yep, and a "leatherneck" LOL
but one can't argue pellet count too much.
00 only equals 12 pills
I'm thinking slugs myself. Hard to beat almost an ounce of lead at about 1800 feet per second.
Back in the day (1980's), Alberta F&G and Parks Canada did conjoint firearms training. A buddy of mine and I did it while he was working as a summer student on a U of Alberta research project. Shotguns were Mossberg pump 12-gauges, with slugs. IIRC they were CIL 1-oz Foster-type slugs. Targets were "charging" bear silhouettes on a fast-running pulley. You had to drop to one knee and put 3 shots into the charging bear target in about 3 seconds to pass the course. These wildlife mgmt agencies had a pretty good record for putting bears on the ground with slug guns. I carried a Win Model 12 with 1 oz. slugs for years as my bear defense firearm as a result of that learning experience. Fortunately never had to shoot a bear, but I did put a couple slugs into the ground at a black bear that was looking at me like I was lunch one time while flyfishing in the Swan Hills.
The only bear I killed in that time frame was with a borrowed sporterized .303 Brit mil-surp rifle in my neighbor's garden (he had an ag tag for it, it was all legal) but I would have cheerfully used my Model 12 for that job. I've killed a dozen deer or more with shotguns and slugs and based on the damage on field autopsy on each one, I'd have no problems using a slug gun on angry bears.
By the 90's, the rangers in Kananaskis Country were carrying Remington M700's in 338 Win Mag, with open sights. No handguns. The K-country fishcops apparently weren't happy with their slug guns for grizzly control, but I never saw any data or even "official" anecdotal evidence justifying the switch from slug guns.
