12 ga. vs a bear

[eastershawn]

ok i posted a a thread in the handguns section about what caliber vs a bear and everybody told me to bring a shotty. so here i am, basically going camping in mammoth lakes area, just want to bring something just in case, not trying to kill a bear but want to be able to protect my family if i need to. have a 870 pistol grip only. 00 buck or rifled slugs? i dont have any 000 and dont really want to go out and buy some. thanks

[Rule .308]

I would use the buck shot myself. Have you ever fired hot loads out of a pistol gripped shotgun? It is an eye opener for sure, if you have not done so and you have the time I would surely go put a few rounds down range just so you know what to expect.

[Casual_Shooter]

IIRC, the video I watched of the guy who lived "off the grid" in Alaska used a 12ga with slugs to kill bears.

[AAShooter]

Unless you are highly skilled using a pistol grip only shotgun, I would invest in a full stock w/ or w/o pistol grip. Most people can't hit much with a pistol grip only shotgun. That is, unless you are on TV.

[acolytes]

I've never fired hot loads out of a pistol gripped SG before. Only standard configuration. What's the difference in the two?

[bombadillo]

Slugs. Buckshot may just piss him off. You don't want to bring the wrong gun to a bearfight!!

[BigDogatPlay]

Slugs. Buckshot may just piss him off. You don't want to bring the wrong gun to a bearfight!!

^^This^^

Keep in mind that even a rifled slug out of a 3 inch magnum might expand and deform enough in a large bodied bear that it may not reach vitals depending on where the shot is placed. Buckshot, poorly placed, will potentially do nothing but make the bear madder and even well placed buckshot is a crap shoot, IMO. I'd have some big doubts, for instance, about buck shot being able to penetrate the skull plate in a frontal shot. The smaller bodied bears, such as you might run into around Mammoth, slugs may well be a decent recipe. But I'd still opt for a large bore wheelgun shooting solids first.

If you are going to use a shotgun, load it with the heaviest and hardest slugs in sthe most powerful load you can find and use a gun with a stock. Pistol grip only in a fight or flight scenario with a bear about to eat you is not a recipe for success.

In dangerous bear country... that is big brownies, kodiaks and grizzlys, your best bet for emergency bear medicine is a handy, fast shooting rilfe, preferably in a caliber of .338 or larger and shooting very hard solid bullets that will get through the skull plate or break down shoulders and penetrate well to the vitals in the case of a body shot.

Something like this....

[Rule .308]

The difference is the pain. Magnum loads out of a pistol grip shotgun are flat out painful to shoot.

[acolytes]

That's on a SG with only a pistol grip right? Not a pistol gripped SG with a stock?

[bombadillo]

I was assuming pistol gripped shotgun only. I have shot full load buckshot hot loads and they really weren't THAT bad. They weren't a pleasure, but in the heat of the moment with a cool head, I'd bet you didn't even notice how much your shoulder or hand hurt from a stiff 12ga load.

[Full Clip]

You may want to rethink that pistol grip.
I fired about 20 rounds of 00 from my Mossburg Cruiser and later felt like my hand was broken.



The hard plastic grip had just transferred all that impact into my wrist (as opposed to a stock placing it on your shoulder). I switched to a Hogue rubberized grip, which was an improvement.
Not that you'll be able to get 20 rounds off when a bear is chasing you down.
Maybe three?

[robcoe]

Buy a standard stock or a folding stock and use slugs, buckshot is just going to piss off a bear.

[Reductio]

I've got a few boxes of these around for just in case.

[stormy_clothing]

bear my *** your afraid of your neighbors cat



stop wasting the internet with hypothetical tough talk about carrying around a shotgun all the time to have that once in a lifetime chance to be close enough to a bear to even use it.

A 45 caliber glock with an extra mag in case there is 3 bears - done.

[Hippo]

You can't go wrong with Brenneke slugs.