Joined
·
539 Posts
Found this on Alaska Outdoor Forum and thought it might of interest to folks here because it is from a brown bear guide with 35 years experience.
People spend 99% of their time worrying about bears and 1% of their time seeing them... that said, those that have seen them up close and popping their jaws dont much hold with pepper spray, they want a gun. I carry a .44 mag, and its not enough when the time is at hand. Believe me it feels really small in your hand, but a .44 on your hip is lots better then a shotgun left in the tent. So whats good? I bought my .44's when they were the largest thing available, now I would go larger. If you really think you need it to protect your life, then the largest thing you can shoot well is still too small. I have faced a lot of bears and if I have my druthers its with my .375 H&H in my hand, but from time to time the .44 has had to do the trick. I dont recommend it however, and dont do so by choice, but experience makes it possible. (I have been a brown bear guide for 35 years) So, if its pure protection you want, and never hope to reach out and touch someone with it beyond 10 or 15 yds, a 12 guage with 00 buck does fine. I truly love my Rem 1100 when its up close, but I still usually go for the .375 just in case I need to follow up on a wounded bear at 50 or 200 yds. Bears rarely charge, thats the good part. They swing their heads, stomp their feet, turn sideways to show how big they are, and pop their jaws a lot. Move carefully to the side faceing the critter until you get up wind and he smells you, usually he will run. IF he swings his head and avoids your eyes, you are probably OK. If he comes in swinging his head and looking you square in the eyes, he means business. You will know if he is looking you in the eyes... no doubt about it, and its trouble.
Shoot a bear at close range with a .44 and you will wish you had not, unless you brain him. No, it does not bounce off the skull, but if you only wound him, he will probably try to even the score, so dont shoot just because you are scared. Its a tough call even with experience and no one can make the call except you when the time comes.
When a man meets a bear and he does not have a gun, or only a small one, he wonders what the heck he is going to do. If he has an adquate weapon he wonders what the bear is going to do. The second situation is far the more comfortable one to be in.
Picking the weapon really depends on your purpose and experience. If you choose bear spray, use it as a preventative like OFF mosquito dope, before you head to the woods. Cover yourself real good... that should keep you out of the field and out of trouble.
Yes, Ive used 00 Buck on bear a number of times, always with very impressive results. At shorter ranges its similar in result to hitting the critter with numerous .30 cal bullets. Most of them exit the other side, so clearly penetration IS NOT a problem. At 100 yds I expect it would be, but out to 50 yds they sure go through. Over 100 yds a slug is prefered, but then its not a bear stopping situation, its hunting. A slug is fine at short range as well, but its still just one hole. 00 Buck spreads out and exits in a fairly wide pattern, making some broad distruction on the way.
So, is one big hole better? Some pattern width is nice when things get real exciting, and when you need a shotgun for stopping reasons, its always exciting. I like the coverage of many .30 cal passages going through a variety of organs, personally. Many a client has bragged that they put three or four rifle bullets into the "boiler room" of a bear, moose, sheep (take your choice) in a group that they could cover with their hand. I ask "Why?" Once the heart is blown up, its blown up, go mess up something else witht he 2nd, 3rd and 4th shot. Buck shot does that by its very nature.
Teddy Rosevelt hunted a lot of game in Africa with 12 guage, opening the shell and pouring melted parafin around the 00 shot and closing it up again. It then was one solid slug as it made the trip, but became numerous channels upon impact. Never tried it myself but the Rosevelt books on my shelf claim it worked well.
Will a slug do as well? It does fine, but if you miss with a slug you miss all the way and I never once scared a bear to death. My wife killed a grizzly that was going into the tent with my daughter with 00, I dumped two brown bears in the alders, both previously wounded, and one grizzly that decided the grounds of my hunting lodge were his, with 00. Only used a slug once. I keep three rounds in the Rem 1100. First two are 00 and the third is a slug, because if I need it on the third shot pattern will not be an issue.
One more point. Not once did the 00 or slug drop a bear in its tracks. I prefer a .375 for dangerous work, because it always does. I prefer the 12 guage at night because of the fast follow up shots, which I dont get with the bolt gun....but when its show time you would be amazed how that bolt seems to work itself! I find myself smiling as I write this because those are some of the most remembered moments of my career, the ones that made bear hunting truly enjoyable and kept the adrenalin glands free of rust.
and one more thing..rupertbear.. you are right, Peter was a great writer. I knew him personally. He was a fine story teller and pretty darn good drinker as well. He told a lot of good stories that never would have been told if he had not told them..even though not all were his in the origional experience.
Good stories are just that, good stories and a line of truth runs through them...sometimes that line gets pretty thin, but heck, its all for the story. They are not documentaries for gosh sakes, they are for enjoyment. And yes, cats are faster, more nervous, thinner skinned and much less muscle mass. They die easier then bears too, but what they lack in mass they make up in speed. I've never shot a bear in the air, thus the real advantage of a shotgun for leopard, its simply a matter of function.
People spend 99% of their time worrying about bears and 1% of their time seeing them... that said, those that have seen them up close and popping their jaws dont much hold with pepper spray, they want a gun. I carry a .44 mag, and its not enough when the time is at hand. Believe me it feels really small in your hand, but a .44 on your hip is lots better then a shotgun left in the tent. So whats good? I bought my .44's when they were the largest thing available, now I would go larger. If you really think you need it to protect your life, then the largest thing you can shoot well is still too small. I have faced a lot of bears and if I have my druthers its with my .375 H&H in my hand, but from time to time the .44 has had to do the trick. I dont recommend it however, and dont do so by choice, but experience makes it possible. (I have been a brown bear guide for 35 years) So, if its pure protection you want, and never hope to reach out and touch someone with it beyond 10 or 15 yds, a 12 guage with 00 buck does fine. I truly love my Rem 1100 when its up close, but I still usually go for the .375 just in case I need to follow up on a wounded bear at 50 or 200 yds. Bears rarely charge, thats the good part. They swing their heads, stomp their feet, turn sideways to show how big they are, and pop their jaws a lot. Move carefully to the side faceing the critter until you get up wind and he smells you, usually he will run. IF he swings his head and avoids your eyes, you are probably OK. If he comes in swinging his head and looking you square in the eyes, he means business. You will know if he is looking you in the eyes... no doubt about it, and its trouble.
Shoot a bear at close range with a .44 and you will wish you had not, unless you brain him. No, it does not bounce off the skull, but if you only wound him, he will probably try to even the score, so dont shoot just because you are scared. Its a tough call even with experience and no one can make the call except you when the time comes.
When a man meets a bear and he does not have a gun, or only a small one, he wonders what the heck he is going to do. If he has an adquate weapon he wonders what the bear is going to do. The second situation is far the more comfortable one to be in.
Picking the weapon really depends on your purpose and experience. If you choose bear spray, use it as a preventative like OFF mosquito dope, before you head to the woods. Cover yourself real good... that should keep you out of the field and out of trouble.
Yes, Ive used 00 Buck on bear a number of times, always with very impressive results. At shorter ranges its similar in result to hitting the critter with numerous .30 cal bullets. Most of them exit the other side, so clearly penetration IS NOT a problem. At 100 yds I expect it would be, but out to 50 yds they sure go through. Over 100 yds a slug is prefered, but then its not a bear stopping situation, its hunting. A slug is fine at short range as well, but its still just one hole. 00 Buck spreads out and exits in a fairly wide pattern, making some broad distruction on the way.
So, is one big hole better? Some pattern width is nice when things get real exciting, and when you need a shotgun for stopping reasons, its always exciting. I like the coverage of many .30 cal passages going through a variety of organs, personally. Many a client has bragged that they put three or four rifle bullets into the "boiler room" of a bear, moose, sheep (take your choice) in a group that they could cover with their hand. I ask "Why?" Once the heart is blown up, its blown up, go mess up something else witht he 2nd, 3rd and 4th shot. Buck shot does that by its very nature.
Teddy Rosevelt hunted a lot of game in Africa with 12 guage, opening the shell and pouring melted parafin around the 00 shot and closing it up again. It then was one solid slug as it made the trip, but became numerous channels upon impact. Never tried it myself but the Rosevelt books on my shelf claim it worked well.
Will a slug do as well? It does fine, but if you miss with a slug you miss all the way and I never once scared a bear to death. My wife killed a grizzly that was going into the tent with my daughter with 00, I dumped two brown bears in the alders, both previously wounded, and one grizzly that decided the grounds of my hunting lodge were his, with 00. Only used a slug once. I keep three rounds in the Rem 1100. First two are 00 and the third is a slug, because if I need it on the third shot pattern will not be an issue.
One more point. Not once did the 00 or slug drop a bear in its tracks. I prefer a .375 for dangerous work, because it always does. I prefer the 12 guage at night because of the fast follow up shots, which I dont get with the bolt gun....but when its show time you would be amazed how that bolt seems to work itself! I find myself smiling as I write this because those are some of the most remembered moments of my career, the ones that made bear hunting truly enjoyable and kept the adrenalin glands free of rust.
and one more thing..rupertbear.. you are right, Peter was a great writer. I knew him personally. He was a fine story teller and pretty darn good drinker as well. He told a lot of good stories that never would have been told if he had not told them..even though not all were his in the origional experience.
Good stories are just that, good stories and a line of truth runs through them...sometimes that line gets pretty thin, but heck, its all for the story. They are not documentaries for gosh sakes, they are for enjoyment. And yes, cats are faster, more nervous, thinner skinned and much less muscle mass. They die easier then bears too, but what they lack in mass they make up in speed. I've never shot a bear in the air, thus the real advantage of a shotgun for leopard, its simply a matter of function.
