I can't figure out whenever there is a thread about bears being shoot the immediate default seems to be get out a Howitzer. These are flesh and blood creatures that range from a little over 100 lbs for a small blacky to 1600 lbs for a big Alaskan brown. In most contexts bears in the lower 48 states mean Black Bears, yeah there are a couple of states with Grizzlies, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to be exact. Your odds of seeing a Grizzly in the lower 48 states are worse than being hit by a comet in your own back yard. The only place that changes in the contential US is if you are near Glacier National Park ( they do have " DO NOT EAT THE TOURISTS" signs out for the bears. And the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area. They have some sighting occasionally in Yellowstone. But other than a few very remote areas you aren't going to see a Grizzly. You are going to run into a black bear, even a real big one at close range can be handled with a 30-06. For years one of the big record bears in Alaska was shoot with a 30-06, Fred Bear killed one with a bow.
I have seen small black bear taken with a 357 revolver. It doesn't take a cannon. I wouldn't feel undergunned using my 30-338 on a Alaskan Brown, no I don't want to have to do it a 5 yds, but if I did I would keep my cool, trust the rifle and ammo that I came with and shoot for paydirt. Actually if your that close to a bear and don't know it you shouldn't be in the woods anyway. I suppose if you are running around in willow thicks with no visability a big gun is insurance, but it is also a liability, can you swing a big gun around in thick brush quickly? I am not a guide and I won't be in a postion to deal with a customers mistake quickly, if I was I would carry a 375 H&H with a 18" barrel, or a 404 Jefferies or a 50 Alaskan. But I am not, and I would be damned embarrised if my guide had to clean up something I fumbled up so bad.
One of sons friends that comes from southern California to visit is absolutly paranoid every time we take him out in the woods about bears. I guess our odds of seeing a bear are about as good as it gets, as we have about 40,000 black bear in a fairly small ( western standards ) geographic area. He actually saw one with us the last time he was up, a small blacky probably less than a year and a half old, running lickety split for the high country as soon as he spotted us. It wasn't bear season, but I couldn't have gotten out of the truck before he was gone. My sons friend just about croaked, if I had of stopped and let him out of the truck he would have gone into a medical condition. It brought back a memory when I was a boy and I wasn't allowed to go to school cause there was a Grizzly Bear on the playground, I wondered what he would have thought of that?
I guess I grew up in bear country most of my life, they were always around, always respected, and caution whenever you were close to them is important, but I think repect of any big game animal when your close is a very wise thing. Frankly as a boy I was more scared of being trampled by a moose, they would come into the yard all the time to eat the shrubbery.
I have seen small black bear taken with a 357 revolver. It doesn't take a cannon. I wouldn't feel undergunned using my 30-338 on a Alaskan Brown, no I don't want to have to do it a 5 yds, but if I did I would keep my cool, trust the rifle and ammo that I came with and shoot for paydirt. Actually if your that close to a bear and don't know it you shouldn't be in the woods anyway. I suppose if you are running around in willow thicks with no visability a big gun is insurance, but it is also a liability, can you swing a big gun around in thick brush quickly? I am not a guide and I won't be in a postion to deal with a customers mistake quickly, if I was I would carry a 375 H&H with a 18" barrel, or a 404 Jefferies or a 50 Alaskan. But I am not, and I would be damned embarrised if my guide had to clean up something I fumbled up so bad.
One of sons friends that comes from southern California to visit is absolutly paranoid every time we take him out in the woods about bears. I guess our odds of seeing a bear are about as good as it gets, as we have about 40,000 black bear in a fairly small ( western standards ) geographic area. He actually saw one with us the last time he was up, a small blacky probably less than a year and a half old, running lickety split for the high country as soon as he spotted us. It wasn't bear season, but I couldn't have gotten out of the truck before he was gone. My sons friend just about croaked, if I had of stopped and let him out of the truck he would have gone into a medical condition. It brought back a memory when I was a boy and I wasn't allowed to go to school cause there was a Grizzly Bear on the playground, I wondered what he would have thought of that?
I guess I grew up in bear country most of my life, they were always around, always respected, and caution whenever you were close to them is important, but I think repect of any big game animal when your close is a very wise thing. Frankly as a boy I was more scared of being trampled by a moose, they would come into the yard all the time to eat the shrubbery.