Gun for Griz Country?

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A pistol in a fight with a Bear.... no thanks! Many years ago when living up in Alaska a buddy shot a grizzly bear about 4 times with a 30-06. It took off we found it a couple hours later. Watched him for about 1/2 an hour for movement. Upon approaching what appeared to be a dead bear a 3rd person with us pulled out a 1911 45. Shot em in the head a couple times to make sure he was dead. Yeh...... both bullets ricocheted off the Bear's thick skull. Good thing the bear was dead already that 1911 45 was worthless.

I just leave you with something to think about in your selection. Don't underestimate the speed any bear, they can do what appears to be zero to 30 MPH in a heartbeat if they want.

Also a large flare gun can be handy in more ways than one.
 
If you look at the energy a pistol generates, even a 10 or a 44 mag and it is pretty grim compared to any rifle round.

You might poke a hole in some critical part of a big bear that will eventually kill him but he will have the time to take you apart for lunch before he lays down and dies in most cases.

A 12 ga used pump can be had fairly resonable and most folks can get off aimed repeate shots at a much higher rate than they could with a powerfull pistol.

12ga slugs completely outclass the power of any pistol round except the craziest of the single shot hand cannons
 
In the 70's when I was there, we had a Winchester M12 with slugs. Never had to kill one, but we did follow bears around sometimes (at a very respectable distance).


Runningman:Yeh...... both bullets ricocheted off the Bear's thick skull. Good thing the bear was dead already that 1911 45 was worthless.


Might not be the pistol itself, but the whole idea of shooting a bear in the head that's worthless. There's a big ol' slanted plate of bone on a bear's forehead that can be almost 2" thick. Almost anything you can hold in your hands, if it hits him there, is likely going to 1) peel off a strip of fur, and 2) piss him off.

The most sensible advice I heard was, shoot the near shoulder or high leg, and hope he turns toward it. Then you can get a shot at the heart/lung area.

Look up Gordon Stoddard, who homesteaded near Anchor Point before there was any Anchor Point. He must be dead by now, but he had a couple good bear stories.

Parker
 
Do NOT use pepper spray on a brown bear. They seem to like the taste of it. I carry a ruger Vaquero.45 colt with 325 LBTs hot loaded-the shotgun always seems to end up leaning on a tree somewere.
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This is actually a half-truth. It is true when people use pepper spray INCORRECTLY. Some people who think it is a bear deterrant and spray it on their clothes or boots BEFORE they see a bear. This may attract bears because of the scent they catch. THIS IS THE WRONG WAY TO USE IT.

Now when used correctly when you spot the bear near you, or a charging bear. The concentrated spray will stop the bear in most cases. Rain and windy conditions will impact the effectiveness though.

Personally, I can eat red pepper powder off a spoon also, but blow it into my eyes and face and ill be down on the floor.


Follow the directions on the spray. It's not DEET.
 
When Im in alaska I carry my 450 Marlin, dropped more than one bear with it they were sure impressed.
scott
 
IT'd be a shame to kill a momma bear, but seriously who would choose bear spray when they have no problem with guns.

I'm fond of this 20ga double shotgun I picked up, 20ga slugs are pretty perfect. And you get two of them, pretty easy to understand too anyone could pick it up and use it.
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No sane/cogent person could consider bear spray to be reliable. Standing your ground until a bear charged into range so you can have that fraction of a second window to spray it, and hoping for the best. :rolleyes:
 
Lets picture a situation were a bear is 10 feet in front of you,snapping and growling,but the wind is coming from him to you at 30 MPH. Bear spray? Right back in your face. That stuff is green Peace material.
 
Marlin Guide gun loaded with these





Click here to enlarge photo
GARRETT'S 45-70 EXITER AMMO
Elephant, Rhino, Hippo, Cape Buffalo
$120 / 20 CTGS

500-GRAIN Hornady Copper-Clad Steel Jacketed Flatnose Solid at 1530-fps

FIRE ONLY IN MARLINS & WINCHESTERS
ENERGY: 2600 FT/LBS; TAYLOR KNOCKOUT VALUE: 50; MEPLAT: .235"; CHAMBER PRESSURE: 35,000-CUP MACP TRAJECTORY: +1.3" @ 50-YDS, ZERO @ 100-YDS, -6" @ 150-YDS
 
I'd vote for an 18-20 inch 12 gauge shooting heavy slugs. Express sights would make for fast target aquisition.
 
Lets picture a situation were a bear is 10 feet in front of you,snapping and growling,but the wind is coming from him to you at 30 MPH. Bear spray? Right back in your face. That stuff is green Peace material.
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It doesn't have to be blowing back at you. I just used an old can that I have had for years to keep our young dog from chewing on our evergreens. Heck, I was careful to make sure the wind was at my back (it isn't hard to tell which direction the wind is coming from in Wyoming), and my eyes, lips, and nose burned for two solid days. It is a very poor choice in my book.
 
the most effective defense for a bear (of any kind) is pepper spray. a bear in full charge will be affected little by anything but a very well placed large caliber round; however, a bear in full charge can be sprayed in the face with pepper spray and stop in its tracks, a bear's sense of smell makes up a large portion of its brain, the overwhelming scent of the pepper spray temporarily shorts out the bears brain. I would also recommend the 12 gauge.
 
The idea in shooting any bear,close or far,is to break bones to incapacitate them,not kill them. That can be done Later, when they are safely on the ground with a broken shoulder. And thanks wyocarp,its no surprise to me it took someone in Laramie to understand this;)
 
the most effective defense for a bear (of any kind) is pepper spray.
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Says you, the makers of pepper spray, and everyone who are least likely to meet a bear in the first place.

For me, I've had experience pile driving charging bears with firearms and I'll take that option every time.
 
Yeah, Jim, pepper spray doesn't even work in classroom demonstrations. I went to a seminar on grizzly attacks where one of the presenters was the president of one of the popular pepper sprays. He had some inert cans with him to demonstrate the use of them.

He had people stand on opposite sides of the room and equiped one with a can. NONE of them were able to deploy the spray before the person was running past them.

I asked him why he didn't have any videos of how the spray worked in real life on bears. His answer told me all I needed to know.

He said, "Because that would be too dangerous."


If the makers of the stuff don't trust it with their life, I won't with mine.
 
Quote:
the most effective defense for a bear (of any kind) is pepper spray.
Click to expand...

Says you, the makers of pepper spray, and everyone who are least likely to meet a bear in the first place.

For me, I've had experience pile driving charging bears with firearms and I'll take that option every time.
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Hey, Dog the bounty hunter swears by it ;)

I'm with you though. The preferred cheap choice for me would be either a 12 gauge and some slugs or an inexpensive (relatively) Ruger .44 magnum of some sort loaded with some 300 grain hardcast lead bullets.
 
Okay forget the pepper spray I'd rather blast a charging bear with a 12ga too.

The Mossberg 590 with Marinecote is pretty rust proof too.

51273.jpg
 
PT1911, I've read the testimonials before. UDAP is the product that the president said it would be too dangerous to video the testing of it on bears.

They say it will work in the wind. Good luck with that.

I've been charged numerous times and the gun is 100% effective so far with me pulling the trigger. I'll stick with that.
 
Pepper spray is a wonderful tool for dealing with bears. Those discounting its usefulness are not speaking from experience or have used it without proper application.

Bear attacks are not always rapid dynamic affairs. Bears often approach people out of curiosity looking for opportunity. These acts of curiosity become acts of predation. Pepper spray is an excellent way to discourage a bear from being curious of you.

I would also suggest an air horn. When blasted bears will typically move away from sharp loud noises (sometimes rapidly, sometimes meandering, sometimes not at all).

I can tell you that for the vast majority of users any high caliber snub nosed revolver is next to useless. Very few people would be able to effectively employ such a weapon in a self defense situation (no one practices with them because the bullets are big bucks and shooting them is little fun after the first cylinder).

The suggestions towards rifles and shotguns are prudent. I agree that a rifle and the mojo to use it is the best bet. Having the mojo is the most important. I read a story in the newspaper about a couple young men in a river south of Anchorage, a bear approached them and the fellow with the shotgun promptly tossed it into the river. His more savvy buddy pulled out a 9mm glock and killed the mid-sized brown bear.

/SE Alaskan who spent 4 summers working on Kruzof Island. 130 bears living on 520 square miles.
 
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I would think a .22 would be just about right. It's light, easy to handle, and quick to deploy.

I would think a couple of shots from that into the back of your hunting partner's hamstring should get you out of bear trouble handily.
 
Marlin Guide gun loaded with these





Click here to enlarge photo
GARRETT'S 45-70 EXITER AMMO
Elephant, Rhino, Hippo, Cape Buffalo
$120 / 20 CTGS

500-GRAIN Hornady Copper-Clad Steel Jacketed Flatnose Solid at 1530-fps

FIRE ONLY IN MARLINS & WINCHESTERS
ENERGY: 2600 FT/LBS; TAYLOR KNOCKOUT VALUE: 50; MEPLAT: .235"; CHAMBER PRESSURE: 35,000-CUP MACP TRAJECTORY: +1.3" @ 50-YDS, ZERO @ 100-YDS, -6" @ 150-YDS
Click to expand...


+1. The guide gun is handy and some of those 45-70 loads pack a serious wallop.
 
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