Bird shot for brown bear?

[Asaltweapon]

I thought the NES rule was 9mm.

I go to bear territory in The Allagash Wilderness Waterway and Baxter where gunz ain’t allowed last I knew.

 

[Spanz]

The only problem with that is you only find out if it's a bluff or not when it closes that last 20 feet in the blink of an eye and kills the living shit out of you in the most horrific way one can imagine.
Other than that though....

A guy who used to guide us on boar trips told us of watching his business partner being decapitated by an Alaskan grizzly before he ever had a chance to get a shot off.
He said that was bad enough , but having to pack the guy's body and head out in different packs and frames was worst.
His advise was that is the bear didn't back off right away to start shooting as far out as you could reasonably make good shots , because you may need them all.

i have heard similar thing....that you need to carry some big iron on your hip in griz country, cause you do not have time to grab your rifle.

 

[Dadstoys]

i have heard similar thing....that you need to carry some big iron on your hip in griz country, cause you do not have time to grab your rifle.

I learned a few valuable lessons boar hunting.
You can't climb a tree for shit with a rifle and never put your jacket over your pistol. were two good ones.

 

[Kevin_NH]

I go to bear territory in The Allagash Wilderness Waterway and Baxter where gunz ain’t allowed last I knew.

Permit holders can carry concealed in Allagash but not Baxter.

I thought the NES rule was 9mm.

9mm can be effective, I hedge my bets with Buffalo Bore; in the spring I'll tote something a little bigger.

Here in New England, we don't know how good we have it with "mere" black bears to deal with.

 

[Remote Camper]

When I was younger I played a lot with birdshot. Number six out of a 12 gauge at close range will punch a hole into a washing machine Big enough to put your fist into.
It all depends on your choke, the distance, and the spread.


RC

 

[Chevy 2 65]

This thread is a riot.

 

[E.Stoner]

Birdshot is for birds. Glad he had slugs and was able to get hits.
Mixed loading is stupid, and the concept of "warning shots" is stupid for bears or for people.
If the top round was also a slug he could have stopped the bear before it was right on top of him.

 

[308rifleman]

Birdshot is for birds. Glad he had slugs and was able to get hits.
Mixed loading is stupid, and the concept of "warning shots" is stupid for bears or for people.
If the top round was also a slug he could have stopped the bear before it was right on top of him.

I prefer mixed loading, but only for home defense use. I load 3 slug and 3 OO buckshot in the 870s mag tube, plus 3 slug and 3 OO buckshot in a sidesaddle carrier. This is the standard Secret Service loading for their 870s. Good enough for high level VIP protection, good enough to protect my home and family.

 

[In God We Trust]

Is there a go to gun for people in bear country? I always figured a 12 gauge with slugs would be the best choice.
Yeah I know...9mm

 

[Broc]

Birdshot first to scare it off, slugs to shoot at it. Why not all slugs? Can't fire warning shot with a slug? Stupid plan but a happy ending.

Because the real purpose of birdshot is to tickle the bear and piss it off so you have an excuse to kill it.

 

[Kevin_NH]

Overall, we're more a threat to them than they are to us; Stupid people lead to dead bears., but only about one American per year is provably killed by bear (quite a few disappear into the wilds on the West coast, but those people were more likely to be killed by cougar).

Is there a go to gun for people in bear country? I always figured a 12 gauge with slugs would be the best choice.
Yeah I know...9mm

Which bears?

There's a substantial difference between bears here on the East coast and the big brown bears out west.

Most of the black bears in New England live in Maine, but I know I've got a few in my woods here in New Hampshire. Most of the year I still just carry a full-size standard capacity 9mm, as I'm more concerned about encountering other predators.

 

[Kevin_NH]

TIL: Bears grok doorknobs.


I knew some were capable of working the handle on car doors, but they can also open round door knobs (by making them not-so-round)!

 

[Twigg]

Kid must have been fresh out of 9mm.

 

[jkelly1229]

At close enough range the pellets may act as a slug... maybe?

Nah it disperses. There was an episode of lawman by steven segal where some dude took a 12g of birdshot in the back.

He was fineish so steve walks up and goes how do you feel

The dude screams it f***ing hurts you idiot. Made the show worth watching

 

[alcestwo]

Back in the mists of time in the hunter education class, the instructor poses the scenario of being out bird hunting so you're only armed with birdshot and you're charged by a bear. This class was all teenagers so we were smarter than the instructor plus we were in West Texas so a bear charge wasn't happening. But he added that it's a plausible scenario in Montana.

The answer was to stand your ground and fire when the bear was only a few feet away. He said, if we we doubted him, shoot a sheet of plywood from a foot away with a standard 2 3/4 shell with 6 shot and see the hole it leaves.

A couple of years later, I had a chance to test it. He was right. I've always carried that lesson of how destructive a shot/bullet could be. BTW, he did acknowledge that it was very hard to stand your ground in front of a charging bear.

Clarification: I was able to shoot 3/4 inch thick plywood from about a foot away, not a bear. I can see how my wording could be interpreted either way.

 

[Spanz]

Permit holders can carry concealed in Allagash but not Baxter.


9mm can be effective, I hedge my bets with Buffalo Bore; in the spring I'll tote something a little bigger.

Here in New England, we don't know how good we have it with "mere" black bears to deal with.

yeah, baxter has some odd rules.
In New England, you can get away with just a big can of bear spray. I would not try that out west, though.

 

[Spanz]

Overall, we're more a threat to them than they are to us; Stupid people lead to dead bears., but only about one American per year is provably killed by bear (quite a few disappear into the wilds on the West coast, but those people were more likely to be killed by cougar).


Which bears?

There's a substantial difference between bears here on the East coast and the big brown bears out west.
View attachment 375524
Most of the black bears in New England live in Maine, but I know I've got a few in my woods here in New Hampshire. Most of the year I still just carry a full-size standard capacity 9mm, as I'm more concerned about encountering other predators.

there are, actually, a fair number of black bears in western MA. Like from the CT River to North Adams area
i believe it is because here in the peoples republic of MA, only a few of us old codgers stil hunt them.

 

[moojpg2]

Yea where I'm at is loaded with black bear. One of the big boars that wanders around town is collared and about 400lbs. Ran into him one night taking some mail out to the mailbox, all i had was a BG .380 in my pocket, just about shit myself. Went back to pick up the mail with my mossberg 500 loaded with 3" 000 buck.

 

[Fixxah]

At close enough range the pellets may act as a slug... maybe?

He had a bird load on top of slugs.