With all honesty, I can’t say the same thing about revolvers."įor many years, Steve has carried an old pump-action with a barrel cut down to 20 inches and threaded to accept a thin wall choke. "I’ve got decades of real-world experience. "Besides the massive amount of knockdown power you get from a 12-gauge slug, I prefer shotguns for the simple reason that I’m really fast and good with them," he said. But whenever he’s in an area with a serious and credible grizzly threat, he likes his 12-gauge shotgun loaded with slugs. Whether you carry one or the other or both, you should carry something to fend off an attack when you’re in bear country.įor general backpacking in grizzly country, MeatEater Founder Steven Rinella has carried both bear spray and a. gun debate here, but it’s important to remember that both have been used effectively to prevent and end bear attacks. “Bear spray is much lighter than any firearm, and I know I'll be able to hit a bear with it,” he said. It’s hard for him to justify a handgun’s weight, especially if he already has a hunting rifle. When he’s out in the woods, his pack doesn’t contain anything that can only be used for one specific scenario that may or may not happen. In fact, Callaghan said he prefers bear spray, especially on long backcountry hunts. If you do find yourself in the middle of a “negative encounter,” bear spray is another effective self-defense tool. “The best bear defense is reading the signs of bear country and avoiding situations that increase the potential for a negative encounter while hunting,” MeatEater’s Ryan Callaghan told me. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say, so your first strategy should be to avoid running into a bear in the first place. A firearm isn’t your only means of protection in grizz country.
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