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Alaska Black Bear Caliber Choice?

45-70 - 400 to 430 grain cast, wide metplat……pushed a bit harder than "Springfield safe" factory loads!

Pressures well within the safe pressure limits of the Contender…..kills like Thor's hammer! memtb
 
Those are good reply's but none of those rounds are available for the contender platform.
Contender is a single shot break open low pressure platform, I think the the .444 marlin is the largest that I have see available, but some companies don't offer it because of pressure.
I just noticed your thread while looking for a Canadian outfitter on the eastern side of Canada. We are looking for a hunt that we can drive to. We black bear hunt Maine. I would strongly suggest the 35 Whelen with 225gr Barnes bullets, or the 45-70 with Barnes TSX FB bullets. I know that they make barrels chambered in 33-06, 35 Whelen and 45-70 for the Encore as I have had all three barrels on mine. I did like the 338-06 on the Contender, it was accurate and you didn't need a dentist after you were through shooting it. If you go to the "Encore Forum" online you may be able to find a used barrel on there.
 
Wow, so just touching on the guide thing, I personally hunt bears with a 270 win. If you read through the guide licensing you will notice the fact that the guide is responsible for protecting client. Also it states that an adequate cartridge shall be carried to protect client in a DLP ( defense of life or property). Several guides I work with carry 375 H&H, 458 win, 416 Rigby and one even carried a 500 A square, they don't want to get sued and lose their license. Hunting a bear is far different than stopping a bear, I carry a 12 Guage shotguns for my bear stopper. It serves multiple purposes grouse and Ptarmigan are good camp meat with birdshot . If I can crack a bears neck at 150 yards, don't have to worry about stopping a bear. Oh and by the way YES I do CHOOSE to carry a second firearm, I can easily take my 338 or 375 to hunt bears 2inch group at 100 or my 270 groups .5 at 300. My choice is my most accurate and comfortable to shoot and carry. I have lived in Alaska for a long time, I choose to spot and stalk bears solo. Penetration is the most sought after term for 🐻.
 
Muzzle brakes are less expensive, lighter, shorter, less costly, much easier to acquire, and legal throughout North America. And the good ones provide somewhat better recoil reduction than suppressors. Which explains why muzzle brakes are far and away more commonly used in the USA than suppressors.
My rifles cause hearing loss, with or without, muzzle brakes. Hearing protection is available and at a pittance of the cost of a suppressor.

Not that suppressors aren't nice.

On the other hand, I just read that suppressors are illegal in Canada. If true, they're not an option for those that hunt in Canada.
Earplugs and/or muffs are not enough to make a magnum cartridge even close to hearing safe if there's a brake on it pointing it back at you. Look at the db reduction on your plugs. It's not linearly additive if you add muffs. Then go find some db measurements at the shooters ear of a 338wm.
Hearing damage every shot.
 
Earplugs and/or muffs are not enough to make a magnum cartridge even close to hearing safe if there's a brake on it pointing it back at you. Look at the db reduction on your plugs. It's not linearly additive if you add muffs. Then go find some db measurements at the shooters ear of a 338wm.
Hearing damage every shot.
Most know that loud noises cause hearing damage. I'm not sure the muzzle brake increases the decibels reaching the shooter's ear as much as you suggest. And I've researched it some.

You make it sound as though we have two options. Stop shooting. Or put a suppressor on every firearm. If your preferred solution is a suppressor, go for it.

Do you also want to make the discharge of firearms without suppressors illegal? Is that your goal?

I'm happy shooting my rifles with earplugs and muffs. Muzzle brakes or not. Been doing so for more than 50 years. I think I understand the consequences. I still hear fine. I hear you.
 
Earplugs and/or muffs are not enough to make a magnum cartridge even close to hearing safe if there's a brake on it pointing it back at you. Look at the db reduction on your plugs. It's not linearly additive if you add muffs. Then go find some db measurements at the shooters ear of a 338wm.
Hearing damage every shot.

This sounds like quite an over-statement. But if you are correct, there is going to be an awful lot of near deaf shooters in the very near future.
 
Most know that loud noises cause hearing damage. I'm not sure the muzzle brake increases the decibels reaching the shooter's ear as much as you suggest. And I've researched it some.

You make it sound as though we have two options. Stop shooting. Or put a suppressor on every firearm. If your preferred solution is a suppressor, go for it.

Do you also want to make the discharge of firearms without suppressors illegal? Is that your goal?

I'm happy shooting my rifles with earplugs and muffs. Muzzle brakes or not. Been doing so for more than 50 years. I think I understand the consequences. I still hear fine. I hear you.
The radial brakes are obviously not as bad as the directional stuff pointing it right back at you, but pretty much all the magnums are above 175db at the muzzle, typically 10ish less than that at the ear with no brake and typically the same as at the muzzle with the brake. The brake makes it twice as loud.
Even 30db plugs don't bring that into safe levels. I've never seen one, but if a suppressor directed the blast back at you, it wouldn't either. They more or less don't as it is. Plugs are still required.
I'm simply explaining why I don't hunt with nor would I hunt with someone that used a braked rifle. Suppressed is ideal, but a bare muzzle is also much preferable. We're adults, and can make our own choices, so I'm not saying what other people should do. Just what I choose.
I also won't sit anywhere near someone at a range with one. The blast alone is terrible.

This sounds like quite an over-statement. But if you are correct, there is going to be an awful lot of near deaf shooters in the very near future.
That's not how hearing loss works.
 
Hearing protection is always recommended, but makes it difficult to hear a bear close to you. Walkers game ears are good, but hard to tell direction to look, but so does being deaf. I am unfortunately deaf in one ear. I usually wear a walkers ear bud in that ear to help hear in brush. Suppressor are easy to get just takes time and patience. If you hunt somewhere they are not allowed, experiment with electronic hearing protection.
 
I don't take much stock in anything the ADF&G recommends, most of them are clueless when it comes to such things and have FAR LESS experience in actual hunting scenarios than most of my hunter friends & family
 
I'd go with the 500 Bushwacker
5 shots of mondo 500 Nitro Express power for hunting & you can use the lower recoil 500 S&W Magnum ammo for practice, lol !

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