.50 Beowulf uppers

[Alaskapopo]

I've never shot a bear, (yet...), but I have several friends who have, and I would agree the hard version Brennecke's or a hot 45/70 are great choices. But 400 grains at 2000 fps is hotter than even the gold standard Randy Garrett load. His over SAAMI spec, +P Hammerhead is a 420 at 1850 and his regular Hammerhead is the same 420 at 1650, and that load has killed plenty of big bears.

As far as a .308 semi, that's not something I've ever heard recommended for big bears. Sure, big bears have been killed with them, along with much smaller rounds, but I can't see them choosing a .308 for that. Fish and Game in California has been issuing .308 semi's for a number of years, not for bears, but mainly because they have to contact folks with high powered hunting rifles, and I would think AK F&G would have the same scenarios.

No, if the Beowulf system is reliable, I'd choose a .50 caliber, heavy, hard bullet at 1800 fps, or even 1650 fps, over a .308 for big bears, any day.

I have shot 2 bears both in the line of duty both with Breneke Slugs. When I had a 45 70 Marlin the max load of 748 powder gave me 2000 fps with 400 grain Kodiak Bonded soft points. A bullet made in Alaska. That is over my chrono.While a .308 is not ideal for bears its a better choice than a weaker 10 shot AR15 in a caliber that is pretty much just a 20 gauge slug. A 308 is very close to the 30 06 which has harvested a lot of bear. Couple that in with a semi auto that can fire multiple rounds in a few seconds a .308 semi auto makes good sense and that is why the fish and game troopers up here are starting to use it. According to them.

A 400 grain bullet at 1800 sounds fairly good. From my reading in the past these calibers were never quite up to that. That is a reasonable improvement.
Pat

[Jake'sDad]

While a .308 is not ideal for bears its a better choice than a weaker 10 shot AR15 in a caliber that is pretty much just a 20 gauge slug. A 308 is very close to the 30 06 which has harvested a lot of bear. Couple that in with a semi auto that can fire multiple rounds in a few seconds a .308 semi auto makes good sense and that is why the fish and game troopers up here are starting to use it. According to them.

Well certainly if the choice were between a .308 over a .223 there would be no question, in the same way I'd choose a .380 over a .32 for defense..... but in both cases, there are better choices.

If the idea is to improve their chances against an unexpected bear encounter, while chasing people, I could see the point.

[Alaskapopo]

Well certainly if the choice were between a .308 over a .223 there would be no question, in the same way I'd choose a .380 over a .32 for defense..... but in both cases, there are better choices.

If the idea is to improve their chances against an unexpected bear encounter, while chasing people, I could see the point.

The .308's autos were chosen as bear guns. The round by itself is not the best bear gun but coupled with a firearm that can shoot multiple rounds a second its not that bad. The .223 was never chosen for bear. What they used for bear before were 870 loaded Breneke slugs. Most of them still use the shotguns. The AR10's are a new thing. How many bears have you killed?
Pat

[Jake'sDad]

The .308's autos were chosen as bear guns. The round by itself is not the best bear gun but coupled with a firearm that can shoot multiple rounds a second its not that bad. The .223 was never chosen for bear. What they used for bear before were 870 loaded Breneke slugs. Most of them still use the shotguns. The AR10's are a new thing. How many bears have you killed?
Pat

None. As I already posted. My "PoPo" time involved much smaller threats.

But since you have, I'll bow to your experience.

.308=Grizzly Bear round........

[Alaskapopo]

None. As I already posted. My "PoPo" time involved much smaller threats.

But since you have, I'll bow to your experience.

.308=Grizzly Bear round........

Not quite. A .308 by itself is not an ideal bear round but inside a semi auto .308 its not that bad. More ammo in a short amount of time. I would prefer the .338 Federal myself.
Was not trying to make you feel bad on the question about how many bear you have shot. Just wondered what your experience is with them. I have often debated which was better a .308 loaded with a good bullet in an auto vs a 12 gauge slug. Its a topic worthy of debate. The best in my opinion is a lever acton 45 70 with hot loads or a .375 bolt gun with good irons.
Pat

[gundam83]

Ammo is pricey yes, but hell, good .308 rounds is over a dollar a round as well. I'm willing to pay a little bit more and have a ton more fun.

[pilotguyo540]

Its is incredible how easy we lose focus

The .50 Beowulf is cool. A very nice gentlemen was kind enough to let me fire a round out of his. It shot nice, and was easy to handle. The round went almost exactly where I wanted it to go. I want one. Now that I roll my own it is not that unreasonable. This guy was sporting hollow points. That is one mean ass looking round! So what if the long range capability is lost. For a defensive gun, I think it would ward off any reasonable threat including grizzlies. Offensively it would leave a lot to be desired, but no gun is perfect for every scenario.

I was not reloading at the time so I didn't consider it more than a novelty. I wish I would have milked this guys brain.