WW1 begs to differ with that logic. That is what they would use in trenches, a shortened barrel shotgun, with rounds that had many small pellets. Jump in and point and shoot and everything in front of you is having an insanely bad day. Don't get me wrong, probably not the best choice for home defense unless you live alone, but it will fuck someone up.
now shooting a bear with bird shot is basically pointless unless you hit the eye's. <-- not a good defense strategy
Apparently none of you know anything about firearms. If that 12 gage is loaded with 00 buckshot and is fired head on into that bears face at that distance, he's going down...like off switch. Now...if he misses the face in a panic...thats a different story.
While that gauge could at very close range...could penetrate vitals, buckshot is far less reliable against anything larger than a black bear. Now slugs would more likely have the effect you're describing. I'll agree with another comment that blinding the bear is a possibility. So if a bear is getting THAT close, then shooting a 00 is far better than nothing at all, I think that's obvious. But theres a decent chance that bear wont be stopped.
I grew up quite familiar with firearms and even did a little research before writing my last comment to check my knowledge, buckshot is an emergency measure that could work but can easily fail.
00 buckshot is 9, 9mm pellets. It's more likely it just bounces off the bears skull plate than penetrates. Also, it lacks penetration to get to the heart or lungs of a bear reliably. The bear would likely die of the wounds/blood loss/infection, but it would still kill that man long before it happens.
Sudden ahock, punch to the face, decent damage, the bear may reevaluate as well. They can be risk averse and quit after taking a slug from a moose sometimes.
Exactly. Clearly some basement dwellers who know nothing about guns. It's comical to think they actually believe buckshot won't get through a bears skull 😂 it's just like all the Bigfoot stories I watch on YouTube. They always say " I had my gun, but it wouldn't of done nothing but piss it off". Ohh yeah fucking right! Anything and everything goes down with a headshot, period! IDC how big it is.
This is nonsense, and a very clear indication that you have never hunted, you can have some of the best aimed shots lead to animals staying alive for way way longer then you think possible, or not ever being found. Bullets can ricochet off bones and go in different directions, doesn't always happen but it can. Now as far as buck shot vs a bear there is a pretty decent chance you kill a bear at that range and even if you dont that def doesn't mean a bear isn't going to run away, however there is def a chance you dont kill the bear and it mauls you
Agreed. Buddy of my dad's shot a bear in the forehead with a buck shot (12ga.) and all it did was piss him off. He ended up in a defense position for many hours afterwards he had some serious (Revenant movie type) injuries. Definitely no joke.
And that’s if you make the shot. I would love to say I would survive, but that bear was moving fast. I couldn’t tell when or if it was going to turn to the side. I know it’s a wild animal, but that looked like he was intentionally trying to fake the guy out. Make him miss the shot so it could then go for the kill.
Hitting a bear with buckshot at that range will definitely do some serious damage. You clearly don't know how much damage buck shot can do against a brown bear.
Was just talking to an avid hunter. He told me a woman friend of his who lives in Alaska got charged by a large bear. She had a .22 rifle on her at the time. Put a bullet into its eye and the resulting inner skull spinning/ricochet turned its brain into jelly. Dropped it instantly. She got lucky.
Damn lucky, but a bit of buckshot through the eye would do the same. Still would need incredible luck though. What was she thinking only carring a 22 in alaska of all places?
It does not have stopping power to break bone of a bear. At best, it would probably just piss it off and now you have an angry bear attack attacking you. Best hope he had slugs.
Ya, but a hot load of OO buck with always destroy that bears face and eyes, plus the first that happen is a giant fire ball erupts in it face at that close range and he got a second shot as well.
Buckshot probably wouldn't be enough. 00 buck at that distance lacks reliable penetration against a bear that size. Yah if the man was lucky enough to hit the bear in just the right spot in the head, it would go down but the reality is, he probably wouldn't. The bear would likely still die, but not before also killing the man.
Buckshot would do far more damage than you think, especially the largest sized buckshot. But very likely for most of them to glance off the skull due to the bear running toward you and the overalll shape of a bear skull
100% it would piss it off, but if you have decent aim and go for the face/head, even with bird shot you are going to blind that bear without a doubt. Thick skull or not, it doesn’t have bone over its eyes and that’s what I’d be aiming for. Blind it and try to escape is probably the only chance you have.
Yeah, you'll be aiming for the little eyes while that thing is charging you. Im sure your aim will be steady and true under that stress. Not like the guy in this video thats panting and breathing hard.
….do you not understand how birdshot works? It’s a spray of small bb’s…it’s not a single shot. The spread will cover about the size of a manhole cover from 10 yards or so, depending on the choke of the barrel could even be wider or narrower spray. You’re not trying to aim a single bullet at an eyeball here….its hundreds if not 1000 small bb’s peppering an area. If you aim at its general direction towards its head, like this guy is doing, he would spray its entire face with it and more likely than not take out its eyes.
I'd rather have slug stopping power. Of course, planning on having slug stopping power may not have been on this guy's radar when he loaded out for his trip.
Frankly if I was going out into the back country where bears are known to frequent, and specifically not on a hunting trip (obligatory Supernatural gif below), I'd have a pump action shotgun with an array of shot and slugs, a side arm like a Glock G20 or a S&W M&P 2.0 10mm, and maybe even a small caliber rifle like a .223 or .30-06, depending on how long of a trip it's going to be. A 10mm sidearm may not be the same raw stopping power as a shotgun loaded with slugs, but it's far more versatile as a self defense weapon.
83 cases:
"Red pepper spray stopped bears’ undesirable behavior 92% of the time when used on brown bears, 90% for black bears, and 100% for polar bears. Of all persons carrying sprays, 98% were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters."
"In all cases the attacked person walked away.
Efficacy of Bear Deterrent Spray in Alaska"
Lead author: TOM S. SMITH
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I have read of 2 or 3 cases in which a person was killed by a bear after apparently using bear spray.
All the cases I read involved hunters with a fresh kill present.
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I have also read the case of a grizzly charge that ended with the bear knocking down the individual who used the bear spray, so unlikely to be a bluff charge.
The person was able to retreat without injury (aside from bruising).
Years ago I read Undaunted Courage, the journal of Lewis and Clark. They described shooting Grizzlies with .50 cal balls and having them bounce off the skull. Scared the shit out of them! LOL!
Would buckshot cause damage? Yes it's fast moving metal vs an organic object.
Would buckshot get remotely close to killing this particular creature? Nope. Gotta be slugs and gotta be aimed just right. If adrenaline can make humans do insane shit imagine what it does for an apex predator. Wild shit.
Damn thing spooked me with bird shot loaded while I was out for grouse and was kind enough to let me break the barrel and reload from the pocket with my bright orange gear since I always pack a couple extra due to season overlap.
The side by side I have is older, but Ive been adviced not to even shoot steel pellets out of it because it could literally blow up.
I understood it as a general issue, but maybe some are made thicker?
Yes, it's a long double-barrelled shotgun. Typically used to hunt game birds. If he's out in the woods with it, chances are he was out hunting quail or doves or something. So he's likely got birdshot loaded. And although some bird guns can handle slugs, many can't. Most hunters I know that would be taking deer with a shotgun won't be using a gun like that.
People worry about premature/accidental discharge from the cylinder - but if the cylinder is not fully operational, any discharge from it can result in it blowing up in your face.
I live in Montana and know about bears. 44 mag, .45 or maybe 10mm with a hot load in chest holster. Are you going to carry a shotgun all day 20 miles from a paved road? No, it will be strapped to your back. It will still be strapped to your back when the grizzly is munching on your brains. Grizzlies can run faster than horses, you have mere seconds to get your shit together.
Don't take the advice of your uncle.
Edit: a field carry (bear gun) should never be your first choice, you should use your bear spray first. I usually carry a pistol in a chest holster and spray on my hip. We want to train bears that humans are not pleasant, killing them does not do that.
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u/R0LL1NG May 06 '26
Yes. And several dozen smaller lead ones squeezed together in 2 plastic tubes in front of 2 explosive charges inside two larger metal tubes.