Happy to hear that everyone is fine. I just bought a 45-70 XLR for mule deer and elk hunting but also looking at the SBL for the tent because it is a little shorter and I would not scope it to make it quicker to shoot. I personally feel that the number of big bears have gotten out of hand. The men and women that settled the wild country brought down the number of the big bad bears for a reason as they also did with the wolf and mountain lion. Too much of anything is never good. Nothing will be done until a number of people are killed by bears, wolves, and mountain lions. Don't get me wrong I don't want these animals to go away all together I just think the number of them should be managed better. I had to sleep with one eye open in Vietnam I should not have to do that when I am sleeping in a tent.

Next time a big bad animal tries to mess with you it will be all over for it. Take care and enjoy the outdoors.

Gski

 

Sounds like a good reason NOT to camp in bear country.

 

Interesting, glad you are OK.

I just returned from Alaska over the weekend and we had a brown bear that kept breaking into the chow hall. Finally on the umpteenth night of this the bear was shot - once with a .338 and three times with a .378 Weatherby - it went down but not immediately! The unbelievable part was that only one of the .378's penetrated all the way.

This sounds like it might be a rough fall for the bears up there with some of the salmon runs off.

 

Brandon,
Wow...that's quite a story....thankfully with a happier ending. I shudder to think of what might have happened if you were not armed.
Yes indeed, my .45-70 would be my choice if I were to go after bigger bears.

Regarding the .30-30, here are 2 stories where it was used very successfully in self defense.....

Back in May of 1965, Jack Turner found out that it was just the gun for him to dispatch a charging grizzly that turned out to be the largest one on record. In his story, "Killer Grizzly at Six feet", he recounts that he had moved his family up on the Atnarko River above Lonesome Lake in British Columbia. There were bear in the area and not one to take any chances, he always carried his faithful '94 .30-30 with him when away from the homestead.

He said "You never know when a grizzly will decide to pick a fight, so I rarely venture beyond the cleared fields around our house without hanging the old .30-30 over my shoulder. That precaution has saved my skin, or my family's at least twice."

On that particular day he left his house on a 2 mile walk to repair a fence. It was a fine spring morning. He recalls, "I came to a place where the trail, winding through cedars and cottonwoods, opens into a sunny glade no bigger than a house. I rounded a bend, and there in the center of the glade stood the biggest grizzly I had ever laid eyes on (and I have seen more than 200, in just about every part of British Columbia, in the last 20 years.) He was staring straight at me, and he was just 40 feet away."

"Our eyes met and locked and he was on his way. I saw him in one instant and he was coming for me in a savage rush, running like a dog after his prey. He was drooling as he came, and a low growl was rumbling in his throat. I whipped the Winchester off my back and, since I carry the rifle loaded in the magazine but none in the chamber, I had to lever in a shell. The bear was almost on me when I slammed my shot into him, and I recall thinking, in that brief flash of time, that I'd only have time for one."

“I was using 170 gr. Soft point factory loads. I hit him dead center between the eyes and that soft point bullet blew his whole brain out through a hole in the back of his skull. He was still running full tilt when I shot, but his head went down between his forelegs, and he fell almost straight down. I backed off a few steps, held the rifle on him, and waited until I was sure there wasn’t a spark of life left in him. He was a buster, by far the biggest grizzly we had ever seen.”

Jack goes on to say that if the skull would have been intact, it would have scored 27 in the Boone and Crockett Clubs book according to them. The largest score on record at the time was 26 10/16.

Thank goodness he had a very dependable, handy, .30-30 rifle and knew how to use it when the chips were down.

The following was posted by Goosegestapo on the Marlin Talk forum in 2003:
My brother got a newfound respect for the .30-30 while investigating a self-defense kill on a grizzly on an A-F base in the early'80s. Fella had killed a Moose and had gone back next day to finish packing out carcass. A 700-800lb Griz had found it and took offense at being disturbed. Two quick shots from .30/30 ended the argument with one shot (second fired) hitting griz in nose and exiting back of skull. First shot fired at charging bear had struck neck left of cheek and penetrated length wise lodging in paunch of Griz! and would have been a fatal shot, but would have taken a few too many moments to take effect. Ammo was Federal premium 170gr partitions.

The hunter related he could never have made either shot with the .338 WinMag. he had used the day previous to kill moose as gun didn't "handle quick enough!". He also talked to some of the local's (native indians) who used an old rusty '94 and whatever ammo was around for killing whales and seals during seasons.

w30wcf

 

Great story there Brandon! Thanks for sharing that and am glad you all came out of it relatively okay.

Halwg - "Sounds like a good reason NOT to camp in bear country." Good grief man - most mountain ranges in the west are bear country! ;D Certainly in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia and much of Alaska. I've been camping in bear country most of my life w/no bad results so far. It's one of those things - understand that the bears are out there and that normally they are NOT a threat, but that the possibility certainly exists... Be prepared, not paranoid.

All those backpacking trips I've taken through the Cascades, the Sierras and up in Alaska... Bear country. All those camping trips that many of us make to Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite and parts in between.. Bear country... All those fishing & hunting trips to Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and even California... Bear country.

It can happen. Just have to be prepared. I'd say our friend Ledfootlam/Brandon was prepared, and is better prepared now!

Regards, Guy

 

Great stories! I love my 336ss but if I might face a grizzly, I want my 1895.

I've camped in bear country and never even saw a bear. I didn't have my 45-70 then, but you can bet I was ready just in case. No need to be paranoid, just alert and smart about it.

 

I thought the reason the bears are so few was because they tasted so good. You always hear stories of the early settlers hunting bears just before winter to get the fat for the following year. All of them say that it is one of the best meats out there especially when fatted up on berries. Can't wait to try some.

But now that everyone has sedentary jobs, we are all eating "lean" foods (and candybars!) to slim down. Funny how that works. In the nation of plenty, we want to be slim...

 

Brandon, what an excellent story with even moreso an excellent outcome. Gotta love that Guide Gun. I've had "woofing" black bears walk in on me while calling coyotes in a thick cedar swamp back in my early days when all I carried was a 10-22.....never again.

You will never be undergunned with the Guide Gun! Glad you got back on that horse and rode off. Life is too short to not enjoy the outdoors to the fullest (and you indeed have!).

 

I do not own a 45-70, but if I lived in an area that had a large Griz population you can bet I would own one. I have a close friend retired after 40 years in the USFS and he in turn has a good friend (retired USFS) that lives in Alaska. That fella contacted my buddy and was teling him that he had just got a 45/70 guide gun to carry when the family goes out for picnics, fishing, or camping up in Alaska. Makes a heck of lot of sense to me!

Cascade Jinx

 

That's quite a story Brandon and glad you and your family/friends are fine. Grizzlies are a different breed of bear, that's for sure. Out in Eastern Canada we only have black bear, however, some grow to huge sizes (+500lb) and are far more likely to run from a confrontation than pick a fight.

A quick story on black bear and the 45-70 ~ my first year with my new Guide Gun (bought for all the same reasons you listed), I got my first bear (350gr FN behind 47.0gr of RL7). On that same run, within 30 minutes of me shooting mine, I spotted two 350lb bear walking up a slope directly towards a friend of mine who had his trusty 30-30, albeit with only 3 rounds in the mag and none in the chamber. I was able to radio him and he saw them at 50 yards and decided that both the 30-30 and his nerves were not up to the job. They turned and ran... directly at me. I had failed to expel my 4th round from the chamber on the last bear (1st shot missed b/c of nerves and the next one dropped it and the remaining were sent his way to make sure the job was done), so I was effectively standing there with an empty gun. When all of a sudden this little cub, the size of a breadbasket burst through the bushes and ran right at me. I didn't want to shoot it, but I kept a bead on it as it passed me within 6 feet of me. What I didn't know that as I was doing that the two big bear split and ran on either side of me while I was trained on trying not to get knocked over.

Luckily, mama didn't stop and take a bead on me because as I said, I would have shot a blank. Interestingly though, that my hunting friend who is an excellent shot, didn't feel his 30-30 was up for the task.

On the topic of the 30-30 brain shots, I have to say that was lucky but not impossible. As a point of reference, I shot a buck (my first) at 25 feet with my 30-06 and 2 of 3 shots richochet off the skull. I don't aim at the head of anything now. It's a big ol' flat bullet now, aimed to knock the stuffing out of a large body mass. And the 45-70 does it better than anything imo.

And Zim, yeah, bear is very, very tasty.

 

Sounds like a good reason NOT to camp in bear country.

Some of the pertiest country in the world is in bear country.

 

Not camping in bear country, now thats a hoot. I've grown up and camped in it all my life! Theres nowhere else to go!! Bring a rifle and everyone knows not to pretend to be a bear and scare people in tents unless they want to be shot. Keep garbage and food tucked away enjoy the time outdoors. You see a bear in camp you shoot it, then go back to what you were doing. If its good size take the meat home. Enjoy.

What really happend with the 3 little bears!!!

 

Brandon, I'm truly glad for you that things turned out well. I'd like to point out, however, that the 45-70, as good as it is, will still require you to use it better than you did the 30-30 in order to exact the one shot result you hope for.

The following quote from another thread details an incident we had in July. It was not a typical situation as bears go in these parts.

Here's what we got to see in the beginning. It looked like a fairly normal bear approach - which usually ends well in a bear which is less inclined to approach again.

The adolescent offender undressed:

Paperwork and potential legal issues aside, I still hated to do that to the animal. However, I wasn't willing to risk the threat its fearlessness seemed to pose to my young boys, ages 2, 6, and 8.

And this was the slug which was finally used to shoot the bear:

As you can see, the bear is not a huge bear. And as many people assume and some know, the Brenneke slug is not a wimpy bullet either. But that slug, at well under 50 yards, struck the bear behind the near shoulder and lodged in the farside shoulder. It was a simple broadside shot basically, yet the slug did not fully penetrate the well formed 300-400 pound brown/griz; a young boar.

For what its worth, the bear loped off after taking the hit through the shoulders- that was the only time I saw it show any steam. And after it was down but not out and still working at getting back up again, by then I had come back with a second gun, fully loaded - (the 12 had nothing left but Fosters which I chose not to reload with), so I finished the bear with a couple of shots from a M94 Winchester 45 Colt. It was loaded alternately with 320 hardcast and 300 Sierra SPs. From perhaps 30 yards, both bullets penetrated through the chest and out the belly or side, about 30".

 

U should sell your story to marlin.

 

I'll agree that a well placed shot is still needed. However, if it's going to be a shot that doesnt necessarily hit the vitals I'll opt for a round from Garrett and hope that it goes end for end.

But then again, it's armchair thinking.

 

It's all about shot placement. Still, I do not possess the fortitude of an Eskimo that kills grizzly with a Ruger Mini 14 in .223! I'd just use what I shoot best.

 

Well thank you all for the great story's and pictures of your endeavors. Not to mention the support for mine. I don't think I could ever truly resist getting out there in bear country. Its just to healing, the wilderness erases everything but clam bliss. And with the everything the way it is here in the US, I don't know how its not required to keep your sanity these days. I'm very Glad were ok if not just for my sons benefit to have parents. I love my 94 Winchester don't get me wrong and for some things its just right but... When I wager with such a precious thing as me and my family's life's Id rather hit a bear with a cannon than try to pick him off with a difficult head shot. When a bear is inches from your face and you have seconds to react hitting that son of a b with a 45 caliber hammer of Thor is a better option than trying to find a shot with a 30-30 with a 50-50 chance that it will drop him before he drags you into the woods and mauls you just to have him die an hour later because a slower fatal shot. Some times you only get one shot and its gotta count. I'm not saying anything bad about taking a 30-30 into the woods, in some areas its not going to be needed as much but... I'm going with the sure bet because when those percentages with the 30-30 doin the job, fail, Its not going to be me finds out. For me hunting ok protection no way. All due respect to my fellow 30-30 enthusiasts out there. Holy cow I can't believe that giant slug didn't drop that bear. That's as big as they get lol. Good thing he decided to run away instead of realizing he was only going to live for a few more minutes. And I'm embarrassed to say the I once was in the 10 22 protection club also bud lol I think a lot of us were, the things I did when I was younger I have no idea how I made it here alive today. This bear attack was a big part of my life and thank you all for sharing your comments on it. I wanted to share my story with others to help educate people on the risks involved with bear country and to be prepared for what could happen by telling what did happen. I hope it at least helps 1 person to avoid a crazy story from becoming a life long tragedy or fatality. A bear can do much more than just kill you be safe. Life is worth living to its fullest and takings risks is a part of it. Bear country is... well, there's not really words for it just aaahhhhh and a sense belittlement and awe of the beauty that surrounds you, like all your life lead up to this point so you could just see, feel, and smell this bliss. Anyways thanks again guys and happy hunting and camping!!

Brandon


P.S, BTW what do you mean sell my story to Marlin?

 

I couldn,t agree more.I am a devoted 30-30 supporter.But in instances like you stated,the short SBL in a whopping but kickin 45-70 would be my weapon of choice.Did this scary attack happen in Alaska? I can,t even imagine what it was like for your family waking up to gunshots and a bear ripping thru the tent.It had to be a absolute terror.Thank heavens for you and our families safety.You did good,I,d go campin in bear country with you any day.