30/06 vs 12ga

[TagEmBagEm]

Yeah, the key is your trying to stop the charge, so you're looking to hit the animal as hard as you can as quickly as you can.

Obviously at 200 yards you want an .06 with its armor piercing round. But at 10' it doesn't have time to slow down and mushroom to wreak havoc, whereas a slug does.

Either way, make sure your gun has all sights filed down and all sharp corners removed, and heck, I would even put a coat of vaseline on it because if you miss, it makes a lot easier for the boar to shove it right up your.... well you know.

 

[scr83jp]

Holy smokes! All he wants is your pic a nic basket.

I would say the slug buster slug gun. Only cause the size of that slug and at close range seems to me would have more stopping power than a .30-06 when you want it to happen immediately. Also, like a camera, pointing and shooting sounds much more attractive than trying to pick up a charging bear in your scope.

I did some checking about loads for the 30-06 learning bullets as heavy as 250 + grains have been loaded for use in the 30-06 in griz country,in Alaska the 30-06 rifle is still carried by many hunters and the 30-06 has taken every species of game on the North American Continent.For Big Game Hunting in Idaho(Bison bison weighing 2000 + lbs) I've loaded 220gr Nosler Partitions for my 30-06 & 300win mag rifles.One can load 300gr Nosler Partitions for use in 45-70 Marlin Lever Action Rifles. One can practise shooting centerfire rifles from the hip prior to a trip into areas with large species like bear,bison,moose ,etc.

 

[gtimo98]

Guides up there carry a shotgun with slugs, that's what I'd carry.

 

[TagEmBagEm]

I did some checking about loads for the 30-06 learning bullets as heavy as 250 + grains have been loaded for use in the 30-06 in griz country,in Alaska the 30-06 rifle is still carried by many hunters and the 30-06 has taken every species of game on the North American Continent.For Big Game Hunting in Idaho(Bison bison weighing 2000 + lbs) I've loaded 220gr Nosler Partitions for my 30-06 & 300win mag rifles.One can load 300gr Nosler Partitions for use in 45-70 Marlin Lever Action Rifles. One can practise shooting centerfire rifles from the hip prior to a trip into areas with large species like bear,bison,moose ,etc.

Right, there's no question you can kill a bear with a .30-06. Shoot you can kill a bear with a .22-250. But for my money, and when the rubber meets the road, I would much rather lob some big fat bone jarring slugs at him. I want to take a cannon to gun fight, not a knife.

 

[larrysogla]

12 gauge Magnum shotgun all the way for close quarters stopping power....NOW!!!!!! The 30-'06 will definitely kill the biggest Kodiak/brown/Grizzly bear.............but you need to stop the charge instantly to avoid being bitten, clawed, mauled, crippled, killed by an angry Grizz. The 12 gauge Magnum slug definitely has more stopping power than a medium bore hi-power rifle cartridge. If it was a .458 Winchester Magnum rifle or bigger bore rifle like a 500 or 600 Nitro Express..............then it is a different story. Those African big bore calibers are in a class of stopping power all by themselves.
'Nuff said
larrysogla

 

[DLS]

I just registered with this website yesterday, so I'm way late to this discussion, but I always find these "What should I use to stop a bear charge?" threads interesting, and often times - amusing. Realize that almost none of us not only have never been charged by an animal, most of us never will.

The single greatest deterrent anyone can carry is common sense and a keen awareness of one's surroundings. That by itself will avoid probably 99% of any close range problems a fellow might have. I've hunted and fished a fair bit in grizzly and brown bear country over the years and never had any problem, despite seeing many bears, and some of them very close. Perhaps it's stupid, but I've fished on rivers where its tight and has restricted visibility, and we didn't carry a gun at all. What we did have for protection was a labrador retriever. The dog did a pretty good job of letting us know when we were near a bear. We also paid very keen attention to our surroundings at all times and retreated a few times when we detected bears nearby. One time, fishing for reds on the west side of Cook Inlet, we saw 18 brown bears in about 5 hours of fishing, and some of those bears were less than 20 yards away. Our guide had a .44 magnum pistol, but he made it clear that he'd never fired it at a bear, and didn't have any intention of doing so unless a bear was on top of somebody. We were just real careful and backed off when bears came too close. They were fishing just like us, and as soon as they'd catch a fish, they'd disappear into the bushes to eat it. We weren't stupid, we stayed out in the open where we could see them, and never went into the bushes.

I've never carried a shotgun or a .30-06 for bear protection, but I have carried pepper spray. If I were going to carry a gun specifically for bear protection, I wouldn't carry anything smaller than a .338, and more likely something like a .416. If you have to stop an enraged bear, that will do it. The other stuff simply isn't going to put a big bear down instantly, even a 12 gauge with slugs. No matter what a fellow is going to shoot, keep in mind that you'd likely only have a few seconds to bring your gun up and get off a shot, as most serious charges happen from close range. Yeah, a shotgun points pretty easy, especially a great gun like an 870, but the engery of a slug isn't very good, and while it'll hit the bear hard, it won't penetrate worth a damn. If you're going to stop a determined bear, you need to not only hit him hard, you have to break bones and pentrate to vitals. A big bore RIFLE does just that. If you fail to stop a charge and end up with an enraged bear, you've now got a problem on your hands all out of proportion to what it was just a moment ago.

If you wonder what a stopping gun is, consider what African PHs carry when backing up their clients on dangerous game. They carry guns capable to stopping an animal with one shot, and other than following up wounded leopards, I've never heard of any of them using a shotgun. Lots of .416s, .458s, .470s and stuff like that, though. Some guys use .375s, but I'd guess they're in the minority when it comes to serious backup rifles.

I'm just an avid hunter like so many of you on here, so this is just my opinion, and you know what opinions are like. ....we all got 'em.

 

[Bluenote]

Odds are very, very slim that you'd have a dangerous encounter....nonetheless:

I do know a couple people in AK who used .44 successfully in charging attacks but one was damned close and he had the bear literally fall at his feet. Nothing wrong with having a pistol and a rifle. I think a bolt action will be more reliable than a lever action.

Personal experience , many years back while trapping way ,way north of Lake Louise. And note then when I ran her tracks back the sow bear involved had been stalking me and had been robbing trap for some time.

Make a long story short , three round from a .44 mag Blackhawk ( 300 grain hornady over 21 grains ww296) all head shots , she dropped about 10 feet from me.

If I'd had anything in my bowels I'd have crapped out a diamond , and though my rules ( personal) are NO fire and NO tobacco on my lines you can damn well bet I built a fire , made tea and rolled about five cigarettes in a row. The last forty of so traps in that line went unchecked for a couple of days and I was shaky for about a week.

These bears can move VERY quietly when they choose to , and you're NOT going to outrun one that wants you , they can outrun a racehorse for the first 200 yards or so.

You're unlikely to have an encounter with one , but if you do you'll never forget it and all the tricks the Sierra Club types like to cite as effective are unlikely to work , personally I'm getting ready to move back up in the spring , just sold off the .338 mag and .45-70 in favor of a .375 RUM ,open sighted , a scope is useless in a defensive bear gun.

And has been cited here already you have to put that long gun down sometime , best to carry a handgun too ,minimum .44 mag with decent loadings.

YMMV



B.

 

[inchr48]

Thanks for posting, and good luck on your move.


"I'd have crapped out a diamond" That's funny, being that you lived to tell about the bear charge.

 

[larrysogla]

As Bluenote has said..............3 shots to the head with a hot and heavy loaded .44 Magnum Blackhawk was what it took to stop the Grizzly charge before he could get bitten, clawed, mauled or killed. Those adrenalized animals can still cover a lot of ground even with a double lung shot. IMHO 12 gauge Magnum slugs definitely has better stopping power.
'Nuff said
larrysogla

 

[Lost_By_Choice]

The 12 gauge no doubt. Some people put bird shot, buck shot, slugs in that order, or just slugs. Just remember, the best gun in the world doesn't do you any good when it is a hundred yards upstream leaning against a tree.

Ryan

 

[AmmoSphere]

The shotgun with some good slugs.

 

[Shmave23]

870 with 18inch fully rifled barrel. And Federal Barnes or Winchester E-tip Sabot Slugs.

ETA sucks:

 

[jesunter]

Have a look.

Lion Charge

 

[k_rad]

alot of fishing guides in bear country are now carrying wasp spray! They say it is ten times better than pepper and it will blind a bear for up to 15 minutes...my 2 cents ...

 

[m_freeman]

Personal experience , many years back while trapping way ,way north of Lake Louise. And note then when I ran her tracks back the sow bear involved had been stalking me and had been robbing trap for some time.

Make a long story short , three round from a .44 mag Blackhawk ( 300 grain hornady over 21 grains ww296) all head shots , she dropped about 10 feet from me.

If I'd had anything in my bowels I'd have crapped out a diamond , and though my rules ( personal) are NO fire and NO tobacco on my lines you can damn well bet I built a fire , made tea and rolled about five cigarettes in a row. The last forty of so traps in that line went unchecked for a couple of days and I was shaky for about a week.

These bears can move VERY quietly when they choose to , and you're NOT going to outrun one that wants you , they can outrun a racehorse for the first 200 yards or so.

You're unlikely to have an encounter with one , but if you do you'll never forget it and all the tricks the Sierra Club types like to cite as effective are unlikely to work , personally I'm getting ready to move back up in the spring , just sold off the .338 mag and .45-70 in favor of a .375 RUM ,open sighted , a scope is useless in a defensive bear gun.

And has been cited here already you have to put that long gun down sometime , best to carry a handgun too ,minimum .44 mag with decent loadings.

YMMV



B.

I spent 3 weeks hiking in the AK bush ,I saw a bear the size of a car near Seward. You feel like you went back 10,000 years in time and realize *you* are the low item in the food chain. Forget everyting the Sierra Club says and buy a slug gun or bigger 45/70 type. Get the scadmium .44 mag strap it on 24/ 7 with garretts defenders. You can put the x frame grips and magna port make things a little easier to handle I am going back and this is my plan slug gun or fast handling lever rifle with a .44mag on me 24/7 as well as pepper spray. Those bears can take your head off with one swipe.

 

[m_freeman]

That would be a great point if it was true. A 30-06 does not hit anywhere near as hard at 10' as a 12 guage slug does. We're not talking about hunting...we're talking about stopping a charge. At close range, nothing is any better than a shotgun.

Many, many guides carry a 12 guage with buckshot/slugs mixed in the tube. Not uncommon at all. Several theorys as to why. I personally carried all slugs but either way is fine. A full load of 00 buck at a few feet hits awful hard...so does a slug.

not sure of the theory but heard-- hit em in the face with the 00 this turns them a little for a side shot to the CNS or bust their shoulder and drop them. I would want the 00 first as you are going to see their face close and if you can get a couple of 00 in their eyes that should slow them for the finish up with 4-5 slugs

 

[JimT]

The shotgun with rifled slugs!

 

[bobcatdan]

Bring them both, but carry the Shotgun everywhere you go.i hunt every thing with a 870 express but i something new like a lite semi-auto