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SKS or 870 for bear defense?

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Has anyone said they would trust ONLY a 12ga slug against a black bear?
I never said an SKS wouldn't work, I was simply saying what I would choose to defend myself against a sudden bear attack. It will surely kill a bear, but I was just mentioning the possibility that it may not stop a bear very qiuckly depending on shot placement, but being a semi-auto, you could pop a few more rounds within seconds.
Also, I'm talking about a self-defense situation where shooting the bear was my last choice and only at the last moment, not a hunting scenario.
Yes, an SKS, 30/30, 10mm, or .357 will kill a bear, but it will it stop it soon enough? With a high velocity round, there is the possibility of a lethal round not stopping on impact.
 
Yes, an SKS, 30/30, 10mm, or .357 will kill a bear, but it will it stop it soon enough? With a high velocity round, there is the possibility of a lethal round not stopping on impact.
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I'd say to that, will a slug "stop it" soon enough? Have you tested this? You have a possible point with the .357 and 10mm, but the .30-30 is a stopper. The SKS is load dependent. I don't care much for 7.62x39, doesn't handle very heavy bullets and load choices are slim. A .30-30 with a 160 Nosler Partition is a good medium game round, has been for 103 years now using normal bullets.

I know a local guy who, when he got out of the service in WW2, became an Indian agent in Alaska. According to him, the Inuit shot EVERYTHING including brown with the .30-30. It ain't the cartridge, it's who's behind the gun. Inuits are efficient hunters. See, so right there I made the case for the shotgun slug on brown bears....:D LOL!

Getting back to black bear, about anything appropriate for whitetail deer will be appropriate for black bear.
 
know a local guy who, when he got out of the service in WW2, became an Indian agent in Alaska. According to him, the Inuit shot EVERYTHING including brown with the .30-30. It ain't the cartridge, it's who's behind the gun. Inuits are efficient hunters.
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This is true. Indeed, one of the most prolific bear hunters on Kodiak in the early part of the last century was a native who used .30-30's and even smaller rifles. He did finally get killed, but only after killing many dozens of monster bears. Forty eight IIRC.

Nowadays subsistence natives prefer the .223 over the .30-30 because it shoots flatter. I've seen many of them in the SW bush. They've given many griz the infamous "belly ache." But personally I'd want something bigger.
 
12 gauge slug in 3 1/2 mag should be enough to discourage anything present in North America from attacking. As far as a sidearm 10mm is more than enough for what you may encounter. IMO no handgun is well suited to bear protection. Of course do keep in mind that bear attacks are quite rare and should you encounter one please refrain from shooting it unless your out of options. Most of the time yelling at them and waving your arms will spook them enough to leave.
 
Thanks for all the advice & comments.

The only reason I brought this up is that in 2000, AZG&F counted 28 adult black bears in a 3 square mile area, This was due to wildfires in the surrounding wilderness causing the usually solitary bears to share the unburned area. Even considering the above I really don't expect to even see any bears.

I normally don't worry about wild critters, but considering the area & the fact that young children will be there I just wanted a little extra insurance. In 30 odd years in the outdoors, my only negative run-ins with wildlife (aside from snakes & bugs) were a crazed possum in Louisiana & a javalina that charged me for some unknown reason.

I don't feel un(der)armed with my G20. It is my standard choice for the boondocks. 10mm is the biggest 'ummph' available in an auto.
 
Bear gun

My .300 Win Mag and I killed two bears in June and August of 1968 using 180 grain soft points.A 280 pound black bear was a one shot kill at over 400 yards.A 1300 pound Toklat Grizzly was a 25 yard suprise shot (we suprised each other) taken while tracking a black bear.Four shots were fired, one left shoulder,one heart,one lung from left side and one over the spine shot as we both stumbled down hill....Give me a twelve gage and 00 buck followed by slugs any time at close range....This was the preferred load of the Craighead brothers when studdying Grizzlies in out western states....A .44 mag or larger would be my minimum handgun for any bear....Unless you have seen how fast a bear can move in the wild you cannot appreciate their speed and agility not to mention their stealh and tracking ability...Don't wound one and go after it right away,let it bleed and weaken,and get help if possible.If you cannot finish it off notify authorities as you have created a dangerous situation for anyone that bear may run into....This is what I experienced in Alaska on my uwn and was taught by a guide from eagle River Alaska.
 
[QUOTEI don't care much for 7.62x39, doesn't handle very heavy bullets and load choices are slim.][/QUOTE]
I mentioned I was a fan of the SKS. I meant for just fun shooting, not for hunting or defense. The cheapest ammo is good enough for me since I just plink with it.
Say, hasn't Smith & Wesson come out with a small gun with defense against bear in mind?
 
I don't care much for 7.62x39, doesn't handle very heavy bullets and load choices are slim.
Click to expand...
I mentioned I was a fan of the SKS. I meant for just fun shooting, not for hunting or defense. The cheapest ammo is good enough for me since I just plink with it.
Say, hasn't Smith & Wesson come out with a small gun with defense against bear in mind?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've got a pair of SKSs, didn't mean I didn't like the gun for SOMEthing. :D I have one set up sporterized and a Norinco carbine set up with a folding stock that's a fun plinker with cheap ammo.

I used to handload a 135 grain Sierra Pro Hunter pistol bullet (designed for the TC Contender in .30-30/.30 Herrit) in IMI brass for the SKS and killed one deer with that load. It was a good load, but that bullet is discontinued. :cuss: I really haven't messed with hunting with that gun in a while, but plan some hog hunting with it at night and need to find a decent heavy load for hunting. I've heard Wolf has a 154 grain spitzer that's good, but I can't find it around here. I might experiment with handloading round nose 150s (.30-30 bullet) when I get around to it. Would be a good project. I just don't have much faith in the 123 grain soft nose or hollow point stuff on hogs unless I can make head shots. The SKS is NOT a surgical weapon, but at 50 yards, it's good enough for head shots.

On even black bear, I'd forget about buckshot, stick with slugs. Buckshot is next to worthless IMHO for animals, good for burglers. I still have more confidence in a rifle of reasonable caliber, regardless. I have shot rabbits on the run with a .22, don't think a charging bear would be that hard to hit, frankly. It'd be a matter of keeping calm and placing your shot and that goes just as well for the shotgun. My rifles are a heck of a lot more accurate than my shotguns are with slugs, but at 25 yards and in, either is accurate enough. If you have more confidence in your shotgun than your ability with a rifle, confidence is probably more important than raw ballistics and theory. Either is plenty for black bear ballistically.
 
Well, Art, I don't think the slug has much chance of dealing a one stop shot, unless you get a headshot, in which case the SKS is good, too. Besides, the SKS can shot quicker, and has a good chance of penetrating the chest muscles (if you'll read that article I posted eariler, the shotgun slugs don't penetrate too well against lions chest muscles, or those on a smaller leopard).
 
The only wildlife we ended up seeing were a few birds & some deer. Seems there was much ado about nothing.
 
"He shot the one lion at a range of a couple of feet when it was trying to climb on to his pole platform (basha) with a 12g shotgun loaded with slugs. The lion pushed off, but when Patterson finally killed it 10 days later (using a .303) he found both slugs stuck just under the skin"

I know that article came from a real African hunter, but I really doubt slugs would just stick "under the skin." I guessing there’s more to that story. Were talking about 450 grain chunks of lead moving at least 1600fps. I realize the SD is poor on slugs, but momentum i.e.(weight*velocity) also contributes to penetration. Ballistic gelatin has its faults for determining terminal performance, but Fackler’s results show 36 centimeters of penetration with a 1 oz slug and 42 centimeters with a .308 JSP.

Does anyone have any case studys on bear shooting's. I read an article in American Hunter (or rifleman, cant remember) where slugs were used succsesfully to stop a problem brown bear.
 
Use the shotgun and try remingtons buck slammers for a slug. It's not a sabated bullet but a full on bore size and weight slug. DO buy and take bear spray with you too. Will back off most any bear with out shooting and maybe wounding it. That would be much worse.
 
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