Best Bear Gun?

[Colemanfu]

Beers are friendly down here but perhaps my zombie gun would be a good choice?

[Apxgrndr]

Here's my 45/70, I threw on some xs ghost rings,
xs rail with a leupold scout scope,
Limbsaver recoil pad

Awesome setup but fairly heavy to be hiking around all day, since you live in Canada I would be looking at a grizzly or dominion arms pump with an 8.5" barrel :
https://www.canadaammo.com/product/d...y-shotgun-8-5/

[skysailor]

What about one of them red dot sight things on a 45/70....or better (faster) with bare (bear?) iron sights?
Lyle

[morerpmfred]

X2 on wierdo ,s post. Shoot with what you feel confortable with. Instant target acquisition is most important up close. It is not self defense if the bear is a hundred yards away and walking away.
Do your research on buck shot effectivness. Traditional thinking in a shot gun is slug then buck shot. I disagree. Two inches of fur and hide then one to five inchs or more of fat then there is bone , it has lost its effectiveness. No. 7 1/2 shot for warning. Save those for home use. Slugs all the way for me. Practise at the range and know your firearm and how it handles and swings.
And yes I have only shot one black bear in my tent. You have no time to think or react when bears happen.

[rapidoxidationman]

Originally Posted by skysailor

What about one of them red dot sight things on a 45/70....or better (faster) with bare (bear?) iron sights?
Lyle

Do you want to have to turn on the sight (red dot) before pulling the trigger?


'course you could just carry a pocket full of cr2032 batteries and leave the sight on all the time...


I'm a proponent of bear spray, but it seems pretty ineffective when the wind is blowing. Maybe carry both kinds of bear repellant: unleaded (spray) and leaded (12 guage slug)

[Apxgrndr]

Originally Posted by skysailor

What about one of them red dot sight things on a 45/70....or better (faster) with bare (bear?) iron sights?
Lyle

That Scout scope is medium eye relief, if you've never tried one it's pretty quick for target acquisition, I also use weaver quick release rings so its very easy to go to the ghost ring sights.

[Kubla]

Originally Posted by Weirdo

Here's my 870 as short as we're allowed here in Canada. It's also a great bear stopper. As you can see its shorter than my 45-70. If you wanted to pack a gun down side webbing of a back pack, I'd go with the shorty 870. If I was going to carry a slung gun for quick response, I'd carry the 45-70. I find it easier to shoot quickly, something that I figure is important during a bear charge.

what is the barrel length on that shot gun, looks shorter than the 18 inch US minimum length (without the class 3 license)

[John E]

explain the reason why alternating between buckshot and slugs is a good idea?

I've seen it recommended many, many times and it makes absolutely no sense to me.

If I need a slug why in the world would I be loading a round of buckshot in between what I need to stop the threat?

[morerpmfred]

In Canada we are not restricted to 18 inch barrel lengths on pump action shotguns as they are in the states. My pump action shottie looks the same and it has a 14 1/2 barrel length as it was manufactured that way. It is legal for hunting as well.

[mud]

We did a trip out to York Factory from Lake Winnipeg. The bears you are dealing with out there are polar bears. There are a whole bunch of things you can do too try and deter a polar bear, but it pretty much it came down to a 12 ga with slugs. Even at that you are probably just going to convince it you are not worth the effort, hopefully.....

[Apxgrndr]

Originally Posted by morerpmfred

In Canada we are not restricted to 18 inch barrel lengths on pump action shotguns as they are in the states. My pump action shottie looks the same and it has a 14 1/2 barrel length as it was manufactured that way. It is legal for hunting as well.

Yeah one good thing about our gun laws:

[fastdadio]

Here's another thought. While I agree with the suggestions in both the guide gun and the shotgun as being effective close range bear stoppers, the OP did state that he did not hunt. so, with that bit of info, I would highly recommend the 12ga. simply because of the overall versitility. With the proper loads, It can double duty as a home defense gun. Also, as a hiker, there are 12ga. flares that may be carried into remote areas for emergency signaling. I think a good defensive pump 12 could be found on the used market for less $$. A pump gun can be put into action faster and repeatedly cycled faster without losing your sight plane or changing your hold on the gun which is much easier for a novice to pick up on . There is a difference between a good hunting gun and a good defense type gun, and I think the OP is really needing something leaning more toward the defensive end.

[Jurgen]

Originally Posted by fastdadio

Here's another thought. While I agree with the suggestions in both the guide gun and the shotgun as being effective close range bear stoppers, the OP did state that he did not hunt. so, with that bit of info, I would highly recommend the 12ga. simply because of the overall versitility. With the proper loads, It can double duty as a home defense gun. Also, as a hiker, there are 12ga. flares that may be carried into remote areas for emergency signaling. I think a good defensive pump 12 could be found on the used market for less $$. A pump gun can be put into action faster and repeatedly cycled faster without losing your sight plane or changing your hold on the gun which is much easier for a novice to pick up on . There is a difference between a good hunting gun and a good defense type gun, and I think the OP is really needing something leaning more toward the defensive end.

+1


-- A short as legal 12 gauge. For AK consider one like the "Marine Coat" ones. Or have it sprayed with a weatherproof coating. Put a big dot site on the front and you are good to go for not much $$.

[Jurgen]

Originally Posted by rapidoxidationman

Do you want to have to turn on the sight (red dot) before pulling the trigger?


)

For some of the new uber expensive aimpoints the battery life is years-- on.

I want one, but just can't wrap my head around the price.

[fastdadio]

In the time it took me to type that last long winded opinion, a couple of other posts came in. Concerning barrel length, just a little fun fact here. It takes about 20" of barrel to completely burn the average powder charge and thereby, provide for max velocity. In our discussion here, I think velocity would be a very high concern and would want as much as I could get.

Polar bears around Lake Winnipeg?? Really???