Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Guns for bear protection in Alaska??

This Alaskan relies on an FN-FAL that's been rebarreled to .358 Winchester.

A semi auto carrying 20 rounds of 220 grain .358 evidently is enough.

I'm of the Dan'l Boone mindset


I likes to grin em down


who's the yahoo that piped up about practice?


that has to be a serious waste of time, when you could be cruisin the gun store lookin at all the options available.


protection of any kind whether humans or bears comes down to 3 things

can you stay cool enough in the heat of the moment to reliably and accurately use the tool at your disposal?

if you can, is the tool at your disposal adequate for the job at hand?


if the above two are met, is the small part of the tool you're sending downrange up to snuff?

Phil, what do you consider proper placement? I cannot relate to the size since all I have ever dealt with are black bears but how high is the head on a big bear? Would you be inclined to try to put one in the head or are you just going center mass of what is offered trying to stick one into the heart/lungs?

Biggest bear I have ever dealt with is about 350-400pounds but when he showed up at a dying rabbit call and I was holding a single shot .223 in my hands it was not a good feeling.

Have never hunted bear--but I do know shotguns. I can't imagine anything short of a couple of Africa's Big 5, not being QUICKLY distracted by a face full of 12ga. 3 1/2"mag-#2 steel shot. If its trying to kill me, I could care less about a humane kill shot. IMHO

Distracted? Probably...

I would like more to rely on, though, than 6,8 mm 29 gr. pellets.

I prefer 400 gr GS Custom FN .45/70 guiding in bear country.

Just me - milages vary.

Always figured something along those lines would make a great tent load. I often keep a 12 around loaded with one or two cheap lead loads for splatter and noise "education loads". No sense allowing them to think there is an undefended opportunity. An educated bear may not make the best hunting opportunity later on, but he'll most likely get bigger due to less human interaction along the way.

I know a slug load was mentioned in another thread, "devastator" or something like that was way ahead of every other slug on the market. My LE experience with 00 buck was less than inspiring but most of what I have seen was with the low recoil stuff. I guess I dont have the faith that a couple hundred feet faster would make a difference.

In reference to the Amish AK as Sitka mentioned earlier I would have thought the pumps in .35 whelen would be about perfect but Im guessing it is a reliability issue.

I'm thinking a quality AR10 in 338 Federal loaded with TSX's might not be a bad companion.

I would go the route of Kurt Russell in "The Thing". Light that stick of dynamite, yell derisively at the bear "yeah, well f*ck you, too" and toss said dynamite!

Of course, the best defense in bear country is bringing a a buddy who is fatter/slower than you!

Seriously, I've thought of asking this question myself as I often backpack in areas where there are bears (black and grizzly). I have a Win 1300 but have often wondered whether that was the best defense or a large caliber rifle or handgun.

I've often wondered just how much of a risk there really is of bear attacks. I've also heard some folk touting the efficacy of bear spray over other weapons. With no experience, I couldn't separate the bull from the schit.

I imagine being alert to your surroundings is the best preventative medicine but I always thought that I'd hate to end up that one-in-a-million statistic guy on the news. You know, the last thing going through my head as the bear's teeth breach my cranial vault being..."geez, what are the odds?".

In my case it really only applies to when I'm backpacking. Obviously, when I'm hunting I have a suitable rifle but when I'm packing it in I'm often going light and am carrying photo equipment.

So what do you experienced bear guys recommend for carrying when you're not hunting? Shotgun, handgun, rifle, spray? Or is it really a moot point given the rarity of actual attacks?

Odds are slim - and common sense can significantly reduce risks further. Thats true.

I guess, it is a personal thing. Do you picture yourself rolling over and be mauled, thinking about odds or do you picture yourself having the means to defend your self?

To answer the question - firearm.

My expirience is limited to 6 weeks per year in bear country since 2007 - working for an outfitter, though, who lives in the bush and has done so for over 50 years. So, I just watch, what he does and follow course.

Rifle (Marlin .45-70 Guide Gun, shorted to 16.5" barrel) at hand and at the very least close by at all times.

Handiness of the device is the key feature ensuring above while doing chores, splitting wood, building camps, cutting trail...

And who'd thunk - there have been times where he would have contempleted odds, if not...

I had a 7600 in 35whelen and loved it. barrel was cut short, decent sights and glass. damn thing worked great, I just wouldnt ever carry one. Problem is I screwed the pooch with it. I admit I screwed up. I punched a blackie with it and when I went to extract and chamber a new round, I short stroked it and jammed the hell out of it.

Nothing wrong with the rifle but I figured if I did it once, I can do again. I miss that rifle. Human error is a b!tch.

Take your shotgun, if you have one, and get some slugs and shoot it at a stump, and you'll see they wont penetrated more then if you shove your pocket knife into it. Because a shotgun slug has a huge diamter... almost 3/4" and travels slow so it is hard for it to penetrate. A .45-70 is much better, and with stout loads its ideal. Even better would be a .375 H&H.. but i've read of bears being immune to the .375. Best would be safari type rifles - .416 rigby, remington, taylor, ruger etc. or even better 458 win mag or 458 lott.

Sure a 12 gauge shotgun is better then your hands, but it's asking for trouble. remember bears can spring up to 30 mph, that means if he's 100 yards away and wants to come up on you, he'll get there in under 3 or 4 seconds, you will have time to get off 1 shot maybe 2... so you want the most power possible.

Your better off with a .30-06 or .300 win mag with 250 grain bullets, than you are with a 12 gauge shotgun

Polska
Don't you feel just a tad foolish contradicting someone like say... I don't know... Maybe someone like Phil Shoemaker? You know, like, someone not guessing?

Maybe someone that would never write something like the guessers that you are guessing about writing about bear imunity to the 375?

That is some strange fantasy stuff you have going on there for bears... and just an FYI... 30mph equals less than 59 yards covered in 4 seconds... and assumes the bear starts at and maintains that the whole way... Step away from the Kool-Aid.
art

You didn't mention going to the latrine, so I figure the three dots (...) was an abbreviated sort of "etc.", and thus included other acts as well

Spent more than a couple of days hunting the low and high country around Tustemena Lake. On those occasions where a cabin was available, the latrine (read broken down, doorless outhouse)was usually a bonus.

I remember one occasion up at Emma Lake where a pard was using the three-sided outhouse lying to the east side of the cabin. Understand, this cabin is located just under treeline and has two main trails leading to it. The trail adjacent to the latrine (it passes very close!) leads down to Indian Creek. This creek is loaded with Coho Salmon at this time of the fall. The opening faces the cabin, offering only it's covered back to the down trail.

We had black bear hams hanging in the screen room and I wanted to check on their temperature as it was mid day and warm. As I opened the cabin door, I heard a sound that SHOUTED bear! I grabbed the rifle and peered over towards pard, who was sitting as if frozen in place. He wasn't twitching his brows or blinking his eyes! The large mass of brown that was snorting less than three feet away seemed bent only on shaking it's head from side to side and vocalizing it's distress! Green slober was flying out of it's nose in sprays!

I must mention here that pard was armed with his two-seventy stoked with 130 grain projectiles. The problem was that the total length of his Ruger was somewhat wider than the inside of the house. With his knees (he's over 6' tall) out where the door would have been and the rifle on his lap locked in place and unmovable, he was done. The good news was that this moose had inadvertently ended up with a 2 foot long piece of straw up it's nostril and was only interested in an extraction of same. Of course pard couldn't acually SEE the critter, it was just out of eyesight!

I always find amazing the "ground shrinkage" that takes place once reality comes into play in situations like these.

Not a word needed said as, with problem solved, the moose wandered by the cabin in full view of pard. I did not desire to contemplate the reason behind pard's red-faced blush, nor was I brave enough to bring up the matter again. Sometimes, it's the un-spoken word that speaks volumns, eh?

So here's the hypothetical: you are Pard. You are sitting on your fundament in an overally small, three-sided outhouse, blind to naught but the sight of a cabin, 10 yards in front of you. Then the bear comes. You cannot make it to the cabin! What kind of weapon do you put into play as a stopper? How do you react to this threat? What precautions did you take ahead of time just in case this moment could possibly have occured?

bhtr

- good story.

Pard already had taken care of the most important precaution for such an event - lowering ones skivvies.

Perhaps one should cut view holes (and gun ports) into all sides - and a 200 lumen Coleman lantern on top of the house - directable from the inside.

Going to the loo is certainly to be included into the list of things above - can get downright perilious.

To answer you question -

I use the full force of propulsion setting off my fundament on hearing the noise to execute a barrel roll out the open front of the outhouse coming up homed into the direction of approach with my Marlin .45-70 ready. Somehow a Surefire always gets entangled to the forestock of that thing - in its light I watch the martens fighting.

Then I get blinded by the light from the cabin...

best,
bhtr

I bet you had to wrinkle out your shorts after confronting that brute. What's the stats on that thing Phil?

He measured right at 28 inches and with no streching 9'10"

I have no problems with Phil Shoemaker a.k.a. 458win. I'm not contradicting him. I think he knows way more about bears and hunting them then I will probably ever know unless i move to alaska and live there the rest of my life... which is a dream at this point. I've seen videos of people shooting bears with .375's and them not going down right away.. .and it makes sense, the .375 only shoots a 300 grain bullet, thats only a little bit larger then a .30-06. Bears don't need super fast bullets, they need moderate penetartions with big bullets that will do maximum damage for a humane kill.. don't bitch at me cause your not man enough to shoot a .416 or larger. I laugh when i hear about all these hunters going to alaska or africa with .338's or .375's... because they are afraid of recoil. It's all mental weakness, you need the courage, and fortitude and passion to practice and master a big bore. If you can't shoot a .458 lott as good as your .22, and your planning to hunt the most dangerou animal in the world... then you are stupid as hell and asking for trouble. You wouldn't change cut down a tree with a hacksaw would you? I mean you could... you could kill a bear witha .22 also. I didn't even read what Phil Shoemaker's comments, I just read the original post and commented. You can disagree with me but you don't have to get nasty.

Where do you get these 250 grain .308 caliber bullets?