Thought of an anti-bear rifle.

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Like I said.

I know zip about big bears except that you'd better stop one toot sweeet!

A shot through their nose - coming front on - with a suitable caliber seems a good thing. We used to use the "front tooth" method for "breaking down" terr-perps.

A big/heavy caliber - 12 gauge slug/.45-70 kinda thing - that area = for deep penetration seems to do what works.

All others need not apply.

You do not have time for it to "bleed out," or anything else but to just break it down & stop it immediately.

My thoughts on bears & hogs is to just break it! Now!

Killing it's for later.
 
Badger,

Over there in Anchorage/Kenai you could live your whole life and never see a grizzly. When you get off the road system to Kodiak, SE, or the Peninsula you can see big brownies every day. I've been following this pretty closely, and since 98 when I started to take notice (after a rude awakening), I've noted between 5 and 10 reported maulings every year in this state alone. A lot more bears are killed "in defense of life and property" than that - ask any bear biologist. So, they may be "rare", but they are common enough in some parts of the state that they really have to be considered whenever you hunt, fish, hike, etc.

As for guns, I think there's a disconnect between hunting and defense. If you're hunting (brown) bears, get a .338 or a .375 with a good scope and go for it. If you're just fishing or hiking, such a weapon is not a great choice because they're heavy and the scope essentially makes you blind at short range - where bear attacks happen. Ditto with a heavy semi-auto of any kind.

For me, the perfect choice is the Marlin GG, but I concede a short barreled shotgun would serve just as well. The key here is short, light and handy. Bear attacks almost always happen in dense cover, because that's where bears lie up during the day and that's the terrain that lends itself to getting within the animals safety zone without seeing them, or them seeing you. If a bear spots you at a distance, it generally goes the other way. A bear encountered at close range can be nasty.

A lot of maulings occur along creeks where the alders tend to be thick, and the water covers the sound of the human footstep. You're edging along to the next hole in the river and a bear jumps up at ten feet, surprised and angry.

So, what's needed is a handy weapon that is quick to point, and SHORT enough to be useful in an alder thicket. Anybody who has ever threaded their way through such a mass will understand that. I suppose short enough to be wielded in a tent would be another way of saying the same thing, and another circumstance where a firearm would be useful...

And I'll say again that in addition to a rifle (or shotgun), the best tool you can carry is a large can of pepper spray. Not to use against "attacking bears", but to use whenever a bear is too close, but not necessarily threatening you. I always get a load of .... for saying that from all the macho types, but it's true. If you are to say, float the Karluk river (here on Kodiak) for some of the finest King Salmon fishing in the world, you will literally see a dozen grizzlies a day. And many of those bears will be close, and perhaps curious, or interested in your beer cooler or tent... or the trophy fish you are carrying. Pepper spray gives you an option that a rifle doesn't. Such bears can be chased off with a blast of pepper spray. Yes, it really does work.

If you didn't have pepper spray, you'd either kill bears every day (and likely go to prison) or spend a lot of time in trees (good luck finding a large tree on the south end of Kodiak), sleeping in the rain because your tent smelled good and was turned into confetti or eating a steady diet of fish because your baloney and flapjack mix disappeared down the gullet of some ursine epicure. I could tell stories all day about people I've known who've had everything they owned turned into garbage by a curious bear. I once saw a photo showing a pile of tent fabric in Kodiak bear doo-doo. The bear had eaten somebodies tent!

Bear attacks are "fairly" rare. Bear problems are very common. Pepper spray in the right circumstances is GREAT stuff to have around. I wouldn't even consider pepper spray with an angry bear or a sudden encounter with a bear, that's what firearms are for.

Keith
 
7mm mag isn't overkill for elk.. and yes it makes a dandy long range game getter.. for wiley critters like trophy pronghorn.

My buddy Dan bought a 375 for Africa, but the red tape of getting the rifle there made it too much of a hassle. He did all his plains game hunting with a camp gun... a Remington 700 7mm mag (gemsbock, kudu, zebra, wildebeest, etc) said he was buying one as soon as he could.

Like I said, there is a big difference between bear hunting.. and bear defense. I've carried an 870 with slugs, and a scoped 30-06 hunting black bears. Either one would do the job.
 
There are more brownies than people think around Los Anchorage and the kenai than people think, either that or I'm one of the few who actually keep there eyes open.

The only rifle I have that has a scope is my sheep/caribou rifle, otherwise its all open sights. I found out how useless a scope is when a bear is telling you leave his moose kill. Now its just either my co-pilot or my 375 when I leave pavement.
 
Kieth:

Agreed on all points. You might hear one "Expert" or another state that you need all these fancy, smancy elephant guns, bolt guns, etc. Some will say that you need that 454 Cassul or their 4" 44 Magnum will kill two bears a shot if you line them up. This is all crap. I could be wrong, but most of the people in the know agree something light, short, and out of the way. Follow-up shots better be a lever flick or slide shuck away or my might as well be using a single-shot. I remember one very reputable guide telling me that a 416 was the minimum he would use for bear protection. That might be fine if you are HUNTING and backing up the guy with the 'little' 338 or 375, but DEFENSE is another story.

I do get out of Anchorage every once in a while. I can tell you that the only Bear that's ever gotten close enough to spook me was in a stand of dense brush where he RAN WHEN HE SAW ME AND DIDN'T COME OUT!!! All I had at the time was a shotgun loaded with 2 3/4" Steel Shot for geese. I was almost as scared as he was!

I always get a kick out of telling people that I carry a 9mm when fishing in Bear country. When they ask why I just say, "All you need to do is shoot the guy next to you in the kneecap. Then you can outrun him. No human can outrun a bear."

All this said, I still carry a 5.5" Ruger Bisley/Vaquero when fishing or hiking. I figure that I'll just leave the shotgun at home. Too cumbersome. Yeah, I'll save the last bullet for myself!
 
It's not just the bears....

UAA police shoot, kill aggressive moose on campus
MENACING: Students, officers say the cow was dangerous and threatening.


By Peter Porco
Anchorage Daily News

(Published: January 23, 2003)
Campus police at the University of Alaska Anchorage shot and killed a cow moose Tuesday night after the animal had menaced students and charged the officers.

At one point, a student got trapped behind a light pole near the UAA Commons when the moose forced him to take refuge there, said Sgt. Annie Endecott of the University Police Department.

"He kept dodging the moose," Endecott said. "Every time he moved, the moose got real aggressive."

Officer Brad Munn later fired two shotgun slugs at the animal when it charged both him and Endecott as they watched it browsing on a birch tree.

Though struck, the animal ran off into nearby woods where, more than two hours later, officers tracked it down with flashlights and Endecott finished it with two more slugs.

"I'd rather not have had to shoot it," she said. "But we were afraid a student could get hurt." She guessed the animal's age as between 2 and 3 years.

A 100-foot trail of blood smears and debris leading out of the woods near one of the dorm buildings indicated very clearly Wednesday where the carcass had been dragged behind an ATV by members of a charity organization called in to salvage the meat.

The moose had been extremely aggressive while wandering around the Commons area, according to police and students.

"Somebody warned us: 'Watch out! There's a moose over there with its ears down,' " said Aaron Wilson, a 22-year-old junior, referring to his encounter with the animal as he and a friend left the UAA Commons after dinner.

It was about 6:30 p.m., and several others were cautiously watching the animal. Wilson said he's from Juneau and doesn't know moose very well but nevertheless thought this one was "dangerous."

"We watched it for a little while and walked as far as we could around it," Wilson said.

About the same time, someone called campus police.

Munn arrived and drove his patrol car along bike paths behind the Commons. On a small hill leading up to the dorms, he saw the moose 30-40 feet away, highly agitated.

"It was like a bronco," Munn said. "It started bucking with its back legs, kicking outward, and even with its front, throwing that out. It was blowing air from its nose."

Munn called Endecott, who used to be an Alaska State Trooper in the Fish and Wildlife Protection Division.

"I felt right then we had a dangerous moose," he said.

He drove around to another part of the campus to put himself between the moose and a frequently crossed area called the quad.

Standing near a corner of a dorm building, he pulled his shotgun out, watching the moose browse contentedly on a tree.

"I wasn't sure it was the same moose," he said. He got out of the car with his shotgun and was watching the animal when Endecott, who had arrived, walked up to him.

"It was maybe five car lengths away, just browsing," Endecott said. "Out of the blue, it was (coming) at us, making funny noises with its teeth, its ears were down, the hair on its neck went up, and . . . it cleared that distance quicker than I can imagine."

Endecott told Munn to shoot as she jumped out of the way. He fired off one slug when the moose was 15 feet away and the second when it was nearly on top of him, police said.

"It ran within a couple feet of us and kept going," said Endecott.

"Thirty yards away there was a parent unloading groceries for his kid," Munn said. "He had no idea that moose was ever there. If I hadn't shot, the moose would've got me or my sergeant or somebody in the parking lot."

"I've never seen a moose do what it did," Endecott said.

It was unclear why the moose behaved so badly, she said. The moose did not appear to have a calf.

Another moose was shot on the UAA campus in January 1995 when a cow, apparently protective of its calf, stomped a 71-year-old man to death outside the UAA Sports Center.

State wildlife officials shot that moose four days later after it charged another man on the campus. The calf later died after being hit by a car.
 
That moose that stomped the man on UAA scared me. My daughter and I had just been charged the day before by a Momma that ended up bedding down in our back yard. We couldn't shoot the darn thing and we couldn't go out back either. I was holding my 2-year-old and the moose charged us to within about 5 feet when she veered off to the side and came so close I could have reached out and touched her. I had just stood still and waited to get stomped. My kid didn't care, we circled around the block to go in the front door and she just kept saying 'moose' over and over like it was a big stuffed animal.
 
Keith has it right. When HUNTING bears, you're likely going to be taking shots at some distance at the broadside. You're also likely to be on as secure a rest as possible, and you'll take time to aim at the sweet spot. You need a rifle powerful enough to break through the shoulder if needed, expand, cut through the heart and lungs, and exit to allow maximum blood loss.

For DEFENDING against a bear, you'll be dealing with the business end. Instead of thin skin and a little bone over the chest, you're facing many, many inches of muscle, thick bone and so on between you and the heart/lung area. Hitting the brainpan is difficult at best and the chance of wounding a bear and making it VERY angry is high. If you're really attacked, you may have only a few seconds at best. The exception is if you're being stalked by a black bear who plans on eating you. If you're hit by a brownie defending cubs or a kill, you may not get any warning at all. Whatever you have, you have to be very comfortable shooting it and you have to be able to use it at close range very quickly. If you're faster and better with a beat up little carbine in .30-30, I'd recommend carrying that rather than a massive 9 lb safari rifle.

The 1895G is pretty neat, but keep in mind you may not have time to work the lever to chamber a round.

Most guys I know who hunt in thick brownie country don't worry too much about massive firepower. They carry spray and their little Sitka deer rifles, and keep a good eye out for trouble. That's it.
 
Re. Moose

Let's not get TOO paranoid about Alaskan wildlife. As far as moose, you're much less likely to get away with a defense of life or property excuse if you shoot one. The last thing we need are tourists blowing away cows and depleting the stock. I know of only one fatal attack, the one Keith mentions at UAA. That was a bit of a fluke. I've been chased many times by street moose and trail moose. The proper response? Make like brave Sir Robbin and boldly run away! ;-) The bulls during mating season just want to be the Boss. The cows just want you to get away.

Frankly, the biggest threat in this respect are OFF LEASH DOGS! The only time I had to dive out of the way of a really pissed off bull, he had been driven to rage by off leash dogs that were pestering him. I've also seen them play "wolf pack" with a cow and cubs. The cow could of course kick the dogs into next week, but she doesn't know that. To her, they ARE wolves. Moose sure taste good, but they aren't known for smarts.

FYI, you are indeed allowed to shoot unsupervised dogs that are molesting wildlife. They are deleterious exotic wildlife. Typically, though, the owners are nearby and just lazy.
 
Actually, the same winter the man was stomped to death at UAA, an old woman was killed in her yard, also in Anchorage.

This elderly gal had just moved down from one of the villages to live with her son or daughter in Anchorage. A moose came into the yard to dine on the shrubbery and this lady went out with a rolled up newspaper to "swat" it... and it killed her. Apparently, city moose are not as easily intimidated as the rural moose she was accustomed to. I attribute it to all that rap music they hear over there in Anchorage!

I know that sounds like some sort of urban legend, but it actually happened!

Keith
 
That must have been an angry year for our moosey friends. Maybe they were planning a takeover, testing our defenses. The street moose in Anchorage are indeed less timid than those who get hunted. A recent study also showed they were more stressed out. I also get more stressed out in Anchorage, esp. when trying to drive cross town on Friday at about five.

I'm going to put "swatting a moose" high on my list of BAD IDEAS ;-)
 
Swatting anything larger than a toy poodle is a bad idea!

I *think* 95 might have been the year that there was very little snow. Remember that? There was one year when several packs of wolves moved right into town because they couldn't run down any moose out in the boonies - no snow to bog the moose down for the kill. Anyway, they were chasing moose all over town, and killing pet dogs left and right. A jittery year for urban wildlife.

And come to think of it, there hasn't been much snow this year either. At least we haven't had any over here. There has been only one short period around Christmas when it was even cold enough for frost at night. That's not real unusual over here, but I heard Anchorage was mild this year too - or has that changed?


Keith
 
Meese apparently ain't the brightest of critters, and they certainly can go bonkers. Years ago, I saw a real-life film of a bull moose charging a train. A one-time event, of course.

:), Art
 
Anchorage is real mild this year. We just got back from shooting down by girdwood and there is no snow. We went to portage to get some coffee and it was snowing pretty good there.

It was 95/96 where we didnt get any snow till Feb. That year sucked because it was cold as hell and all the pipes were busting on base.

As for which action is "best" for defensive guns, it depends on the person. I have a buddy whose very fast with a single shot, Of course he doesnt use it for hiking because its uncomfortable keeping extra rounds between his fingers. I happen to be much more comfortable with a lever than a bolt.
 
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