Happy Medium rifle for partridge and black bear protection?

The point I was hoping for Trimmer is that attacks are so bloody rare. I stepped out of my tent and he was close enough to spit on. We looked at each other and he went about his business. What are people "afraid" of...."really". We had the same sow/cub by last night. I imagine there's been a few dozen outfitters baiting many stations all spring. I imagine hundreds of hunters in the bush with Sows and Cubs all around them. Has there been any attacks this spring?......I suspect Ponbura was sarcastically wondering how many bears would be shot or shot and wounded completely uneccessarily.....but people don't feel safe in the woods unless they are armed....

yeah no doubt there's the odd aggressive make out there. The odds might be the same as getting hit by lighting. They say the odds of being attacked in Yellowstone are 1 in 2.2 million and Yellowstone is a hell of a lot smaller (more bears per square mile)......The odds are certainly better than getting hit and seriously messed up or killed in a car accident. I assume most of us have lost a friend or 3 in car accidents.

If if people are really that nervous..........

Spray does work, it's proven. If a bear is actually chewing on me, not sure how I'd get the business end of a SG where it needs to be.
So for the other 2,199,000 bear encounters I'm likely to have it wont be a predator/rogue and I bet many people trigger attacks one way or the other.

a warning shot will likely scare off 2million, and for the few where that's not enough the spray will work just the same.

And im legal.
and yes I have spray with me. Did I get all nervous and run for it.....

To me it's akin to wanting to carry inside the Eaton centre on the 1 in 2milliin chance a gang banger starts spraying. Or a terrorist in Attack at Unions station. Not worth so much angst and lack of sleep

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Originally Posted by JBen

The point I was hoping for Trimmer is that attacks are so bloody rare. I stepped out of my tent and he was close enough to spit on. We looked at each other and he went about his business. What are people "afraid" of...."really". We had the same sow/cub by last night. I imagine there's been a few dozen outfitters baiting many stations all spring. I imagine hundreds of hunters in the bush with Sows and Cubs all around them. Has there been any attacks this spring?......I suspect Ponbura was sarcastically wondering how many bears would be shot or shot and wounded completely uneccessarily.....but people don't feel safe in the woods unless they are armed....

yeah no doubt there's the odd aggressive make out there. The odds might be the same as getting hit by lighting. They say the odds of being attacked in Yellowstone are 1 in 2.2 million and Yellowstone is a hell of a lot smaller (more bears per square mile)......The odds are certainly better than getting hit and seriously messed up or killed in a car accident. I assume most of us have lost a friend or 3 in car accidents.

If if people are really that nervous..........

Spray does work, it's proven. If a bear is actually chewing on me, not sure how I'd get the business end of a SG where it needs to be.
So for the other 2,199,000 bear encounters I'm likely to have it wont be a predator/rogue and I bet many people trigger attacks one way or the other.

a warning shot will likely scare off 2million, and for the few where that's not enough the spray will work just the same.

And im legal.
and yes I have spray with me. Did I get all nervous and run for it.....

To me it's akin to wanting to carry inside the Eaton centre on the 1 in 2milliin chance a gang banger starts spraying. Or a terrorist in Attack at Unions station. Not worth so much angst and lack of sleep

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Thanks nice comments and i think we should leave the thread with these wise words.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JBen

The point I was hoping for Trimmer is that attacks are so bloody rare. I stepped out of my tent and he was close enough to spit on. We looked at each other and he went about his business. What are people "afraid" of...."really". We had the same sow/cub by last night. I imagine there's been a few dozen outfitters baiting many stations all spring. I imagine hundreds of hunters in the bush with Sows and Cubs all around them. Has there been any attacks this spring?......I suspect Ponbura was sarcastically wondering how many bears would be shot or shot and wounded completely uneccessarily.....but people don't feel safe in the woods unless they are armed....

yeah no doubt there's the odd aggressive make out there. The odds might be the same as getting hit by lighting. They say the odds of being attacked in Yellowstone are 1 in 2.2 million and Yellowstone is a hell of a lot smaller (more bears per square mile)......The odds are certainly better than getting hit and seriously messed up or killed in a car accident. I assume most of us have lost a friend or 3 in car accidents.

If if people are really that nervous..........

Spray does work, it's proven. If a bear is actually chewing on me, not sure how I'd get the business end of a SG where it needs to be.
So for the other 2,199,000 bear encounters I'm likely to have it wont be a predator/rogue and I bet many people trigger attacks one way or the other.

a warning shot will likely scare off 2million, and for the few where that's not enough the spray will work just the same.

And im legal.
and yes I have spray with me. Did I get all nervous and run for it.....

To me it's akin to wanting to carry inside the Eaton centre on the 1 in 2milliin chance a gang banger starts spraying. Or a terrorist in Attack at Unions station. Not worth so much angst and lack of sleep

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True but a terrorist and gang banger wouldn't steal my sausages.

" look at the bear...... Cool I'm going to bed " lol

LMAO
That may possibly be the funniest reaction and line from the week.

#blackbearslivesmatter

I've been charged twice by bears. The first time I was sneeking away from my bait when I startled a bear about 40 yards away that was coming into the bait. He did not see me at first just heard me. I truly think he thought I was another bear. He came running right at me, Head down huffing and jaw snapping. I just raised my rifle when I saw him at 20 yards and when I seen his melon in the scope I pulled the trigger. CLICK.......forgot to reload my gun after getting out of the tree stand.

That bear stopped mid stride about 20 feet away, I reloaded as he stood on his hind legs, At this point he had me figured out and turned around and ran just as I reshouldered the gun. No shot fired. My heart was hitting my rib cage so hard I thought I was going to faint.

Second time I was sneeking into my bait just at first light when I got 40 yards from my tree stand and heard a cub bawl. I backed up but momma heard me. I was standing on the logging trail and I heard the sow huff once and cubs instantly up the tree. Momma bear came ripping around the corner and when I seen her I started yelling andndnd waving my compound over my head. She stopped about 30 yards away and gave the ground a few swats then backed up and took off.

I climbed my ladder stand with bow in hand in about 3 seconds. About 5 minutes later the Cubs went down and left. Only for the sow and 3 cubs to return 20minutes later. I yelled at them soon as they got to the bait and she rushed towards me but then decided to leave. They never did return for rest of the season.


Both cases was me surprising the bears and they just acted normal. Complete bluff charges. Really wish I got that first bear though. He was a big one. I always have my gun loaded now after climbing down now. That was a good lesson

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Originally Posted by SongDog

I've been charged twice by bears. The first time I was sneeking away from my bait when I startled a bear about 40 yards away that was coming into the bait. He did not see me at first just heard me. I truly think he thought I was another bear. He came running right at me, Head down huffing and jaw snapping. I just raised my rifle when I saw him at 20 yards and when I seen his melon in the scope I pulled the trigger. CLICK.......forgot to reload my gun after getting out of the tree stand.

That bear stopped mid stride about 20 feet away, I reloaded as he stood on his hind legs, At this point he had me figured out and turned around and ran just as I reshouldered the gun. No shot fired. My heart was hitting my rib cage so hard I thought I was going to faint.

Second time I was sneeking into my bait just at first light when I got 40 yards from my tree stand and heard a cub bawl. I backed up but momma heard me. I was standing on the logging trail and I heard the sow huff once and cubs instantly up the tree. Momma bear came ripping around the corner and when I seen her I started yelling andndnd waving my compound over my head. She stopped about 30 yards away and gave the ground a few swats then backed up and took off.

I climbed my ladder stand with bow in hand in about 3 seconds. About 5 minutes later the Cubs went down and left. Only for the sow and 3 cubs to return 20minutes later. I yelled at them soon as they got to the bait and she rushed towards me but then decided to leave. They never did return for rest of the season.


Both cases was me surprising the bears and they just acted normal. Complete bluff charges. Really wish I got that first bear though. He was a big one. I always have my gun loaded now after climbing down now. That was a good lesson

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The interestng thing about these two stories is, if you had shot them both while they were charging you would had thought you had to or you would be dead. Indeed not....
Great story btw, just hope they never happen to me.

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Originally Posted by seabast

Great story btw, just hope they never happen to me.

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X 2! Holy cow!

Some people want to protect themselves from bears. I believe others want to carry guns, hoping they can shoot a bear and justify it as protection. And oddly, I think the line is blurry sometimes.
There was a guy who posted on the site a few years back, that he was waterfowling and a bear came out of the bush 20 yards away. Never saw or scented our guy and wandered away. But the poster was honest enough to admit he would have shot that bear had he had a slug or buckshot. I have had the same thing happen with a wolf that heard me and tried to scent me from 10 or 15 yards when I was bowhunting for grouse. I quietly placed a broadhead-tipped arrow on my bow and would likely have shot that wolf given a clear shot. It never happened; he got frustrated because I was downwind and left.
Not so lucky was the wolf who was part of a pack who accidentally surrounded a friend of mine while he was moose hunting in Alberta. Mike says the worst hunting memory he has is shooting that wolf who had made no aggressive moves whatever. Just lay there watching him from 20 yards.
This just demonstrates to me that we humans get nervous and our judgment is often less than perfect in the presence of predators up close. I personally have never carried a gun outside hunting season for protection, but I don't see a problem in the hands of someone very calm and levelheaded, with experience.

To the OP: If I wanted the best combo grouse gun/bear gun, I would recommend a 12-gauge with slugs. I would personally, for myself, carry a .444 Marlin with .410 birdshot for grouse and 265-grain bulleted loads. But I sold my .444 so that's a moot point.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kilo Charlie

Some people want to protect themselves from bears. I believe others want to carry guns, hoping they can shoot a bear and justify it as protection. And oddly, I think the line is blurry sometimes.
There was a guy who posted on the site a few years back, that he was waterfowling and a bear came out of the bush 20 yards away. Never saw or scented our guy and wandered away. But the poster was honest enough to admit he would have shot that bear had he had a slug or buckshot. I have had the same thing happen with a wolf that heard me and tried to scent me from 10 or 15 yards when I was bowhunting for grouse. I quietly placed a broadhead-tipped arrow on my bow and would likely have shot that wolf given a clear shot. It never happened; he got frustrated because I was downwind and left.
Not so lucky was the wolf who was part of a pack who accidentally surrounded a friend of mine while he was moose hunting in Alberta. Mike says the worst hunting memory he has is shooting that wolf who had made no aggressive moves whatever. Just lay there watching him from 20 yards.
This just demonstrates to me that we humans get nervous and our judgment is often less than perfect in the presence of predators up close. I personally have never carried a gun outside hunting season for protection, but I don't see a problem in the hands of someone very calm and levelheaded, with experience.

To the OP: If I wanted the best combo grouse gun/bear gun, I would recommend a 12-gauge with slugs. I would personally, for myself, carry a .444 Marlin with .410 birdshot for grouse and 265-grain bulleted loads. But I sold my .444 so that's a moot point.

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Don't worry KC - your .444 still gets used with 265 grains for deer and .410 for grouse. Haven't shot a bear with it yet. It's a real nice rifle.