Best Grizzly defense weapon

[HuntandFish]

Ok, ok I know this topic has been covered a 100 times on here and I have enjoyed re-reading most of them. But I wanted to start a new thread for fresh opinions and to get some insight into what you all think.

I am moving to Montana, and my family ( wife and 4 kids) and I love to get outdoors. This often includes off trail exploration, and many of the areas close to where we will be living have a healthy population of Grizzlies, in fact I am hearing that many of the locals shy away from deep woods exploration at certain times of the year due to the grizzly issue. I for one have never been one to be nervous in the woods, but this has me thinking I should carry a more robust defense weapon.

I always have my g20 10mm loaded with 220 grain underwood hard cast On my hip, but I am considering carrying a weapon that has serious stop now power...I am considering carrying a 45-70 or some variant of a 12ga with slugs.

What day you guys? And yes I know bear spray...but to be honest not really a bear spray fan, I have had several close encounters with bears (one of them being a grizzly) and in my experience you are going to have time to deploy one method, and I would prefer it be a method that at least I know will cause an angry bear to at least consider before continuing an attack.

H&F

[JakeLand]

For me when I was in AK I carried my lever 45-70 and ALWAYS carried my smith .44 mag with hot loads even going to the crapper

[ghosthunter]

Well I lived in Juneau 4 years, and a shotgun was the weapon.

Now I have one of these. 14 rounds, any 12 ga. Round made, compact. I carry it very nicely on a two lint sling. Or in my pack.

https://www.keltecweapons.com/firearms/shotguns/ksg/

[KFhunter]

Bearspray for the kids, and wife if she doesn't shoot, big slabs of lead for you.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Skyvalhunter]

For me when I was in AK I carried my lever 45-70 and ALWAYS carried my smith .44 mag with hot loads even going to the crapper

But you do that in Sultan with the tweekers

[Brotherman]

50 BMG

[konradcountry]

I like the versatility of the shotgun but you pay in weight.

So it would depend on how far I was hiking in.

If it wasn't that far I wouldn't bother with handguns.

Otherwise a 10mm/spray combo.

[kukusya]

Any weapon you can comfortable and accurate shoot. Except 22

[Hilltop123]

Friend on crutches,..........

[Platensek-po]

Ok, ok I know this topic has been covered a 100 times on here and I have enjoyed re-reading most of them. But I wanted to start a new thread for fresh opinions and to get some insight into what you all think.

I am moving to Montana, and my family ( wife and 4 kids) and I love to get outdoors. This often includes off trail exploration, and many of the areas close to where we will be living have a healthy population of Grizzlies, in fact I am hearing that many of the locals shy away from deep woods exploration at certain times of the year due to the grizzly issue. I for one have never been one to be nervous in the woods, but this has me thinking I should carry a more robust defense weapon.

I always have my g20 10mm loaded with 220 grain underwood hard cast On my hip, but I am considering carrying a weapon that has serious stop now power...I am considering carrying a 45-70 or some variant of a 12ga with slugs.

What day you guys? And yes I know bear spray...but to be honest not really a bear spray fan, I have had several close encounters with bears (one of them being a grizzly) and in my experience you are going to have time to deploy one method, and I would prefer it be a method that at least I know will cause an angry bear to at least consider before continuing an attack.

H&F

Learn how to live with bears too. Travel in groups when possible. Make noise! Let them know you are coming. Most attacks come from surprising the bear. A man from Washington was saved by his hunting partner using a 9mm so the best weapon is the one you use regularly. If you are camping use food safe containers and keep them away from your sleeping area. It’s not just about protection but also on prevention.

[Woodchuck]

Friend on crutches,..........

An in-law you don't care for and a .22. Put one in the in-law's knee and saunter away easily. 

[syoungs]

Pretty hard to argue with a 12g slug for bear protection, but my 1895GBL is much sexier to carry around!

Whatever it is you end up using, practice a ton with it, and try to practice with some sort of stress introduced. time constraints work well. I used to be able to run a pistol ok, then I started shooting some steel challenge matches, I easily got 100% better in 2 matches, and am much more confident in my pistol abilities now.

[crabcreekhunter]

Benelli m4 7+1 with slugs is hard to beat.

[Wanttohuntmore]

LR308.  Not sure why people like the 45/70 or 12 guage so much.   From all the deer I've seen shot with them,  I'd pass.   Sure they'll kill the bear after you are mauled.  The high velocity big bores are much better.   Maybe a 375 ruger?

[jasnt]

Shotgun w/slugs

[mountainman]

Your eyes...

[kodiak10]

I worked as a bear viewing guide in the Alaskan peninsula for 2 years. having a combination of things is the best for sure, I would carry bearspray, a firearm (44mag or 12 guage short barrel with iron sites) and a flare gun. It is so wet in kodiak and the peninsula that I was never worried about popping off a flare and starting a fire. Definitely different in Montana though. Hand flares work well too, some of my coworkers reported that those worked real well. They cleared out a whole meadow of brown bears lighting one of those things up.

Honestly, if you can scare it away without killing it you will be in better shape legally. But some of them just aren't going to be scared away by anything and need to be killed. I've met a bear like that before.

Saw a subadult on Kodiak at the river that was a real mean bear one time. Watched him harass a group of 20 fishermen for 2 hrs. Stalking, popping out of bushes full charges, straight up insane. He was charging a guy and I threw a rock at him and it fortunately scared him. Only had that option as I didn't have a safe shot on him. I ended up catching the largest sockeye of my life and decided to bail. The alaska state troopers showed up an hr after I left and put that thing down for good. Good riddance, some of them just are too far gone to be hazed or educated to play nice.

[boneaddict]

    Pretty dang good answers from everyone, even the friend with crutches. 

[boneaddict]

Personally I’d want no less than a 12 gauge with the plug removed.  I can tell you when you are staring face to face with one with nothing but a longbow at 10 yards you feel kinda shorted.  The eyes worked.

[Mudman]

Curious why nobody ever speaks of a good dog?  It may run it off?  It may slow it down allowing time to act?  I know hunting with dogs isnt allowed in some states.  A "Good" dog would be a must for me if I lived in bear country.

[boneaddict]

A dog will get you killed faster than anything IMO

[HuntandFish]

Great replies Everyone and along the lines of what I was thinking. Honestly I am not too worried about it, more an excuse to buy another toy.... I have had a face to face encounter with a grizzly while my 12ga was loaded with #4 turkey load....I definitely felt under gunned. The raw short range power of a 12ga is great, but am worried about the penetration, and the lack of versatility (can’t use to shoot black bear, coyote, wolf, etc. unless at close range), a 45/70 loaded with 500+ grain flat nose seems fairly potent, along with the rest of the family carrying bear spray. I think the best defense is just being woods and animal wise, which I think we have covered.

Anyone care to share favorite manufacture/models of 45/70’s or 450 marlins etc.? Along with favorites loads?

Thanks all!
H&F

[Bango skank]

Anyone care to share favorite manufacture/models of 45/70’s or 450 marlins etc.? Along with favorites loads?

Thanks all!
H&F

I know remlins have a bad rep, for good reason, but they seemed to turn things around a few years ago with their new facility.  I bought a marlin 444 dark series back in january and its a damn fine gun.

[CaNINE]

https://www.wildwestguns.com/custom-guns/ak-guide/

[CLARKTAR]

https://www.wildwestguns.com/custom-guns/ak-guide/

I want one!!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[Woodhunter]

My 458 Win Mag.   Usually wears a 2X scope in QD mounts.  18 inch barrel.   Fiberglass stock.   Barrel mounted recoil lug.  Stock comb is a little too high for open sights, I need to put a different stock on the rifle.





Another short 458, this one has a one piece aperture sight on the rear bridge. 16 inch barrel.  Really fast to obtain a sight picture, you operate on instinct.  Some call it a ghost ring.



This one is to shoot your buddy to distract the bear.  S&W M29, SS, 6 inch barrel.   240 grain full house loads.   6 in the gun, 6 in the  speed loader, 12 in the black pouch just to the left of the speed loader pouch.



All due respect to everyone, but whatever you pack remember you will only get one shot before the bear is on top of you, provided you see it in time.  If that rifle is slung over your shoulder I doubt if you will even get one shot.

Cute aren't they?

[HuntandFish]

Well I have settled on the Marlin 1895 SBL as the fun I want to purchase. But as many of you know, Marlin is no longer in business, so it makes finding this rifle at a reasonable price very hard. Any ideas on the best place to purchase one new ideally?

Anyone know if Ruger has plans to continue manufacturing this rifle in the future? Bummer they didn’t continue this line of rifles right away...

H&F

[Calvin Rayborn]

Pachmayr Dominator

[2MANY]

Is that the bear that lived in Toledo?

[CaNINE]

Well I have settled on the Marlin 1895 SBL as the fun I want to purchase. But as many of you know, Marlin is no longer in business, so it makes finding this rifle at a reasonable price very hard. Any ideas on the best place to purchase one new ideally?

Anyone know if Ruger has plans to continue manufacturing this rifle in the future? Bummer they didn’t continue this line of rifles right away...

H&F

Smart choice. I’m sure Ruger will continue to build this top selling model. Call some gun shops and see if they can order you one from a local distributor. Or get a hold of carpsniper.

[Night goat]

ok....

 this is a topic which nearly cost me my leg, and i am going to be genuine and serious in this post

i was commercial fishing up in Alaska 7 months a year for a number of years in what could be called another life of mine (more like a phase). i was spending summers in south east and PWS on tenders and seiners for a number of years, and got to spend plenty of time in the back country on my days off when i could just hop in a skiff and go explore. often id go up some inlet by myself with a 6 pack of beer, a fly rod, a box of hand tied flies, and lunch, and take a 14 foot aluminum boat wherever i wanted, as long as i returned back to the big boat at a reasonable hour.

needless to say bears were all over the place, and it was not uncommon to walk up on a bear minding its own business in a berry patch only a few yards away.

Black bears do not scare me, every single one ran off like a giant dog and i never felt threatened by a black bear, but knew full well that a true monster of a coastal Alaskan brown bear could be lurking behind any tree rock or stump. there were signs everywhere and never stayed put long enough to find out.

i used to carry a pump action 12 gauge the first season or two, but wanted something a little more compact so i purchased a Ruger super blackhawk 44 magnum with a 5.5 inch barrel when i got home that fall. it was a used gun with unknown history but i bought a box of shells and went to a private shooting pit at my friends house. we geared up and hiked down to his pit and prepared to shoot. it was cold out and i had on a thick flannel under my Carhartt jacket, and thick fleece lined jeans. i had the pistol in a hip holster, and i put my ear plugs in, glasses on, pulled out the gun, loaded 6 in, re-holstered to talk to my buddy (Key point here), and amid laughs i drew and upon drawing, as soon as the muzzle cleared the holster, there was a thunderous boom and my right pant leg was shredded from hip to ankle.

we both looked at each other and went white as ghosts. i pulled my pants down and i was missing the top of my knee. there was roughly a 5x9 inch chunk of my leg missing of what roughly was all the meat on the upper part of my knee.

it missed bone, cartilage, ligament, and all of the important stuff by about 1/8th of an inch but gave bad powder burns and vaporized whatever was in its path. a 240 grain hollow-point would have made damned sure my leg would have had to be amputated probably at the hip because of the sheer amount of force even the most basic store bought loads those pistols are capable of shooting.

i have no idea why i was still standing. i felt nothing and was left standing. i proceeded to empty the cylinder in a fit of rage, and i will tell you first hand in a trauma situation a 44 magnum is no cartridge to have to fire quickly. i was so angry at myself that i chucked the gun as far into the woods as i could, screamed a bunch of F^%$S and things, and to prove to myself i was still ok i hiked back to my friends house and eventually made my way to the hospital.


the simply answer to what is the best bear defense gun is the one you are the most comfortable shooting. while i will not ever advocate using a 9mm for grizzly bears, there are guys who will. buffalo bore makes loads for things like the 9mm and 45acp, with the big thing being on how proficient a shooter is with his most trusted gun.

when it comes to a grizzly bear, if that bear is going to kill you, it has already made that decision for you and there is very little you will be able to do to change that.

ballistically speaking the best shells for bears are heavy slow moving big bore stopping calibers with the most affordable, reliable and easiily accessable being a pump action 12 gauge with a folding stock and magazine extension, a 45/70 is another good choice as 30/06 or 300 win mag. some moose hunters i know prefer 454 casul for close proximity shooting, and size of gun because they are often flying in bush planes where gear weight is paramount.

bears will false charge, make bluffs, and make you very aware of what you are dealing with and education on bear behavior is just as important as firearm choice, but by far the vast majority of guides, pilots, and back country experts say the 12 gauge shotgun is unbeatable because of the sheer trauma a slug can induce at short range.

if that bear wants to kill you, its going to, no matter how many bullet holes are in it. a bears heart can keep pumping blood minutes after its officially dead. the 12 gauge slug is the best choice because its going to shatter bone, joints, and the things that make movement possible. blowing a shoulder apart or shattering body parts is the only thing that is going to inhibit a large bear dead set on killing you, and in a panic trauma situation a two handed gun offers far more control and accuracy.

trying to hold onto a pistol is next to suicide in those situations

[Fl0und3rz]

OP, there was an SBL in the classifieds here not too long ago.

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,254526.msg3445417.html#msg3445417

[Night goat]

The zoom on the bear was minimal, thats 20 foot away or so.

[Night goat]

I love bears and I love guns but there is a stigma of having to buy a big.bore.revolver as means to a reason. Unless said 44 mag or 454 casual is your CCP or daily shooter by far it is more of hazard than any protection can offer.

Hunting is more popular than ever and there is this horrible new fad of buying a big bore hand cannon because you are going on an Alaska trip for the first time....

Big bore revolvers are the new Rolex change my mind

Please excuse the smooshed mosquito on the camera lense

[Gobble Gobble]

I love bears and I love guns but the stigma of having an excuse.to buy a big.bore.revolver as means to a reason. Is more of hazard than any protection can offer.

Hunting is more popular than ever and thete is this horrible new fad of buying a big bore hand cannon because you are going on a true Alaska trip for the first time....

Big bore revolvers are the new Rolex change my mind

Your comment made me think of the Taurus Judge when it first came out and its ability to shoot both .410 and .45LC. It seamed to me like everyone had to have one for home defense and dangerous game defense while in the woods. I like the idea of a 3" .410 slug but the .45LC will pack just as much punch. I personally carry a .45acp when archery hunting but there typically isn't any bears where I hunt.

[KFhunter]

There's one thing the Judge does good for,  that's personal defense at close range,  with one particular round,  the .410 000 handgun specific buckshot.   



A Judge with handgun specific 000 flight control buckshot is nasty.  The pellets fly great and pattern well, anything else the pattern is horrible. 

[Smokepole]

Well you can use an 870 shotgun with the plug removed.  One or two six shot, backed up by slugs aught to do the trick. 

[KFhunter]

Why backed up by slugs?   I'd do slugs first, then back up with buckshot

[JJB11B]

They make the 500 S&W Magnum in a lever gun now😍

[JJB11B]

https://www.bighornarmory.com/product/model-89-carbine-18-500-sw/

[Gobble Gobble]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uueUsukEmBA

Looks like it might be a little heavy to carry for extended periods of time but 1 shot 1 kill. Skip to 42 sec.

[Gearhead1940]

For me when I was in AK I carried my lever 45-70 and ALWAYS carried my smith .44 mag with hot loads even going to the crapper

I was in SE Alaska on a fishing trip last September. Went to the bathroom at round 10pm. As I finished up washing my hands, I heard a funky noise. Couldn't figure it out. Thought it would be a good idea to have a peek out of the bathroom window before I opened the door. Looking out, there was a brown bear about 2' from the door. The noise I had heard was him sniffing the door jam. My .44 was sitting in its holster back in the cabin. Waited in there for quite some time then hauled a$$ back to the room. Took quite some time to get back to sleep LOL.

[Skyvalhunter]

He probably smelled what you were doing, surprised he didn't run.

[Gearhead1940]

LMAO!