Use Of The Modern Sporting Rifle In Bear Defense
BY Herschel Smith
3 years, 10 months ago
Before I graduated from high school, I overheard the older brother of a close friend talking about shooting a bear. The bear had been discovered in a den, during the Wisconsin deer season. As I recall, in 1968, such a harvest would have been legal.
The older brother was a Vietnam veteran. He approached the den with another vet. The brother suggested the other vet poke into the den to see if the bear were still there.
The other veteran said no, he would not do it. The brother said, well, in Vietnam, you went into holes to get Charlie.
Whereupon, the other veteran said: yes, but I had a different rifle then. (speaking of the M16).
He considered the M16 a superior gun for close-range bear defense than the common 30-30, whether Winchester 94 or Marlin 336.
At the time, I thought it strange someone would prefer a .223 semi-automatic rifle to a 30-30 or larger caliber rifle.
50 years and considerable time investigating actual defensive shootings of bears later, my opinion has become less certain.
Of the defensive bear shootings I have found, four of them were with rifles reasonably characterized as semi-automatic civilian versions of popular military rifles.
All four defensive shootings were successful. Modern sporting rifles most commonly are AR15 or AK47 style semi-automatic rifles. They are the most popular rifles in today’s America. It is certain more bears will be shot with them in the future. Here are the four incidents …
I would absolutely feel safe anywhere in North America with an AR-15, including against bears, as long as I had a standard capacity magazine full of ammunition.
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On February 8, 2021 at 7:56 pm, Doug grows potatoes said:
My 112 lb spouse chases black bears away with an iron skillet. Are we talking black bears? Sows with cubs? I once talked a sow down with a 12 ga. shotgun-she had 3 cubs behind her and I was walking with my wife and 1 yr. old hunting grouse.. Black bears are pretty easy to kill. Grizzly are a different story.