I'd rather pack a 12 gauge... it'd be lighter.buy a magnum research bfr 45/70 revolver 7 1/2 inch revolver.
Places I don't feel safe with an M1 Garand: Nazi rallies
Places I feel safe with an M1 Garand: Everywhere else
You do have friends? Borrow one from a friend for the trip if money is too tight.
Hunting a brown bear and protecting yourself from one are two entirely different things. Hunting them you can climb a tree, sit in a stand and wait for the perfect shot at the neck or shoulder (breaking the shoulder bone is the best choice because the bear is disabled quickly). But a charging bear means a straight on head shot where the bone is 2" thick in the skull. Big, big difference. Killing a brown bear with a 30.06 would not be that hard. Stopping a charge would be.
Bears are not particularly hardy creatures, they are at the top of the food chain and I believe they haven't evolved to take uber-punishment and keep ticking. A ungulate (deer, elk , etc,) will go 100 yards with literally an exploded heart, though I have no experience actually killin' bars I've heard they go down quick.
More importantly- a .30-06 is plenty of medicine for any living creature- Inuits kill whales with them- I assume after passing through an inch or two of water in most cases.
At close range it is plenty of gun for anything on earth.
Bears are not particularly hardy creatures
No, it's the most affordable and most accessible. FAR from the best. I'll take a properly loaded .44 any day of the week over a slug.As many have said a 12 gauge loaded with slugs is the best choice for stopping a grizzly.
I can believe that. The old Remington 220gr is not as great a penetrator as some folks seem to believe.I am reading Rodriguez lately saying the new 165 grain solid (Barnes TSX type) bullets are superior to the old heavy bullets (200 gr). It turns out they actually penetrate farther than the slow for caliber bullets.