I have no experience so have no opinion, but have found the thread interesting. I did run across this test conducted by the Alaska Game and Fish Dept several years back which is informative.
Nutshell, they concluded a 375 mag to be the most effective round for large bear defense if one could stand the recoil. Larger guns offered little or no advantage.
A 30-06 or 300 mag loaded with 220 gr Partitions tied for the 2nd deepest penetration. Outperforming 338 mag, 350 mags, 444, 45-70, and 12 ga slugs among others tested. They concluded that for most people a heavy loaded 30-06 was probably as good as it gets when recoil is factored in.
This was before the Barnes and other copper bullets, so it is hard to say how that would have changed things. If at all.
Most people don't really want the truth.
They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
