Griz guide/backup cartridge

[Trees91]

I carry a Kimber Talkeenta chopped to 21" when I guide. It has backed up many clients in the past few years. Bears are damn tough, shoot till they're down. You don't want to go looking for a wounded bear in the alders.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I think I would bring an AR10 in 308 with a 1-6 or 1-8 LPVO.

 

[Rambucsabillbul]

There's a lot of fitting choices, my own opinion 45/70 with 500 gr. Hammers.

But...... Certainly not a .223

 

[hseII]

I carry a Kimber Talkeenta chopped to 21" when I guide. It has backed up many clients in the past few years. Bears are damn tough, shoot till they're down. You don't want to go looking for a wounded bear in the alders.

What chambering?

I assume H&H, and in 3/8”.


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[LoggerDan]

I know lots of guys who swear by the ol 45 government. And I have absolutely no doubts about it. But most bears don’t charge, they run like a black bear. I want range and trajectory to be able to make guess free hits at 200-250 when he’s hauling ass into the willows and alders. For protection, they are a helluva gun.

 

[Phinehas25]

I found this video educational. He shoots at a fast moving "charging bear target" with different weapons. It makes a pretty good case for the AR15.

 

[LoggerDan]

I carry a Kimber Talkeenta chopped to 21" when I guide. It has backed up many clients in the past few years. Bears are damn tough, shoot till they're down. You don't want to go looking for a wounded bear in the alders.

Key phraxe for sure! Keep shooting! Absolutely. They aren’t something you want to Babe Ruth; no time or sense in admiring your shot.

 

[Trees91]

What chambering?

I assume H&H, and in 3/8”.


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You bet. 375 h&h with a 300 grain tsx.

 

[hseII]

You bet. 375 h&h with a 300 grain tsx.

I picked up some 270 Lehigh from Midway.

I’m interested to see if the added velocity adds any value over the 300 grainers.

Just looking at the ballistics calculators, the 270s have more ft lbs due to the increase in velocity over the 300s.

I’m curious I here is an advantage with the hard 270s?


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[Trees91]

Only 270 I have tried was a soft point Speer. The monos penetrate that's for sure...I just shot a bison with it this past Monday and had two pass throughs. One through both shoulder blades and clip the spine and one bust the leg and nick the heart and snuck out between a rib.

Only mono I've ever recovered on a bear was from a pass through, but I found it right behind him laying in the water of a small creek.

 

[Trees91]

 

[BCsteve]

View attachment 514019View attachment 514020

Is that an exit wound on his back!?

 

[Nykki]

I carry a 375H&H loaded with 300gr. Partitions when I'm hunting in big bear country. I've never been charged by a grizzly but have killed a few. Years ago I came nose to nose with a 6 ft Black bear in a alder patch, I was carrying a 444 marlin. Shot it in the throat, the muzzle was about a foot from hair when I touched it off. Dead bear but I almost had a heart attack when we met, acted on pure reflex.

 

[DawnPatrol]

A story for perspective: two of my friends were charged by a small sow griz they surprised in heavy cover. It was defending cubs. The bear absorbed six .338 Win Mag rounds over the course of its 20 yard charge and she died at their feet. I suppose you could argue that a well-constructed smaller bullet with less energy would have had the same effect. But either way, a tough animal, especially when supercharged with adrenaline.

I carry a 12 gauge 870 with a 18 inch barrel shooting the green lightfield slugs for bear protection. But that’s mostly because I’m a big believer in using what I’m most familiar with.

 

[Mangata]

I live, work and hunt in brown bear country. I also love my 35 whelen. I really do. But it is absolutely not a fight ending cartridge. Un unaware bears at a reasonable, it’ll flatten em. But if you are closer, shoot, and like a good rifleman, automatically start working the bolt, lots of times they will see you. Mostly they already have you pinpointed. It can then be a fight.

Those guys are tough, with big bodies, big hearts and slow heart rates. Tons of oxygen still in the brain to wreck your day and give you The New Look. Even good hits don’t always mean a dead on the spot bear. This matters when you hunt by yourself, like I do. After experiencing this, I went out and bought a pair of 375 rugers. I shoot 300 grainers. I hunt a lot of thick black spruce swamps, or very thick old growth in the southeast, or work on afognak. Again, by myself. Power is the name of the game. Knock the piss out of them. Hurt them.

it can be a hard thing to hit a basketball bouncing up and down a couple of feet, quickly making its way to you faster than you can say that last sentence. Especially when that “basketball wants to rip you apart and start tearing bits out of your ass and hips and legs. 375s aren’t magic , but they sure are hard to beat. Lots of natives use 223’s, but they cripple a hell of a lot of game. You do you. As for myself, I’m stacking the deck in my favor. In fact, I’m looking for a 416.

Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth…
The ramifications of a wounded bear are vastly different than a wounded ungulate. You may get a bang flop but what is your plan if that is not the reality of your encounter???

100 % agree with LoggerDan which prompted my concern on the other thread. I really wish I had a pic that shows what an unhappy bear in the alders looks like when you are on a bear trail through the raspberry canes immediately in front of you. That is the reality of the Kodiak archipelago, mostly close, dense, steep, and with large bears that don’t die easily…
Knowing that I may very well may deal with a bear at close range I want a fast handling reliable rifle that shoots 300-350gr projectiles that will break down big bear bones. I have taken to carrying my .457 WWG 18” barrel Copilot with open sights for meat packing & once I am not actively hunting deer or goats. Agree with stacking the deck in your favor when hunting dangerous game in this terrain!

 

[LoggerDan]

@gbflyer thank you for that reference. I’m in the process of transitioning out of logging into onboarding with the FS. I thank you.

what I find interesting is the 7mm Mauser out penetrates the 7mm Remington magnum, both using the 175 grain bullet. I’m also not at all surprised that the 458 Winchester magnum out penetrated the 460 magnum.


My take away confirms what I’ve believed for quite a long time; moderate velocity, heavy bullets and good construction trump light bullets, high velocity and longer barrels needed to attain said velocities. Shortening the barrel of high velocity light bullets is disaster.

 

[Footshooter]

My Brown Bear guide carried a 458 Mag, definitely made me feel better walking through salmon filled rivers and floating rafts with only my bow. (Neither weapon got used on the hunt, but we were very close to using both at different times)

 

[Trees91]

Is that an exit wound on his back!?

I believe so, could be a combo of both. We shot from a pretty high bank, high enough that some shots went high. Where the bear was shot wasn't in a location you'd want him to take any extra steps....shoot till they're down. And that salmon right beside him was in his mouth.

 

[ElPollo]

While we are focusing on thankfully unlikely scenarios… In the event that the Earth is invaded by alien xenomorphs, I would definitely want an M56 smart rifle under my pillow at all times.

 

[gbflyer]

@gbflyer thank you for that reference. I’m in the process of transitioning out of logging into onboarding with the FS. I thank you.

what I find interesting is the 7mm Mauser out penetrates the 7mm Remington magnum, both using the 175 grain bullet. I’m also not at all surprised that the 458 Winchester magnum out penetrated the 460 magnum.


My take away confirms what I’ve believed for quite a long time; moderate velocity, heavy bullets and good construction trump light bullets, high velocity and longer barrels needed to attain said velocities. Shortening the barrel of high velocity light bullets is disaster.

Sure. Friend of mine put me on that when I moved here from CO in ‘96. He set up radio communications all over SE and up as far as Cape Yakutaga for Silver Bay Logging. Anyway he spent some time around bears and dealt with the USFS a lot.