For those that don't get the American Hunter and might be planning an Alaskan trip this year, here is the excuse you have been waiting for to buy that big bore rifle: <with notes>
>From American Hunter October 1999
Bear Medicine, Part II
Thanks for discussing firearms for bear protection in Alaska (American Hunter 1999), a topic which is widely debated up here. I am a retired Alaska Fish & Game biologist who studied black bears for my Master' s thesis, and co-authored a state pamphlet advising the public how to deal with bears. My friend Eric is a brown and black bear guide and commercial fisherman. We are both longtime Alaskan gun nuts.
We do not claim to have all the answers, and understand that Alaskans have killed grizzly bears with low-powered firearms such as .22 revolvers or .30-30 rifles. Our perspective is that when your life is on the line, you want all possible odds in your favor.
<So yah you can shoot your elephant with your 6.5X.54 but I'd rather have a .458-Niki>
We agree that a .44 Mag, handgun is undergunned for brown or grizzly bears, but would not follow your recommendation for ammunition. Although bullet makers are now turning out better jacketed projectiles than ever before, we would recommend heavy (300-to 340-grain) hard-cast bullets with a large meplat ahead of a stiff charge of W296 or H110. Federal and several smaller ammunition manufactures sell loaded .44 Mag. rounds like these.
A charging grizzly is substantially different from an undisturbed bear.
<This is damn right! An animal pumped up on adrenaline is one tough cookie unless you're really lucky and an incredible shot. Lots of times there's no time to be an incredible shot!-Niki>
Head on, a big bear is anything but thin-skinned and presents a lot of heavy bone to penetrate to reach the vitals. Although you want to kill the bear with your first shot, you need to stop him--which means breaking him down. Heavy, solid pistol slugs penetrate deeper and are more likely to accomplish this goal than lighter, jacketed bullets which expand and shed energy and mass.
For last-ditch personal defense while flyfishing, we would advise one of the more powerful stainless handguns such as the Freedom Arms or Taurus .454 Casull, or Bowen or Linebaugh custom big-bores. If you must use a .44 Mag., many experienced Alaskans prefer the stronger single-action over a double-action such as the Smith & Wesson.
Long guns are very much in the way while flyfishing, but less so for spin fishing. They can be loosely slung diagonally across your back, or slung from your off shoulder. However, long guns provide a lot more stopping power than pistols, and allow you to reach out and help your buddy if he runs into a problem bear. We strongly recommend the buddy system and large-caliber rifles for remote recreation in Alaska.
The federal agency with the greatest number of field staff working in brown bear habitat in Alaska is the U.S. Forest Service. In brown bear country, USFS personnel commonly carry .375 H&H Mag. rifles with 270- to 300-grain soft point ammunition. Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff generally use .338 Win. Mg. or larger rifles for bear protection. By contrast, most U.S. Geological Survey work is in the interior where bears are smaller. Federal recommendations for bear protection have varied over time by agency and area of the state. Major policy changes tend to follow an employee injury or death from a bear attack.
Pump-action shotguns are often carried for protection in Alaska, and have been more or less successfully used in defense of life with brown/grizzly and black bears. For brown/grizzly bears we recommend Brenneke slugs, Remington copper sabots, or similar hard slugs which penetrate deeper than softer lead Foster-type slugs. One Foster slug we know of did not even break the upper front leg bone of a brown bear in a defense situation. Buckshot is generally less reliable, although one biologist who has gone after wounded brown bears in the alders likes it for head shots at less than 20 feet.
Pistols or shotguns are not as consistently effective as large-caliber rifles firing premium ammunition. For brown bear protection we carry a .416 Taylor and a .458 Win. Mag., and use Barnes X bullets in heavy, accurate loads.
<I would use a Barnes solid or other good solid not the X. This is not just my opinion...I've heard this from every PH I know, that deal with wounded dangerous animals all the time.-Niki>
The rifles fit well, and we practice with both scopes and iron sights. Yes, a 20 inch-barreled rifle is more inconvenient to carry than a pistol. In a brown bear conflict situation though, we find convenience ranks extremely low on anyone's value scale.
I have been within 15 feet of brown bears on two separate occasions, and did not have to shoot either one. Packing a big rifle allows me to deal with a bear with greater confidence, which I strongly believe reduces the potential for attack. I raise my rifle, flick off the safety, and talk to the bear firmly and evenly. I try to convey the message that I am not prey, I am not going to attack, and I am not going to be buffaloed. So far it has worked.
Spending lots of time in bear country is sort of like war, with months or years of boredom punctuated (if your luck is bad) by moments of terror. If you knew a bear conflict was coming, you would pack your best rifle and lots of ammo and bring a backup squad. Unfortunately life does not give advance warning, and people become complacent after extended outings without a problem. A rifle seems too much in the way, so some scale back to a more convenient gun or note at all.
Those with limited field experience may not believe that an angry bear can soak up 17 shots from a .44 Mag. or 11 shots from a .300 Win. Mag. We think of this as the adrenaline-saturated difference between theory and reality. Survivors commonly conclude (expletives deleted) that they need a big rifle loaded with top-notch ammo. Performance become all-important, while convenience, recoil, and cost run a very distant second.
Salmon streams are major concentration areas for bears. Stream noises mask the sounds of a fisherman's presence, while downed trees and grassy or tree-lined banks reduce vision. Flyfishermen commonly wade in the stream while concentrating on their fishing. This is a potentially dangerous situation. Anyone in that situation should carry the largest firearm he can handle, loaded with the best possible ammunition.
David Hardy and Eric Swanson--Sitka, Alaska
End Article
Well a biologist and a guide have given a real good excuse to go out and get that .416!