Just thinking. Not to be sadistic, but for the purpose of stopping power, seems like a load designed to do to a grizzly's skull what the high-powered varminters do to a prarie dog, well, it would be effective.
Like a soft-nosed 600gr .475" bullets going about 2200 fps. Would that do the trick, or is it just never going to happen?

I would say that around 600 grains and 3000+ f.p.s., you would start to see that sort of effect, at both ends of the rifle.

H. C.

Depending on the size of bear a couple hundred pounder you would see the eyes pop out ect at close range with any good center fire. The bigger the head the longer the range the tougher the bullet the less static shock you are going to get. Iam talking close range 10 feet or so.

A pound of 60% Geogel in a jam can, with the cap wires out through the bottom, works real well... ...saves on ammo too...

A .270Win/130SGK mv ~3100 fps at the base of the ear pops the eyes out of a 210 lbs black bear at 70 yds. The opposite side of the skull behind the eye socket was also fragmented. There was no exit but no bullet to recover.

I have been told, and believe it is possible depending on the angle, that the front and top of a bears skull will often deflect a high velocity spitzer bullet.

Not necessarily looking for descriptive accounts, as much as pondering the possibility.
As I understand it, a bullet into a grizzly's head doesn't do much (in the moment) unless it hits the brain.
So, finding the right bullet type/weight/speed, if possible, would give the guy on the other end a larger margin of error.
I'm not thinking sporting purposes, here.
More like trucking through bear country, maybe hunting elk.
So, if it can only be done with a cast 750 gr going 3000fps, then it's moot.
But maybe a 300 gr soft point at 2900?

If you can hit it in the head a .30-06 pushing 200 grain partitions will give you the results you are looking for.

The problem is hitting it in the head in the first place. If a bear, either black or grizzly, is going to be causing you a problem where you are in a "have-to-shoot" situation, it is not going to be sitting up looking at you like a prairie dog. It is going to be down on all fours coming at you at a speed that will amaze you. Remember in a short, less than 300 yard, distance any North American bear is faster than a saddle horse. Your heart will be pounding and your blood pressure will be through the roof. Your vision will start to cloud and you will sweat buckets. If that bear is within a hundred yards of you when it starts it's charge it will be on you faster than you just read this sentence. If the bear is actually stalking you however you may not even see it until it is trying to sink it's teeth into of the back of your neck.

No, if you are in a kill or be killed situation you had best be shooting for the centre of mass on that bear and you had better keep shooting until it is down. You will have better luck of dodging a charging bear at the last second that you will at hitting it in the head while it is at a full run.

Cariboo, I appreciate your input.
From the stories I hear, I have to think if a griz is stalking you for dinner, the best you can do is hope you kissed your wife that morning.
And I'm sure the speed of a charging brownie would both shock and amaze a fellow.
[Imagine, your last thought not being, "oh 5h!+!!" but rather, "my, that thing sure can gallop, contrary to it's otherwise apparently cumberso..." chomp!
Self-defense training is largely about dealing with that moment of sympathetic nevous reaction, and no weapon that fits in the hand can help you there, but from what I've heard, even solid hits to the head can prove ineffective. The bear still has all the time it needs to sink in and rip.

Now, I know grizzly attacks are very rare here in the contiguous, but I was just reading about "puffer-fish prairie dogs" and started me to think.

If you want to instantly incapacitate a griz or, for that matter, any large and/or potentially dangerous animal a spine shot is almost always the most effective.

If said animal has intentions of killing and/or eating you and is "charging" you, you might find that spine shot a bit tricky so center mass, hopefully near the heart, with a very large a fast moving projectile will likely be the best you can hope for!

$bob$

[ 06-28-2003, 13:21: Message edited by: LDHunter ]

I've seen lots of head shots on blacks, polar and griz, with both medium and big bores, .........all put a hole in the skull, no explosive effect! In all our bear encounter training, I tell them a brain shot is effective, a "head" shot may not be.
In a charge, generally aim for the "bobbing" nose area if you can stand still, ........a miss may still get the brain, spine, shoulder, or heart and give you time for a follow-up!

I knew a fellow who took twq Griz in a matter of seconds with "Woven Buck" in a 12 guage. He hadn't intended to but didn't feel like he had a choice at that moment. derf

Why not a woodleigh 1000 grainer (made for 2000 fps) at 3200 FPS from a .700 BMG IMPROVED. Would that explode a bear?

The answer is simple, but risky. Just wait until the last possible moment and when he goes to take that first bite, quickly feed him 300 grns of hollow point as opposed to your apendiges.

Head shot on a CHARGING BEAR???

Yea, you better wait until you can stick your rifle muzzle into his mouth! A charging bear's head is a small hard to hit target (especially if you are a little "excited" that is to say "crapping your undies"). If I'm charged I'm hoping to be armed with something that has some "wollop" <sp>, because I'm going to shoot "center mass" until he stops, turns or drops dead. There's alot to be said for hunting deer with a .338/.375/.416 in bear country. I'd rather be armed with too much rifle for deer than not enough for bear. And believe you me, the last 2 rounds in my magazine would be hot and heavy soft point handloads! I probably would not even feel the recoil in that type of situation (Stopping a charging bear)!