Close quarters bear gun?

[Salmonchaser]

A good friend has been a very successful bear guide on the peninsula, says his favorite bear cartridge is the 35 Whalen. Punches way above its weight class.

Rem 7600 with a 18.5” barrel and 250 grain partitions just sounds good to me. Not sure on the reliability of that rifle model though. I personally would be able to shoot quicker with the pump action vs lever
[/QUOTE]
I’ve never hunted with a pump action rifle. I think I’ve fired two. I’ve a lot of time on 870s
Built by the same people, I think the 7600 works just fine.

 

[SniperHunter]

375 H&H . the recoil is mild (more push then punch) and it will also do for longer shots too

 

[justinspicher]

I just picked up a WWG Co-Pilot that shoots 45-70 for this very reason.

 

[Teaman1]

Never heard of the co pilot, but I just looked it and and it looks sweet

 

[Mashthegas]

12 ga. alternating 00 buck and slugs or a open sighted lever gun with heavy hard cast bullets and start with a 4.

 

[bowieknife50]

Buckshot and pistol are both not an option for me considering safety with the dogs. Still torn between lever rifle and pump shotgun. I guess I'll have to just find some to shoot.
Darn.


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[Kootenay Hunter]

I think a good 45-70 guide gun will do you good, or any short barreled lever action with a decent cartridge. If things get 'western' best to have something that you can competently shoot. And if you're hunting bears, you should be prepared to kill them in most situations.

 

[TREE ‘EM]

There’s tons of good choices out there.
Some of the rifles I’ve used over the years that have worked well for me:
Remington 788 308 Win
Savage 99 308 Win
Remington 141 35 Remington
Remington 14 35 Remington
Winchester 94 30/30
Marlin 336 Texan 30/30
Marlon marauder 35 Remington
Marlin 1894 stainless 44 Mag ( only carried it once so far but I’m warming up to it quickly)

They all work and I can’t really say one was more effective than the other.

 

[Professor]

In the past I have relied on a Marlin 336 in 35 rem. while deer hunting. Never bumped into a bear. This year I was hunting bear in Grizzly country and carried an M77 Alaskan in .416 Ruger. The lever is quicker to cycle but the .416 really brings a lot of fun to the party.

 

[Teaman1]

I’m going to buy the pump 35 whelen and load it with 250 grain round nose weldcores. Hopefully can let you know how it works in an elk or black bear next fall. Just seems perfect to me

 

[Professor]

going to buy the pump 35 whelen

I want to buy this gun just to buy the gun. Give us a report after you give it a workout.

 

[SkunkCabbage]

12g with 2&3/4 slugs for when I did creek work.
Then turned into a 45-70 with 405gr hard cast.
Which is now going to turn into a compact 375h&h Talkeetna with a 20” barrel and irons and 250gr ttsx

The 45-70 will out penetrate the 12ga by a conciderable amount from my tests. Going to a bolt action because they are simpler to field strip

 

[kickemall]

I posted some thoughts earlier but after reading some of the replies I thought I'd add this since your original post seemed to base your selection off of hunting black bear with hounds. I would stick with soft point bullets as they are less likely to pass through and kill a dog. In my earlier post I recommended against using a muzzle brake because of the blowback affecting the dogs. To expand on that - if you have one on the ground and the dogs are right next to you (which they will be if your in the brush and your dogs are worth a damn) the noise from the muzzle brake has a good chance of damaging a dogs eardrums. I know of quite a few dogs that this has happened to, not only from muzzle breaks but delivering a finishing off shot with a dog right next to the barrel. This is greatly compounded when you cripple one, and you will cripple one, with dogs climbing all over it. Of course none of this applies to a bear in a tree or hunting without hounds.

 

[345 kv]

When I ran bears with hounds I carried a model 94 Win in 356 Win

 

[bowieknife50]

Thanks guys and yes it's a hunting with hounds bear gun. The muzzle brake is great info probably wouldn't have thought about that at all.

I think my first choice is going to be the 45-70 with some softies. However; that will be a lot more expensive than the 12ga I already have


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[Teaman1]

If you’re rolling with the 45-70 and it’s just black bears, I’d stick to a jacketed soft point or Swift A frame over hardcast

 

[[email protected]]

I’m assuming blackies are the only thought so I’d say 30-30 44 mag or 357mag in a compact lever gun would do the trick

 

[6AYoteHunter]

For back bear with lower risk for dog injuries:
Lever action 45-70 405 gr 1850 fps min at muzzle
Bolt 375 ruger/H&H is about perfect for a quick kill
Autoloader 458 socom 325 gr 1850 fps min at muzzle

Have shot tons of coyotes with 12 ga with just about every load out there including slugs. Honestly kills them kind of slow. So not my preference for a bear.

 

[6AYoteHunter]

A 30-06 with 180 gr works fine if dogs know to back off asap

 

[Huckleberry Hound]

If its in the budget you could always put a suppressor on too, help the dogs ears out a bit. Im about to get a .45-70, put a synthetic stock on it, cerakote it and put a suppressor on it. Kind of a goofy setup, but should be great for close range bear hunting.