Given that the handgun standard for brown bear would be 44 mag or better, a slug must be the correct answer. Yes? Wouldn't buck shot just pi-- him off?
Hmm, year before last I took a small doe with a 3" Winchester 1oz slug and it went clean through her (spine shot) at about 30 yards. She dropped on the spot and was dead by the time I got to her.
I don't know about you all, but a bear makes a guy like me feel mighty tiny... If I were in a situation where all I had was a shotgun and I HAD to go into bear territory I would do one of 2 things... #1, pay someone else to go or #2, cast some of my own steel core rifled lead slugs and load up some 3.5" magnum shells.
Hmm, year before last I took a small doe with a 3" Winchester 1oz slug and it went clean through her (spine shot) at about 30 yards. She dropped on the spot and was dead by the time I got to her.
Foster slug performance can vary greatly at 3" velocities at close ranges, especially on tougher target materials. I've seen them break up, flatten out to a thin wafer and underpenetrate, or even flatten out and "frisbee" out of the target laterally after penetrating a short distance.
For bear defense I'll only carry the tougher Brenneke or Gaulandi style slugs, even in regular 2 3/4 format.
Slugs and more slugs. Nothing but slugs. Period. My friend shot a bear in his cabin with a 357 mag cause thats what he had with him. The bear was finally killed with a 20ga slug by another friend. Not a huge monster bear but big enough to do them all in if it wanted to. Now they have a 12ga with slugs ready at all times.
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