Now the M1 Grand I’ve not used. However other than it’s outdated clip system, if you have the 30.06 variety, you should have a bear killing machine. I’m not a fan of a semi auto but many folk use them.

Get out there and enjoy a bear hunt. Practice plenty so you both know your guns. Where they shoot and how they shoot. Let me know how you do.

As you read, Dave, a medium sized brown bear I shot once, received nine shots from a .338 Winchester magnum before it died, 10 yards from me and my guide. I wish I had had a bigger gun that day, I tell you. A .338 win mag, a 416 or my 500 Jeffrey’s on given days would not prevent a grizzly from getting at you. So the logical solution is to go bigger. The best and most widely accepted advice for preventing being chewed on by a grizzly or black bear doesn’t involve a gun at all.

The 1st brown bear hunt I went on was along the coast of Alaska, and they had strict rules. One of these strict rules was “no guns discharged in camp”. That meant, even if we had a bear in our tent we weren’t to discharge a gun. Most of us play “odds” games all the time. Driving a car, motorcycle, or flying in a plane are examples. Firing a gun at night in a tent is probably, I have to agree with our outfitter, more dangerous than the bear in camp. So, though I take protective fire arms with me into bear country often, I am very, VERY, hesitant to use them. Be careful with your company. The last thing you need on a camping trip is a gun injury. Make sure gun carriers are qualified and mature enough to be trusted. Be open with each other about the gun’s role in the camping trip. When I go, no one even sees the gun, and the gun is not loaded and under my pillow. Of course, don’t accidentally bait bears into your camp either.

I can tell from your comments you agree with the above stuff. Let’s talk a little bit about caliber size.

I just got back from a hunt to Zimbabwe on the African continent. I went to hunt cape buffalo. To me this is the most dangerous animal to hunt there is. A close, very close, second is the grizzly or brown bear. I took a 500 Jeffrey’s rifle and wouldn’t again. The buffalo I shot, was killed with one shot and did not charge. This was great, however, the practicing with this huge rife was a killer. The recoil, I truthfully can’t handle well enough. If I went again after cape buffalo, and I want to, I’d hone it down and take a .416 double. What I’m saying is, bigger isn’t always better. It’s vitally important the weapon can be handled correctly in a given situation.

If I place myself in your camping situation, and could pick any weapon I wanted, I’d entertain only pistols. They are light and easy to use. The noise they make would likely provide enough protection, most of the time. This past spring I goofed around with what I think I’d prefer to have camping. It was a .410 pistol. Light, short, and at close range would deliver a massive shock. You’d want to use large shot like, 00, or BB shot. I promise, at close range this gun would put a hole the size of your fist through most creatures. Two shots would be unbelievably devastating!! I do not hunt with pistols and there are volumes of opinion on their use. There are many great close range calibers that would be fine. The .410 pistols are just my choice for close protection purposes, for anything life threatening, beast or human.

Also I wouldn’t go semi automatic. I just don’t like them. One good shot is always better than 2 quick ones. The other action types are just more solid, more trust worthy, and just better than semi auto.

Again thanks for your provocative questions and I hope this helped. I’d be glad to speak with you in person, if you’d like, or write again on the website so all can see our opinions. You’d make a great hunter-sooo take it up!!!

Then we could really discuss calibers!!

Best of luck,

bearbums

Some friends of mine recently moved to Washington and want me to go camping with them in the upper Cascade Mountains where there are a handful of Grizzlies and tons of black bears. None of us are hunters, but we are experienced campers (though not around bears), and I consider myself to be a pretty good shot due to considerable trigger time at the range.

My main concern, then, is defense in the very unlikely event of an attack or a too-close encounter which can’t be corrected by some other means.

I’ve read numerous articles about optimal rifle and cartridge for bear, and I do like the idea of having a semi-auto chambered in something like .338 magnum. However, to be honest I’m not all that enthused about going out with anything in the .30-range of cartridges given the stories I’m hearing about 3, 4, or even 8 shots being necessary to take the animal down.

I suppose my questions would be: What cartridges in the .40-range and beyond do you recommend which would ensure a bear could be taken down quickly (assuming an accurate shot)? I’m concerned that the farther upward I depart from .338 magnum, the more I’ll start getting into unbearable (excuse the pun) recoil. Also, how does sectional density really factor in? Should I just go with the largest commonly-available caliber I can find that also has the highest possible SD? Or would I be worse-off having a gun with plenty of stopping power but too much recoil? Finally, how important do you think the semi-auto feature is when a bear is charging, there isn’t much time to act, and you may need to place several rounds very quickly under great stress? So far as I can tell, the semi-autos really aren’t available in anything larger than .338 magnum! Based on what I’ve heard, I’m inclined to believe that they should be.

Thanks in advance for your targeted responses!

The 300 win mag is one of my very favorite calibers. It shoots big, fast, far and only kicks pretty hard. It’s almost impossible to go wrong with a 300 win mag on bears. My favorite load might be a reasonably heavy Barnes Triple Shock. Maybe 180-200 grains depending on the size of a bear I was expecting. The biggest black bear I ever killed, I shot at 100yds, on Vancouver Island with my 300 win mag. 7′ 6″, and the 300 killed him dead!!

There you have one old guys opinion. Now let me know when and where!!!