What to look for in a bear defense shotgun?

There's buckshot and then there's buckshot.

I don't know if #0000 will stop a grizzly, (I am guessing it will), but there is a huge difference between it and #00 Buck

And there are quite a few documented reports of people in Alaska repelling bears with #00 Buck. The ones that I've read - they've been coming in the house when they've been shot, and the shot wounded but didn't kill the animal, which had to be tracked down and destroyed.

If you don't think #0000 will do the job, there is always tri-ball.

I would definately sound a note of caution though. If I remember the last few incidents where people shot bears and it didn't involve the ber actually coming into the home - there were fairly resource intensive investigations done to determine if charges could be filed against the shooters. I would think it would turn out badly if it looked like you went gunning for bears. Last year, June 1st, in Denali National Park a hiker shot a charging grizzly with a .45. It garnered a fair amount of media attention and he had to wait until July 30th to find out that no charges would be filed against him. And there were quite a few people inside the National Park Service and without - that wanted to see some kind of charge, any charge, filed against the hiker.
 
I don't know if #0000 will stop a grizzly, (I am guessing it will), but there is a huge difference between it and #00 Buck
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Also, there is 000 buckshot readily available online in 2 3/4 or 3 inch loads. 000 buckshot, 36 caliber shot v/s 00 buckshot, 33 caliber shot size. 0000 buck, to my knowledge is only sold for reloads.
 
And there is 000 commercial buckshot loads and better ones. I carried Winchester in Alaska as backup. Any 00 buck and Remington is good for buck and Black bear. But for Black bear front head-shots and everywhere on bigger Brown bear you especially need penetration!!!

By the way, a .357 mag with hard-cast loads is fine for Black bear defense (if you hit them). My first choice for Alaska carry was a medium/large frame in .41 Mag made of titanium. Couldn't find one at the time so ended up with a .44 Mag. So, better than Remington's common stuff, Federal makes copper-plated 000 Buck loads. Woo hoo! Charging grizzly better watch out. But Winchester?

They make one that's copper-plated AND buffered. Double woo hoo!! Mr. Grizzly, now YOU'D better be running away from ME!!!
 
Smooth bore is fine, peep sights are a non-issue at very close range, no buchshot on the big bears big slugs only. i think your Benelli with a short barrel and the biggest white bead or fibre optic you can find for it. The only fault i can find w/the Benelli is that it's pretty expensive to drag around and beat up for bear protection.
 
Federal makes copper-plated 000 Buck loads. Woo hoo! Charging grizzly better watch out. But Winchester?

They make one that's copper-plated AND buffered. Double woo hoo!! Mr. Grizzly, now YOU'D better be running away from ME!!!
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Not to steal any of this great info from a veteran member(my respects to knowledgeable input) to all the folk listening in please don't underestimate the power of 000 buck at point blank range with a raring Kodiak charging at you at short ranges. This is not about a person still hunting a grazing beast it's about your life! Like I said in an earlier reply, I want lead in the air give or take a few inches I might swagger the gun barrel off target to save my skin!
 
very interesting

hmm....triple O. ill look into that, I can see the advantage of giving oneself a bit of leeway, especially when terrified.

The long barrel of my gun is really the main issue I have with it, I think. Its a bit heavy to point and slower to draw, which prolly isnt that good for a quick close shot.

Hell, maybe an excuse to get that 870 after all? Pity I wont allow myself to own two shotguns, one has to be able to do it all damnit. Maybe ill sell the nelli for a tac ghost ring 870....or put ghost rings on the nelli...its going to be another sleepless night....
 
Rustle, every shotgun is a compromise of sorts. Figure out what your mission(s) is/are, then choose accordingly.

The Nova is a darn good shotgun. So is the 870 in all its permutations. I suggest picking one platform and sticking to it,even if you do go into multiples.

And versatile as a pumpgun can be, it's impossible to have ONE shotgun equally good for everything.

My tactical 870s are wonderful defensive tools and double well for venison acquisition, but they're handicapped for wingshooting and clays and even turkey.

OTOH, my parts 870, yclept Frankenstein, with its usual 21" choke tubed barrel, fills a lot of niches.

So pick one, shoot it until you know it well and carry on....
 
So pick one, shoot it till you know it well and carry on...
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Thats just some damn good advice.

I've got shotguns I use for certain things and are better suited for individual types of hunting but without a doubt my old Rem. 1100 with either the smoothbore slug bbl or the fixed mod.choke bbl, is just my go to shotgun. Simply because we've been together so long and I know it best. From deer hunting, small game hunting, wing shooting to HD, I'm most confident with it over all the rest.
 
Before deciding on shot vs. slugs, determine the point of impact & actual field accuracy w/ a few practice sessions with your chosen barrel. The one time I shot at a bear with my (new) 12 ga, I'm not actually sure where the slug ended up going. :o A big +1 on the 'practice' posts.
 
Rustle in the Bushes,

The Benelli SuperNova is/was available in what you wanted....you just didn't do as much research/homework as was needed prior to your purchase. :(

Mine looked like this before undergoing a few changes. (the ghost ring sight is right from the factory)

benelli-0.jpg
 
Why not 10 gauge vs bears?

Sidebar: Does "bear mace" really work? Or is that just an excuse to sell a big fat cannister of suped up pepper spray you can carry around if you're a bounty hunter near pineapple farms?
 
spray, shot, slugs....

about spray effectiveness. Here's a link to a previous TFL thread :
http://thefiringline.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-259595.html
I contains info and a study done in AK.

Buckshot for large bears. I am no expert about big bears other than knowing that they are 1) Big 2) Fast 3) Big 4) tend to show up kind of magically - y'know...all of a sudden, they are there 5) Fast.
I would be putting something into my shotgun that is going to penetrate in to that bigness.
I just don't see any advantage to buckshot - but I don't live with bears either. At the distances being discussed, you'd still have to aim a buckshot load in order to guarantee a hit. At ten yards, my shotgun gives me hand sized or smaller buckshot groups. You cannot count on a wide pattern.
Pete
 
I don't think the .44 magnum is more powerful than a 12ga spewing quadruple ought buck,
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You could not be further from the truth. Solid 44 Mags will penetrate like buckshot only has in its wet dreams. You need to shoot 44 mags and buckshot more.

I think the OP has a good bear gun. Run Remington sluggers in it. Those are good slugs.

Just because you guys take Deer with Buckshot doesn't make it a good choice for Griz..jus sayin.
 
I'd take bear spray...it's proven to be more effective in a sphincter tightening situation.

As far as a firearm, I'd take a Benelli M2 with an 18 inch barrel and ghost ring sights. I wouldn't want to think about anything but aiming (pointing) and pulling the trigger.

Oh yes...I forgot to mention: load it with slugs not buckshot. Notice that it is call buckshot for a reason...it's not called 'bearshot'. Please use slugs for bears.
 
Some of the posters here have been in beary places, like Alaska's interior or certain coastal areas and Kodiak Island, like myself, and noted handgun power, and over-power. A round or pointy high-powered .44 Mag can go THRU a bear, the LONGWAY. .41 Mag can, sideways, but would be my first choice. The right .44 Mag bullet, i.e. having a hard Keith semi-wadcutter, is the first proper consideration. 'course .454's, .460's, .500's can be bought at half the Alaska department stores now. Not for me.

The average 12 ga. slug is great bear medicine. Especially for closer ranges. And some are better than others, for different things, like Brenneke vs. Foster-type. Just make sure you hit the target, and where you mean to. The average cheap 2-3/4" soft 00 buckshot round off the Box-Mart shelf should probably not be used for any brown bear -- I suspect that is obvious. I read a great tale of soft .357's going around under the skin of a black-bear's head and out the back making the bear nothing but charge! Ultimately taken-down by the Guide in a tree with a .22 Mag BTW.

But for very close range defense? Bigger 000, .36 caliber, buckshot?! 10 of them!?! Plated!?!? Buffered!?!?! From a 3" Magnum cartridge!?!?!? Weighing 1-2/3rd ounces!?!?!?! At 1,225 fps!?!?!?!?

"Good grizzly, roll over."

I like the review here...

http://www.ableammo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=73064
 
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For very close defense? Bigger 000....
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Still wouldn't be as good as a slug as far as penetration. At very close defense distance or further out, I don't know any buckshot made that comes close to paralleling that of a slug.

Between the earlier discussed 12ga.slug, any kind of buckshot or a 44mag.
My picks would be in this order for big bear country:

12ga slug
44mag(which wouldn't be my ultimate choice by a long shot)
buckshot and bible in my back pocket.
 
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I remember seeing an episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska in which she bought a Remington 870 Tactical for a bear gun. I found it humerous, as I can't believe she didn't already have a few shotguns and the choice of a tactical model had to be the producer's idea.

Re bear mace, I am in South Cal and a guy at Sports Chalet said it was only good for getting the bears good and angry with you and I would think I would prefer a gun in Alaska, but I thing the product is aimed at Yosemite where you cannot take a gun. Is it better than nothing?

[Edit: So as not to mislead anyone, Alaska correctly observed that one is now legally permitted to possess a firearm in Yosemite. You just cannot shoot it. I was thinking of when I was there years ago. See below.]
 
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Sarah is actually a pretty good shot if you saw when she went out shooting clay pigeons. I opted for a Marlin .444 which is at the minimal end of bear guns, but has quite a bit more muzzle energy than the average shotgun slug. Many do choose the 12 ga with slugs and it is better than handguns for sure. The main point should be don't head out into bear country unarmed. Pepper spray is not a bad idea, but not enough by itself. There is actually a bit of debate on how effective pepper spray actually is due to the number of bluff charges falsely interpreted as a successful bear spray save. Take the gun and the spray both if you wish, but don't go unarmed no matter what firearm you choose.
 
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