Shotgun for Bear protection

[Georgia Boy]

We are coming to AK in mid May and instead of bringing a pistol and risking loosing it in the blackhole of the airlines luggage system I was thinking of just buying a 870 or Moss. 500 up there and shipping it back to myself.
What would be a good load? Sabot slugs? plain slugs or 00 buck?
If I stick with my pistol choices, they are limited to .44mag, .44special or the Judge 3'' .410/.45 long colt. (no money for .460:mad

[2PawsRiver]

Dixie or Brenneke Black Magic Slugs.

Even more important then your firearm

http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-C.../dp/158574557X

[AGL4now]

Normal is one bear behind every tree and/or bush, however this year there will be two bears behind every tree or bush. If your worried about your safety, Rent a bigger car.

Odd how my neighbor for the last seven years, every day, year around, runs three to ten miles per day in the bear infested wilderness around Hope, Alaska training to compete in mountain runs, and she never carries a firearm. Yes, she has bear encounters, I think the bears prefer imported people.

A few years ago a lady stopped her medication, left everything in her car, went into the wilderness, swam across Six-Mile Creek, threw away all her clothes, and spent 12 days naked, wandering around the Canyon Creek/Six Mile Creek area, and never had a bear problem.

People are way to phobic about Bears. In the last 40 years I have lost over 100 friends to Car crashes and Aircraft crashes, and not one friend to a bear attack, some have been mauled, and everyone who was mauled said it happened so fast, they never got the rifle or shotgun up, even though it was in their hand.

[akspecialus]

12 Ga is great bear medicine. I like the brenneke slugs myself. If you want to know if bears are in the area, look for large piles of scat, usually smell like pepper and contain CA license and peta cards. Dont assume brown bears are the major threat, I have had more trouble with black bears than browns. As long as you are aware of whats going on around you, you should have no problem.

[ADfields]

scat, usually smell like pepper and contain CA license and peta cards.

Thats good!! You forgot the little bells on a snap.

Andy

[Murphy]

Thanks for sharing that with us Hopeak.

I think all these bears behind every bush take note of all this netz stuff.

Generally I think, when someone asks about which gun to bring for bears, that, to ask the question, you probably aren't a hunter and probably don't own a suitable gun for big game and believe that you automatically have the skills set to defend yourself and your family from the great beasts of the wild. That usually isn't true. In fact it usually isn't true for folks who have done a bit of hunting and probably is rarely true for those with a lot of experience hunting unless it is hunting of similar predators. Actually the ability to use a gun, any gun, safely and effectively to save you hide from a full blown charge of the great brown/grizzly bear is probably a very rare ingredient. Does that mean we should all go unarmed? Not at all. It does mean we need to know effectively how to operate the gun we carry. With an engrained ability to shoot a shot gun, rifle or handgun being the first important step. If you have that, before your trip, then the gun selected for this bear defense is up to you. If you are new to guns and have spent your leisure hours on the golf course and not the shooting range, by all means bring a five iron. It will do you more good.

Those who have effectively hunted big game with big bore handguns for years will probably feel well heeled with a good 44 mag on the hip. Those who hunt deer in one of the shotgun only states should select a shotgun. If you've never shot any rifle larger than a 243 Winchester, buyng a 458 Lott to bring on the trip probably isn't a sound decision. A good dose of common sense will prevail as with all new adventures. Have fun in Alaska.

[stevelyn]

Stuff it with Brenneke Originals and call it good. They whistle through bears like a hardcast bullet leaving light spilling in from the other side. I've yet to recover one from any of our DLP kills.

[KCASEY]

same thing down here !

Normal is one bear behind every tree and/or bush, however this year there will be two bears behind every tree or bush. If your worried about your safety, Rent a bigger car.

Odd how my neighbor for the last seven years, every day, year around, runs three to ten miles per day in the bear infested wilderness around Hope, Alaska training to compete in mountain runs, and she never carries a firearm. Yes, she has bear encounters, I think the bears prefer imported people.

A few years ago a lady stopped her medication, left everything in her car, went into the wilderness, swam across Six-Mile Creek, threw away all her clothes, and spent 12 days naked, wandering around the Canyon Creek/Six Mile Creek area, and never had a bear problem.

People are way to phobic about Bears. In the last 40 years I have lost over 100 friends to Car crashes and Aircraft crashes, and not one friend to a bear attack, some have been mauled, and everyone who was mauled said it happened so fast, they never got the rifle or shotgun up, even though it was in their hand.

Everbody knows the sharks and Alligators only eat tourists ! :0 Kevin

[6XLeech]

Ah, a little perspective is good and...

Normal is one bear behind every tree and/or bush, however this year there will be two bears behind every tree or bush. If your worried about your safety, Rent a bigger car.

Odd how my neighbor for the last seven years, every day, year around, runs three to ten miles per day in the bear infested wilderness around Hope, Alaska training to compete in mountain runs, and she never carries a firearm. Yes, she has bear encounters, I think the bears prefer imported people.

A few years ago a lady stopped her medication, left everything in her car, went into the wilderness, swam across Six-Mile Creek, threw away all her clothes, and spent 12 days naked, wandering around the Canyon Creek/Six Mile Creek area, and never had a bear problem.

People are way to phobic about Bears. In the last 40 years I have lost over 100 friends to Car crashes and Aircraft crashes, and not one friend to a bear attack, some have been mauled, and everyone who was mauled said it happened so fast, they never got the rifle or shotgun up, even though it was in their hand.

encourages people to just hike/camp smart enjoy your visit.

Good post! Maybe a f/u to the Canyon Ck story in the next 329PD thread?

[Phish Finder]

Make sure you bring some white cheese sauce and salsa from El Sombrero's with you, as well as a 60 oz margarita.

The bear up here only eat folks from California and Texas. I'm trying to teach them to eat New Yorkers but I'm having a hard time. They especially like Texans. I guess the bear are fond of taking the weaker members out of the gene pool.

Being from Georgia, you should be alright

[Marshall/Ak]

I agree with the replies in favor of Brenneke slugs (also called RWS-Brenneke)...darn good ammo...and much higher velocity than any buckshot load. They even make a 3", 600-gr monster slug load. (kicks like hell, but kills anything on the recieving end) I wouldn't bother with 00-Buck...ok maybe for a deer, but no good at all for brown bear. (penetration is no better than a 22LR. You might maybe get a shot off, but then you would become a tossed rag-doll for an adrenaline-charged P.O. bear) My $.02


Marshall/Ak

[Chechakonomo]

Good Link

Here's a good link that's been around for a while but shows how fast bear problems happen.

I think the guy in the video says the bear turned at about 8 FEET away. Hope they all had a change of shorts in the willie pete bags.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMbnmLLnsfw