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I forgot to mention iron sights
Posted by Michael Strahan on Dec 05 2005
Hunter,
Told you there were opinions on this!
As I said, there's been a lot written about this already. My intent wasn't to rehash all of it again, but to just hit the high points. Mariner made a point about not seeing a bear in a rifle scope. In my earlier posts on this topic I've mentioned many times that I almost always carry my .375 with iron sights. The scope goes in the side pocket of my pack. This eliminates the problem he mentioned. I've also had the barrel cut back to 20 inches, which makes it pretty quick to deploy. I did this for guiding brown bear hunters on the off chance I might have to go into the alders to dig out a wounded critter. Knock on wood, I've only had to do that once, and I was thankful to have a powerful, short-barreled rifle in my hands. I wouldn't have wanted anything else at the time. I think I could get that weapon into action faster than most folks could a handgun, primarily because I carry it in my hands at all times. A consideration with some of the large-bore handguns is your ability to get a second well-aimed shot. Not gonna happen in most cases because of the recoil, but a rifle is another story. Of course it's all speculation until you end up under one, and we're in debt to Sourdough for his hands-on insights on this. Thank God he survived.
A lot of good horse-sense in this thread; some good take-aways for me are:
1. Hunt with a partner. At least there will be somebody to direct the search party. (thanks, Sourdough)
2. Hunt and fish in a "bear-smart" way, but don't let paranoia ruin your experience. I like that. (thanks, AlaskaCub)
3. Handguns probably have some use in some situations, but each situation is different. Do what makes you comfortable, but make sure you're proficient with whatever you choose. (thanks, PastorBob!)
Again, there are diverse opinions on this. I consider mine somewhat uneducated in that I haven't yet had to shoot a charging bear, and have never been attacked. So in that sense, my views are no more weighty than some others expressed here. But I have spent 20 years hunting and fishing in bear country across the state of Alaska, some of which was spent guiding hunters on brown / grizzly bear hunts. Almost all of the kills I've been involved with were pretty uneventful affairs (which I greatly prefer to the alternative).
Thanks again for the question, and good luck on your hunt.
Regards,
-Mike
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