What ammo for 12 Guage for Colorado black bear protection

Lambdebois · April 20, 2009, 11:52 AM

I'm curious if most feel 00 buck shot or a slug is better for black bear protection.
I also hear about alternating the rounds with one being the slug then next buck shot the a slug ect....

honkylips · April 20, 2009, 11:55 AM

Slugs. I'm not sure what buckshot would do to a decent sized bear (**** him off?). I'm no expert here, but that's my $.02

hornady · April 20, 2009, 12:02 PM

I would say slug. I saw a 300 pound Pa black bear get hit with a 300 WSM and go 75 yards.before he dropped

oneounceload · April 20, 2009, 12:07 PM

When I used to live on the Western Slope, most folks out walking the dog or hiking carried a 357 or 44 and felt adequately protected. I would imagine that slugs would more than do the job .....with proper shot placement - THAT, IMO, is the key......

fbrown333@suddenlink · April 20, 2009, 12:48 PM

Slug all the way. IMO oo buck is for people

A bear is a hearty animal and can take a pretty good hit and still do damage. They are one of the few animals that have been known to attack in the direction from which the injury came from, the other being a lion or wild piggy (mmmm pork chops)

Breneke(spelling) makes a good slug and I also have Remingtons,and Winchesters. Just make your shot count, the last thing you want is to have to trail a wounded bear into thick brush

. That gives me a pucker factor of about 8.

BigJimP · April 20, 2009, 04:22 PM

Its only a black bear man ....they aren't that aggressive unless you run into a sow with cubs / and you don't want to kill her except as a serious last resort... 90% of the time or more - you'll have plenty of time to back off from a black bear ( grizzly is different, but there aren't any Grizzly that far south anymore).

I would leave the shotgun at home / carry a revolver in .357 mag and it will be plenty for a black bear - if you had to use it. Black bears in the Rockies - just aren't that big ....they're more pests than anything. They do make good breakfast sausage / if you mix the bear meat with venison --but that isn't what you're asking about ...

I killed lots of black bear (but always with a rifle - and a .30-30 was plenty on white tail deer or black bear) - when I was hunting in northwestern Montana when I was a kid in the 50's and 60's / but as meat - throwing a rock or a piece of wood at one around the camp was about as much as you needed to do to scare one out of camp / or holler at them on a trail.

Katrina Guy · April 20, 2009, 05:48 PM

so what's this again about trailing the wounded bear deep in the woods? Sorry, that seems like asking for additional trouble to me, yes as a hunter I would go the distance but other then that I'd say you are own your own mista bear.

srt 10 jimbo · April 20, 2009, 06:00 PM

Think Shot would just **** him off.

TxGun · April 20, 2009, 06:00 PM

I suggest you listen to BigJimP.

BigJimP · April 20, 2009, 06:38 PM

katrina Guy,

No disrespect - but if you wound an animal, you have to track him and finish it. It isn't ethical to let him go / or worse yet, for someone else to come accross him - because a wounded black bear could very well be dangerous.

Katrina Guy · April 20, 2009, 06:53 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rica_by_decade

youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br373JIsQWY

I'd sure pack something if I was going into bear country! Then there was the Discovery Channel I think it was, last month on the Black bear that attacked and killed two hikers, one of the hikers wasn't hiking but heard hollers and aided in fighting off the bear, he died on the scene, bear killing the female hiker and mauling her son also hiking...the bear was apparently hungry, based on the narrative of the tv program, as he was immediately eating upon the humans that he had just killed, ripping large chunks of flesh from their mangled bodies. That show also went on to say that while it's advised to play dead when undergoing a Grizzly attack, on the black bear side that doesn't fly, apparently, and fight for your life, as the television show's bear experts said.
Based on the above, perhaps not all Black Bears are chased away by thowing a stick at them and hollering.

Katrina Guy · April 20, 2009, 06:59 PM

I'm bee bopping along in the woods hiking or whatever and a bear comes out of the blue and attacks me, or charges me, something to force me to pull out a firearm for my life, sorry, I'm not tracking into thick woods going after the bear for humane reasons and have me get ambushed or whatever, yea if I see him fall I'd probably go and finish him off kind of thing, but sorry, I'm not putting my life on the line for some wild beast that charged me or attacked me. We aint' talking white tail deer here alright, I consider your post equal to "hey, you knifed that shark attacking you on your blow up little rafty, and you didn't put on your snorkel to go finish him off?
Hunting is a different story, primarily because you are better armed to begin with.
Sorry, I wouldn't risk my life as a camper or a hiker tracking after a wounded bear in heavy brush, call the Park Ranger! My common sense overrules my humanity.
So, armed with a .357 the hiker/camper that should count his blessings he survived the charge/attack is with this whatever caliber, handgun, is to now go looking for trouble where before trouble came looking for him? I wonder if the Park Ranger would go by himself to finish off a wounded bear and I would assume they are armed with more then a .357

hogdogs · April 20, 2009, 07:03 PM

Not really alternating... I would load a 00 for first shot. If the bear just flat out catches you off guard and appears mere feet in front of you the 00 may just work. The rest would be slugs.
Brent

Katrina Guy · April 20, 2009, 07:39 PM

We're all friends and family in here, just a difference of opinion.
WINK

alloy · April 20, 2009, 08:05 PM

Around here they are protected, i see alot of them, they take trash out of the dumpster and my pickup truck. They eat the azaleas, and more than a few times i have been within 20 ft of them with my fairly large dog barking bloody murder...they just stand there and stare or continue munching the flowers. Hunting, they aren't tough to kill, and they don't frequently get close to people, but once they are used to being around people...timid/elusive bear behavior goes out the window.
I vote slug.

Katrina Guy · April 20, 2009, 08:14 PM

We got a bum around here that rumages through the trash cans all the time too, he resembles Charles Manson, ironically, we all call him "bear" LMAO

MagnumWill · April 21, 2009, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Its only a black bear man ....

lol, it'll still tear your face off

B. Lahey · April 21, 2009, 02:57 PM

000, but any of those choices would be fine.

ramp_tech · April 21, 2009, 03:27 PM

I'd say slug.

My advise for you, STAY AWAY from them bears.

BigJimP · April 22, 2009, 11:56 AM

Katrina Guy - hey, we're fine my friend / but we do disagree...

I've probably hunted and killed 2 dozen black bear over the years in Northwestern Montana ... biggest male maybe dressed out at 200 lbs and honestly, they are more like white tail deer than they are Grizzly. They are just not aggressive animals in my experience. We hunted them for meat ( and White Tail deer and Elk primarily ).

From a very young age / I was in the woods with a handgun as a backup weapon ( fishing, hunting, etc ) - but I always hunted and shot Black Bear with a high powered rifle ( .30-30 / .30-06 ) and I don't recall ever needing a 2nd shot / or a black bear ever charging. They were easy to hunt / yesterday's white tail deer gut pile was our primary spot .... and if Grandma wanted 400 lbs of bear meat - that's what we went out and got / and 1200 lbs of deer meat, a few Elk - whatever ....

All this Bear talk - may have more to do with where you grew up / than anything else. I grew up in Montana ( no rattlesnakes, no snakes at all really ) .... but lots of Black Bear and Grizzly. Black bear were in town all the time / around the ranch ( that's why we had outside dogs ) and they were just more of a nuisance than anything. Grandma or one of my sisters were always chasing them out of the flower beds or one of the garden patches ( when the dogs were napping ..) - it just wasn't a big deal. If they came around too often - we added them to the freezer .... On the other hand, I am afraid of Snakes ( any and all of them / and you guys down south, that swim and water ski in the bayou's, etc are just plain nuts ..) with gators and snakes ( and bad snakes ..).

Grizzly are different. I've only killed one Grizzly ( about a 600 lb male ) - grandpa and I both tracked him / killed him after he came into our hunting camp, took a deer carcass off the drying rack in the night. It took 3 or 4 rounds to definitively knock him down and a few more to keep him down ...( at about 50 yards ) .... and we kept shooting until both rifles were empty / every time he growled or moved we nailed him again ( .30-06 and a .30-40 Krag ) - and truthfully I was still shaking an hour later ( I was about 15 or 16 ) ...

The last black bear encounter I had / a few years ago in Glacier Park - late summer. One was messing around on the porch of the cabin and woke my wife up / so I threw open the screen door - and smaked him with a piece of firewood and went back to bed ( no handgun or any gun in my hand ..). Maybe I'm lucky / maybe stupid - he has teeth and claws ... but I was tired and he was aggravating me. My wife asked me if it was ok, I said sure, go back to sleep ....( she was a little scared / so I closed the wood door instead of just the screen door ....and we went back to sleep ).

But maybe this is all based on your perspective.

30-30remchester · April 22, 2009, 09:22 PM

For those who think a 357 magnun is a fine bear cartridge I have to disagree. I have had bad luck killing deer with them. And for those that think black bears arent dangerous should study more. A black bear will eat you, while a grizzly USUALLY just mauls you. I live in the mountains of Colorado and locally had 2 bear attacks in 2 years. A few years back we had a man killed and eaten by a black bear . The bear was trying to rip the door off the camper the man was in. The man shot a 30-30 through the door at the bear but it didnt detour the bear. The bear finally tore the door off and killed and ate the man in the camper. Sounds like a real timid animal doesnt it? And 00 buck is WAY overrated. Its penatratin is less than most mild handgun cartridges. Go to "BOX OF TRUTH" for more info on this. Slugs should be best IF Brenneke brand are used. They are hard and tough. Most foster style slugs are too soft to penatrate well, most stop within inches.

trigger treat · April 22, 2009, 09:36 PM

i recommend centurion multi ball defense rounds, i think it's one .65cal ball and five .33cal pellets. somewhere between a slug and buckshot.

jrothWA · April 22, 2009, 11:06 PM

I have carried a 4".357 with the Federal hot-cast 180 lead loads. I ahve never needed to draw it, But I feel comfortable. I will also carry a GM .45, loaded with
an old Hornady load, of 230 gr Flatnosed Hardball.

Now you asked about buck or slugs, Having hunted in the UP of Michigan for upland game, I have come across fresh ("steaming") sign of bear and would slide two buckshot shells into the mag. When collecting apple from abandon orchards, one of us always used forster slugs.

So, it really what you feel comfortable with and can handled.

tazz7002 · April 23, 2009, 05:58 AM

what police use in alaska.with 870

Katrina Guy · April 23, 2009, 06:22 PM

King Kong's got noting on your balls man! LMAO
That thread was, by the way, a scanario only, I have zero experience or exposure with bears of any kind other then the bully bear that ran us all off the picnic blanket into the shelter of the 1959 Ford, dad filmed him devouring our picnic lunch with his Brownie movie camera, Smokey Mountains way way back in time.
And yes, Southern's do swim and ski in cottonmouth infested waters, although I am NOT one of them!
Best,
Katrina Guy

View Poll Results: What 12 guage ammo should I use against a bear
00 buck shot	7	6.67%
slug	80	76.19%
alternating both	18	17.14%
Voters: 105. You may not vote on this poll

April 20, 2009, 11:52 AM	#1
Lambdebois Senior Member Join Date: April 2, 2009 Location: St. Louis Posts: 123	What ammo for 12 Guage for Colorado black bear protection I'm curious if most feel 00 buck shot or a slug is better for black bear protection. I also hear about alternating the rounds with one being the slug then next buck shot the a slug ect....

April 20, 2009, 12:48 PM	#5
fbrown333@suddenlink Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2007 Location: West Virginia Posts: 240	Slug all the way. IMO oo buck is for people A bear is a hearty animal and can take a pretty good hit and still do damage. They are one of the few animals that have been known to attack in the direction from which the injury came from, the other being a lion or wild piggy (mmmm pork chops) Breneke(spelling) makes a good slug and I also have Remingtons,and Winchesters. Just make your shot count, the last thing you want is to have to trail a wounded bear into thick brush. That gives me a pucker factor of about 8. __________________ Accuracy over volume

April 20, 2009, 05:48 PM	#7
Katrina Guy Junior member Join Date: July 2, 2006 Posts: 315	the guy said for protection, he's not going bear hunting, so what's this again about trailing the wounded bear deep in the woods? Sorry, that seems like asking for additional trouble to me, yes as a hunter I would go the distance but other then that I'd say you are own your own mista bear.

April 20, 2009, 06:00 PM	#9
TxGun Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2008 Location: Family ranch - Central TX. Posts: 467	I suggest you listen to BigJimP. Last edited by TxGun; April 20, 2009 at 06:07 PM.

April 20, 2009, 11:55 AM	#2
honkylips Senior Member Join Date: December 16, 2007 Location: Arvada, Co Posts: 124	Slugs. I'm not sure what buckshot would do to a decent sized bear (**** him off?). I'm no expert here, but that's my $.02

April 20, 2009, 12:02 PM	#3
hornady Senior Member Join Date: April 6, 2009 Location: SWPA Posts: 428	I would say slug. I saw a 300 pound Pa black bear get hit with a 300 WSM and go 75 yards.before he dropped

April 20, 2009, 12:07 PM	#4
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	When I used to live on the Western Slope, most folks out walking the dog or hiking carried a 357 or 44 and felt adequately protected. I would imagine that slugs would more than do the job .....with proper shot placement - THAT, IMO, is the key......

April 20, 2009, 04:22 PM	#6
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	Its only a black bear man ....they aren't that aggressive unless you run into a sow with cubs / and you don't want to kill her except as a serious last resort... 90% of the time or more - you'll have plenty of time to back off from a black bear ( grizzly is different, but there aren't any Grizzly that far south anymore). I would leave the shotgun at home / carry a revolver in .357 mag and it will be plenty for a black bear - if you had to use it. Black bears in the Rockies - just aren't that big ....they're more pests than anything. They do make good breakfast sausage / if you mix the bear meat with venison --but that isn't what you're asking about ... I killed lots of black bear (but always with a rifle - and a .30-30 was plenty on white tail deer or black bear) - when I was hunting in northwestern Montana when I was a kid in the 50's and 60's / but as meat - throwing a rock or a piece of wood at one around the camp was about as much as you needed to do to scare one out of camp / or holler at them on a trail.

April 20, 2009, 06:00 PM	#8
srt 10 jimbo Senior Member Join Date: September 10, 2008 Location: Fort Lauderdale Posts: 955	Think Shot would just **** him off.

April 20, 2009, 06:38 PM	#10
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	katrina Guy, No disrespect - but if you wound an animal, you have to track him and finish it. It isn't ethical to let him go / or worse yet, for someone else to come accross him - because a wounded black bear could very well be dangerous.

April 20, 2009, 06:53 PM	#11
Katrina Guy Junior member Join Date: July 2, 2006 Posts: 315	Link from a Google search listing fatalities from Black Bear attacks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rica_by_decade youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br373JIsQWY I'd sure pack something if I was going into bear country! Then there was the Discovery Channel I think it was, last month on the Black bear that attacked and killed two hikers, one of the hikers wasn't hiking but heard hollers and aided in fighting off the bear, he died on the scene, bear killing the female hiker and mauling her son also hiking...the bear was apparently hungry, based on the narrative of the tv program, as he was immediately eating upon the humans that he had just killed, ripping large chunks of flesh from their mangled bodies. That show also went on to say that while it's advised to play dead when undergoing a Grizzly attack, on the black bear side that doesn't fly, apparently, and fight for your life, as the television show's bear experts said. Based on the above, perhaps not all Black Bears are chased away by thowing a stick at them and hollering.

April 20, 2009, 06:59 PM	#12
Katrina Guy Junior member Join Date: July 2, 2006 Posts: 315	Let's put things into perspective here Jim, I'm bee bopping along in the woods hiking or whatever and a bear comes out of the blue and attacks me, or charges me, something to force me to pull out a firearm for my life, sorry, I'm not tracking into thick woods going after the bear for humane reasons and have me get ambushed or whatever, yea if I see him fall I'd probably go and finish him off kind of thing, but sorry, I'm not putting my life on the line for some wild beast that charged me or attacked me. We aint' talking white tail deer here alright, I consider your post equal to "hey, you knifed that shark attacking you on your blow up little rafty, and you didn't put on your snorkel to go finish him off? Hunting is a different story, primarily because you are better armed to begin with. Sorry, I wouldn't risk my life as a camper or a hiker tracking after a wounded bear in heavy brush, call the Park Ranger! My common sense overrules my humanity. So, armed with a .357 the hiker/camper that should count his blessings he survived the charge/attack is with this whatever caliber, handgun, is to now go looking for trouble where before trouble came looking for him? I wonder if the Park Ranger would go by himself to finish off a wounded bear and I would assume they are armed with more then a .357 Last edited by Katrina Guy; April 20, 2009 at 07:22 PM. Reason: additional text now that I think more on the subject.

April 20, 2009, 07:03 PM	#13
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Not really alternating... I would load a 00 for first shot. If the bear just flat out catches you off guard and appears mere feet in front of you the 00 may just work. The rest would be slugs. Brent

April 20, 2009, 07:39 PM	#14
Katrina Guy Junior member Join Date: July 2, 2006 Posts: 315	by the way Jim, no disrespect intended either buddy. We're all friends and family in here, just a difference of opinion. WINK

April 20, 2009, 08:14 PM	#16
Katrina Guy Junior member Join Date: July 2, 2006 Posts: 315	They collect empty beer cans too!? We got a bum around here that rumages through the trash cans all the time too, he resembles Charles Manson, ironically, we all call him "bear" LMAO

April 21, 2009, 02:57 PM	#18
B. Lahey Senior Member Join Date: March 17, 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 2,857	000, but any of those choices would be fine. __________________ "A human being is primarily a bag for putting food into; the other functions and faculties may be more godlike, but in point of time they come afterwards." -George Orwell

April 21, 2009, 03:27 PM	#19
ramp_tech Senior Member Join Date: April 15, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 251	I'd say slug. My advise for you, STAY AWAY from them bears. __________________ National Rifle Association - Institute for Legislative Action YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE by making a contribution to NRA-ILA!

April 22, 2009, 11:56 AM	#20
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	Katrina Guy - hey, we're fine my friend / but we do disagree... I've probably hunted and killed 2 dozen black bear over the years in Northwestern Montana ... biggest male maybe dressed out at 200 lbs and honestly, they are more like white tail deer than they are Grizzly. They are just not aggressive animals in my experience. We hunted them for meat ( and White Tail deer and Elk primarily ). From a very young age / I was in the woods with a handgun as a backup weapon ( fishing, hunting, etc ) - but I always hunted and shot Black Bear with a high powered rifle ( .30-30 / .30-06 ) and I don't recall ever needing a 2nd shot / or a black bear ever charging. They were easy to hunt / yesterday's white tail deer gut pile was our primary spot .... and if Grandma wanted 400 lbs of bear meat - that's what we went out and got / and 1200 lbs of deer meat, a few Elk - whatever .... All this Bear talk - may have more to do with where you grew up / than anything else. I grew up in Montana ( no rattlesnakes, no snakes at all really ) .... but lots of Black Bear and Grizzly. Black bear were in town all the time / around the ranch ( that's why we had outside dogs ) and they were just more of a nuisance than anything. Grandma or one of my sisters were always chasing them out of the flower beds or one of the garden patches ( when the dogs were napping ..) - it just wasn't a big deal. If they came around too often - we added them to the freezer .... On the other hand, I am afraid of Snakes ( any and all of them / and you guys down south, that swim and water ski in the bayou's, etc are just plain nuts ..) with gators and snakes ( and bad snakes ..). Grizzly are different. I've only killed one Grizzly ( about a 600 lb male ) - grandpa and I both tracked him / killed him after he came into our hunting camp, took a deer carcass off the drying rack in the night. It took 3 or 4 rounds to definitively knock him down and a few more to keep him down ...( at about 50 yards ) .... and we kept shooting until both rifles were empty / every time he growled or moved we nailed him again ( .30-06 and a .30-40 Krag ) - and truthfully I was still shaking an hour later ( I was about 15 or 16 ) ... The last black bear encounter I had / a few years ago in Glacier Park - late summer. One was messing around on the porch of the cabin and woke my wife up / so I threw open the screen door - and smaked him with a piece of firewood and went back to bed ( no handgun or any gun in my hand ..). Maybe I'm lucky / maybe stupid - he has teeth and claws ... but I was tired and he was aggravating me. My wife asked me if it was ok, I said sure, go back to sleep ....( she was a little scared / so I closed the wood door instead of just the screen door ....and we went back to sleep ). But maybe this is all based on your perspective.

April 22, 2009, 09:22 PM	#21
30-30remchester Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2009 Location: mountains of colorado Posts: 977	For those who think a 357 magnun is a fine bear cartridge I have to disagree. I have had bad luck killing deer with them. And for those that think black bears arent dangerous should study more. A black bear will eat you, while a grizzly USUALLY just mauls you. I live in the mountains of Colorado and locally had 2 bear attacks in 2 years. A few years back we had a man killed and eaten by a black bear . The bear was trying to rip the door off the camper the man was in. The man shot a 30-30 through the door at the bear but it didnt detour the bear. The bear finally tore the door off and killed and ate the man in the camper. Sounds like a real timid animal doesnt it? And 00 buck is WAY overrated. Its penatratin is less than most mild handgun cartridges. Go to "BOX OF TRUTH" for more info on this. Slugs should be best IF Brenneke brand are used. They are hard and tough. Most foster style slugs are too soft to penatrate well, most stop within inches.

April 22, 2009, 09:36 PM	#22
trigger treat Member Join Date: April 18, 2009 Location: Dublin, OH Posts: 55	i recommend centurion multi ball defense rounds, i think it's one .65cal ball and five .33cal pellets. somewhere between a slug and buckshot.

April 22, 2009, 11:06 PM	#23
jrothWA Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2006 Posts: 2,519	Having hiked in the Cascades eastof Everett, wa.. I have carried a 4".357 with the Federal hot-cast 180 lead loads. I ahve never needed to draw it, But I feel comfortable. I will also carry a GM .45, loaded with an old Hornady load, of 230 gr Flatnosed Hardball. Now you asked about buck or slugs, Having hunted in the UP of Michigan for upland game, I have come across fresh ("steaming") sign of bear and would slide two buckshot shells into the mag. When collecting apple from abandon orchards, one of us always used forster slugs. So, it really what you feel comfortable with and can handled.

April 23, 2009, 05:58 AM	#24
tazz7002 Junior member Join Date: April 1, 2009 Location: kentucky Posts: 154	slugs what police use in alaska.with 870

April 23, 2009, 06:22 PM	#25
Katrina Guy Junior member Join Date: July 2, 2006 Posts: 315	smackn GRIZZLYS in the face with a hunk of firewood! King Kong's got noting on your balls man! LMAO That thread was, by the way, a scanario only, I have zero experience or exposure with bears of any kind other then the bully bear that ran us all off the picnic blanket into the shelter of the 1959 Ford, dad filmed him devouring our picnic lunch with his Brownie movie camera, Smokey Mountains way way back in time. And yes, Southern's do swim and ski in cottonmouth infested waters, although I am NOT one of them! Best, Katrina Guy