Shotgun VS Rifle???

[jay83196]

I just last year got into bear hunting and all my buddies (most people I have talked to actually) use slug shotguns, I have always used rifles deer hunting an dwe always have this debate as to what is best. I have both a 12guage rifled slug gun as well as several high powered rifles (7mm rem mag, 30-378 weatherby and 30-06). I realize all will do the job but I am wondering what would be best?

Thanks

Jay

[GatorBait]

I think it's more of a personal thing to be honest with ya. I've always used a rifle. Most slug guns are pretty equivilant to rifles today, they've come a long ways. Me personally, my .300 Win Mag is going with me, backed by the ol Raging Bull. I don't take chances when a tag comes my way every few years, so I bring the equipment to get the job done nice and quick.

[Fins-n-feathers]

The answer is E, all of the above. Just Kidding,if your shooting over bait I would use the 12 gauge for the closer shots but if not I would use the '06. Just my 2 cents.

[mooneyes]

gatorbait hit it on the nose. its just personal preference. both should leave you with a short blood trail...unless the mosquitoes drink it all up before you climb out of your stand!

[BeezeHound]

There's 4 of us in our bear hunting group and 2 use shotguns, 1 uses a bow and I use a rifle, a 30/30. I always shoot mine in the neck with the 30/30 and they drop right on the spot so no tracking. The blood trail that a shotgun leaves is pretty impressive, the farthest track we've had on a bear shot with a shotgun is probably 60 yards with pools of blood to follow. The guy who uses a bow has killed the most bear in our group, but there's not near the blood trail and we've had a couple track jobs of around 150 yards.

[buckhunter21]

Doesnt really matter much, a well placed shot with either and its not going far. Out of our group the bear that went the farthest was shot with the most powerful rifle, a 300 short mag and the bear made it over 150 yards but bled non stop the whole way. The two archery kills in our group probably went an average of only 30 yards, the placement of the shot is going to be more important than throwing a couple extra grains of lead so go with what you feel the most comfortable with.

[jay83196]

I agree, was just wondering all things being equal what does the most damage at close range 50yds or less(higher energy/velocity with rifle, or bigger hole with the shotgun)???

Thanks

[BeezeHound]

Shotgun, the biggest slow moving slug you can find will do the most damage.

[pulleye16]

I go with shotgun (when not using a bow). I hunt over bait though with 20-30 yards. Plus, my rifle has a scope with no over under so it's easier with my shot gun espically when its getting dark.

[Random guy]

As a bear guide I like to see rifles. Shotguns do a great job on well placed shots but for those shots that didn't do so well you can't beat the shock of a high powered rifle and the pass through that a slug often times does not get done.

[lakevet]

Use the one you shoot best and most familiar. Whenever I have gone to Alaska fishing, the advice from my friends who are master guides for bear problems last resort backup has been a 12 gauge pump with 3 inch slugs. They also have guys they guide for bear shoot their weapons offhand to see if they can hit anything. Guys are often trying to shoot too big a gun, and sacrifice accuracy, or haven't practiced enough in hunting type shooting positions. Gut shot is gut shot, a bad deal all around.

lakevet

[CodyDawg]

I think the question you are really asking is "are the ballistics of the listed shotgun or rifles better". And to answer that, you need to know the precise load you are thinking about using. There are so many bullets out there these days that picking the right one is actually more important that the caliber in most instances. All of the guns listed will quickly and effectively kill a bear. There are also some bad choices in ammo with those calibers/gauge. Bullet design, bullet weight, and velocity have more to do with the effectiveness than the caliber in most situations. i would suggest some research to best answer your question.

[Random guy]

...and to really throw a wrench in it two of the shortest track jobs I have ever seen came from boars shot in the hind end with an arrow...figure that one out. One went 12 yards the other 16.

[Steve Foss]

I have both a 12guage rifled slug gun as well as several high powered rifles (7mm rem mag, 30-378 weatherby and 30-06). I realize all will do the job but I am wondering what would be best?

Jay, they'll all do an excellent job on animals the size of black bear at close ranges. Really it boils down to which one you feel the most comfortable shooting, IMO. Since they'll all be effective, pick the rifle and load you are most accustomed to and accurate with.

[vister]

If I was goin bear huntin, I would buy ammo designed for dangerous game. Like federals barnes triple shock or trophy bonded or even nosler partitions. Any soft point ammo will dissipate all it's energy quicker, but doesn't penetrate as deep

[icehousebob]

Jonny, I've only shot one bear but the trailing job was shorter than yours. I couldn't get a clear shot until it was at the bait pit,seven yards from my stand. I had my .338 Win Mag with 250 gr. Sierra bullets and my scope set on 2x. At that scope setting, most of what I saw was hair. I put the slug through the top of the head and it dropped in the bait pit. In butchering it, I found that the bullet must have bounced off a rock in the ground and came back up through the lungs. It was just under the hide in the back when I skinned the bear out. The bullet still weighed over 240 grains. Good slug.

[Random guy]

Load is crucial! I have seen certain muzzleloader ammo that exploded on impact and I have seen high powered rifle loads split and go three ways. After seeing many kills and having the fun of gutting and helping to skin many of them I started logging results and found some of my favorite loads are the true bonded bullets in a harder tip. One bullet I am beyond impressed with is the Thompson Center Shockwave for muzzle loaders. That bullet always does a good job. Key to any good kill is a well placed shot or pass through. As bad as it sounds I want any shot that did not go well to at least pass through and start dumping blood as fast as possible. Bear are not like deer that can cruise on a quart of blood, if you can keep them bleeding they will go down fast. Trouble is bear are like Jesse Venture “they aint got time to bleed”

Now any hollow point or high expansion loads never do very well. I have even seen them impact-expand and then follow the bones around vital shots or turn into shrapnel at the hide. One bear was hit in the shoulder with a 7mm mag and it never cleared the shoulder blade and needed to finished off with a 12 gauge slug on the run.

All in all it boils down to shot placement. If a hunter gets jumpy and takes a bad angle the results are always going to be bad no matter if you are shooting a long bow or a .480 nitro mag. Any good outfitter will always have the bait set up to present you with a shot of the bear angling away, head down at a MAX of twenty yards. It is rule number one with our bait set ups to help compensate for human error. I believe if a hunter waits for and makes a good shot you could take a bear with a .22

To address the original question I have seen a lot of 12 gauge slug kills that dropped them on the bait and I have seen many rifle kills stopped them cold but I have also spent late nights tracking from both weapons. Pick whatever gun you are comfortable using in close quarters and research loads for maximum bullet/slug retention. Make sure the weapon you chose is a good low light gun. Many bad shots are accompanied by the comment of “I couldn’t find the shoulder” or “I couldn’t see my sights/crosshairs.” Some of the best shots I have ever seen come from the traditional archers. The traditional archer does not use sights but instinct as I believe the closer a firearm hunter can come to matching that the better. I always recommend that hunters coming up to hunt practice pulling up on a silhouette at dusk. This will reveal bad sights, the cons of scopes and bear hunting and fine tune the hunter to locate the vital shot on a poorly lit silhouette.