Big Bear Protection

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loadedround

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We are planning our third fishing trip into the wilds of Canada. The past two times I carried my Scoped Model 70 338WM for big bear protection. We did see a few bears but were never bothered by any. Most of the time it was left in camp. I have since purchased a Mossberg 500 with the 18" barrel. Is this adequate bear protection used with quality lead slugs. Mt Shottie is a lot lighter than my Model 70 and much easier to carry. It is also possible for me to replace the stock with a pistol grip when I get there. Main question....will a 12 ga slug stop a 600-700 lb bear?
 
ill bet a fiver ur shotgun will turn into a campgun. no use of it then. get urself a big caliber but LIGHT revolver that u carry all the time. and practice with it.

so.
short barrelled. 4"ish.
highpower 44mag>
lightweight
 
Stuff that Mossberg with 3" Black Magic Brenneke hardened slugs and you are good to go, the perfect bear protection firearm (better than any bolt or lever rifle, 338, 375, 45-70, etc..)

Light, fast and handy.
 
Any scoped rifle is a very poor choice, no matter the caliber - unless you can dial the scope down to 1X, and there aren't many of those around.

But yeah, a shotgun is a great choice, as is the Guide Gun. Pepper spray is very effective. Most scary bear encounters are in the "threat display" category and a blast of pepper spray (backed by a shotgun) is the best response.
 
oh plese not another bear defense thread war lol
marlin has a exceptional cartridge its the 450 marlin its basically a 45-70 that uses high pressure loads. id take a lever action for bear defense, or a single or double barrel 10 guage with 3 1/2 shells, found a awsome single shot 10 guage carbine fired 3 1/2 shells couldnt imagine the recoil but its up for bear defense lol
 
Theres more to bears than people realize and kodiakbeer can tell you lots about them. in my encounters they have been either logging or horseback encounters. I only have black bears they tell me "whistles" but the park rangers tell me there are grizzlies in the sangres lol but logging encounters start by pulling up hiking out a bit to mark some trees and you usually se a black bear, just talk to them yell at them they go away but be aware of the situation, does the bear have cubs? Is the bear eating something? or is the ebar snooping around. if the bear has food or cubs i usually draw my 357 mag first, then yell, same goes for encounters on horseback. if theres no food or cubs i usually just walk up to the bear talking to him and they freak out big time and run lol
 
sonier

i usually just walk up to the bear talking to him and they freak out big time and run lol
Click to expand...

all of a sudden i imagined the bear to be a stoner/schroom guy on a bad trip :D
 
A reply to several comments. One, This shottie will not be a camp gun, but carried on my back via a sling. Two, No handguns are permitted in Canada, otherwise I'd carry my Ruger Alaskan in 454 Casull.
 
The Mossberg is fine, I used one while fishing for many years here. Just be sure to load with Brenneke hardcasts. Skip the buckshot, skip the soft lead slugs. I'd also suggest getting a slugster barrel for it with the rifle sights.
 
I suppose it's pertinent to ask where you're going - black bears or grizzlies? Blacks and grizzlies are very different animals.
 
Kodiak Island isn't anywhere near Canada, but I guess that means western Canada, so grizzlies anyway. Buy some pepper spray. If you have bear problems they're almost always of that doubtful variety that are best solved with pepper spray.
 
The Bear Pepper Spray works well and you don't get in trouble for using it. Carry a gun if you want, but have some bear pepper spray.
 
Quote:
"It is also possible for me to replace the stock with a pistol grip when I get there. Main question....will a 12 ga slug stop a 600-700 lb bear?

loadedround, I would say you're probably on the right track as to the 12 gauge, and I agree with Cosmoline on the hardcast loads. Not sure as to the legalities of the "pistol grip" where you're going, but you might want to stay with a regular or folding (if legal) stock for aiming purposes. And like mbt2001 said...carry pepper spray. Be careful, good luck, and have fun...:)
Tac
 
Quote:
"Kodiak Island isn't anywhere near Canada, but I guess that means western Canada..."

I don't know....Better check with Al Gore...with all of this global warming and such, he may have moved it...lol
 
I use a small round stone and foul language for big bear defense.

Some good news and some bad news here. The 12 GA with slugs is fine for bear. The bad news, I' am almost certain that Canada prohibits the import of pistol grip equipped shotguns.

But check into it for yourself I could be wrong.
 
This should do the job:

From the Dixie Slugs website:

"The Dixie IXL-DGS is .730" and weighs 870 grs. It is designed for rifled barrels and .729"/.730" bore smoothbore with cylinder chokes. The velocity in the loaded rounds is 1200'/" from 20" 12 gauge 3" Hastings rifled barrels."
 
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