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Author Topic: what is the best 12gauge load for bears?  (Read 2603 times)

Offline Magnum40

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what is the best 12gauge load for bears?
« on: November 05, 2014, 12:45:04 PM »
Hi, So I have a mossberg 590 (I know not ideal but not gonna buy a slug gun for 1 hunt) and the area I want to hunt I'm using a shotgun due to it being semi-rural...what would the best load be?  I have plenty of 00Buck.

Thank you in adavcne for any tips.  I suppose I could borrow a friends gun at least for another month before that act makes us criminals...what a joke!
Just give me a shot is all I pray...my rifle and I will make the play!

Offline JohnVH

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Re: what is the best 12gauge load for bears?
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2014, 12:53:00 PM »
cant carry a .44?

Offline h2ofowlr

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Re: what is the best 12gauge load for bears?
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2014, 12:57:31 PM »
We always went buck, slug, buck, slug and so forth in the shotgun.  That combo will work wonders on a bear.
Cut em!
It's not the shells!  It's the shooter!

Offline Ripper

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Re: what is the best 12gauge load for bears?
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2014, 11:34:50 AM »
Brenneke makes a good rifled slug for smooth bore shotguns. I have shot a couple of deer back east with them. I have seen them out here but I can't remember where. Any 12 gage slug will kill a bear out to about 100 yards. I wouldn't shoot any farther than that unless it was a rifled slug barrel shooting Sabots with a scope.
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Offline GBoyd

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Re: what is the best 12gauge load for bears?
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2014, 06:39:52 PM »
Agree about the rifled slug. I used a smoothbore shotgun with slugs in Michigan for a long time. Never took a bear with it, but that's what I would be most confident with.

 


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