Stopping A Charging Bear

JohnSKa, Yes you may be right. I can also see then getting the followup questions of "why 2 seconds?" or "what are you trying to accomplish"? And then being right back where I started. Seems like too much nit-picking on certain words instead of answering specific questions. Just my own thoughts as a new member trying to tap into the experience of this forum. I may try to find a different site that specializes in tactical firearms. Thanks for your time.
 
Black bear have two un-distinguishable Charges. One is meant to bluff their opponent. The other is for mauling their quarry. Both are overwhelmingly difficult to be a party too and seldom determined by the innocent which Charge is taken place.
A sow with cub/s is perhaps the most likely and dangerous encounter for a human verses a boar with a bad temper. (which doesn't apply to a Polar Bear's behaviour..)
As far a preferred handgun to stop a charging bear. There isn't a caliber made to date that will garner immediate deadly results. A bear spray according to some will work if you allow the bear to get as close as possible before its spraying. (which requires a bear being a few feet away in a fully foil-aged woodland.) i.e. Good luck with that effort.

The quip: "Oop's Wrong place at the wrong time."_ probably thought by some poor Pilgrim about to endure a charging Bear._:D
 
Shootbrownelk is correct. Grizzlies withing a 100 mile radius of the park are a real problem. The average adult grizzly is about 400-425, but keep in mind that is an average of adults, sows and boars. The big bores I see usually go a bit larger, maybe 550. However it's the sows that are usually the aggressive ones. Not always, but probably 3 times out of 4.

I will be up there in 3 days. I am going as the "extra guy" with 2 other friends of mine to help pack meat and carry an extra rifle. I will have my Mauser 375H&H and my 454 Casull. I have NEVER been into that area without seeing very fresh tracks and I'd bet I see the bears themselves about 75% of the trips I have been into that area. They are NOT rare and scarce.

I personally have never had a problem with a grizzly. I also have never had a fire get out of my wood stove and light up the hearth area of my home. I have never been in a bad car wreck.
I still keep a fire extinguisher handy, and I wear seat belts every time I get in a car.

I am on my 2nd barrel of my 375, and I have over 9,000 rounds through my 454. I shoot them both well.
But with bears, the ability to shoot is second in importance to your situational awareness. Bears can out run horses in 100-150 yards, so no gun is helpful if you let down your guard. You'll never get off a shot if you don't keep your mind on them.

I personally think the best "bear gun" available today is a 458 SOCOM. I don't have one myself, but I have made several of them. 400 grain bullet at 1500 FPS from an AR with the recoil of a trap load in a 12 gauge, and straight line recoil makes for very fast 2nd and 3rd shots. In short, it's a good warm "45-70 load" from a short, light, fast auto that doesn't kick hard enough to slow you down.

If you are hunting elk in an area that has grizzlies, hunt your elk with a bear rifle. You need not buy a special weapon for "defense against bears"

I am a firm believer in powerful handguns. Not to shoot an incoming bear (that's what the rifle or shotgun is for) as much as to use if the bear gets between you and the muzzle of your long arm.
When I was CEO of Cast Performance I had a thick file of reports from various people, agencies and doctors from all over the USA and a few other countries too. I was surprised at how many people had been mauled by bears and cats (and also some kinds of other animals) who had a good rifle with them at the time, but didn't get to use it. It was far more common than I would have guessed before I read the reports.

Many, in fact MOST of the maulings were against people who were armed, and many of them were armed with rifles and shotguns. But those that got mauled nearly always had one thing in common.

They let their guard down.

Bears and cats are FAST. REALLY FAST!

The one thing I love about a handgun is that you have it strapped to you, not just in your hands or over your shoulder.

If you "loose round 1" in the "prize fight for your life" you still may be able to fight "round 2" if you have a hand gun. In some cases maybe not....but at that point what would you have to loose if you tried?

If that happens you are going to the hospital but I have to believe it's better than going to the morgue.
 
Phil Shoemaker used a 9mm to stop a bear charge. I'm sure a lot of it had to do with the fact he's put down a few charging bears in his career, and was able to put rounds where they needed to be. If you can't shoot accurately in a tense situation of a bear charge, then it probably isn't going to matter what you carry.
 
Right now, for 12 shotgun options, I'm considering three:

Baretta A400 Xtreme
Winchester Super X3
Remington Versa Max

Does anyone have any history with these three guns?

Why did I pick them? Because these guns can chamber 2 3/4 all the way up to 3 1/2 mag loads. This gives me LOTS of ammo options to experiment with.

I can have the barrels cut down to 18 1/2" if they don't come that way, as an option, from the factory AND I can get a second, longer barrel and use the same gun for duck or goose hunting.

Ammo I'm considering for bear:
Brenneke 3" Black Magic slugs (1.375oz 1,502 velocity 3,014 muzzle energy
Lightfield IDS Commander 3 1/2" 1 3/8oz 1,890 velocity 3,649 muzzle energy
Dixie IXL-DGS 3" slugs (need to check gun barrel diameters for compatibility)
Dixie Tri-Ball III 3 1/2" (three .60" balls)

Brenneke seems to be the old standard but Dixie is interesting with their hardened metal manufacturing process. They claim to penetrate better than Brenneke.

If I can figure out the hardness factor of a Grizzly's skull (worst case scenario) and what the equates to in steel plating, I can do penetration tests with these different ammo at 50 yards, 40 yards, 30 yards, 20 yards and 10 yards. Again, this is worst case. Breaking down a shoulder bone would be an easier penetration task.

Target acquisition in rapid fire will be interesting too. If I can't eventually get off 5-6 good shots in 2 seconds, I can drop down to 2 3/4 ammo. Having the barrels ported should help somewhat. For kick, I've seen some stocks that have a built-in shock absorber...or just a good padded vest, designed for recoil comfort...and just practice.
 
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I have a Ruger 454 Casull/45 Colt, SuperRedhawk DA revolver for bear defense. Stout 45 Colt loads are more recoil manageable than the 454 round; but still effective on bear.

My other one...is a 338 Winchester Magnum custom made Mauser bolt rifle.

"The 12 gauge with slugs is ideal for crawling through the puckerbrush after a big bear; but it's not the best tool for a 150 yard shot at a fleeing bear."


http://www.chuckhawks.com/firearms_defense_bears.htm
 
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CZ makes a tactical shotgun semi that holds 10 rounds. That's a lot of fire power. A good AR build in .308 or .50 Beowulf might work too.

Chiappa makes a short 3 barreled carriage type shotgun that might be useful.
 
My experience has proven its better have them scared of you coming instead of being scared because you are HERE (where they are). Yes the old addage of making noise (remeber the little bells joke) is true. And when you run into a bear STOP, talk to it and back up. Attacks happen beacuse they are suprised, and most attacks are them practically running over you to get the hell away from you. Momma is another story, thats where making noise and stopping will save you hide. Moral of the story is dont be the idiot with ear phones in starting at the ground. Enjoy the outdoors.
 
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