Loaded for bear....

[Catahoula]

All this talk about rifles & pistols is great. No one mentioned bear spray.
The only thing I can say after a very serious charge by a sow black bear with 3 cubs is that their speed is amazing. This bear charged from 25 yards & I did not have time to get my rifle off my shoulder. I was packing a 300 Win Mag. At about 7 feet my 2 Catahoula Curs came around on either side of me & took the bear head-on. I could have kicked her while they were sparring. With 3 cubs I did not want to shoot her. My dogs finally convinced her to go up a tree. Without those 2 dogs I think I would have been a statistic.
So carry a big gun but realize that things happen fast.
Thanks, Kirk

 

[Pdvdh]

With 3 cubs I did not want to shoot her.
So carry a big gun but realize that things happen fast.
Thanks, Kirk

I'd have shot her. I have as much right to life as her 3 cubs.

 

[35 Whelen]

All this talk about rifles & pistols is great. No one mentioned bear spray.
The only thing I can say after a very serious charge by a sow black bear with 3 cubs is that their speed is amazing. This bear charged from 25 yards & I did not have time to get my rifle off my shoulder. I was packing a 300 Win Mag. At about 7 feet my 2 Catahoula Curs came around on either side of me & took the bear head-on. I could have kicked her while they were sparring. With 3 cubs I did not want to shoot her. My dogs finally convinced her to go up a tree. Without those 2 dogs I think I would have been a statistic.
So carry a big gun but realize that things happen fast.
Thanks, Kirk

There is always a situation were a rifle, handgun, bear spray, ect. will work or not work. You must all ways stay alert and do your best to spot the unexpected before it happens. And yes your are right it can and will happen fast. A good dog can defiantly be a good thing.

 

[ATH]

All this talk about rifles & pistols is great. No one mentioned bear spray.
The only thing I can say after a very serious charge by a sow black bear with 3 cubs is that their speed is amazing. This bear charged from 25 yards & I did not have time to get my rifle off my shoulder. I was packing a 300 Win Mag. At about 7 feet my 2 Catahoula Curs came around on either side of me & took the bear head-on. I could have kicked her while they were sparring. With 3 cubs I did not want to shoot her. My dogs finally convinced her to go up a tree. Without those 2 dogs I think I would have been a statistic.
So carry a big gun but realize that things happen fast.
Thanks, Kirk

This is why even when I'm carrying a powerful rifle if I am around dangerous bears I still carry a pistol. I can get the pistol into the fight much more quickly than getting a rifle off a slinged position and onto the shoulder.

Where I hunt in grizz country the winds are often strong. I am more likely to encounter a bear when the wind is in my face and it can't smell me coming. What is bear spray going to do if I have to spray it at a bear upwind from me?

 

[Catahoula]

This is why even when I'm carrying a powerful rifle if I am around dangerous bears I still carry a pistol. I can get the pistol into the fight much more quickly than getting a rifle off a slinged position and onto the shoulder.

Where I hunt in grizz country the winds are often strong. I am more likely to encounter a bear when the wind is in my face and it can't smell me coming. What is bear spray going to do if I have to spray it at a bear upwind from me?

I was not telling anyone what to do. I'm just telling about a bear encounter I had. We have a lot of grizzly bears here in SE Idaho. I hunt around them all year.
Thanks, Kirk

 

[HARPERC]

......Where I hunt in grizz country the winds are often strong. I am more likely to encounter a bear when the wind is in my face and it can't smell me coming. What is bear spray going to do if I have to spray it at a bear upwind from me?..........

https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/amazon-bear-repellent-accident-this-week-wasnt-its-first

Everything has shortcomings-With spray it's range, displaced aerosol, and it's as time consuming to get in play, and it will drop those with reactive airways like a rock. Only reason in my mind to carry it is because it's illegal to have a firearm.

Having seen a black bear get off the deck after being hit with a .375 H&H, I offer no 100% solutions. The 3 or 4 seconds it lived after that was the most impressive physical act I've seen from an animal. Fortunately he was headed the other direction.

My partner .44 Magnum in hand, shot a smallish bear, bayed up by hounds, it decided the way out was over the top of him, dogs and all. Fortunately it was only escaping, and the only tracks left were muddy foot prints, and it died shortly after.

My only advice is reach for protection, before reaching for your video phone, and set a generous deadline. More than you would an armed human.

 

[Catahoula]

https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/amazon-bear-repellent-accident-this-week-wasnt-its-first

Everything has shortcomings-With spray it's range, displaced aerosol, and it's as time consuming to get in play, and it will drop those with reactive airways like a rock. Only reason in my mind to carry it is because it's illegal to have a firearm.

Having seen a black bear get off the deck after being hit with a .375 H&H, I offer no 100% solutions. The 3 or 4 seconds it lived after that was the most impressive physical act I've seen from an animal. Fortunately he was headed the other direction.

My partner .44 Magnum in hand, shot a smallish bear, bayed up by hounds, it decided the way out was over the top of him, dogs and all. Fortunately it was only escaping, and the only tracks left were muddy foot prints, and it died shortly after.

My only advice is reach for protection, before reaching for your video phone, and set a generous deadline. More than you would an armed human.

Very good advice. I killed my 1st black bear with a 44 Magnum & I was not impressed. It soaked up 4 shots from close range & still fought dogs for about a minute. You are correct when you speak of the physical acts a dying bear can accomplish!!!
Thanks, Kirk

 

[Paparock]

You can NEVER be over gunned for a bear be it black, grizzly, brown, or polar. Now up front I have NEVER shot a bear but I have hunted in grizzly country and because of that I carried a .375 H&H and yes, I could shoot the .375 just as accurately as I could my .30-06.

 

[Catahoula]

You can NEVER be over gunned for a bear be it black, grizzly, brown, or polar. Now up front I have NEVER shot a bear but I have hunted in grizzly country and because of that I carried a .375 H&H and yes, I could shoot the .375 just as accurately as I could my .30-06.

I have a 375 H&H but have never killed anything with it. Carried it a lot in Grizzly country. I wish they were more popular around Idaho. I have had it on consignment for 1 year. I want to sell it & build a coyote calling rifle.
Thanks, Kirk

 

[Alibiiv]

hunting caribou with a grizzly tag in my pocket....would you feel comfortable with a tikka 300win stoked with 200gr (accubonds,partition,aframes) and a 5 round mag while hiking around in grizz country?.....with regard to 1. Reliability in the action feeding etc.....and 2. The amount of firepower at hand? The gun fits me like a glove and points naturally. I'm confident in its accuracy and my abilities with it. Obviously I'm not looking to poke a fight with a bear or put myself in a bad situation just use good common sense and limit my shots to high percentage within a reasonable distance.

I have several friends who have been hunting grizzly bear for decades, however I have only hunted black bear. These friends always hunted with 300 WinMags. In September 2013 while on one of their Alaskan hunts, one of the hunters spotted a bear a mile away and did a spot-and-stalk on the bear. He came upon he bear, shot it and the bear ran off. He waited an hour and then started to track the bear. The bear charged him from up close out of alders, he fired once and tried to fire a second time, only for his gun to jam. The bear ripped the rifle from his hands and mauled him severely. His other hunting buddies were able to fire over the top of the grizzly for fear of hitting the hunter being attacked, and the grizzly ran off into the brush again. Because of remoteness and weather the hunter was not able to get flown out for a few days. If you would like to read more, Google "John O Mattson, bear attack, Alaska" and read the articles. All three hunters were using a "push feed" rifle in 300 Win Mag. After his first shot, the extractor failed, left the fired round in the chamber and the following round got jammed up against the spent round in the chamber, and....that's when the rifle got pulled from his hands and he was mauled. All three hunters are now hunting with controlled feed rifles in .338 Winchester. All of the men in this story are true hunters, the guide's father had been hunting grizzlies for decades prior to his son taking over the guiding. The group went back to Alaska where the attach took place and found the skeletal remains of a grizzly about 100 yards from where the attach occurred. The mauled hunter recovered the skull and tagged the grizzly to take home. I asked him how he knew that it was the same bear that mauled him, he stated, "Because the teeth marks matched the scars in my head!" True story. I hunt black bear and probably will never have an opportunity to hunt grizzlies. I hunt with either a 35 Whelen or a .358 Winchester with Barnes TSX (225gr) for the Whelen and Barnes TTSX (200gr) for the .358 Winchester and a Glock 20. I would rather rely on caliber than "hoping" that a bullet is going to work, "or ought to work" when something can and will kill me or seriously injure me if the right circumstances arise.

 

[Alibiiv]

I have several friends who have been hunting grizzly bear for decades, however I have only hunted black bear. These friends always hunted with 300 WinMags. In September 2013 while on one of their Alaskan hunts, one of the hunters spotted a bear a mile away and did a spot-and-stalk on the bear. He came upon he bear, shot it and the bear ran off. He waited an hour and then started to track the bear. The bear charged him from up close out of alders, he fired once and tried to fire a second time, only for his gun to jam. The bear ripped the rifle from his hands and mauled him severely. His other hunting buddies were able to fire over the top of the grizzly for fear of hitting the hunter being attacked, and the grizzly ran off into the brush again. Because of remoteness and weather the hunter was not able to get flown out for a few days. If you would like to read more, Google "John O Mattson, bear attack, Alaska" and read the articles. All three hunters were using a "push feed" rifle in 300 Win Mag. After his first shot, the extractor failed, left the fired round in the chamber and the following round got jammed up against the spent round in the chamber, and....that's when the rifle got pulled from his hands and he was mauled. All three hunters are not hunting with controlled feed rifles in .338 Winchester. All of the men in this story are true hunters, the guide's father had been hunting grizzlies for decades prior to his son taking over the guiding. The group went back to Alaska where the attach took place and found the skeletal remains of a grizzly about 100 yards from where the attach occurred. The mauled hunter recovered the skull and tagged the grizzly to take home. I asked him how he knew that it was the same bear that mauled him, he stated, "Because the teeth marks matched the scars in my head!" True story. I hunt black bear and probably will never have an opportunity to hunt grizzlies. I hunt with either a 35 Whelen or a .358 Winchester with Barnes TSX (225gr) for the Whelen and Barnes TTSX (200gr) for the .358 Winchester and a Glock 20. I would rather rely on caliber than "hoping" that a bullet is going to work, "or ought to work" when something can and will kill me or seriously injure me if the right circumstances arise.

I have a type "o" in the above thread, it should read, "All three hunters are "now" hunting with controlled feed rifles in .338 Winchester!"

 

[Paparock]

I know thousands of people hunt successfully with "push feed" rifles and even many guides use them. Each to there own as there hide if on the line in the rare occasion something goes wrong. I however I am a firm believer in "Murphy's Law" especially when hunting anything that can bite you or hunt you back. So since I was a kid while hunting anything from wild hogs up I have only used "controlled round" feed rifles like my grandfathers old 03A3 .30-06. Now even a "controlled round" feed is not perfect so I usually have mine custom tuned to try to eliminate as many possibilities of failures as possible by an experienced gunsmith with years of experience. You know failures will happen at the worst time possible in my experience so it pays to try to eliminate them before hand. You know what the worst sound in the bush you can hear is? Click; when you need to hear BOOM in a life and death situation! When staring down a P.O.ed animal you have wounded intent on pay back is not the time to wish you had spent that extra money to make sure your rifle was as "bulletproof" as possible before your hunt!

 

[Paparock]

I have a 375 H&H but have never killed anything with it. Carried it a lot in Grizzly country. I wish they were more popular around Idaho. I have had it on consignment for 1 year. I want to sell it & build a coyote calling rifle.
Thanks, Kirk

Most people are scared of the .375 H&H calling it the ".375 ouch&ouch". Which it can be if the rifle does not fit the shooter, is not properly set up, and the shooter does not use proper technique. Personally if your hunting area does not require ultra-long shooting much of the time the .375 H&H especially if you handload is one of the most well rounded cartridges out there. Today with the much improved bullet selection you really cannot go wrong with the .375 H&H.

 

[Alibiiv]

I know thousands of people hunt successfully with "push feed" rifles and even many guides use them. Each to there own as there hide if on the line in the rare occasion something goes wrong. I however I am a firm believer in "Murphy's Law" especially when hunting anything that can bite you or hunt you back. So since I was a kid while hunting anything from wild hogs up I have only used "controlled round" feed rifles like my grandfathers old 03A3 .30-06. Now even a "controlled round" feed is not perfect so I usually have mine custom tuned to try to eliminate as many possibilities of failures as possible by an experienced gunsmith with years of experience. You know failures will happen at the worst time possible in my experience so it pays to try to eliminate them before hand. You know what the worst sound in the bush you can hear is? Click; when you need to hear BOOM in a life and death situation! When staring down a P.O.ed animal you have wounded intent on pay back is not the time to wish you had spent that extra money to make sure your rifle was as "bulletproof" as possible before your hunt!

Hello Paparock, I am not trying to sell one particular rifle or feed system over another, I believe that both systems have their pluses and minuses. The poster seemed to be seeking some information. I read a lot about bullet design and bullets that "ought" to get the job done. I prefer as you have stated to "make sure that the rifle is bulletproof!!" Also another reply was not to use a tack hammer when you need a sledgehammer. I took a lesson from this hunter who ran into a problem with a small (push feed) extractor. My arsenal is primarily Rugers because I prefer that wide, mauser/claw extractor for its ability to get the expended round out of the chamber to make room for the next one. This particular hunter who I wrote about is young, agile and very strong. I could see him really ripping at that bolt to get the next shot into the chamber, when that bear was upon him, and tearing the extractor right through the rim of the case. Again when dealing with something that can and will hurt you or worst it is always wise to keep Murphy's law in mind