If you want to get technical I would imagine that there might be small genetic differences, what I was really going for was that they are the same species. Just like a whitetail from northern canada is the same speceis as a whitetail from southern texas, even though one will routinely weigh up to 300lbs and another would be lucky to get up to 120lbs.

To say that brown and grizzly bears are genetically identical is not true. There are actually interesting genetic sub-groups among brown bear.

Not trying to break your balls...
dave

if any of you posters knew how large Pa black bears really are the comment"..a bear could be a 250# Pa blk or a 750 Brown bear..." Every year in Pa we kill BLACK BEARS over 600,700 and last year there were 3 over 800# killed.
When I guided fisherman west of the Cooke Inlet in AK I treated the bears with respect but I also carried a SXS short barreled 10 ga one barrel 000 buck the other a slug! Never in all those years did I need it and usually it sat near by in a boat or on a sling over my shoulder.
THE BEST WEAPON TO AVOID A BROWN BEAR WITH IS YOUR BRAIN!!!!!BB

Grape: I agree with you completely, and I've never even seen a Coastal bear alive up close. I have shot a Black Bear that had feet the size shown in the ADN article, and he was definitely not 750 lbs.

My nephew was elk hunting a couple of years ago in the Tetons, and the Wrangler got charged by a Grizzly; he emptied his .44 Mag into the bear while being chewed on. They hunted down the bear later, and no 44 bullets reached the vitals.

No matter what gun you carry for Bear protection you must have the right bullets. Also you must shoot for the brain, IMHO, that is the only shot that will save you from getting injured when an animal is charging you, it does not matter if it is a Bear or an Elephant. In the 44 I use Garrett's 310 gr. Hammerheads in a 4" 44 Mag. While body shots will kill a Bear, it might not kill him quick enough.
Your only choice is to keep your cool, let him get close and hit him in the brain.