Brown bear Rifle

[comfisherman]

Don't know of any 458s carried by state guys, but the ones near me have access to 338 winnes and 12 gauge slug guns that they have to qualify on.

Most the big bears I've seen shot were problem bears, some die quick others can absorb lead like you cannot imagine. Remember one from my teen years that had been raiding people's shops through low windows. A friend's dad had enough and shot it outside the shop standing on its haunches. Remember how it barely flinched when it absorbed 2x direct vital shots of 200 grain pills from the 300 win mag. Only saw its hair fluff a little. It ran up the hill and we found it about 700 yards up the hill in an alder thicket 2x perfectly placed shots and it could still run up a hill covered in alders 700 yards....

 

[CCAguns]

Clip fed rifles are notorious for problems. On an elk hunt I made, the excited hunter hit the clip release expecting to release the safety while watching two bulls fight. The bulls heard the clip hit the ground and ran off, leaving him searching for the clip that bounced down the hillside. Wouldn't have such on my hunting rifle.

 

[Pdvdh]

The clip and clip release worked fine. The operator froze like a deer in the headlights.

I've used clip fed rifles quite a bit. The Tikka T3 series the most. Never had a clip release unless I released it.

Buck, ram, moose, and especially big brown bear fever can produce brain freeze and inexplicable behaviors and actions. Bigfoot and boogeyman sightings. Misidentification of hunters as game animals. Ejected live rounds scattered at the feet of a hunter that can't understand how he could have missed.

If big brown bear could fly, there'd no doubt be hunter-reported sightings of aliens and UFOs.

 

[Reemty J]

Not keeping a calm mind, not mentally prepared for the circumstance.

 

[Marky_mark]

Two of the biggest problems with brown bear hunters are they are usually older gentleman. And they think its like a hunt in Africa.

 

[Hudge76]

I work for the federal government and my agency sends people to the field every year here packing 12 gauges with slugs and 44 mags. While our inventory does have a couple of 458's they were not bought by the agency. Instead they were personal guns of former employees that must have forgotten them in our armory when they left/retired. No one is taking them to the field either. We do have some .30-06's and .300 WM's the agency bought many years ago. I found receipts from the 70's where they bought some rifles back in 2021 when helping do inventory on them. Since I have worked here, I have not heard of anyone qualifying on or taking a rifle to the field with them. Our people must qualify yearly, and several even are trained by the NRA out of state each year.

 

[memtb]

I work for the federal government and my agency sends people to the field every year here packing 12 gauges with slugs and 44 mags. While our inventory does have a couple of 458's they were not bought by the agency. Instead they were personal guns of former employees that must have forgotten them in our armory when they left/retired. No one is taking them to the field either. We do have some .30-06's and .300 WM's the agency bought many years ago. I found receipts from the 70's where they bought some rifles back in 2021 when helping do inventory on them. Since I have worked here, I have not heard of anyone qualifying on or taking a rifle to the field with them. Our people must qualify yearly, and several even are trained by the NRA out of state each year.

If the ammunition is not supplied by the government….likely a good reason the .458's are not taken/used! NRA trained….is "only as good as the instructor is knowledged" !

I dare say that the majority of hunters/shooters on this site are more knowledgeable than the majority of NRA instructors.….and we can't agree on this topic! The instructors are more likely more involved in the legal and safety aspects…..rather than the firearm capability aspects! As is usual….JMO memtb

 

[akdad]

Another factor in bear guns is for people like park workers it's almost always a problem bear so it's rather close or defensive type shooting. For hunting it's a different type of shooting. The old shotgun vrs rifle thing makes a lot more sense then.

 

[memtb]

Another factor in bear guns is for people like park workers it's almost always a problem bear so it's rather close or defensive type shooting. For hunting it's a different type of shooting. The old shotgun vrs rifle thing makes a lot more sense then.

"IF" and it's a very big if…..the government supplies the proper ammunition for that shotgun. Much like my previous comment….I would be extremely surprised to observe the typical uneducated (non gun person) purchase expensive ammunition that will make the shotgun a formidable bear defensive firearm! With a poor choice of projectiles it's little more than a handy club! Again….JMO memtb

 

[Hudge76]

I can tell you this, we've had a couple of people have to kill bears with the shotguns while doing field work. We also had a member well before I worked there get mauled by an interior brown bear. I can't tell you what defensive ammo they are buying for the pistols, but it's slugs for the 12 gauge. The guy that does our ammo purchasing is a former military police officer and then worked on the North Slope doing bear guard duty and safety. From taking to him he's pretty knowledgeable on firearms, but we do differ on what to carry for bear protection. I mentioned we should probably have a few Glock 20's with hard cast bullets as I know for a fact several of our people can't handle the recoil of a 44 Mag. While 10mm is still stout, it's not as bad as .44.

As far as the .458's, since they are not purchased property of the US Government, no ammo is bought for them, same with the .375's I've seen as well. As far as the .300 and .30-06's ammo is purchased for them.

 

[asd9055]

I have followed this thread, not because I have any experience or any chance of ever hunting a Brown bear, but because I once did dreamed about it and wanted to see what experienced brown bear hunters said.
Years ago I thought I could affort to take my son to cape buffalo and and Brown bear hunts. We studied, talked to guides and other hunters and got two M70 CRF 375 H&H topped with 1.5-5 Leupold on QD rings and kept iron sights. We developed loads and practiced. Them 375 H&H push hard, not kick, but push. Then life happened. We did managed a SA hunt, but plains game. Now we just like to read the stories of others, no way I can afford to pay for a brown bear hunt.
Anyways, most of the guides we talked to, said, pick a 30 cal or larger rifle you can put three rounds on target in short time.
Personally, I would not take anything less than a 338WM, and I have heard the stories of the Eskimo woman using a 223.
I am just reading, and and enjoying the opinions.

 

[memtb]

Hudge 76……all slugs are not created equal. In a point blank situation, most any slug to the head may be quite effective…..however, the typical "big box store" slug will likely fail miserably if a body shot is taken. It simply lacks the integrity to penetrate deeply, the soft lead pandas very rapidly essentially eliminating any sectional density that it may have originally had!

With proper slugs, the shot gun is a formidable weapon, with the typical slug….not so much! It's all about tipping the odds in your favor in the worst of situations! memtb

 

[Reemty J]

Brenneke slug?

 

[Pdvdh]

Bingo!