A 410 for bear defence... nor a good plan .
A little back story is needed here , a couple of days ago I went to check a my deer stands , it isn’t deer season yet so I am carrying my Savage 24 410 22 over and under just in case I run into a rabbit or grouse. A few days before that there was a bear attack locally , and it was about a Km ( 0.6 of a mile ) from one of my deer stands .
It was a predatory attack , there hasn’t been enough food for the bears this year and they have been a nuisance around here for a while . After hearing about the attack the wife insisted I take some slugs with me, which I did . Never ran into bear but one had wiped out my bait pile at the stand close to the attack , I will be abandoning that stand.
This is second time I have been out with the 410 and had the very serious potential to run into a bear.
All this started me thinking about 410 slugs , at 1/5 oz ( or 90 ish gr ) I Have concerns about their ability to penetrate on a large bear,
Obviously taking a 12 gauge or a highpower rifle are much better defence but I do like hiking about for small game with the 410
My question does anyone have experience with 410 slugs on heavier game , or a load with good penetration on heavier game