.410 for bear defence

[762 shooter]

Any .410 shot to the leg area of the person you are with will slow them enough for you to outrun them.

762

[W.R.Buchanan]

I shoot a pistol alot however I don't get to shoot my Ruger Bisley .44 enough to be comfortable making a shot on a charging bear.

My shotguns are a completely different story. I would feel confident going up against just about anything with my A5 or M500's.

Loaded with Low Recoil Slugs a shotgun will take down anything in N/A and most of the rest of the world as well. Our STI slugs or my Brass Slugs will penetrate enough to stop even a Polar Bear. I'd have a few Brenneke's with me just in case.

We here at this forum, have loaded some of the most formidable Shotgun Ammunition anyone has ever made.

All of us should take notice of that fact. We are not at the bottom of the food chain!

I shot a 3 gun yesterday and made 6 shots in <10 seconds and a final slug shot with the Speed Feed to finish the stage. It was a Lyman Slug loaded into a Trap Load! Bonged the steel target real good and the spectators noticed the difference in the gong hit.

Once you really learn how to run a Pump Action Shotgun or Semi Auto well and can make ammo type changes on the fly as needed to address different types of targets, you are good to go for pretty much anything.

Kent: How are you doing with your Shotgun Training Manual?

Randy

[Shawlerbrook]

It might work but I wouldn’t gamble on might. Carry a 12 ga.

[Cast_outlaw]

A single shot .410 is definitely not my choice for bear defense. It’s likely better then a sharp stock, but I’m not sure by how much.

Will it kill a bear? With ideal shot placement, the right load and the right distance, yes. However when you are defending yourself from anything it is likely not “Ideal” circumstances.

In my opinion a six shot 357 Mag or 10mm with a 4-6in barrel would be an absolute minimum. I think there would be plenty of people who say a 44 Magnum is the minimum size.


Check out my website www.theballisticassistant.com

Just an FYI for the Americans commenting here we Canadians are not allowed to carry handguns in the bush for self defence actually if we even mention the word defence while trying to get our R-pal(restricted possession accusation license) we won’t get it so handguns are a no go for this scenario.
My $.02 is get a 308 and load some buckshot sized to .310 for small game and have some full power 165gr soft points foe bear defence

[Valornor]

Yeah, sorry, I missed the Canada part....

Sorry


Check out my website www.theballisticassistant.com

[W.R.Buchanan]

Yeah on the Canada part,,, it seems like your PM might not be that re-electable at this time. (that black face thing he had goin'?)

Might be a good time to elect a Conservative who could reverse that No Handgun Law, or at least make it so it only applied inside certain city limits. The fact that a Hunting Guide in BC or any of the other Provinces which are 99% virgin forest or complete wilderness, (like all of them!) can't have a Revolver on them for protection IE: a gun on them at all times while in the bush,,, makes no sense whatsoever. Sounds kind of dangerous to me?

But I guess you should never ask a Liberal to make any sense, they just aren't wired that way. We see this everyday down here.

Randy

[pashiner]

Another vote for the cheap 12 gauge. It's kind of the perfect solution for your problem. So many good slug options, cheap re-cast target shells for practice...they're not even all that bad to carry, if you can put up with the recoil of a stripped down light weight pump gun. Heck, get a used and abused 870 or M500 at a local gun shop that has boogered up choke threads, and cut that sucker off to 18.5" or whatever is legal, slice an inch or so off the stock, and give'er a good thick recoil pad. In my area, you can pick up something like that for well south of $200. Add a $20 lee slug or ball mold and a roll crimper, and you're a bear blasting machine. As a bonus, you'll have a pretty good brush gun for deer, elk, hogs, toyotas, and anything else that needs a big hole put in it.

[BigEyeBob]

Just an FYI for the Americans commenting here we Canadians are not allowed to carry handguns in the bush for self defence actually if we even mention the word defence while trying to get our R-pal(restricted possession accusation license) we won’t get it so handguns are a no go for this scenario.
My $.02 is get a 308 and load some buckshot sized to .310 for small game and have some full power 165gr soft points foe bear defence

Same here in Australia ,self defence is not an allowable reason for a firearms licence or permit to accquire a firearm of any description .Handguns , semi auto rifles and shotguns including pump action shotguns are highly restricted . Hunting with handguns is a total no-no.

[trapper9260]

Just an FYI for the Americans commenting here we Canadians are not allowed to carry handguns in the bush for self defence actually if we even mention the word defence while trying to get our R-pal(restricted possession accusation license) we won’t get it so handguns are a no go for this scenario.
My $.02 is get a 308 and load some buckshot sized to .310 for small game and have some full power 165gr soft points foe bear defence

This sounds better to carry for how it is where you are. I had made up some like is stated here and like them. It is for this reason I made some up. to use for small game or as a high power rifle or the 308 win.

[Texas by God]

You might could blind the bear with a .410 but then you’d have a very mad blind bear. I vote 12 gauge or since you’re in Canada a ten shot .303 Enfield with blunt bullets.

[Frank V]

Sounds like those bears are predatory, this isnt uncommon. I understand your affinity for the nice light gun, could I suggest a 12ga chamber loaded with 1oz shot & slugs in magazine?
Most of our country is bear country. We've had at least 3 grizzly attaks this year.
Be safe.

[big bore 99]

Although a 22 might do it in a life or death scenerio.,I sure wouldn't take that kind of chance in any way. I know you guys in Canada can't do the handgun thing but if I was in bear territory and couldn't pack a 12ga, I would have handy on me one of those 45-70 2 shot bear derringers. At least you could stick it down his throat and fire off one as he crushed your skull.

[W.R.Buchanan]

You might could blind the bear with a .410 but then you’d have a very mad blind bear. I vote 12 gauge or since you’re in Canada a ten shot .303 Enfield with blunt bullets.

I second that call. You probably already have a .303 Enfield in your closet. I thought every Canadian was required to have one.

I got one specifically to hunt in Canada as I felt it was only proper to use that gun in Canada like Canadian Rangers do for subsistence hunting..

I have never gotten to go there, but I shoot the gun alot.

Mine kind of got modified a little with a sight upgrade and a wood refinish. Also got rid of that unsightly forward wood like they did with L39's. I've got 150, 174 and 215 gr bullets and 205 gr Cast Boolits for mine. I don't think anything up there would survive a hit from a 215 gr Woodleigh.

The gun shoots really nice. Isn't there a Enfield in .410? Maybe that would work?

Randy

[dnepr]

The link to the story of the bear attack

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...ivor-1.5303835

[dnepr]

Yes I am a proper Canadian there is a 303 British in the gun safe , but being a lefty I would take my left hand Ruger scout in 308 with a 10 round mag if I thought I needed 10 rounds

[brass410]

understand your dilemma dnpr. I trap for bait in spring just when the blackies are crawling out from winter naps, a light coach gun in 12 gauge works well for me dbl barrel with buck shot, delivers authority when reqd, you could get or make some mini 12's with light loads for the govt poultry. My bride really likes the minis as they have no recoil for her chicken hunts. Just make sure you chamber correctly buckshot pretty much ruins the chicken and bird shot will ruin the bears disposition towards you.

[Gammelmann2]

Another approach was addressed bu Gil Sengel in the Nov-Dec 1983 issue of the Handloader (#106) titled a 12 bore ball gun. I have experimented with the recommended loads. Using balls cast to exact bore diameter, which varies a quite a lot, they are capable of 3" groups at 25 yards and drop like a rock at 100yds. This precludes their use in a choked bore. A .730" pure lead ball at 565 grains chronographed 1346fps in a 7# Rem. M870 develops between 38 and 42ft/lbs free recoil (about the same as a 9# .458 Win mag with 510 grain bullets) and 2458 ft/lbs muzzle energy. In testing for penetration in folded, wet tightly packed newsprint in 2-pound coffee cans I got 33"penetration. I an loath to include the load data although it was pressure tested by Hodgdon powder company.

[EDG]

The use of a factory loaded .410 slug is a totally bad joke. I actually shot an armadillo with one from the range of about 20 feet and pretty much killed it on the spot. I stopped by a week or so later after the buzzards had cleaned out the shell and found the slug. It had not penetrated through the 'dillo but it had mashed out to the size of a quarter and about as thick. There is no way I would shoot a bear or a dog or anything that might want to bite me with those lousy slugs.

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Greetings, for Gods sake don't be looking to make news in the Headlines, they have plenty of fake news lined up ! !

Like we need food the same goes for the Mr Bear too.

Risk factor for you is far too high with a .410, don't do it.
**--**Don't under estimate your opponent have some reserve in power go for 20 ga ! !
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Best regards,
Ajay K. Madan
Super Blazing Sabots

[GooseGestapo]

Forget the slugs. They lack the necessary penetration.
However, at self defense distances, the buckshot loads perform admirably.
Carry several in a buttstock carrier. I load my own using one #000B in bottom of shot cup(.350” Lee), and 3- .375” Lee RB in a shot cup.
Also, load some CCI Velocitor .22lr in the top barrel.
I’ve got a .22/410 Savage. It shoots surprisingly close to sights with slugs, and patterns well with the buckshot.