The Bear Facts...

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i dont think bear guns are over discussed.most hunting talk is usually about whitetails or elk.
moose and bear dont get a lot of disussion mainly because there hunted at short ranges and in spite of there size it doesnt take a big or even accurate gun to hunt them(with the exception of kodiak grizzly)

the Savage bear hunter is available in .300 win mag, .300 WSM and .338 win mag with a ajustable muzzle break as well included.a good choice for any north american bear.eastern black bear does not need that power but you cant really damage much meat on a 250 to 500 lb animal and also being that the bullets those guns shoot dont expand much anyway
 
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I'm not real experienced with Bears, but if I'm traveling in Bear country, my weapon of choice will be a Remington 870 loaded with Brenneke Black Magic or something as powerful with a dangerous game slug. I was fooling around with one at the range a couple of weeks ago with a friend that was going backpacking in Alaska. Yep, if that doesn't work, then you might as well stay home.

Any rifle that would match the above would be too heavy and too long to carry. Good for hunting; not good for Bear defense when you aren't looking to kill bears. That's just my opinion.
 
I spent 22 years in Alaska, 20 of that in LE (Anchorage).

Dangerous animal calls were quite common, we would get many calls to hang around a school bus stop because of bears in town.

Moose are more dangerous then bears by a long shot. Mainly cow moose protecting calves. Right or wrong, the encounters occur in town and you have to protect people.

We can all say what rifle/shotgun is needed for this and that animal, problem is, even Anchorage or other Alaskan communities, people don't walk around carrying rifles or shotguns.

I'm not going to go into what's best, what sucks, etc. we all have opinions and will argue about it until the cows come home. No minds will be changed.

I do know that pepper stray wont stop a charging moose. I also know (this occurred after I retired and moved to Wyoming) that tasers really P-- off bears. If I remember right the APD policy bears and tasers has changed.

Out side of hunting, I've killed probably 8-9 moose with my service revolver, a Model 28 357 LSWCs.

This was my best. this guy was upset causing a traffic jam after he was bumped by a van. I shot him as he started after my police car. Mad moose don't like red and blue over heads.

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They say to carry bells and rocks in a metal bucket, and carry pepper spray, when walking in bear country. There is an old joke among Alaskans, "how do you tell the difference between Brown and Black Bears? Brown bears scat contains bells, rocks and smells like pepper"

In reality, bear encounters are extremely rear. Millions of people hit the woods (and towns in the north) everyday, with relatively few encounters. I'm much more worried about meeting a teenage texting drive head on. There is no defense about that short of prayers.

In short, don't let the fear of animals deter you from enjoying the great outdoors, I have no desire to live in a bubble or live in fear.
 
Sorry Double Naught...
...no disrespect, but just "semantics", when I say charge, bear is exhibiting the signs of commitment as described by those who have had ALL that "slashing & biting" happen...
...or by those who did not WAIT to see it there would be
slashing & biting, they just let the hammer fall and stopped the "charge" of
"unkown" intentions & outcome.

I would call this the Randy Garrett philosiphy, as I read an article by him, posted on his site at one time, where he pretty much said, in essence;
"to heck with the "protected" beast...if it acts seriously aggressive and starts coming fast at me, my family...it's getting SHOT, not gonna second guess bears charge as a "bluff" or whatever, and NOT gonna wait until it's too late"... which is what some "ask of you", so as to spare the poor critter?
( wait, wait...until it may 'turn' at 10 yds., 10 feet...) yeah right:rolleyes:

As Randy said outright (paraphrasing), 'human life, mine & my family, is
worth far, far more than any animal" and I'll add ..."protected or not".
Nope, no slashing & biting...bear will never get a chance to prove he was just fool'n...unless he stops his "charge" at around 50 yds., after that, if his head is down, ears back, or just coming steady & brisk...
...if my nerves are steady & my Aim is true...he's going down.:cool:
 
Another bear thread to add to the pile. Honestly, they are one of my favorite topics on the gun forums. This one won't change a thing because few people use the search function anyway and they want their thread.
 
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