Polar bear rifle, what would you use?

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I have been to Alaska twice in the last 4 seasons.

I will say the firearm I see the most of in native hands is either an AR (with a 30 rd mag) or a 12 gauge pump.

Take it for what it is worth, but they live there and I figure they would be the most efficient in their environment.
 
bluenose sailers use M14s when they're on polar bear watch on the sail. I think I'd want a .308 semiauto with high cap mags.

Of all my rifles of that type, I think I'd prefer the 16" saiga w/ folding stock over the 20" saiga, M1A, .308 AR or FALs.
 
Since the OP has posted this on other boards, this picture showed up on THR thread to the same OP

K98 seemed to work for the Nazis

polarbear-1.jpg
 
I'm just wondering if a 12ga Sabot would be a good choice for this? Any thoughts?
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It will work but a 1 ounce Foster will give a little more thump and when you have 1500 pounds of hair teeth and rotten disposition coming at you the more thump the better. 30-30 will work too if you are cool calm and collected, know where to aim and are a pretty good shot. Bears aren't that hard to penetrate but you need to penetrate deep if you want the bear to react favorably, that to me doesn't rule out the sabot but doesn't put it high on my list of chosen ammo either.

Understand my experience is with black bear where a 30-30 or a 32 Win spcl is plenty, I'm just going by everything I have read in the last 50 years.
 
The folks up north have been killing PBs for years with 22s, 22-250s, 223s, among other smallish calibers. Part of me thinks my AR would be fine, but another part would like the biggest round i can hit with while screaming like a little girl.:eek:
 
I would think a good stopper rifle would be a scopeless lever action in 444, 45/70, 450 marlin. The side arm I'd chose would be a 460 or 500 Smith & Wesson. There is a difference between shooting an unsuspecting Polar Bear and stopping a determined rouge that is intent on making you its lunch....
 
Looks like amongst other things, a rifle malfunction of some kind occured in the Norway attack.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/08/polar-bear-attack-investigation-begins


Police look into security arrangements of Arctic expedition after teenager is mauled to death by wild animal

Jeevan Vasagar
guardian.co.uk, Monday 8 August 2011 19.02 BST




Horatio Chapple, who was killed by a polar bear in Svalbard. Photograph: PA


Police are investigating the security arrangements of the Arctic expedition in which an English schoolboy was mauled to death by a polar bear.

Horatio Chapple, 17, died after the animal attacked a camp on Spitsbergen island in the Svalbard archipelago, in the Arctic circle. Accounts suggest a warning tripwire system, used to set off flares that might have scared the animal away, failed to go off. Police are checking a rifle that apparently failed to fire four times before it was successfully used to kill the bear.

Liv Asta Ooedegaard, a spokeswoman for the governor of Svalbard, said the rifle had been sent for forensic examination. "We are trying to get the whole picture. That is what we are working on now."

The British Schools Exploring Society (BSES), which ran the trip, may also face a UK investigation after a spokeswoman for Wiltshire police said Chapple's death had been reported to their child protection team. Circumstances surrounding the death will come under further scrutiny at a forthcoming inquest in Salisbury.

The head of security at the University of Svalbard, John Ingen Karlsen, told the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that although the expedition team had correctly pitched their tents on a hill and away from the water's edge, they had made two errors. They should have had team members on continuous watch for bears, and their tripwire system may not have been set up properly.

Michael Reid, 29, the expedition leader who shot the animal in the head during the attack on Friday, and fellow leader Andy Ruck, 27, returned to the UK after being discharged from hospital on Monday.

Patrick Flinders, 16, and Scott Bennell-Smith, 17, who were sharing a tent with Horatio Chapple, returned to the UK on Sunday. Flinders underwent an operation in Norway to remove parts of the bear's teeth from his scalp, while Bennell-Smith suffered a broken jaw and smashed teeth. The eight uninjured members of the group were expected to return to the UK on Monday.

Chapple's parents, David and Olivia, and his grandfather, Sir John Chapple, former head of the army, paid tribute to him at the weekend. They described the teenager as a "generous, kind and fearless" young man. "He had many friends who admired his enthusiasm for life, his love of challenge and his innate courtesy and wish to help others," they said. "Horatio was a fine role model for his two younger brothers, Titus, 15, and Magnus, 13."

They added that Horatio planned to read medicine and was keen to find a cure for type one diabetes, which his youngest brother has.

On Saturday, BSES announced it had ended the £3,000-per-head expedition on the advice of the Svalbard authorities and in accordance with the wishes of the group leaders.

The group was founded in 1932 by a member of Captain Scott's final Antarctic expedition. It is based at the Royal Geographical Society in London and organises exploratory trips for young people that involve scientific research in wilderness areas. Participants are expected to raise money to cover the costs of the trip.
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Under stress he may have cycled the bolt without pulling the trigger.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-st...-bear-s-teeth-from-his-skull-115875-23330206/

It was Michael who finally killed the bear – but only after four failed attempts as the rifle bullets kept falling out of the magazine when he pulled the trigger.

Later it emerged other youngsters had frantically tried to scare off the bear by throwing rocks at it.

SAFETY

Michael’s rifle, decribed as “an old Mauser” was being examined yesterday as police investigated safety procedures for the expedition, organised through the British Schools Exploring Society.

They are probing reports that the camp had no overnight guard, no guard dog and that warning trip wires were incorrectly set.
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I saw on Monster Quest a native Alaskin used an M16 to kill a hybrid bear. Another post said natives up there carry AR's. I think though I would go with a 308 saiga. You get AK reliability and a pretty hard hitting round. Oh yeah its semi auto and not a bolt gun and its a 16 inch barrel so its not big and heavy. I would also have a 44 mag revolver too.
 
So if eskimos are killing them with .223's then a 30-06 with just about any credible ammo would be just fine I suppose, heck I could just use my mini-14 with a 20rd. mag and be ok.
 
When I was kid up in Nome Alaska, one of our friends was an eskimo and he performed one of the greatest single shots I have ever seen. He took a pellet gun and shot a goose in flight in the neck dropping it like a rock. It all comes back to shot placement doesn't it? Calibers are fine, but if you can't hit the right spot, you are just ******** in the wind.
 
Very nice looking dogs.

I think your current choice is acceptable though I would sleep with a 454 revolver and carry a 45-70 or bigger lever gun loaded with hard cast. Not a big fan of bolt action for rapid stress fire and I wang more power than a semi can provide. Not to mention getting a semi to work in the arctic.
 
My German Shepherds do not fear me. They love and respect me but they are far too pampered to be fearful.

I think they were checking the floor for dog cookie crumbs.
 
For what it's worth, I was told the USGS trains some with 12 gauge pumps. The Norwegian police in that area and military carry Glock 20s with the extended barrel with some heavy load for backup to long arms.
 
I think you have a great set up. I personally wouldn't use anything smaller than a 375 H&H. I would not use a shotgun with any type of load. MY choice would be a large double rifle such as a .470 or a .458 Lott.
 
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