Best ammo for griz?

[kiddwinner]

Hey guys!
Just looking for some advice and I figured what better place than here. So I just returned from my first trip to the mountains, unfortunately all my buddies hunt the big horns and living in Cody with school and work I bought a tag closer to home. I went up this weekend and fortunately didn't see any griz sign or a bear for that matter but Im assuming I will sooner or later run into one. So far I only have packed bear spray because its light and fits on my eberlestock pack. I want to also pack my 45 acp, should I use full metal jackets? Also, if anyone has a way to fit it to my pack or my person id like to hear about it, as with the pack its very uncomfortable to wear a belt holster. If I do get an elk I will bring my 12 gauge, what does everyone use for 12 guage slugs? Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

 

[ScottR]

All I carry is spray...


Eastmans' Staff Digital Media Coordinator

 

[Musket Man]

There is a thread around here about carrying a pistol while backpacking.

 

[Hilltop]

I don't know much about it but I was told by one outfitter that I worked with to alternate ammo between full metal jackets and hollow points. His theory was some will penetrate and others will hit hard? My opinion on carrying a pistol is it has to be in easy reach on your hip or in a shoulder holster or its worthless. I am guessing not many will have time to get in their pack to retrieve it if stuff goes wrong. In the end I would rather just avoid the confrontation all together so I hunt in southern Wyoming...

 

[Elkoholic307]

For grizz you'll want a heavy for caliber, hard cast lead bullet.

If you don't reload, HSM Bear Load ammo is great stuff. Just make sure those hard casts will cycle through your 45 first.

 

[ScottR]

We talk about this regularly, but here are the best defenses against having an altercation in the first place...

1. Keep a ridiculously clean camp.
2. Hang anything and everything that has some type of scent or smell that a bear finds attractive. We are even talking chapstick.
3. Haul in a bear fence if you have one, I don't own one personally but they are something that deters them significantly.
4. A gun is only as good as the shooter, if you want to keep a bear at bay take a close quarters firearms course. My Dad is a police officer and we practiced pistol shooting at close range. Add adrenaline and nerves and you will see the need for practice.
5. Bear spray isn't just seasoning for the bear to taste as it munches on your corpse. That stuff is terrible to get hit with and most bears who have been hit aren't looking for a fight when their eyes swell shut and their noses are closed burning up their insides. Bear in mind that a bear has an astronomically more sensitive nose than we do. If you have ever been hit with pepper spray imagine multiplying that by 1K and that is about how a bear feels.


And here is a video for pure comedic value:
[video=youtube;kpIjtVDqiIg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpIjtVDqiIg[/video]

 

[kiddwinner]

that video is great! works well on robbers! Do you know of any occurrences where a bear was pepper sprayed and still kept coming?

 

[ScottR]

that video is great! works well on robbers! Do you know of any occurrences where a bear was pepper sprayed and still kept coming?

I am not aware of one, but that doesn't mean that it hasn't happened. Bears have been hit poorly and still attacked after being shot though too. Lots of circumstances to think through IMO, honestly it comes down to how good are you with your pistol?

 

[2rocky]

I can only think of one time where I would prefer lead to spray and that is in a Tent....

 

[ScottR]

I can only think of one time where I would prefer lead to spray and that is in a Tent....

And if it is in a tent that probably means that the camp wasn't very clean and a bear fence wasn't used....

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

We talk about this regularly, but here are the best defenses against having an altercation in the first place...

1. Keep a ridiculously clean camp.
2. Hang anything and everything that has some type of scent or smell that a bear finds attractive. We are even talking chapstick.
3. Haul in a bear fence if you have one, I don't own one personally but they are something that deters them significantly.
4. A gun is only as good as the shooter, if you want to keep a bear at bay take a close quarters firearms course. My Dad is a police officer and we practiced pistol shooting at close range. Add adrenaline and nerves and you will see the need for practice.
5. Bear spray isn't just seasoning for the bear to taste as it munches on your corpse. That stuff is terrible to get hit with and most bears who have been hit aren't looking for a fight when their eyes swell shut and their noses are closed burning up their insides. Bear in mind that a bear has an astronomically more sensitive nose than we do. If you have ever been hit with pepper spray imagine multiplying that by 1K and that is about how a bear feels.


And here is a video for pure comedic value:
[video=youtube;kpIjtVDqiIg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpIjtVDqiIg[/video]

When I was on a wilderness elk hunt in the Tetons in Thorofare, the outfitter also had 3 dogs in camp in addition to electric fence. One night they really raised hell and in the morning they said a bear was close to camp, but didn't come in.

 

[THelms]

Gentlemen,
Scott knows what he is talking about here. Spray works! As do the precautions. I still like to have my .44 on my hip opposite my spray, its just peace of mind for me. I also like to carry my twelve gauge with one #8 birdshot round followed by seven 10oz. Winchester rifled slugs. That is a practice that I learned on Kodiak from a lot of people who spent A LOT of time around very large, very unpredictable bruins. Look at it this way; if you are forced to use a handgun on a bear after you've sprayed it then you are in a very serious situation and the bear probably has ahold of you. If you have the presence of mind (which any law enforcement officer will tell you that you won't) in a situation like this to actually draw and hang onto the pistol then stuffing it into an ear and pulling a round off will probably have the desired effect with a .45 with just about any ammo. Other than that a handgun is worthless for stopping a bear unless, as noted, your like Bob Munden! SPRAY!

 

[alaska2go]

I have killed a charging grizzly with my 44 mag S&W. I load 270 gr Speer GDSP HOT ! I also have cast bullets in 300 gr loaded hot ! It took 2 shots to turn the bear, both in the chest. When he came a running to me I got down on 1 knee & let him have it. My S&W is a double action and I practice shooting it often for that type of situation. I pratice pulling the trigger as fast as I can & still trying to control it.

I have also pepper sprayed 2 grizzlies @ bear bait sites. We are not suppose to kill grizz in the unit I bait black bears so I bring the spray along with my pistol. They hate the spray and will make a terrible noise when sprayed with it. The bad thing about spray is if the wind is bad or blowing back in your face you get too. That is my biggest complant.

 

[trkytrack2]

I'll settle with pepper spray over a handgun any day.

 

[Retterath]

Before I headed to alaska everyone told me to get pepper spray so I did, and when I got to my destination the only thing left was the carry case. the airport security must have searched my bag and took it out so I asked and they consider it as an explosive. Someone gave me a can when I was up there and I felt so much better in the field knowing I had bear spray with me, even though I had my rifle

 

[RICMIC]

The bear spray is definitely the way to go. It has a broad dispersal pattern and is hard to miss at close range. I am a retired police officer, and a very good pistol shooter, but would consider the handgun as a third line of defense (2nd if you're a bow hunter). Keep the spray in a quick draw position, and practice fast deployment, including removing the safety tab while you draw. I don't know about the bear spray canisters, but found the OC cans that police use often don't function after a couple years as the propellant leaks out. At around $38, that's less than most ammo these days, so I just replace mine every couple years. Haven't had that close encounter with a griz yet, but as a wilderness canoeing guide in Canada, I have experienced three bluff charges from black bears. They are not in the same league as a griz though.

 

[7mag]

I have heard that if a bear gets sprayed it burns out the senses and nerves that spray comes in contact with and next time if it hasnt learned its lesson and ends up getting sprayed again it doesnt have the same affect as the first time. Has anybody else heard of that rumor or was it just somebody trying to badmouth a product that works?

 

[xtreme]

I shoot Berger. I left my grandson, barely 14, by his lonesome with the 168 Berge in the 7mm. I knew he would make the shot and he said the almost 400lb bear just reared and fell over backwards. I carry bear spray and no side arm when in known bear country. All my bear are black bear and only two percent are out to eat you. I do notice more than half are not afraid of me. Some show respect and some jut take flight at sight.

 

[Elkoholic307]

The bad thing about spray is if the wind is bad or blowing back in your face you get too. That is my biggest complant.

Exactly! Once that happens, you're as good as dead.

 

[jjenness]

I carried spray for years while bow hunting and then I had a close encounter with a young grizz. Luckily he was just as surprised to see me as I was him, but I quickly learned that had that bear wanted to attack me it would have happened so fast that I would not have had time to react until he was on top of me. When I got home from that hunt I went down and bought a .44 mag and gladly packed the weight around, knowing that if a bear gets on top of me at least I will hopefully have a fighting chance. Don't get me wrong though I am a believer that spray has its place also, as long as you have done the proper training and know how to use it under stress it will do its job. Also one of the reasons why I now live and hunt in non grizz country.