What ammo for 12 Guage for Colorado black bear protection

What 12 guage ammo should I use against a bear

  • 00 buck shot

    Votes: 7 6.7%

  • slug

    Votes: 80 76.2%

  • alternating both

    Votes: 18 17.1%
  • Total voters
    105
For those who think a 357 magnun is a fine bear cartridge I have to disagree. I have had bad luck killing deer with them. And for those that think black bears arent dangerous should study more. A black bear will eat you, while a grizzly USUALLY just mauls you. I live in the mountains of Colorado and locally had 2 bear attacks in 2 years. A few years back we had a man killed and eaten by a black bear . The bear was trying to rip the door off the camper the man was in. The man shot a 30-30 through the door at the bear but it didnt detour the bear. The bear finally tore the door off and killed and ate the man in the camper. Sounds like a real timid animal doesnt it? And 00 buck is WAY overrated. Its penatratin is less than most mild handgun cartridges. Go to "BOX OF TRUTH" for more info on this. Slugs should be best IF Brenneke brand are used. They are hard and tough. Most foster style slugs are too soft to penatrate well, most stop within inches.
 
i recommend centurion multi ball defense rounds, i think it's one .65cal ball and five .33cal pellets. somewhere between a slug and buckshot.
 
Having hiked in the Cascades eastof Everett, wa..

I have carried a 4".357 with the Federal hot-cast 180 lead loads. I ahve never needed to draw it, But I feel comfortable. I will also carry a GM .45, loaded with
an old Hornady load, of 230 gr Flatnosed Hardball.

Now you asked about buck or slugs, Having hunted in the UP of Michigan for upland game, I have come across fresh ("steaming") sign of bear and would slide two buckshot shells into the mag. When collecting apple from abandon orchards, one of us always used forster slugs.

So, it really what you feel comfortable with and can handled.
 
smackn GRIZZLYS in the face with a hunk of firewood!

King Kong's got noting on your balls man! LMAO
That thread was, by the way, a scanario only, I have zero experience or exposure with bears of any kind other then the bully bear that ran us all off the picnic blanket into the shelter of the 1959 Ford, dad filmed him devouring our picnic lunch with his Brownie movie camera, Smokey Mountains way way back in time.
And yes, Southern's do swim and ski in cottonmouth infested waters, although I am NOT one of them!
Best,
Katrina Guy
 
my best to you as well ( but I didn't smack a Grizzly .. I'm not that stupid ..)

it was just a young black bear ( maybe 100 lbs ..) not that big a deal ...( and I agree .... swimming with cottonmouths ...is just plain nuts ( and I'm glad to hear not all of you southern guys are nuts...)
 
Brenneke Black Magic Magnum slug 3in, shoots great in a cylinder bore. Its made for bear protection. They're kinda hard to find though. I bought my last 3 boxes from Midway USA. Thinking of getting a few more boxes because they're scarce. They run 2241ft/lbs of energy at 25yds, and still have 1418ft/lbs of energy left at 75yds.
 
Some good links. Scroll toward the bottom of each for suggestions on shotgun ammo. Short story: slugs

USGS:
http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/brownbears/safety/safeconduct.htm

AK Dept of Fish and Game (Moose and Goose)
http://www.wc.adfg.state.ak.us/index.cfm?adfg=bears.bearfax

The emphasis is on brown bears, which are larger and more dangerous if they attack. So, if you get between a blackie sow and her cub and she starts chewing on your head, you can take comfort that you are a statistical anomaly :D
 
Hands you the laurels for the biggest balls Big Jim!

Call me a wuss, but I am hesitant to back hand my cat over here, much less smack ANY bear with a hunk of firewood!
 
30-30:

"A man fired a .30-30 thru the door and it didn't faxe the Black Bear"?? How do we know it actually hit the Black Bear in the first place? One other thing, OO buck shot is NOT overated... It's bad to the bone my man. Especially if it is a 3" magnum 00 Buck. Believe me, not much will handle that kind of firepower.
 
30-30 Remchester:

"A man fired a .30-30 thru the door and it didn't faze the Black Bear"??

How do we know it actually hit the Black Bear in the first place?
One other thing, OO buck shot is NOT overated... It's bad to the bone my man. Especially if it is a 3" magnum 00 Buck. Believe me, not much will handle that kind of firepower at close range!
 
Brenneke Black Magic Magnum slug 3in, shoots great in a cylinder bore. Its made for bear protection.
Click to expand...

That would be my choice in Grizzly country, but I'd be ok with 1 oz. Brennekes for black bear. I have 1 oz. and 1 1/8 oz.

Wouldn't exactly feel undergunned with soft Foster slugs, either.

Peter Capstick said he'd take on any animal on earth, except for Elephant, Rhino, or Cape Buffalo with buck shot. He preferred #1 buck. Think I'll take the slug, which Capstick referred to as the "poor man's Express Rifle".

http://www.rottweil-munition.de/en/db_article/Rottweil_BRENNEKE_Kal_36.php
 
Hello skydiver. To answer your first question,it appeared to the investigators that he did hit the bear through the door first. It didnt stop him. I saw the camp trailer after it was released. Absolute slaughter had taken place in there. The division of wildlife shot either 3 or 4 bears before they found the one they think did the killing. As to the effectiveness of 00 buck I have no personal experence, however I am a student of terminal ballistics. I get most of my statistics from PROFESSIONAL hunters and experimenters. The great hunter Craig Boddington bounced 00 buck of the skull of a leapord twice ,no penatration. In "the box of truth" most pellets stopped in only 7 pieces of drywall while a 9mm penatrated all 12 sheets and exited. More than one professional hunter has had bad , life altering failures using 00 buck on wounded leapords. Most leapords only weigh @150 lbs. Most over rate it I believe because it kicks hard and throws up a big cloud of dust. I did shot a coyote with a 20 guage at 15 yards using # 1 buck. though the coyote died only 2 pellets made it into the lung cavity between ribs. Other pellets didnt make it through shoulder meat to enter chest. Coyote was a small female @ 20 LBS. Wish I had more experence with the stuff but wouldnt consider it for anything but 2 legged predator close range protection. Since I live where bears visit most of the summer ( alot of times a year stand on my porch looking in the house) my short barreled shotgun is loaded with Brenneke slugs.
 
Back in the old days when I was a young-un in SE North Carolina, the Green Swamp was an impoverished area during the Great Depression. What we ate, we shot it or grew it. My experience with bear hunting was to put food on the table. What did we use: 00 buckshot, 2 3/4". It always worked if we were within 5o yards or so. Bear meat was a day to day meal, along with venison. We were 10 miles from the nearest store. If there was 3" shells back then, I never saw one. I was a grown man before I ever saw a slug. It was a pumpkin ball, not a rifled slug. I never shot but one and it was at a crosstie. It went all the way through it.

I would not be afraid to use 00 for black bear. I prefer a 357 or 44 because that is what we use for dog hunting black bear now. Within 50 yards, he is a dead bear if you put the bullet in his vitals. If you don't hit him right, a 50 cal machine gun will only tick him off and he'll be in the next zip code before you can reload.
 
Dixie Slugs is working on a new 12 Gauge load (3"), the "Last Resort" I believe he's calling it. 870 Grain slug at 1,200 FPS. That'll take care of any bear and anything hiding behind it.

DC
 
i wouldnt consider a 12 ga slug a long range solution... up close and personal, with bear? go brenneke 3" or any other romper slug...if your shoutgun cant over turn a midsized vehicle when firing at it, i would not use it when hunting bear!...


cheers
 
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