Gotta disagree with much of what you are saying... First, all leg bones in brown bears are relatively lighter than any ungulate and by a lot. It is tough, flexible stuff, not the huge bones of other critters.
Second, why are you worrying about shooting a charging bear in the ball of the humerus? They usually come straight at ya... At least when charging...
Sitka Deer,
I'm looking at the humerus from both a brown bear and a bull elk right now. The brown bear humerus is shorter, and shaped quite a bit differently from the elk. It reflects the heavy muscle attachment consistent with being a bear.
While trying to take into account the very different shape, I can not see where the humerus of the bear is much lighter than that of the elk. This brown bear humerus is heavy but different. I do not have the lower leg bones from either animal, and as such I can not say exactly how those bones would compare.
But the upper leg bone is pretty stout for both of these animals. If a bullet hit there in either case, it might be a challenging target for a fast expanding bullet.
This is the only brown bear humerus I have, and as such it is the only one I have to compare with this elk humerus. I assume both to be typical, but possibly that is not the case.
This brown bear humerus and scapula came from near Sitka, and was not shot by me. I am at a loss to explain why what I see seems different than what you have described.
Is there that much difference between the bones of the coastal brown bear and the interior grizzly??
You have the experience with the Alaskan bears that I do not. I am willing to believe you about the leg bones in the bear, but what I have in hand does not look the way I am imagining when you describe things.
As to your second point, I fully agree with you. The ball of the humerus is not where someone should be shooting, especially not with a directly incoming bear. My point is that if things are not going right, with both bear and shooter in a dynamic situation, a shooter might have to put a bullet through that area, and if so, a stout bullet would be a big help.
Clearly that is not the first choice, nor even a likely choice, on where to hit an incoming bear. Fortunately I have never had to make that choice!
