[kev]

Question I received off of youtube

I was wondering if there are any rifles in particular you would recommend for protection against black bears or moose and other possibly aggressive large animals. Any info would be great thanks.

I would use a 30-06

Anyone else have a suggestion?

 

[Idaho]

12 ga with slugs. 30/06 would be great if that's what I was using to hunt at the time.

 

[justin_baker]

12 ga with slugs.

Whats the point of slugs?? Wouldnt it be better just to use a rifle? Would you be shooting slugs and backing it up with regular shot?

 

[GoodOlFroathyOne]

Question I received off of youtube




I would use a 30-06

Anyone else have a suggestion?

I would stay with a full power .30 cal, 30-06, .308, 300 WBY, 300 mag.

.50 cal blackpowder and higher.

I have only taken one in my life and that was with my uncle using bow and arrow.

 

[sailinghudson25]

Any deer rifle would protect against bears. To stop a moose from a forward position in a hasty manner may require some more power. Guides and oil rig workers like either 45-70 or 12 gauge. For backpackers interests, a 12 gauge shotgun will weigh less. Some folks have concerns over wildcats too. Buckshot is an option with a 12 gauge. They move fast and buckshot forgives a bit. Bears fear me little, coyotes pick more fights during the winter.

They need to practice with it a bit, so I would reccomend grizzly guns due to ammo costs. 45-70, 30-06, or plain 12 slugs are the cheapest to practice with.

 

[Flex]

Black bears run at a first sight of humans. They may attack when you surprise them though. The key is not to look for a weapon to kill them but to know the animals and their habitat. Having said that, I never feel undergunned with a 9mm and pepper spray when I hike in the black bear/mountain lion territory. I have special ammo for such ocassion: Black Hills 124 +P; the Hornady XTP bullet going at 1250 fps is hard to beat.

A moose is a different story, anything better then 30-30 such as 30-06, 308, 7mm, 12ga slug is a must and should work just fine.

 

[Ls1]

For Black bears a .30-30 and up will do.

Moose, I'd want 06 or up.

For a 12 gauge I'd use brenneke K.O.'s.

 

[Dwind]

for a black- or any bear at full charge, from what i've read- they're full of adrenaline and testosterone. They have thick skulls, are protected with a thick layer of fat most of the year, and by nature have slow circulatory and metabolisms. It means that even if you do the creature some mortal damage, it may not initially stop them. You may just scare it off unless you can deal it catastrophic damage to the brain or heart.

I've heard that wild hogs can be the same way- with lots of aggression and very small kill zones.

 

[GoodOlFroathyOne]

Oh, sorry was thinking just for hunting first...

I think for a full on charging bear I would rather want my AK in 7.62x39, I would rather have 30 rounds available that I can fire quickly since it would probably take more than one from any of the fore mentioned weapons depending on the situation.

I would also probably opt for FMJ ammo as hollow points and soft points will expand too quickly and get caught up in the fat layer, unless in early spring when they are skinnier.

That said, though I have heard that most bear attacks in the US are committed by black bears (i guess since they are the most populated bear) I honestly have never heard of a bear attack from one. Maybe just superficial injuries?

 

[jeff92]

I would go with a 30-06, 45-70, or 12 gauge loaded with 3" slugs. For backup or just lighter weight, I would carry a revolver in .44 mag. I figure you can't be too safe when a big bear or moose is charging at you.

 

[DudeZXT]

S&W 460XVR - they have a snubby that comes in a survival kit, but the full size is better for range...

 

[rseburton]

Dont know anything at all about moose.but I bear hunt some and have friend's that bear hunt with dogs and they all carry a 44mag,does the job verry well.a black bear is no harder to kill than a white tail deer.any large caliber handgun or rifle will do nicely.

 

[Colorado Rancher]

I wonder how many of the posters on here have actually shot a black bear.....

 

[Nightside_Eclipse]

I wonder how many of the posters on here have actually shot a black bear.....

I have. Decent sized brown phase blackie.

Two shots with a 7mm-08 w Hornady Ballistic tip (can't remember the bullet weight it was almost 10 years ago) although the first would have stopped him as a threat.

First shot was bad, I was only 14rs old and had just ran my balls off up a steep hill and the bear was running about 75 or so yards away, so that shot hit him in the spine and severed it, put a hole about the size of a child's first through him. I don't believe in allowing harvested animals to suffer so I made a second shot. The bear was thrashing around facing me, I was aiming for his throat but hit a bit high, right into his upper jaw through that and into his brain shattering his skull (I can post a pic of the skull if anyone wants to see it, the taxidemist had his work cut out for him gluing it back together lol) dropping him instantly.

Any decent sized deer rifle will work against bear with proper shot placement, although for defense if I were stuck out in bear country I'd want a semi-automatice in a larger caliber such as a .308 FAL/AR10/M1A or .30-06M1 Garand.

I have a friend who is a firearms instructor who did bear security for a survey crew in Alaska and they limited him to his Remington 870 with slugs... he said he REALLY didn't like that arrangement and would rather have had his FAL.

 

[MEGAHAMMER]

In a lever gun .35 Remington or .375 Winchester or .444rem or .45-70. I have a .375 win and fear no critter short of a polar bear. 30-06, 8mm Mauser, or .35 Whelen in a bolt gun with good ammo. Really any caliber using 180gr or heaver bullet of good design like Nosler Partitions will flatten bear, griz,elk and moose.

 

[MikeK]

.45-70 has always been my bear defense and large game hunting caliber of choice. It's got a heckuva lot of whallop yet the lever guns for it aren't all that heavy or unwieldy.

 

[375H&H]

I wonder how many of the posters on here have actually shot a black bear.....

I haven't. The only times I've seen them was from behind as they were hightailing it in the opposite direction.

 

[birdman]

Whats the point of slugs?? Wouldnt it be better just to use a rifle? Would you be shooting slugs and backing it up with regular shot?

30-06 180 gr 2700 fps 2915 ft-lbs
12 ga 1 oz slug 438 gr 1760 fps 3010 ft-lbs

Although the difference in energy is not large, the huge slug is more likely to dump all its energy in the bear whereas the .30-06 may well exit taking part of its kinetic energy with it...

Obviously either will do the job admirably, but the 12ga 1 oz slug is not a poor choice at close range. Personally I'd back up the slug with more slugs if I was using a 12ga on bears...

Allan

 

[JRNC26]

IMO.Almost anything you would use to kill deer with,will knock down a black bear.Here's an article about a 595lb black bear taken here in NC with a .44 mag.
http://www.ncgameandfish.com/hunting/big-game-hunting/nc_aa103804a/

 

[spacemanspiff]

I have a steel plate for target practice. When I shoot it with my .223 it doesn't move. The .308 will swing it a little. My 45-70 with 350 grain knocked it over!

I say use a 45-70.