Best cal and gun for grizzly protection
- Thread starter Dano4734
- Start date
Bear guns are guns that have penetration enough to break big bones and penetrate deep. The "best' bear gun is one that does these things that you can shoot well and fast.
I was the CEO of Cast Performance Bullet Co for some time and I have a LOT of experience with what works, what doesn't and so on, but I can tell you faithfully that a good 357 Magnum with hard cast LBT Bullet or heavy Keith SWCs is FAR better than a 500 S&W, if you can shoot the 357 better and faster then the 500.
We have a tendency to look at guns when we should be looking at shooters.
If you develop the skills to use the heavier more powerful guns then they are better.
More is better, when loosing the fight means getting permanently hurt or killed, but what's going to save you is accurate hits, and because of that I recommend using the most powerful gun you can shoot well
Let me repeat "that you can shoot well."
I was the CEO of Cast Performance Bullet Co for some time and I have a LOT of experience with what works, what doesn't and so on, but I can tell you faithfully that a good 357 Magnum with hard cast LBT Bullet or heavy Keith SWCs is FAR better than a 500 S&W, if you can shoot the 357 better and faster then the 500.
We have a tendency to look at guns when we should be looking at shooters.
If you develop the skills to use the heavier more powerful guns then they are better.
More is better, when loosing the fight means getting permanently hurt or killed, but what's going to save you is accurate hits, and because of that I recommend using the most powerful gun you can shoot well
Let me repeat "that you can shoot well."
Super Sneaky Steve
New member
We have no less than 342,693,102 bear threads on this forum. Try a search.
Deaf Smith
New member
Many Alaskans who live with bears right in their back yards do use such guns as Ruger Blackhawk .44s, Redhawks, S&W 629s, etc... The very well known guide, Phil Shoemaker, uses a 629 Mountain Revolver (but the last bear he killed he used a 9mm!)
http://grizzlyskinsofalaska.com/
Now these people actually use them and have killed Grizzly and Brown Bears with them. Sure they prefer a rifle or shotgun, but they pack handguns very often.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-st...ed-this-year-in-alaska-in-defensive-shootings
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/06/26/two-brown-bear-attacks-reported-in-alaska-on-same-day.html
http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Al...und-brown-bear-on-his-property-426364311.html
Deaf
http://grizzlyskinsofalaska.com/
Now these people actually use them and have killed Grizzly and Brown Bears with them. Sure they prefer a rifle or shotgun, but they pack handguns very often.
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-st...ed-this-year-in-alaska-in-defensive-shootings
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/06/26/two-brown-bear-attacks-reported-in-alaska-on-same-day.html
http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Al...und-brown-bear-on-his-property-426364311.html
Deaf
g.willikers
New member
Where does the advice to use pepper spray for big game come from?
From my own experience, the danger of getting the brunt of the spray oneself, and by the time it's discovered the bear wasn't impressed by it, your reaction time has been reduced to a dangerous level.
Just never made sense to me.
If the bear isn't a direct threat, why not leave it be and vacate the area?
If it is a threat, don't talk, shoot.
??
Maybe the advice is for encountering bears indoors.
Other opinions on the use of bear repellent please.....
From my own experience, the danger of getting the brunt of the spray oneself, and by the time it's discovered the bear wasn't impressed by it, your reaction time has been reduced to a dangerous level.
Just never made sense to me.
If the bear isn't a direct threat, why not leave it be and vacate the area?
If it is a threat, don't talk, shoot.
??
Maybe the advice is for encountering bears indoors.
Other opinions on the use of bear repellent please.....
The revolver and its chambering won't make any difference if,
1) he doesn't shoot it enough to be accurate.
2) He doesn't realize how fast Yogi/Cindy can be when he's(or she) PO'd. 100 yards in under 6 seconds. Approximately 35 MPH flat out. And that's 1,052–1,177 lbs. for a full grown boy bear.
3) He doesn't realize that no firearm will stop Yogi in his tracks.
Don't normally recommend Wikipedia for anything, but this made me laugh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bear_Square.JPG
1) he doesn't shoot it enough to be accurate.
2) He doesn't realize how fast Yogi/Cindy can be when he's(or she) PO'd. 100 yards in under 6 seconds. Approximately 35 MPH flat out. And that's 1,052–1,177 lbs. for a full grown boy bear.
3) He doesn't realize that no firearm will stop Yogi in his tracks.
Don't normally recommend Wikipedia for anything, but this made me laugh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bear_Square.JPG
Two of my favorite T-shirts on this site concern bears.
http://www.badideatshirts.com/WHAT-...-BEARS-BEARS-WILL-KILL-YOU-T-SHIRT-P2605.aspx
http://www.badideatshirts.com/Peopl...t-Tacos-Of-the-Bear-World-T-Shirt--P3785.aspx
And of course my favorite youtube.com video about 'guns for bears' (posted here before)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGHKkAvBWUE
http://www.badideatshirts.com/WHAT-...-BEARS-BEARS-WILL-KILL-YOU-T-SHIRT-P2605.aspx
http://www.badideatshirts.com/Peopl...t-Tacos-Of-the-Bear-World-T-Shirt--P3785.aspx
And of course my favorite youtube.com video about 'guns for bears' (posted here before)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGHKkAvBWUE
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_spray
A .44mag would be the minimum caliber I would use for brown bears. Use the biggest caliber you are proficient enough to draw, fire, and hit your target with one shot repeatedly. A revolver can also be used for other self defense purposes. If bear was the only creature I was concerned about, then bear spray would be at the top of the list.
A .44mag would be the minimum caliber I would use for brown bears. Use the biggest caliber you are proficient enough to draw, fire, and hit your target with one shot repeatedly. A revolver can also be used for other self defense purposes. If bear was the only creature I was concerned about, then bear spray would be at the top of the list.
muzzleblast...
New member
When I lived in AK, I most often carried a Taurus Raging Bull .454 Casull loaded with 360 hard cast Buffalo Bore ammo during hunting, fishing, hiking expeditions. When walking the dog around the 'burbs of Anchorage, most often a 4" S&W 629 .44 mag. with 305 grain hard cast Buffalo Bore ammo. The best gun shop in Alaska, Great Northern Guns, stocked Buffalo Bore ammo. There are other options available. But, to me, the key is a heavy for bore diameter semi-wadcutter, or wide flat nosed bullet, to better one's odds of minimizing deflection and obtaining deep penetration.
"Wyosmith" gives solid advice in his post above. If a bear decides to maul you, you will be lucky to get a couple of shots off "while you are vertical".
"Wyosmith" gives solid advice in his post above. If a bear decides to maul you, you will be lucky to get a couple of shots off "while you are vertical".
Years ago while circling Kodiak's airport we laughed as we watched the "follow me" trucks chase a trio of browns off the runway so we could land.
The chain link fence along the airstrip was in many places pushed over or torn through like the proverbial toilet paper.
Armed personnel accompanied us until we reached the terminal.
Kodiak is very beautiful but has the misfortune of having animals who can and will attack you and eat you.
I lived in the Aleutians and the beauty of the place I lived was never haunted by the fact that I could be admiring the view one moment and become lunch the next.
Like snake shot, a bear gun is something I can live without. Of course that's not to say that I don't have firearms in appropriate calibers.
The chain link fence along the airstrip was in many places pushed over or torn through like the proverbial toilet paper.
Armed personnel accompanied us until we reached the terminal.
Kodiak is very beautiful but has the misfortune of having animals who can and will attack you and eat you.
I lived in the Aleutians and the beauty of the place I lived was never haunted by the fact that I could be admiring the view one moment and become lunch the next.
Like snake shot, a bear gun is something I can live without. Of course that's not to say that I don't have firearms in appropriate calibers.
Deaf Smith
New member
Interesting thing last tonight gang. Just saw a show, 'Alaska State Troopers' , on cable, where one of the Alaskan Game Wardens had to find a dead bear that was supposedly shot illegally. He donned his gear to go... what did he take for bear protection? Pepper Spray? Handgun? Shotgun? Elephant Rifle?
Well he took a Remington 870 with 'tactical stock' (fixed stock with pistol grip), Ghost ring sights, Tac-Star six shot side saddle, and slugs. Yes slugs. And he used a one point sling.
All the time he was out there he talked about Brown and Grizzly bears (the area had been baited with honey). He kept his eyes pealed and that 12 gauge was hanging down right in front of his vest the whole time.
So that is what Alaskan Game Wardens use. Oh, and he never did find that bear!
Deaf
Well he took a Remington 870 with 'tactical stock' (fixed stock with pistol grip), Ghost ring sights, Tac-Star six shot side saddle, and slugs. Yes slugs. And he used a one point sling.
All the time he was out there he talked about Brown and Grizzly bears (the area had been baited with honey). He kept his eyes pealed and that 12 gauge was hanging down right in front of his vest the whole time.
So that is what Alaskan Game Wardens use. Oh, and he never did find that bear!
Deaf
jackmoser65
New member
Amen to that. Sometimes you have to run what you brung.