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

For shorter range bear protection using a shotgun it would be hard to beat a 9-shot Mossberg 590A1 with XS Ghost Sights loaded with hardened Brenneke Short Magnum 1 1/4 ounce slugs.

The special Special Forces or Green Lightning hardened slugs are made for maximum penetration and from what I recall show penetration of 35 inches in ballastic gelatin. Published figures show a muzzle velocity of 1,420 FPS with 2,350 FT/LB of energy. Apparently the Special Forces and Green Lightning slugs are identical except for the outer coating color (one red while the other is green). One is just marketed towards hunters while the other is marketed towards law enforcement.

http://www.brennekeusa.com/cms/special_forces_short_magnum.html

Far as a rifle, like others have mentioned it's hard to beat an old 'tried and true' .375 H&H/Ruger..

If lived in Alaska, bear protection for me would be any flavor 375 CRF bolt rifle w/ express sights firing 300 gn SAF's, NP's, or Woodleigh weldcore's.
A nice 454 Casull firing 335 LBT's in a left side cross-draw rig for SHTF final backup.

Gunner

I would certainly prefer the 760 if it was really needed for bear stopping... But there are far more 870s already out there, or available cheap than 760s... The Amish machine gun has never really taken hold in AK.

Obviously the voice of someone that has never used one. I carried a 300WM as my back-up rifle for years. It is all about placement and bullet construction. The difference between '06 and WM case capacity at staple gun ranges is less than moot.

non-sequitar alert!
non-sequitar alert!
non-sequitar alert!


Sorry, Mossberg is not a brand I would ever consider for protection.

And I find the fact the US military is forced to use second-rate gear offensive.

And if you actually carried that afield you would hear lots of deserved snickers...

Hunting moose in bear country w/a 375 would draw snickers?

Gunner

Can't you get equal or better results with a stoutly loaded 45-70 or even a 450 Marlin?

Thanks, NYH1!

Nope... A 375 is a fine choice for overkill just about anywhere in AK, but the comment started in relation to bear protection and INCLUDED a large handgun in a chest holster. Most folks think of bear protection as a seperate function from hunting as you would obviously have some type of firearm while hunting.

Why would you bother to bring a handgun to a rifle fight; or a knife to a gunfight and so on? Instant access is far more important than any other detail if you actually need to stop a bear and most folks would find themselves worn out packing that much iron.

Further, the comment about CRF as some magic thing for bear back-up is a bit funny, too.
art

Yes....yes ....you can do the job with a lot of different combinations but why?

If I'm paying the price of today's hunts or messing around in big bear country, it would be with nothing Mossberg.

Although I've taken a few small to medium bears with 12ga slugs, I much prefer a rifle and the most reliable rifle I can get loaded with premium bullets. I know how to completely strip my rifles to clean out mud/snow/ice....including bolt stripping. A wave hits teh Zodiac as you are getting out and you and two rifles are knocked down in surf and sand.....rifle cleaning time.

Once again: 1.Rifle Reliability....2. Bullet Placement...3. Bullet Construction....4. Caliber/Cartridge

I don't carry handguns when hunting and would rather have a couple sandwiches in my pocket. I don't even like handguns in camp unless I know the owner very well and everyone I know well would never carry a handgun while hunting.

I wear a sidearm at camp or doin chores here on the farm, weight isnt a factor w/me.
Ive had enough feeding bobbles, failure to fully eject a fired casing to rely on nothing but CRF rifles hunting anywhere dangerous game may be whether Alaska or Africa.

Gunner

Sitka Deer
Thanks for chiming in- If I remember correctly, 458Win (aka Phil Shoemaker) at one time used a 30/06 with 200 grain partitions when he was guiding. I believe he has been in on at least two or possibly three bear kills

A bigger bore might make you feel better but It's bullet placement and bullet performance that kills bears.

Bear protection often involves things not even related to hunting, so while I prefer to carry a compact, reasonably light rifle, I sometimes carry a well loaded revolver. (I have learned that a good revolver -*which I'm well practiced with*- on my hip, is preferable to a great rifle lying 50 feet away when its needed.) I have gotten over, and no longer have much faith in, "shock and awe" (short of whale-bomb tipped spears ) and nowadays opt to side with making deep holes in appropriate places. One simple, well-placed hole can readily bring down a bear, while a tremendously powerful shot, less well placed, can achieve next-to-nothing good.

On the heels of what Phil said though, I suppose my post is redundant.

I guess I was alluding more to the "Average Joe", not someone more experienced like yourself or .458Win. How could one really know how "cool" they would be in a charge situation in order to place that well constructed bullet where it needs to go. Not everybody hunting out there can shoot what they carry very well even without pressure.....so maybe it doesn't really matter what they're carrying.

The idea that less-skilled individuals should use even larger rifles is both funny and sadly, the way things too often are.

Extra recoil will greatly increase the time between shots with competent shooters... It will not speed up a loser...

Yes, I agree with you....but it's what you see more times than not. I work with a guy that thinks a .338WM is the minimum he needs to carry to kill a moose. It took him 4 shots to kill a cow at about 30 yards last Fall.

The only reason I have ever had to wrinkle wounded bears out of the pucker brush is because of "average joe" hunters who chose large caliber rifles which they were afraid of and could not shoot well.
I would rather guide a client who showed up with a well worn 30-06 that he was familiar with than someone with a new 300 or 338 Ultra-mag, 375 H&H or Ruger , 416 of any flavor or 460 Wby.

Yes you would and I agree with you as well....but isn't hunting them when they are unaware different than having to stop a charging one? Don't take me as criticizing...sometimes I just like to debate.

Here's a hypothetical question on Alaskan Bear protection. How would a 16" barreled Springfield Armory M1A with a 20 round magazine loaded with 180 grain hunting bullets work on the Bruins up there?

I'd especially like Phil's opinion on this:

http://springfield-armory.com/armory.php?model=22

P.S. I'm not planning a trip to Alaska antime soon