if you had to fight off a bear what gun would you use

[stormryder]

My choices by what I own-Saiga 12 w/drum loaded w/slugs, .357 levergun, 303 Enfield, 308 G3.

 

[wolfman]

Yeah. But can you quickly deliver five accurate shots on target under a high stress situation?

Yes I believe I can. Come up to ECPR next season on a Saturday, and I will let you try her out.

I couldn't - unless I could jam the gun inside the bear's mouth and start shooting. A shotgun is much easier to shoot accurately than one of those hand cannons - for me at least.

Thank you for expressing your abilities, and not making assumptions about mine, I appreciate that. I hunt with that guns bigger brother, 7.5" barrel with a scope mounted on it, and have made several successful shots suffering from probably the most stress an average person can experience while using a firearm called buck fever.

 

[mayor al]

My choices by what I own-Saiga 12 w/drum loaded w/slugs, .357 levergun, 303 Enfield, 308 G3.

I know it is legal...and I have the Saiga set-up also, but I often wondered, if I were out in the woods 'stalking' and a DNR Warden stopped to check my papers and firearms, what he might think of a Saiga with (in my case) a 20 round drum full of slugs??? (And me standing there with a Shxt-eating grin on my face!!! No laws broken, but he might talk to me about 'over-gunning'.

 

[Bollorollo]

This would be my choice lol...

 

[1988-4551]

M2

 

[Mark 1911]

How 'bout 20 rounds of .308?

 

[Zoub]

I disagree with the "total fail" as would the man in this article below. This is not hypothetical, is was an actual event.

Charging Bear Killed in Alaska -- Photo 2 | Field & Stream

The Ruger Alaskan saved his life.

its only a fail from the perspective the front sight was not bobbed and the advice given me by my friend. Look up Alaska air boat. He has been doing it ever since he left the Mekong Delta. The point is if you have only one gun don't make it a handgun. FYI where there is a bear there often bears. Last month we had five sitting in a 5 acre area at one time, one was huge and pissed.

You can also see I mentioned revolvers as a good choice for a handgun, just not my first choice. The majority of people don't know where to aim on incoming targets, be it birds or bears, so without education and practice articles about other peoples adventures won't save you. For me if charged, I will be dropping to one knee to shoot horizontal, regardless of gun in hand.

 

[Bradsknives]

You gun guys are a bunch of wussies...be a man and use a knife!

The owner of the KA-BAR trademark, the Union Cutlery Co. of Olean, New York, began using the name on its knives and in its advertising in 1923 after receiving a testimonial letter from a fur trapper, who used the knife to kill a wounded bear that attacked him after his rifle jammed. According to company records, the letter was only partially legible, with "ka bar" readable as fragments of the phrase "kill a bear". In 1923, the company adopted the name KA-BAR from the "bear story" as their trademark.

 

[Zoub]

Just an FYI for all you 12ga shotgun loaded with slug fanboyz out there, the rounds in the pic are 400 gr hard cast which convert to .97oz, that chrono at 1,170 fps.

Yeah I know and good luck with that. few rednecks put more than 50 rounds through their "look at me guns".

This ol' fat boy has 44 years of trigger time with shotguns and more than 50 shots down range,
including killin' **** with it. The average yahoo will fail under pressure and even more so with handguns. I started hunting with handguns in the late 70's so I am comfortable with the concept. I would guess there are two people in this thread that have killed game with a handgun. It's not going to be more than 10-20%. To kill the bear you have to hit it and I prefer
not to wait to shoot. Where I am you would be surprised how close they can be to you before you can even see them and due to terrain and boulders and logs they won't be coming in a straight line and you can't run away in it either.

when I bird hunt I carry a handgun, but it's not my first choice and bad advice to give to those who even need to ask.

 

[wolfman]

Yeah I know and good luck with that. few rednecks put more than 50 rounds through their "look at me guns".

This ol' fat boy has 44 years of trigger time with shotguns and more than 50 shots down range,
including killin' **** with it. The average yahoo will fail under pressure and even more so with handguns. I started hunting with handguns in the late 70's so I am comfortable with the concept. I would guess there are two people in this thread that have killed game with a handgun. It's not going to be more than 10-20%. To kill the bear you have to hit it and I prefer
not to wait to shoot. Where I am you would be surprised how close they can be to you before you can even see them and due to terrain and boulders and logs they won't be coming in a straight line and you can't run away in it either.

when I bird hunt I carry a handgun, but it's not my first choice and bad advice to give to those who even need to ask.

I am proficient with the firearm, but not my first choice either. I was just responding to the spirit of the OP which asks what would you want to have in a fight. From what I have observed, there are 2 parts to an attack by a bear, the "attack or charge" part, which definitely lends itself to the use of a long gun, the preferred defensive tool, and hopefully the encounter would end there. Second would be the fight portion, which would most likely be hand to paw, and here is where a powerful short barreled hand gun would be my first go to self defense tool. So to answer the OP's question, in the "fight" part of the encounter, I would want my Alaskan .480, then if both the bear and I survived till it was empty, having a long knife would be handy to have.

 

[The Bubba Effect]

Just an FYI for all you 12ga shotgun loaded with slug fanboyz out there, the rounds in the pic are 400 gr hard cast which convert to .97oz, that chrono at 1,170 fps.

My slug of choice is 600 grains going 1500 fps at muzzle.

 

[Frosty]

Davey crocket... He killed a bear when he was 3!

 

[ghostdncr]

Just an FYI for all you 12ga shotgun loaded with slug fanboyz out there, the rounds in the pic are 400 gr hard cast which convert to .97oz, that chrono at 1,170 fps.

I've got a 5" Ruger SRH chambered for the .480 cartridge. It may look unimpressive to some, but I've stopped trying to recover bullets. It seems the 400 grainers will penetrate about three feet worth of anything less than steel or aluminum plate. Don't recall anyone asking to shoot it a second time, either. If I had to take on a brown bear with something I had to carry all day in addition to my other gear, this would be it:

 

[wolfman]

I've got a 5" Ruger SRH chambered for the .480 cartridge. It may look unimpressive to some, but I've stopped trying to recover bullets. It seems the 400 grainers will penetrate about three feet worth of anything less than steel or aluminum plate. Don't recall anyone asking to shoot it a second time, either. If I had to take on a brown bear with something I had to carry all day in addition to my other gear, this would be it:

How much of what powder are those 400 grain pills sitting on? Mine sit on top of 20 grains of Lil-Gun.

 

[TheDude]

I had a couple buddies in the Army at Wainwright in AK. And when they went out "Baiting"....they took 12ga with 00buck. I thought they were crazy but they said a bear will immediately change his mind with a face of buckshot.

Me....id want more.

 

[10mmfan]

45-70 Marlin guide gun.

 

[DFM914]

A Ruger of course!

 

[hoostalbrian]

A Colt, of course

~ Brian

 

[trailrider]

I carry a redhawk 44 with 7 1/2 barrel. plenty of gun with accuracy. that being said camp gun is a 12 ga slug gun.

 

[copperhead-1911]

Whichever one I had the chance to at the time. If I had my choice at least .45 acp