What are some grizzly calibers?

Today, 01:41 PM #34
jgcoastie
Senior Member

Join Date: February 15, 2009
Location: Now: Michigan, Previously: Alaska, California, North Carolina, Mississippi
Posts: 2,036
Alaska444, that ain't nothin' to sneeze at... Any of the. 4xx cartridges are top notch for bear defense with proper factory ammo or handloads.

But me and you already know that, now don't we?

My dad gave me a .30/06 BAR when I turned 12, weighs in around 9.5lbs... If I could tote it around as a youngster, I see no reason why grown men can't/won't. There's a lot to be said for a heavy rifle when you're shooting loads like BB... But then again, me and you already know that too...
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"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them." -Richard Henry Lee, Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress, initiator of the Declaration of Independence, and member of the first Senate, which passed the Bill of Rights.
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+1 jgcoastie :D Heavy ain't bad at all. The first gun I ever shot was my dad's 30-06 which was probably 10 pounds. The funny thing is I was only 6!! I shot it in our back yard in Anchorage at the top of O'Malley road and I didn't fall down which is kind of a surprise. When I was 15, I bought a single action 12 ga that was not fun at all. It was so light weight that the recoil was nasty pure and simple. That's not the case with my Marlin .444.:D
 
Drifting: "When I was 15, I bought a single action 12 ga that was not fun at all."

My father, at age ten, sometimes hunted with the family 12-gauge double-gun. A sometime problem was that pulling one trigger resulted in both hammers falling. The hammers would "Faw down, go boom!" and so would he.
 
My .375 Ruger only weighs 1/2 pound more than my .270.(both scoped)
I would have it along whether I was hunting bears, or just in bear country.
I think Ruger really screwed up by discontinuing the model I have.
Stainless steel, wears a grey laminated stock, 23" barrel, and stout express style sights...... sounds like a winner to me for bear defense/ hunting.
 
It all boils down to what firearm you can shoot fast and accurate. Of course, you'd want enough gun for the task.

I know of several hunters that carry 10mm's into grizzly country. Personally, i've always packed my 45 colt or 44 mag loaded with 300+ gr hardcast at 1100 fps. I have also packed my 357 loaded with BB 180 gr loads before. I also understand that any pistol round is marginal at best against any angry bear. But.. I'd rather have one of my pistols while out picking huckleberry and packing around baskets than nothing at all. It does no good having some super magnum if you can't place a cylinder full where they need to go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqABkG1JpHM

I wish I could draw my pistol and fire that fast:(

When out elk hunting my standard rifle will do the job - my .358 Win
 
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American Made said:
I know of several hunters that carry 10mm's into grizzly country.
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I did too... Until I met my first bear that was unaffected by bear spray... Then I got loaded for bear for serious...
 
"It shows pix of a bear who responded to an elk call ,was noticed 8 yds out,and stopped with a .338."

That is possible. I know that wolves will respond to calls as well. This last elk season we couldn't get any communication going back and forth. It was just one slight bugle and that was it. Then we found the wolf tracks and we figure that the bull elk didn't want his location pinned down. Off topic I understand
 
Hard to tell with the pictures, but it appears to be a very respectable 9-10 foot bear.

Looks like they shot him in the shoulder from an angle, exited on the other side, low and behind the shoulder. Had to have made a mess of the lungs. nice bear.
 
Never hunted Brown bear but if I did as much as I love the 30.06 that would be my desperation choice. If I was to hunt Brown bear it would be in .375 H&H to start and I would be going up. .270 IMO is way way to small. 30.06 is to small to even start with IMO. My dad was stationed on Kodiak for 18 months and many times the browns were hit multiple times and none of the shots were fatal, it resulted many times with dead guides and hunters both. I heard the stories enough to know that big guns are heavy but for the added seurity If a .30 cal was to be used it would have to be belt fed. That is the ONLY way I would be hunting Grizzly. Other than that .375 H&H for starters .444 .45-70 .458 Lott .460. Them are the starting points.
 
Many people of yesteryear made the mistake of shooting big mean animals with bullets designed for deer and human targets. This simply doesn't work.

As many have alreay pointed out = it's all in bullet design, bullet weight, and shot placement. I will also point out that high velocity doesn't equal dead animal. Many studies have been done that suggest that heavy, slow/moderate velocity bullets penetrate much deeper.

http://www.handloads.com/misc/linebaugh.penetration.tests.asp

I agree with the above study. In my non-scientific testing my .45 Colt loaded with 300 gr hardcast at around 1100 fps will penetrate further in wet phone books than my 270 or 7mm-08. If I was shooting something hard like steel then the high velocity round would carry the day. I think it's because the higher velocity rounds shed their enegy faster on softer targets. The slower and heavier bullets just have more momentum.

Edit: I will do some more non-scientific testing with my .358 Winchester loaded with BB's 225gr. Barnes TSX loads.
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=246
 
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About 11 years ago I took my only hunt in Alaska I took my 45/70 for Kodiak. The guide stated he would rather see me shoot some thing better at a long range but he said if I felt confident with the 45/70 that it would work. I shot my bear at about 45 yards and it took 1 step and dropped dead.


I think the most important part of hunting any dangerous game is a good back up with you. The guide that took me had a 458 winmag (I think) and my father (who was not hunting but came to support me) had a 44 mag on his hip.
 
Could be a number of calibers I suppose........


I prefer the 45-70 with a "thumper" load

not a factory pud load


I also avoid the bear. If I were to get that close to the bear in the above photo, I would simply then turn the bear gun on myself and avoid the long term suffering of the situation altogether.....dang man, that's a large bear

I've never had to fire my unit yet
 
I doubt that bears read gov't reports or ballistic data for rifle cartridges. I live and hunt in N. Idaho grizzly country. There ain't a lot of them but they are there. We can't hunt grizzly up here as they are protected - and rightfully so.
I hunt deer, elk, black bear and hopefully, someday, moose (just got my rejection slip for a moose tag again..)
Like everybody else here when I hunt I have the rifle I hunt with (duh..) which in my case is a 30-40 AI. I have never seen a grizzly here and if I do I hope it is a long ways off.
If I was hunting grizzly I would use my rifle - which is ballistically the same as a 30-06 - and would not feel undergunned. If I were worried about bear defense alone I would carry the biggest, baddest gun I could lay my hands on.
I would be lying if I say I never think about the possibility of encountering a grizzly bear while in the woods, but I'm much more worried about meeting up with another ****** off cow moose. Once was enough on that score.
But, back to the topic - good grizzly cartridges. Anything that qualifies as a big game round will kill a bear with good shot placement. My hunting partner killed his 500lb. grizzly (while he was living in Canada) with one shot from a 6mm Rem because that was the gun he had with him. He's one hell of a game shot, by the way. Everyone I know who has killed a grizzly used their regular hunting rifle.
I don't know why I always respond to these bear threads...possibly for the same reason I watch Mob Wives...
 
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