Best long gun for bear defense... the verdict is in!

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I'm from AK myself - the locals, in my experience largely recommended a shotgun. IMO semi autos have no business in a place where your life is on the line vs. an animal. Spray and pray is no substitute for the right bullet in the right place.

There's no reason NOT to have a follow up shot.
 
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This is one of those situations where the saying's "Ammo is cheap, life is expensive" and "Anything that's worth shooting, is worth shooting twice" and to a degree "It's better to be tried by 12, than carried by 6" (the "carried by 6" bit anyway)
 
No matter what you guys think, unless it's an extremely lucky shot all a .44 mag will do is make the bear mad.
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this doesnt make much sense as tens of THOUSANDS of bears were killed by .50 patch & ball muzzle loaders, the .44mag is right there with ft/lb energy, a HOT .44 mag load will exceed it.
thats aside from the fact that theres several popular hunting shows that have recently showed guys taking a variety of big game with a ruger srh hunter in .44mag, including a big brown.
 
tens of THOUSANDS of bears were killed by .50 patch & ball muzzle loaders
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Is that in hunting or self defense situations? There's a big difference in ease of shot placement. It's pretty easy to hit the "off button" when the bear's head is buried in a trash can and much harder if the thing was charging you. But I say that only in armchair quarterback fashion as there are no bears around Houston that are likely to be attacking me. :)
 
i doubt back in the pioneer/old west days when most of the nations bears were killed off(griz are still protected in the lower 48) that they baited with slop!
 
No, I was injecting a little humor there, but they may have been baited with something. My point was that if you're hunting the shot is probably taken from a distance at a stationary bear. By definition, a self defense shot would have to be taken at a charging animal.
 
My suggestion:

Pay attention to the advice of those who are actually up there in Brownie country. They tend to be a little more "focused" on the issue at hand.


i feel safe with my ruger sbh in .44mag, load 'er up hot with 300gr hard cast full wad cutters.
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Troy, you are on the Gulf Coast, fer Pete's sake! Do you even realize how honkin' big an Alaskan brown bear is?

It doesn't matter how you feel. The bears don't pay attention to your feelings. The two bear-lovers who were eaten a few years back, they "felt" safe, didn't they. And the body-recovery team had to shoot their way in and out of that camp. Using big rifles and shotgun slugs IIRC.

Bart Noir
 
bear

Not in brown bear country myself, just blacks roaming through the yard. They look big enough up close.
I like that differentiation between hunting and defense. I think of it as between hunting and stopping. Lots of cartridges/guns will kill a big bear. That .44 mag will. But......not every one will stop a riled up bear charging. It seems to me that you'd want a gun that will do that - stop the animal very definitely...there (not here) and now (not in ten seconds) with one shot. Robert Ruark wrote a book entitled "Use Enough Gun" - I'd want more than enough gun. Lightfield slugs deliver between 3300 and 3800 ft.lbs of ME depending on whose stats you read, a hot 45-70 will do about 3800, the .375 gives you 43 to 4500, the .416s are over 5K with good penetration. Energy isn't everything but it helps. The 12 ga. is the fattest but the others are pretty big slugs too. I'd be carrying one of those four one sixes, if I had the choice.
Pete
 
I would feel well armed against any bear with my CZ 550 american in 458 Lott with Hornady 500 grain sp ammo . I do own a Marlin 1895 in 450 Marlin ,but I would feel more confident with the CZ .
 
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44 mag

i lived in alaska for about 7 years but never shot a grizzly. i did however have a friend empty his 44 blackhawk into one at about 10 yards and it just walked back in the bush. my friend also left. lol ed k
 
Troy, you are on the Gulf Coast, fer Pete's sake! Do you even realize how honkin' big an Alaskan brown bear is?

It doesn't matter how you feel. The bears don't pay attention to your feelings. The two bear-lovers who were eaten a few years back, they "felt" safe, didn't they. And the body-recovery team had to shoot their way in and out of that camp. Using big rifles and shotgun slugs IIRC.

Bart Noir
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actualy i have been quite close(20') to a big brown bear in western canada. i was in a canoe, and it was looking at me.

just because i live in the gulf coast now doesnt mean this is ONLY where i have lived/been.
 
I use fosters on deer because they are a small soft target and they are a little more accurate. Bear country it would be my Winchester semi auto with Brenneke slugs. It is ported, has 3" chambers, 18 1/2" barrel and rifle sights. Lighter and handier to carry around than a rifle for close up and personal self defense. For hunting bear a rifle would be my choice but walking around camp or standing on the river bank with a fishing pole give me the 12 gauge. Its a confidence factor thing.
 
Brenekke Black Magic and a Mossberg Mariner. That's my "warm feelings in the woods" gun. I am in way a local but this is what I have been recommended by many. 45-70/.450 Marlin would be my second choice.
 
When dealing with truly dangerous animals I think over kill is a good thing. That's why I heartily recommend the 4 bore double rifle for magical grizzlys, that appear at 20 yards. 2 quarter pound or larger bullets will make stew out of the angriest brown bear.
 
Some good information shared here. I'll throw in my two bits worth.

There is a significant difference between bear killing and bear stopping. Example, 3 bears ago I nailed a good sized blackie in the boiler room - knocked him rolling - he got up and took off running away. I nailed him again, same place, knocked him down. Now he got up and charged me. He never made it back to me. That was with a 338wm with 250grn NP's. When we caped it we found that the bear was dead on the first shot - he just didn't know it.

Last two bears just dropped in their tracks. Bears are like people in that they are all different. Seems like about 1 in 10 will make life interesting.

For stopping I pack a 416 Rigby and yes, I am proficient with it.

For hunting I use a 338wm.

I have a Winchester Model 1300 that I used to pack for this purpose, I practiced with it until I was proficient. FWIW I think a pump action 12 guage is a little light in hitting power for bears and harder to shoot well. Remember this is an animal (g bear)that can grab a moose carcass in it's jaws and just walk away.
 
How about an Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf...with muzzle brake and fast trigger?
More shots in precious few seconds, greater probability of 1 or 2 hitting vitals, heavy wide bullets ...what say you?
 
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