Gobblers, grizz and other western predators

[chadly]

Good luck where ever you go.  Here in Iowa the only thing we have to be concerned about are ticks.  Oh and turkeys.  They get really big here. 

[1iagobblergetter]

Now you have a reason to spend $10 a shell on Tss...

[fallhnt]

You won't shoot all 6 rounds if charged.

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[howl]

Oh, boy! A bear thread! Just hunt where they ain't.

But for entertainment purposes let's talk bear guns. .44mag ain't really enough for big browns, but all lower 48 aren't big like those AK bears. You really want a big rifle for those big ones. Bearbspray has a good record on brown bears anyway.

Lower 48 bears, I think a load of T2s in the second barrel of a double would be your better bet over a revolver. You'd likely already have the shotgun to hand. Most of us are better and faster shots with a shotgun than handgun. I shoot my handguns fairly regularly and I know I'm much faster with a shotgun.

[fallhnt]

Could be a shot size reg. so T2 may not be an option. AK coastal grizz do get bigger than inland or lower 48.

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[Happy]

I would just hunt with a buddy. And I would make sure that buddy was fat and slow off the starting block.

[tal]

LOL... a fat, slow buddy. That and a bear tag guaranteeing  you don't see any. Reminds me of the joke of the guy stopping to tie his shoes

[owlhoot]

Thanks for the replies.
Guess when headed west it would be good to talk to a biologist ahead of time, and see if I'm headed into bad country.
Any other thoughts?

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I would bet they won't tell you about BIGFOOT.
Heard they like the best turkey hunting areas too

[Rapscallion Vermilion]

I got snuck up on by a cat while turkey hunting here in southern New Mexico some years ago.  It never made a sound.  Saw something move in my peripheral vision just a couple feet off my left shoulder.  Turned my body to look and it and shot out of there so fast behind me that all I saw was the general shape and a tawny blur.  It wasn't big enough to be a full grown mountain lion, and it looked too big to be a bobcat.  Same trip a half mile away my buddy saw a mountain lion.

[GobbleNut]

My advice is to just not hunt in a thunderstorm.  You are about a jillion times more likely to get killed by lightning than you are to get attacked by one of the big predators.   

[Spurs Up]

My advice is to just not hunt in a thunderstorm.  You are about a jillion times more likely to get killed by lightning than you are to get attacked by one of the big predators.   

I think that's known as the ole sheer size fallacy .  No matter, I try to manage risks for both.

[RutnNStrutn]

Rub sardine juice on your body before each hunt.   Works as a natural bear repellant. 

Thanks Ronnie!!! I knew I could count on you!!

Now who wouldn't be worried after reading posts from this bunch

No doubt!!

As far as MT goes, the biggest majority of turkeys are not in grizzly country. Just avoid high concentration areas around Yellowstone and Glacier and grizzly will be unlikely.  In addition, turkeys are unlikely in the highest concentration areas.  Research how to react to a grizzly encounter.

Good advice Hobbes! Thanks!!

.44mag ain't really enough for big browns. You really want a big rifle for those big ones. Bearbspray has a good record on brown bears anyway.

The reason I mentioned a .44 mag is because that's what I already have. Plus I don't have a double barrel, and .454 Casull's or .50 S&W are expensive, big and heavy. Probably go with the .44 with quality hard cast load and some bear spray.

I would just hunt with a buddy. And I would make sure that buddy was fat and slow off the starting block.

Perfect!!!

I would bet they won't tell you about BIGFOOT. Heard they like the best turkey hunting areas too

I ain't skeered of no Bigfoots!! I'm from Florida, and we have skunk apes down here!!

My advice is to just not hunt in a thunderstorm.  You are about a jillion times more likely to get killed by lightning than you are to get attacked by one of the big predators.   

Don't I know that!! Came close to getting sizzled many times hunting in FLA, and once in OK.

[fallhnt]

You're gonna need a bigger gun.

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[guesswho]

And a couple extra pairs of underwear

[deadbuck]

If I ever get a chance to be where grizzlies are thought to inhabit, I will be carrying a snub nose Ruger in 454 Casull double action in my right hand at all times. There will be no reaching for it, it will be point and fire. If he can get on me before I can point and pull well that is just going to be the way I go down.