Brown/ grizzly vs black bears

[RU shooter]

We were sitting at work during lunchtime yesterday talking hunting and bears seemed to be the subject of the day . And of course what rifle/ caliber is best or what everyone used or thought was suitable . Most of the younger guys were all on the "magnum"as a minimum. Being one of the older hunters in our group I made the point that for years and years here in Pa our big black bear were normally taken without issue with the typical eastern deep woods deer rifles i.e. 30/30 , 32 spl . 35 rem not to even mention muzzleloader even further back . The the well grizzly bears are a lot bigger debate was thrown in . Well some are I'm sure but here in Pa we have some whopper bear too many every year are 500 lb couple years back about 15 mile from where I live a 700 plus bear was killed and recently in the east side of the state a 800 plus bear was killed with a bow . So you guys that actually live where there are brown and grizzly bears and hunt them what are the average weight of the bears killed in hunting season and what do you use to hunt them with ? Strictly hunting not close range defense . Would you feel under gunned with the same rifle you use for deer if you had to make a shot on a 600 lb grizzly are they somehow "tougher" or bullet resistant than a black bear weighting the same ?Just wondering what the folks who actually hunt them regularly have to say on the matter .

Tim

[sharpsguy]

I would take a 45-70 and load it with a hardcast 480 grain FN bullet at 1250 fps and not worry about either one of them.

[44man]

I hunted PA for years with a bow and seen some of the monster blacks. I never feared them and have been within yards but a Grizz has a different demeanor.
I revolver hunt only now and the .475 or .500 JRH will put one on the ground right now. Big, mean bears need big guns and the 12 ga slug or the 45-70 is better then a 30-30 but for hunting I would look at a .338 or more. Not so much for a black and a deer rifle should do it.
The story of a big bear stopped with many shots from a nine was crazy. Kind of like hunting elephants with a .22.

[white eagle]

been Black Bear hunting numerous times here in Wis.
have only killed 1 my first but have seen many others
killed the first with a 300 Win Mag. but have used others in different hunts
a 12 ga,45-70 but would never feel under gunned with the cals you listed
my bear was 435# and shot at 7 yds. was the mag over kill maybe but resulted in
some fine table fare and a very nice rug

[runfiverun]

black bears are built like a deer.
they are lanky and not so big boned even the heavy weight ones you talk about don't have big frames supporting them they are just fatter.

a Grizzly is a different build more square and stocky with a lot more mass at the front end and have a better bone support system.
even their head bones are much thicker and shaped different than a black bear.
a female Grizzly would be in the weight class of one of your larger male bears but would easily take it in the muscle strength department.

it's like comparing a cow to a buffalo.
the brown/polar bears are just another notch above the grizzly bears in temperament and structure and size.

[shredder]

All bears are heavily built to resist the struggles of large prey items. The big question is really how aware of your presence is the bear? Is it acting aggressively at the time you shoot it, or it is completely unaware? An adrenalized grizzly can be a real handful. A black bear is normally softer and easier to put a full stop on. As always shot placement is paramount. Years of guiding taught me that wounded black bears are rarely vengeful and normally flee if pursued. Grizzlies take real exception to being wounded and can sometimes identify you as the source of their trouble.

So, as far as weight goes, you can get over 600lbs with either bear. (Coastal Alaska is different : bigger) Temperament aside, any 30-06 class cartridge will take any unaware bear handily. You will hear recommendations for coastal browns that start at 300 mag and go up from there. Not bad advice. Quick stoppage is very important. Local blackies (200 or so pounds) that most of us will shoot can easily be brought to bag with 30-30 class cartridges. Because most will be shot from a tree stand, range is normally very close and there is normally lots of time to place the shot carefully. Not so with spot and stalk Grizzly. Use the right gun for the conditions you hunt. More bullet is better, both in diameter and weight.

[Kskybroom]

I've hunted black bears in minnesota for years with a TC Contender Pistol an Carbine in 35 Rem.
Used both Jacketed an BOOLITS. It puts'em down....
Cant say nothing about Brown haven't had the chance yet....

[M-Tecs]

I have no first hand experience with Brown Bears. A good friend mine has been guiding Brown Bear hunters since 1979. Per a conversation with him he takes Brown Bears way more serious than Black Bears. He stated a charging Brown Bears is an impressive sight and stopping one isn't for the faint of heart. After a couple he switched to a 375 H&H for his rifle.

[RugerFan]

Having taken multiple black bear and grizzly I can tell you that the grizzly bear is a tougher animal (even at the same weight) and clings to life more tenaciously. Hard to be over-gunned when pursuing the grizz/brown variety.

[tdoyka]

every once in a while the PA game commission has to trap a black bear and take it to another part of the state. unfortunately, the same bear may be trapped 4 or 5 times and it becomes "used to" the smell of man. i've shot one that has been trapped four times. it would go from bird feeder to bird feeder(and take poor fluffy and kin, rabbits) in a 10 or so mile circle. the bear even went to one of my nieghbor's house and it tried to get into the house because the old lady took in the bird food at night and put it back out in the morning. it scared the s#@$ out of her! the bear went around the house trying to find its way in, while it growled and clicked its teeth. the game commission was called and there was nothing they could do but set out another trap.

anyway, about 3 or 4 weeks go by and then bear season starts. it was day 2 when i shot my first bear. my young brother and i decide to go thru a brush patch, him on top of the hill and me on the bottom. he's using a 270 with a 150gr hornady rn and i'm using a 308 with a 150gr hornady rn. anywoo, i'm going thru the bottom when i "discovered":lol: an old mine road going thru it. i look up the hill and see my brother going thro the brush. all of the sudden he yells out my name then i hear a loud Bang. i can see pieces of brush, saplings and blackberry bushes coming down. i throw up my gun and 15 yards behind me the bear comes out and i shoot it and the dust comes off the bear right behind the shoulder. it keeps on going across the road and down thru an old strip pond. i jump up on the bank of the old road and before anything i hear a long growl coming from the bear. needless to say, i tactically retreated back to where i first shot the bear, where i waited for my little bro.[smilie=1: now this is the first bear and we didn't know that they could do a death growl or rattle. my brother finally came down and then we went to "find"(i knew were it was at, but [smilie=1:) it. while we were sneaking upon the bear, my brother goes, "are you sure you killed it?" i sort of looked at him and i decided he could throw a rock at the bear's head[smilie=1:, while i got my old pump action ready. then he goes again, "wheres the d@#!@# head at?" since it was covered by old weeds(but 2-3' high) i told him it was facing down the hill[smilie=1:, what i didn't tell him, i don't have a godd!@# clue!!! well, he threw it and it boinged off of its head(i was right[smilie=1:!) and the bear was dead. it seemed like it could go 300lbs so my brother went to find some help. after i got done looking to see were both of us hit it, i figured i could get the bear up and out of the old strip pond. i put the rope around the bear's head and then i tried to drag it up 20 or so feet. i tried my hardest to even go a complete inch up the hill, but since i was danged near passing out, i figured i could wait until my brother showed up. needless to say, me, my brother, the soon to be father in law and his friendshowed up with a quad and more importantly, a winch! we got it up and put it in the back of my brother's ford ranger(that 300 lb bear dang near took the front tires off the ground) and then we took it to game commission barraks. there we discovered it was 498lbs and it was trapped before. this spring, the commission took the bear about 125 miles and dropped it off and it weighed 327 lbs. in 8 months it grew 171 lbs and it came back to were it was trapped out. (found out by a commission report, the same bear was trapped out 3 times)

we got it back and then the fun started. skinning it and then gutting it and then taking the meat off of the bear. i'd rather do a deer anytime!

but you can kill a black bear using a deer gun. although i don't really hunt them anymore, i would use a 444 marlin or a 45-70 to start with. heck i'd go with a 38-55 to really start with. i really like them big old chunks of lead. just my choice, there are alot of bear hunters that go with the 30-30 and 35 rem, but i want something a little bit bigger.

[RU shooter]

Yeah the trap and move thing the game commission uses is not very effective unless they move them across the state . That big 700 lb bear they shot up on the chestnut ridge in Dunbar (Fayette Co) a few years ago was trapped and moved to Somerset Co. I believe twice . Kinda dumb on their part it's only one ridge over from where it was . I like your story on attempting to drag it out like a deer! Lol that's what I tell my dad all the time "and after you kill one then whatcha gonna do ! " most of the places we hunt there would be no way possible to get a quad in to get it . And you can't skin and quarter or debone it in the woods due to it having to be inspected by the GC in one piece less the guts. Told him hunt by the road !

[GhostHawk]

If you are going to use a .45-70 at black powder speeds I suspect you would be better off with a good 12 ga pump shotgun.

Similar speeds, your choice of longer range slugs or close range buckshot. And 5 shots in one long roll of thunder if you need them.

You could in fact sit and take 50 yard shots at it reloading as you go.

I only went bear hunting once, by the time I left that place my .44 rem mag 5 shot semi auto felt entirely too much like a .22lr.
In the thick stuff you simply don't have the time or freedom of movement for multiple shots.

So any shot you do make has to count.

But I'll admit I do not go out looking for grizzly's to annoy either. :)

"If legal" my choice for defense would be a 3" slug and buck or buck and ball load.

[white eagle]

yeah that death bawl is eeerie aint it
I heard my first when it was the last shooting light of day and all was quiet
bears are hard to handle for sure as far as moving them

[tdoyka]

Yeah the trap and move thing the game commission uses is not very effective unless they move them across the state . That big 700 lb bear they shot up on the chestnut ridge in Dunbar (Fayette Co) a few years ago was trapped and moved to Somerset Co. I believe twice . Kinda dumb on their part it's only one ridge over from where it was . I like your story on attempting to drag it out like a deer! Lol that's what I tell my dad all the time "and after you kill one then whatcha gonna do ! " most of the places we hunt there would be no way possible to get a quad in to get it . And you can't skin and quarter or debone it in the woods due to it having to be inspected by the GC in one piece less the guts. Told him hunt by the road !

boy were we lucky we could get an atv! we had a hard enough time getting it on the bed of the ranger! the same year a 700lb bear was shot in ogletown(somerset co.). it was roughly 6 or 7 miles away from where i and my brother shot ours. i felt for the guy(s) that did shot a 700lb bear, i really do! i really thought that i could drag it up the 20' of embankment, lol... but after i pulled on the rope till i almost black out, i decided it probably would be a little better if i had a little bit of HELP!!!:lol:

i will say it was the first year i ever gotten a bear license. i used to see a bear every 2 or 3 years, so i didn't think much of it. I WAS WRONG:lol:! now i know the reason a group of people go to hunt bear, 1 or 2 guys don't make a differnce, but 15 guys do. i went the next year, but i was scouting for deer. three years later, i was down WV hunting deer. since i've had a stroke, i don't go anywhere without my utv, i should buy a bear lic. just so i can scout deer again.

in case you are wondering, i do have a winch on my utv!!!

[TXCOONDOG]

If you could only have one gun for ducks, deer, bear, etc.....12gauge will fit the bill. In this case, 12gauge and a slug will take down a bear!

[tdoyka]

yeah that death bawl is eeerie aint it
I heard my first when it was the last shooting light of day and all was quiet
bears are hard to handle for sure as far as moving them


when that bear did its death bawl, it stood up the hairs on the back of my neck! i didn't know if the bear could have charged me or the bear said "i'm gonna put that gun up your ****!" so i retreated(means oh ****!! i gotta get outta here!!!) and i waited for my little brother. now i know a bear can do a death growl, but i didn't know it at the time.

it was about 2 or 3 years i would see a bear. mostly seen them while i was out hunting deer. mostly when they figured out what i was, the bear left the area quick. the best i ever seen was a mother with three cubs. i was hunting deer when they came down a mountian. they stayed about 15-20 minutes and ate the acorns from the oak stand. one of the cubs came about 15 yards and i didn't want its mother to get between it and its cubs. but before i could say "what ya doin?" , the cub went back towards its mother.

i've only had one encounter with a bear that thought i was part of its food chain. many, many moons ago(i believe it was PA's last 3 day doe season) i got up for the last day of doe season. since i already had a buck and my (ex-)wife had a doe, i figured it would be nice just to go out and not shoot a deer. i get to my spot, amble up the tram road(gated means you have to walk) till where i get tired. i try a little bit of stalk and spot until i am about 2 or so miles up the tram road. i look at my watch and its around 2p.m. or so i figure i've had enough(i've could have killed a number of doe) and i should get to my car. then all of the sudden the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and i "knew" i was being watched. i look around and i am being watched by a bear. its sitting down(like a dog does) and watching me. i watch back. we sat there for what seemed like a hour, but it must have been 5 minutes. well, its time to go, so i say "hi, i'm going now" and the bear just continues to sit. i get up, it doesn't do a thing. i firgure it will go out of the area when i start to walk. it however does not. the bear decides it will be alot more fun if i go wherever he goes. now the bear is 50 yards behind me. i am not scared, so i talk to it. we are about 1/2 way to the car when i discover he's moved to within 40 yards from me. i'm still not scared, but i've got my gun off of my shoulder into my hands. i go a bit more, i'm still talking to the bear, when it goes to 30 yards between us. now i'm annoyed, but not scared. i go some more and then he comes to within 20 yards of me. i stop, put up both of my arms and yell at the bear. he cocks his head to the side. now i'm angry. i again throw my arms up and yell at him. he just looks at me. so i again put my arms up over my head and yell some more. this time he comes towards me. i figure if he comes within 15 yards, i'll shoot the ground in front of him, if he still comes towards me he'll have to go thru 4 more 308 using 150gr hornady rn(rem m760) and then i'll club him to death or he takes me. well, he keeps on coming to me and then its 15 yards between us, so i shot the ground between his/her front legs. the bullet hits the ground and then the dust cloud goes up to the bear's head. then, you would have sweared i shot it, the bear goes head over heels , lands on its back, scampers back to its feet and decides that there mountian looks great about now! boy did i ever laugh!!! until i stopped at the owner's house. the bear i just seen has been going near his workers. it hasn't happened, but the workers' don't go out alone. the shot must have scared the bear because it did not bother the workers again.

i do hear some "stories" about what a black bear does do, not ever is it good, but i have heard from a biologist that a grizzly, more often than not, leaves a human alive than dead, broken and bruised, but still alive. a black bear, when it goes after a human will leave either itself or the human dead. i don't know if it is true, but i don't want to be the first person that finds out.

[M-Tecs]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1038259/Man-eating-bears-kill-scientists-lay-siege-survivors-trapped-remote-forest-base.html

[OnHoPr]

I have hunted blackies a few times in the '80s. I used a 44 SBH, 06, 12 ga SxS with 00, and bow. Couldn't hunt from a tree stand back then with a gun. Even though the regular vintage rifle cals will handle a blackie it is really not optimal especially when they are starting to fatten up and real thickets and swamps are their general hangouts in MI. Those vintage cals just don't create the exit wounds as big or internal damage as much as the more higher velocity cals. Fat closes over wounds and hair absorbs blood. They are not really knock down cals. Michigan's Bear Hunting ***. did surveys and bears shot with a bow only averaged about 43 yd after the shot and with gun averaged over 100 yds. Mzldrs with big conicals scored well, too. I was not really intimidated at any times while I was hunting them until I got the breaking large sticks, a couple grunts, and stuff circling me at the feed pile when I was bow hunting in the tree stand. I had a hole about 2' deep with bait in it and heavy enough logs over it to keep the yotes, dogs, coons, possums, and other critters off the feed. I had a trip log with one of those trail timers to tell me when they were hitting the pile. Well, it got to the point where they were hitting the pile about 10 minutes after i left the stand, Rascals. In the sand from the hole I would see different size prints from cubs to as wide as my hand knuckled and spread out. So, I started taking the SBH and leaving it at the bottom of the tree for the walk out in case I happened to come down to close to a sow with her cubs at dark. For blackies I would stick to a minimum of the 08 case or 57mm case and up, but the 06 and up would be better, the 12 ga slug, 444 or 45-70 as well. For the bigger bears the 06 would be minimum.

[Skipper]

Just for future reference...

This is a black bear:
176718

This is a grizzly:
176719

[quilbilly]

black bears are built like a deer.
they are lanky and not so big boned even the heavy weight ones you talk about don't have big frames supporting them they are just fatter.

a Grizzly is a different build more square and stocky with a lot more mass at the front end and have a better bone support system.
even their head bones are much thicker and shaped different than a black bear.
a female Grizzly would be in the weight class of one of your larger male bears but would easily take it in the muscle strength department.

it's like comparing a cow to a buffalo.
the brown/polar bears are just another notch above the grizzly bears in temperament and structure and size.
R5R has it right. You need to think of the world where grizzlies, browns, and blacks originally came from over the last million years of multiple ice ages. Grizzlies and browns came about in a world near the ice sheets of giant ground sloths, ice age bison 20% larger than today's, Columbian mammoths, and had to compete with short faced bears often 20% larger than a brown of today. Black bears adapted to forest farther south so had no need of the heavy build while they ate roots, ants, and the occasionally unwary fawn or mini-horse.
Having once spent several years raising bison for market, I learned to appreciate ice age relic species versus creatures adapted to todays world. Bison and grizzlies (all forms) are built for a different world and awaiting the next ice age.

[RU shooter]

Thanks for all the input gentlemen . I never took the "attitude" of the brown bears into consideration , Never seen one except on the tv so zero real life knowledge on their behavior . I didn't know they sorta get pissed off when shot ! Can brown bear climb a tree like black bear ?

[Skipper]

The young ones can. Also check this video. Skip forward to about :42

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dPnp3fLOER8

[M-Tecs]

Can brown bear climb a tree like black bear ?

Not the adults but you want to be in a large tree. The big males can push and shake a medium size tree very well.

[tdoyka]

Not the adults but you want to be in a large tree. The big males can push and shake a medium size tree very well.

now i know why people want me to go out west and hunt....i'm disabled:lol::lol::kidding:!

[leeggen]

My first thought on this thread was " don't forget to take along the brother N law.LOL Always wanted to hunt grizzly bear sometime, just a dream as another said I'm diabled and I don't want to be bear bait. Good luck to all that hunt them.
CD

[Greg S]

I would feel under gunned in Alaska with a 30-30. 45-70 with a 405 @ 1450 +, 375 H&H, 416 at standard vel or a 458 with a 400 or better same as the 45-70. Alot of the times it is not killing them, but stopping them. A 30-06 pushing a 200-220 is alot more effective hitting its mark than a wonder mag. A 12ga with quality slugs is good also.

A friend was out hunting brown bear on a fly in with his neighbor (pilot) who had done alot of guiding. Friend shoots brownie x 3 with 338. Bear still moving. Experianced neighbor one shot anchors it with a 300 WM or ultra. Monday morning at the shop, 300 ultra is da chit. No pics ect about his shot placement yada yada yada.

[RU shooter]

Note to self , if ever hunting brown bear do it from tree stand ! :shock:

[Moonie]

176738

[herman48]

I lived in Kodiak, Alaska for 29 years and hunted ducks and deer in the company of bears. I even had two confrontations with a couple of them that fortunately ended well for both me and them. Brownies can be huge. And they are tough: tough hide, a layer of fat, tough muscle, and very tough bones. If you are charged by one you have very few seconds to react with a shot and can't place your bullet precisely. So you need something with smashing power capable to inflict enough shock to stop or deflect the charge. Once the charge is stopped one has the chance to place a second (and third, and fourth) shot in a vital area. I hunted for deer in the company of brownies with a .338 WM loaded with a more than maximum dose of IMR 4350 and 250-grain Nosler Partition bullets. A friend of mine used a .375 H&H (and he had to dispatch a charging bear with it--the first ball hit the beast in the jaw and knocked him out for a few seconds. It was about to stand up again, very pissed, but a second bullet to the brain put him out of his enraged misery. This said, the famous Kodiak bear guide, Madsen, used a .30-06. He lived and died before the epidemic of magnumitis. And a former student of mine, now a famous bear guide, once was hunting for deer when he was charged by a large brownie. He had a .243, not really a bear gun. He shot the charging bear in a shoulder, breaking it and slowing down the charge. Then he broke the other shoulder, stopping the charge, and finally drilled the bear's cranium with a third bullet. End of story. When I went duck hunting I had a twenty-minute walk in almost absolute darkness between the car and my blind, on a lake shore frequented by bears who fed on the dead and dying coho salmon that came to the creeks that fed the lake to spawn. I saw them often there, and between the blind and the forest behind there was a bear trail. Often while I hunted my dog began to growl and I knew that a bear was passing behind the blind. On the way to the blind I carried my shotgun loaded with three Brenneke balls in 3" shells. I had the bag of decoys on my shoulders, the gun in my hands and a powerful 500-lumen flashlight (turned off not to scare the ducks) held in the left hand that grasped the fore end of the gun. I counted on my dog to alert me if we had stumbled onto a bear hidden in the tall grass. I had several encounters, there, one too close for comfort. But fortunately I never had to fire for effect. Killing a bear in self-defense is legal even when bear season is not open, but if you kill one in self-defense then you have to skin it and surrender hide and head to Fish and Game. Skinning and carrying to the road the skin and head of brown a bear on rough terrain is tremendously hard work, and it discourages trigger-happy dudes who would happily claim self-defense after shooting a bear that was minding his own business.
By the way, Kodiak bears have learned that when they hear a shot there's the chance of a good meal, at least a gut pile, or even a whole deer if they can get there fast enough to steal the whole animal from the hunter. This is when most maulings occur. A friend of mine, who is a bear guide, once was badly mauled by a sow with a cub. A client had shot two deer. After carrying one deer down to the boat, my friend returned to pick up the second deer and found the bears feeding on the carcass. He had no time to shoot and the sow really did a number on him. The client had to call the Coast Guard station with the boat's radio, and my friend was brought back to the town hospital with a helicopter. He was nearly scalped and had one knee badly fractured by a bite, plus various and sundry claw marks here and there. Fortunately he was wearing a hard packboard that protected his back as he lay on his belly in a fetal position. The packboard was severely mangled by bites that would have probably injured his backbone, had they reached his body.

[44man]

Buy a nine! I forget the .22. I lost squirrels with a .22 but it is good bear protection.

[RU shooter]

I fully agree with you if it's a life or death situation in close quarters I would want a all the firepower I could handle to stop the threat . But if it's a strictly hunting the animal instead of it hunting you as I was trying to tell my young co workers a magnum this or that may not be needed . But saying that the animals in Pa usually run away from you not at you when hit with a less than perfect shot AND I'm safely up in a tree most of the time ! So I'm sure there are big differences Thanks for sharing your experiences .

Tim

[lead chucker]

I live in Alaska and was hunting black bear over bait with a 44 mag rifle. I have shot a few black bears with it. Had a big brown bear come in to the bait at full speed and start eating the bait he was all jacked up looked like the tazmainian devil on acid. It was time to go at that point, the wife and I snuck out of there. Brown bears are big and very fast. I use a 375 H&H when they are my intended target. If one charges you need to inflict mechanical injury to stop them then kill them unless you get lucky. At the same time they are not out to get you. They are just trying to make a living like the rest of us. Having said that if you shoot one and he sees you well he might want to get his revenge.

[tygar]

Do a search, there are plenty of threads about Griz/Browns.

I spent about 20yrs in AK during 4 decades & hunted lot of bear, my favorite hunt, & killing a black with about any decent cartridge is not hard.

Killing a Griz or Brown can take a lot of lead, especially if you hit him bad & piss him off. You can hit one in the heart & he can run 100yds & kill you before he dies.

2 stories. Me & friend, medium sized Brown 8', me with a 338, him with an 06. 8 shots in the chest before he gave it up. I also shot a nice moose with the 338, twice in the heart & it still tried to walk away.

2 friends one with 300wby, one with 338. 7 shots in chest before it died. By the way it was a sow & it charged up a 20' embankment at them 3 times.

Put up the 338 & all moose & bear hunting was with a 375 from then on. Also, had a 458 in camp in case of a wounded bear we had to go in the alders to finish.

Until you've been charged by a Brown & had that brown, smelly pile between your legs, you can't imagine what they are like.

Hunting a brown is as close to getting the adrenalin rush of combat that I've run across.

So, use the biggest you can accurately shoot, you can't be overgunned.

[rodwha]

Do a search, there are plenty of threads about Griz/Browns.

I spent about 20yrs in AK during 4 decades & hunted lot of bear, my favorite hunt, & killing a black with about any decent cartridge is not hard.

Killing a Griz or Brown can take a lot of lead, especially if you hit him bad & piss him off. You can hit one in the heart & he can run 100yds & kill you before he dies.

2 stories. Me & friend, medium sized Brown 8', me with a 338, him with an 06. 8 shots in the chest before he gave it up. I also shot a nice moose with the 338, twice in the heart & it still tried to walk away.

2 friends one with 300wby, one with 338. 7 shots in chest before it died. By the way it was a sow & it charged up a 20' embankment at them 3 times.

Put up the 338 & all moose & bear hunting was with a 375 from then on. Also, had a 458 in camp in case of a wounded bear we had to go in the alders to finish.

Until you've been charged by a Brown & had that brown, smelly pile between your legs, you can't imagine what they are like.

Hunting a brown is as close to getting the adrenalin rush of combat that I've run across.

So, use the biggest you can accurately shoot, you can't be overgunned.


Where in the hell is the "like" or "thumbs up" button?

[Petrol & Powder]

Just remember, if you shoot an unarmed black or brown bear there will be a protest but if you shoot a polar bear no one will notice.

[RU shooter]

Just remember, if you shoot an unarmed black or brown bear there will be a protest but if you shoot a polar bear no one will notice.


All bears matter ......! Lol

[tygar]

You know, they say Griz can't climb trees when adult, but I was told by F&G, that if they can reach branches that can hold them, they can climb like we do from branch to branch, until they get to small to hold them. Havn't seen it, but been told. So, make sure you climb high lol.