Build a rifle for sheep or bears?

[FIGJAM]

Which loosely interpreted means, " You are in deep $h|T, and need a whole lotta rifle"! memtb

I have never been attacked or charged by a bear, so I am working through this like most of us are. However, since I hunt elk and deer where there is a grizzly population, this is close to home. I get the warm fuzzies that come with "a whole lotta rifle", I am just not convinced that a whole lotta bolt action rifle is going to be much more useful than a baseball bat if a grizzly charges and attacks you. Would it be bad to bring a 375 Ruger or a 338 on the hunt? No. Are you going to be able to get it on a big bear that comes out of nowhere and attacks you? Maybe...I think personally I will take my chances with a large caliber hand gun - I am dropping the rifle and drawing the side arm and I am pointing the gun at fur and pulling the trigger until the mag is empty. That is just my opinion, you don't have to agree.

 

[curtiscd]

Except for antelope, I hunt nearly 100% in bear country in northwest WY. When packing a bow I am always wearing a S&W 460 with a 3 1/2" barrel in a Kenai chest holster with 5 rounds of 360 gr hard cast rounds. Because we are always in bear country my dad is packing a Marlin 45-70 running 400+ grains of lead as well. Even while packing a bow I never feel outgunned because of this. It sounds like you'll have a group of guys along for the ride, so build your 6.5 and pack a pistol if that's what you'd prefer. When I'm not packing a bow I'm carrying a 7 STW or maybe a 338 Edge. I still routinely wear that same 460 because it is comfortable, not that cumbersome, and when it comes down to it if the bear doesn't die from the first round in the rifle the handgun is insurance. Also, I don't know about yourself, but I can guarantee you that if it gets hairy I'll be slinging lead first and asking questions second. I'd be more than glad to be the guy answering for my actions rather than allowing investigators to sort out why I didn't make it home to my wife and kids.

 

[Alibiiv]

I am pretty sure I am pushing a handgun over a rifle in that quote...I have been consistent with that stance this entire thread. I think it is the way to go for bear defense...not bear hunting, but bear defense. Shoot whatever cartridge you want on a sheep hunt, if it is a 6.5 then bring a 6.5. Just pack a large caliber handgun for bear defense - its my opinion that handguns are better than a bolt action rifle in that regard.

I agree with what you have written here. I usually will end up sitting in the dark for two or three hours before being picked up by the outfitter on black bear hunts. If the hunter who was dropped off after me happened to get a bear, the wait could be longer. I "probably" will never have to worry, however sitting in the dark where you cannot see your hand in from of you without a light and unarmed is not a good place to be for me. On one hunt I was waiting to be picked up and was nearly run over by a large cow moose. Now I sit off the road, up against a tree with a loaded Glock 10mm. Up close and intimate a handgun swings a whole lot faster than a rifle, although I'd prefer the rifle if I did have a choice.

 

[Edd]

If I were going to cary a handgun for Grizzly protection, I would just cary a 22LR revolver. They are light to cary and I could shoot myself in the head if I got attacked.

 

[gator378]

So I go back and forth, I'm looking at hunting sheep in an area that is crawling with Grizzly, it's also an area that had a reputation as challenging to access, I have my gear list and I'm working in it and it's naturally ultra lite but then I come to the rifle!
I had a rifle planned out on paper that would be on the light side of stupid and probably chambered in a 6.5 SS, awesome on paper till I started thinking about the inevitable run in with bears, I don't like the idea of standing there with a 5 lb 6.5 with a bear deciding how badly my being there is offending him.
I have zero intention of putting my life on a can of bear spray, ya, we'll be packing it but really I'm putting a big hole in something if it comes to it, the last guy locally that got killed blew a whole can into the bear and he died and the bear had spray all over it when they killed it!!
Another guy I know of ran out of spray by the time he made it to the truck, he sprayed the bear, got thrashed, made it a ways and the bear kept coming back for more as he hiked out, he lived but was messed up!
So to the question, do I build an ultra lite sheep rifle and then carry a Ruger Alaskan in 454 OR build an 8-9 lb 300 of some kind and pack just that?

Get a good sling and probably a 338 caliber or 375 H&H.My friend has a 375 H&H and it is a good shooter without too much recoil. Much less than a 12 gauge 870 with slugs or my 300 Weatherby. With bears or tanks there is never too much gun.

 

[memtb]

I have never been attacked or charged by a bear, so I am working through this like most of us are. However, since I hunt elk and deer where there is a grizzly population, this is close to home. I get the warm fuzzies that come with "a whole lotta rifle", I am just not convinced that a whole lotta bolt action rifle is going to be much more useful than a baseball bat if a grizzly charges and attacks you. Would it be bad to bring a 375 Ruger or a 338 on the hunt? No. Are you going to be able to get it on a big bear that comes out of nowhere and attacks you? Maybe...I think personally I will take my chances with a large caliber hand gun - I am dropping the rifle and drawing the side arm and I am pointing the gun at fur and pulling the trigger until the mag is empty. That is just my opinion, you don't have to agree.

If I have to choose one or the other, for an "up close and personal" encounter with a bear...I'll take a large caliber magnum revolver, shooting heavy for caliber, hard cast wide metplat bullet over a bolt action rifle! Though I personally feel that carrying both to be impractical (tried it when I was much younger and tougher), and would never drop my rifle and draw the handgun. I ain't Jerry Miculek ....and would likely "never clear leather"! It's kinda like, "a bird in the hand or two in the bush"! If I have that much time....I can make a kill shot with the rifle. In many bear attacks, it happens so quickly, no shots are fired. Obviously, we all have our personal opinions. When hunting with my 460 S&W, I don't carry a rifle for back-up! memtb

 

[Eagle eyes 17]

I wouldn't hesitate going with a 300 rum with a good break, or another magnum of your choice and see how light I could go with it ! Recoil never bothered me much when I was shooting at game, only when sighting them in ! But they didn't have a break either! You will have a better gun for a longer shot at a sheep also and possibly a life saver too! Two guns in one ! Good luck deciding and good luck on your hunt also ! Be observant, a good friend of mine got attacked last fall while archery hunting elk and his guide was killed ! They were near the Grand Tetons !

I agree and I would also take my 45 Auto

 

[FIGJAM]

If I were going to cary a handgun for Grizzly protection, I would just cary a 22LR revolver. They are light to cary and I could shoot myself in the head if I got attacked.

Check out the link to the ammoland.com article on handguns for bear defense in post #145

 

[sp6x6]

mama I ran into this spring,saw 9 different grizz

 

[26Reload]

Wow.....those ears aren't laying back...but those eyes are ready to burn holes in your butt.....
Collared bear...at least it looks like a telemetry collar on her....
stressed out from human contact......

 

[D.Camilleri]

A few years back I was elk hunting outside Dubois, WY, I went to an area that I had heard some bull elk bugling a week earlier before it snowed and started checking some parks. In one small park I saw something partially covered with snow, I thought maybe it was a moose that a Griz had killed, so I went to high alert, 338 rum locked and loaded finger on the safety. I got up to the hair and couldn't figure out what it was, until I found the ears! It was a grizzly. The skull and paws had been taken by game and fish. I later found out that a hunter had killed the griz in self defense.
A few years later, same area, I was telling this story around a camp fire to some other hunters, when all of the sudden a hunter pipes up and says, I was the one the bear charged! He was hunting the area the day after I was there, he saw a sow griz with two cubs, he radioed his brother to give him a heads up that the griz was walking in his direction when all of the sudden the bear charged him from around 50 yards. The hunter tried to put a tree between him and the bear and shot the bear once with a 300 win mag at point blank range killing it instantly. Later I found out that wolves killed the two yearling cubs later that winter. Not every hunter could do what this hunter did and maybe he couldn't do it 4 out of 5 times, but he made the shot count and got to live to tell the story. Mindset plays a big part, planning on what you would do ahead in your mind, similar to a law enforcement officer responding to an armed robbery in progress, make the wrong decision and you could be dead.

 

[sp6x6]

No collar on her and she was way up in the high country,I caught her early before much activity.Ran into another with 2 cubs in low land that was heading right to town,told a camp with,coolers and a dog dish n dog,that G bears where heading their way .

 

[26Reload]

What I dont get out of all these Grizz and Wolf protection laws....what about Bigfoot.....the more dangerous carnivores the less chance Bigfoot has to live comfortably out there.......
Maybe somehow there needs to be a 'Destroy the Predators to save Bigfoot' law......
Then there wouldn't be a need to carry an extra weapon to protect yourself against so many damned bears...blacks or grizz...or cougars...or wolves....

 

[Aoudad shooter1975]

That (.338 WM) is my wife's caliber of choice, for all of her hunting....from antelope thru moose. And I'll put money on her out to 500 yards under good conditions. I've seen her make shots to 400, on some relatively small big game! As we often hunt in grizzly country, she's never asked for "less" rifle. memtb

I have always heard this was Connie brooks caliber of choice-- I met her once and she was a petite thing. My wife (5-10 athletic build)shot a 375 weatherby I had..it had a brake on it--but she found it fairly obnoxious and did not go back for seconds--she prefers her 6.5 creedmoor and a 300 WSM to do any heavy lifting..I have to agree a 338 win mag can do it all. I have a little 338 RCM I'm starting to ring out and like fairly well ..8 lbs 9 oz with scope and 3 rounds in the box..working up a 215 grain gameking load--if it acts right it might get the nod to go to Kergz for a Ibex in October...

On the mountain I would not pack a handgun..too much hassle for me to travel..but if you want to great..when I am on the farm I do...

Ed