 and go with a much more effective and practical something with a 9 in front:
9 oz can of bear spray

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So you suggest everyone should carry pepper spray only for defense against anyone else and never an actual weapon? He also says he wants to hunt with it in the future, do you suggest he sprays the bear and then club it into submission with the empty can? (or whatever else he decides to hunt for that matter)

If he wanted something effective with a 9 in front tho I suppose the 9.3x74mmR could easily do the trick. I don't think you'd find it in a lever action but I could be wrong on that, everything I see is single shot or double rifle. It uses a .366 bullet tho and saying a 4 in front i'm guessing the OP means .400 caliber or larger.

Forget about the 4 and go with a much more effective and practical something with a 9 in front:

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9 in front........like, M109?



Yeah, that oughta do it......

Back to reality, I'm with everyone on the Marlin 1895.

Is a 45-70 for example a 400 cal/ larger? If yes, that is what I want...

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Uses standard .458" bullets, can develop ~3,800 ft/lbs energy in the Marlin, a little more in a bolt gun or modern single shot.

For the non-handloader, with something like the Buffalo Bore 430 gr. hard cast load, you've got good bear medicine.

I was watching someone at the range shooting a .50 Beowulf upper on his AR-15. That thing is a real thumper, .45-70 power in a semi-auto carbine. I've already got an AR lower unit I could use, I just hesitate putting out $800 for an upper that will require me to start loading another calibre. I've got higher priorities for the money right now, but maybe one will show up used, and cheaper, at a gun show sometime.

ExAgoradzo said:

I want a one shot stop for grizzlies at short range

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A Peterbilt. Maybe.

Another vote for bear spray. If that fails, a 12 GA with slugs. And lots of friends with 12 GA slug guns. Semi-auto or pump.

For something that you can hunt with, how about a Remington 750 in .35 Whelen?

JustinJ said:

Forget about the 4 and go with a much more effective and practical something with a 9 in front:

9 oz can of bear spray

Click to expand...

The downside to this approach is you absolutely do not want to use this tactic with the wind in your face. The sprayer will be the one on the ground and the bear will have some seasoning to add to the banquet.

With a 45-70, the wind don't matter.

Dan

AK_Maine_iac said:

Marlin guide gun or 1895 in 45.70 stoked with 540 grain Hammerheads.

Click to expand...

Simple rugged design that's stood the test of time. Right now, I'd get a used one made 3+ years ago. Since Remington took over Marlin they have had manufacturing issues (my personal experience plus lots of chatter about it on the various forums plus there must be a reason Remington has temporarily stopped most of their lever action manufacturing). Besides, used ones cost a bit less and often are essentially good as new. Since you might be worried about nighttime visits, I'd go out to Wild West Guns and get their flashlight adaptor that screws onto the ammo tube.

It doesn't hurt to also have bear spray as it gives you options.