.54 cal vs grizzly bears

[bob in the woods]

I might , if necessary only, use my 4 bore swivel gun. Mounted on the bow of a canoe, the recoil would have the advantage of propelling you backwards with the shot, which would be a good thing 

[Daryl]

"Blacktail" - well put.

[Dphariss]

I would shoot a Gbear with my 16 bore FL rifle. But I would use a hardened ball. And I owuld want a reliable backup. The problem with the Gbear is the first shot thing. If the first shot is a killer they likleyhood of a problem is lessened. But....In 10 seconds or 20 a bear can cover a lot of ground and do damage. I have been told by people with experience that they are fast beyond belief.  So I would not HUNT Gbear/Brown Bear with a bore smaller than 16 bore (one ounce ball). Though I routinely hunt is "occupied Gbear habitat" with smaller guns. I do know that a well placed 12 gauge slug is not sure to stop even a MT black bear. Based on a friend's experience. Nobody go bit since there was a backup with a 45-70 but it appeared the bear was trying. When you hunt dangerous game there is a level of risk. Define dangerous? A Mule deer Buck can gore you after being wounded. Coyotes have killed humans in modern times. Wolves, Mtn Lions.... Almost carnivore wil eat you if the play comes right.


Dan

[Stoner creek]

Hunting an animal like that with a muzzle loader makes as much sense as the carnival guy who used to catch .22 rounds with his teeth. Outcome could be bad.  Leave that beast alone, didn’t you learn anything from watching The Revanant??? I can’t believe that this ignorant thread has lasted this long.
 Stupid and unnecessary.........

[Bsharp]

Even with my 7 Bore, I would feel under gunned.

Picture recovered from an Elm tree at point blank range. 1000 grain ball at 1100 fps.

You can see where the ball nearly turned inside out. The small center ring is the back of the ball.



I will have to find the ball for measurements and weight.

[bptactical]

If I had a choice of weapons to face a Grizzly with I would choose belt fed.


Just sayin.....

[bob in the woods]

Hunting an animal like that with a muzzle loader makes as much sense as the carnival guy who used to catch .22 rounds with his teeth. Outcome could be bad.  Leave that beast alone, didn’t you learn anything from watching The Revanant??? I can’t believe that this ignorant thread has lasted this long.
 Stupid and unnecessary.........

If you read my original post, you will see that I was and continue to be on the side of not attempting this. Persuading an enthusiastic acquaintance was the impetus for the thread, and I asked for comments based on experience.  Didn't get much of that, but there was a plentitude of opinions.
That may or may not be helpful in curbing the fellow's enthusiasm .  " Stupid and unnecessary" ?   Not if I can stop him from going ahead with his plan

[rich pierce]

Bob, once a topic gets into page 3, all original context is lost!

[OldMtnMan]

For Griz i'd use what Alaska guides use and it isn't a muzzleloader. It takes some power to stop a charging Griz.

[bob in the woods]

Bob, once a topic gets into page 3, all original context is lost!

Yes....time to end this 

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

"Can ya skin griz, Pilgrim?"

[Stoner creek]

Hunting an animal like that with a muzzle loader makes as much sense as the carnival guy who used to catch .22 rounds with his teeth. Outcome could be bad.  Leave that beast alone, didn’t you learn anything from watching The Revanant??? I can’t believe that this ignorant thread has lasted this long.
 Stupid and unnecessary.........

If you read my original post, you will see that I was and continue to be on the side of not attempting this. Persuading an enthusiastic acquaintance was the impetus for the thread, and I asked for comments based on experience.  Didn't get much of that, but there was a plentitude of opinions.
That may or may not be helpful in curbing the fellow's enthusiasm .  " Stupid and unnecessary" ?   Not if I can stop him from going ahead with his plan

I would agree that we are on the same page.

[Dphariss]

Even with my 7 Bore, I would feel under gunned.

Picture recovered from an Elm tree at point blank range. 1000 grain ball at 1100 fps.

You can see where the ball nearly turned inside out. The small center ring is the back of the ball.



I will have to find the ball for measurements and weight.

This is why to this day they do not shoot really large game with soft lead balls. If you read John Taylor's "Pondoro" in the Elephant section you will find at the end of a chapter his relating killing African Elephant and Rhino with a percussion 10 bore with 167 gr of powder and hardened round balls. All one shot kills it seems but Taylor knew what he was about and used lung shots.

[OldMtnMan]

I'll be hunting for black bear this year with a .50 PRB but that's a far cry from a grizzly.

I'd prefer a .54 for a blacky but I don't have one.

[Daniel Coats]

Pete, good luck on your black bear hunt. Are you going to be doing a combo hunt of some type or just black bear?

[OldMtnMan]

Pete, good luck on your black bear hunt. Are you going to be doing a combo hunt of some type or just black bear?

Thanks. Our deer herds are hurting, so i'm going to stick with bear hunting from now on. One of the perks is the bear season is 30 days and the deer was only 9 days. More days more fun.

[Bsharp]

Even with my 7 Bore, I would feel under gunned.

Picture recovered from an Elm tree at point blank range. 1000 grain ball at 1100 fps.

You can see where the ball nearly turned inside out. The small center ring is the back of the ball.



I will have to find the ball for measurements and weight.

This is why to this day they do not shoot really large game with soft lead balls. If you read John Taylor's "Pondoro" in the Elephant section you will find at the end of a chapter his relating killing African Elephant and Rhino with a percussion 10 bore with 167 gr of powder and hardened round balls. All one shot kills it seems but Taylor knew what he was about and used lung shots.

I think there was 7-9"s of penetration on an elm tree.

It will shoot length ways thru a deer.

I have some hardened balls to test in a oak tree.

[Daryl]

I think there was 7-9"s of penetration on an elm tree.
I have some hardened balls to test in a oak tree.

The ability to use hardened balls in a muzzleloading gun, as opposed to having to use dead soft conicals in a muzzleloading
rifle, was the reason conicals were not the preferred projectile for large and dangerous game, until large bored and strong
enough breech loaders were invented that could use hardened conicals. The soft lead conicals lacked penetration on the largest
game, just as soft round balls did. Balls could be hardened, but not so the conicals and still provide the requisite accuracy.

[Daniel Coats]

Pete, good luck on your black bear hunt. Are you going to be doing a combo hunt of some type or just black bear?

Thanks. Our deer herds are hurting, so i'm going to stick with bear hunting from now on. One of the perks is the bear season is 30 days and the deer was only 9 days. More days more fun.

Sounds great and you'll have enough time to find out where they're feeding. My mistake last time was not going low enough in elevation. I did have a large bear come into my camp the first night and leave me a present in front of my tent flap. Did see two other bear that week but no chance for a shot. This was Douglas Pass country if you know where that is on the western slope.

[OldMtnMan]

Pete, good luck on your black bear hunt. Are you going to be doing a combo hunt of some type or just black bear?

Thanks. Our deer herds are hurting, so i'm going to stick with bear hunting from now on. One of the perks is the bear season is 30 days and the deer was only 9 days. More days more fun.

Sounds great and you'll have enough time to find out where they're feeding. My mistake last time was not going low enough in elevation. I did have a large bear come into my camp the first night and leave me a present in front of my tent flap. Did see two other bear that week but no chance for a shot. This was Douglas Pass country if you know where that is on the western slope.

My units are tough bear hunting. Not a lot of natural food. No matter i'll still have fun trying. My favorite terrain is dark timber and bears like it too. So, maybe we'll meet.

[flinchrocket]

Uncle Everett hunted griz with a switch.

[hanshi]

Grizzlies are much too easily irritated and prone to always take offense.  This gives me a good reason not to even dream about going out looking for them.  I won't even shoot a black bear simply because I like bears so much and it would make me feel like a jerk to kill one.  But for those who enjoy the hunt I say go for it and good luck. 

[RVAH-7]

...just to stir the pot",    If you're NRA and receive the American Hunter magazine, check out page 67 of the new May 2022 issue.

[smylee grouch]

Yep, read that article. Makes me think my 66 should do the job if put in the right spot.

[Nessmuck]

I’d need a .405 Gov.