For a sidearm/backup against large brown bears and polar bears what do you prefer?
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308 enough for brown/polar bear?
- Thread starter Arken7mm
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memtb
Well-Known Member
Big Bore (45 cal or greater), heavy for caliber hard cast wide metplat, @ around 1000 to 1100 fps mv! JMO
Bur a serious question……how are you gonna carry all of this gear?
Assuming that you're talking about hunting….unless guided, you are going to be carrying quite a load!
I once tried carrying a large framed handgun, for hunting purposes if a close-up shot presented itself and a rifle. Hunting at elevation, in moderately steep country, while putting on several miles a day…..I decided that it was one or the other! This was when I was relatively young (late 30's) and not that many years from being a sub 3 hr. marathoner.
The weight of gear that one "SHOULD " carry in the field, plus a firearm can add up quickly. memtb
If you are on horseback or travel by vehicle……anything you want to have is on the table!
I've had no problem carrying around my friend's Howa 375 Ruger with a 20" inch barrel while also having on a chest holster with a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan 44.
Critter Picker
Well-Known Member
Long ago and far away,I had a good friend with the same exact problem with a .375 H&H . People will call me nuts,so I should probably shut up,but we found some bullets that were caught in a snow bank. These were pristine, looked like you caught them at the muzzle. And when we dissected them,we found that it looked like the core had slipped inside the jacket. I know it sounds far fetched, but we couldn't come up with another explanation.
comfisherman
Well-Known Member
Whatever I have on me at the time, wife opted for a Smith and wesson 10mm. I'd prefer something more substantial, but her hippie dippie friends traverse this state infinitely more than hunters do with little more than a can of spray and "good vibes" with no appreciable increase in incidence.
My somewhat blunt belief is carry whatever makes you feel confident, Dumbo didn't care what species feather made him fly... Outside of very specific years that occur only rarely, bears mostly mind themselves. If your confident and calm, outside of a heavy drought on a truly dismal salmon year after a few mild winters, they aren't exactly aggressive. But squeak like a scared teenager mid puberty and all of a sudden you tap into its primal pursuit of easy picking food.
So carry whatever makes you feel confident enough to de escalate the other way down the path. Don't think energy/capacity etc of 45/10/44 really matters all that significantly.
Heck, my buddy who spends more time afield than me likes a stubby 9 or 380 because of the noise they make if he needs to add a little spook to a situation... and it's cheaper than scaring them off with 375.
My somewhat blunt belief is carry whatever makes you feel confident, Dumbo didn't care what species feather made him fly... Outside of very specific years that occur only rarely, bears mostly mind themselves. If your confident and calm, outside of a heavy drought on a truly dismal salmon year after a few mild winters, they aren't exactly aggressive. But squeak like a scared teenager mid puberty and all of a sudden you tap into its primal pursuit of easy picking food.
So carry whatever makes you feel confident enough to de escalate the other way down the path. Don't think energy/capacity etc of 45/10/44 really matters all that significantly.
Heck, my buddy who spends more time afield than me likes a stubby 9 or 380 because of the noise they make if he needs to add a little spook to a situation... and it's cheaper than scaring them off with 375.
memtb
Well-Known Member
And…….a day pack or fairly large fanny pack with all the essentials needed for an unexpected emergency or night out? memtb
A Howa with a 20" inch barrel and a Ruger Alaskan revolver in a chest holster is not too much for me at all for the day in the mountains. I've had no problem with the Zastava M77 on a front sling with a Ruger Alaskan in a Kenai chest holster for 3 days camping and hiking in Montana.
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memtb
Well-Known Member
Sorry, my hunts used to consist of 14 to 20 days in the mountains…..most anyone, in fair shape, can do do a few days. But, many days in a row can take their toll!
Clearly…….we're not on the same page! I wish you luck in your quest! memtb
marksman1941
Well-Known Member
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- May 20, 2013
- Messages
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You know…. The interlocks I tried were old old stock. I bought a box of new but never tried them, considering how poorly the old bullets shot. Maybe I should have tested the new run to see if they functioned better.
No problem, a misunderstanding. My hiking and camping is 3 to 4 days in a row max.
memtb
Well-Known Member
Wishing you success with the new stuff. But I, like some others had nothing but great accuracy from the old stuff ……as in late '80's "old"!
In fact, about 15 years ago, I bought 1K blems from the long gone Lock, Stock, & Barrel. When fire-forming for my AI……a large ragged hole @ 100 yards! memtb
Critter Picker
Well-Known Member
I would be interested, if you try them, to know how well they shoot. He switched to Speer and we lost touch with each other.
Doghunter23
Well-Known Member
Very true, I have seen the same thing, only caveat is I have seen every duck gun I have hunted with or around fail to fire or get a jammed shell that won't extract at some point pumps just as often as semiautomatic. Only failure my browning has had was bad ammo-probably got wet. I have even short stroked my ol 870.I've seen semi auto shotguns freeze up or get sluggish duck hunting in Texas....I can only imagine how bad it could get in polar bear country. Usually happens from way too much remoil or hoppes dumped in the action and usually it was a Benelli
Anything man made can and will fail.
