Elk bullet in Grizzly country

[AssawomanGunsmith]

I'm currently working up the load I'll be hunting with this fall in Wyoming for bull elk. I am trying some loads with 180gr Barnes TTSX, as I've had great luck in the past with other rifles(this year I'll be shooting a Benelli Lupo chambered in 300 Win Mag), and the thought of having to use the rifle to defend myself- a tough bullet is what I want, so it's a win-win.

I'm just curious as to those of you lucky enough to reside in the West: do you give much thought to grizzly when deciding on a bullet for elk? Am I just overthinking things, like my mind tends to work, because I have to think about ballistics daily? Obviously, if I do not get acceptable accuracy, I will choose a different load.

What bullet do you use?

 

[Straight Arrow]

I'm currently working up the load I'll be hunting with this fall in Wyoming for bull elk. I am trying some loads with 180gr Barnes TTSX, as I've had great luck in the past with other rifles(this year I'll be shooting a Benelli Lupo chambered in 300 Win Mag), and the thought of having to use the rifle to defend myself- a tough bullet is what I want, so it's a win-win.

I'm just curious as to those of you lucky enough to reside in the West: do you give much thought to grizzly when deciding on a bullet for elk? Am I just overthinking things, like my mind tends to work, because I have to think about ballistics daily? Obviously, if I do not get acceptable accuracy, I will choose a different load.

What bullet do you use?

It is considerably easier to have a hunting partner(s) with bear spray at-the-ready.
BTW, as dramatic, exciting, and potentially tragic as a grizzly encounter may seem ... it's not likely in reality ... unless you are careless.

If your plan is to shoot a griz, then pack the largest caliber possible ... and if killing a griz, be prepared for your life to be turned upside down for awhile by the feds.

 

[AssawomanGunsmith]

It is considerably easier to have a hunting partner(s) with bear spray at-the-ready.
BTW, as dramatic, exciting, and potentially tragic as a grizzly encounter may seem ... it's not likely in reality ... unless you are careless.

If your plan is to shoot a griz, then pack the largest caliber possible ... and if killing a griz, be prepared for your life to be turned upside down for awhile by the feds.

I left out that the people I'm hunting with and I will have bear spray, and I understand that an encounter is highly unlikely. I was a Police Officer before a Gunsmith. I had OC spray and a taser as well as a pistol; I didn't want to use either but carried all. I view the bear spray, pistol, and rifle in the same way; I don't want to use either in that way.
I guess my question was more about whether, when deciding what bullet to use, people considered potentially having to use the rifle against a bear, or if it's not considered by others. I'm also somewhat curious what everyone uses.

 

[MTTW]

In my opinion any good elk bullet from a .300 win. will suffice. I sometimes hunt elk with a muzzleloader and have never considered changing bullets in case of bears. I have spent some time thinking about the lack of a follow up shot however.
This is north of Yellowstone so there are plenty of bears. I would be more confident with any elk rifle with any bullet than I would be with any pistol, bear spray and a buddy.

 

[elkhuntinfool78]

I've never picked a bullet due to hunting in grizzly country and have lived in montana my whole life. FWIW I have hunted solo for the last 15+ years. I do carry pepper spray or a sidearm

 

[Salmonchaser]

Yes. I but I like bonded bullets,or the Barnes, just in case things go a little wrong. I avoid bullets that come with the recommendation to stay off the shoulder. For things that can stomp or eat me; Swift A frame; Barnes tsx; Nosler Accubond or Partition.
Have a great hunt! 20 years guiding in Alaska, you wouldn’t catch me in Grizzly country without pepper spray.

 

[wytex]

Are you going to be hunting in actual grizz country?
I'd get my elk rifle dialed in for elk and have a large caliber pistol for the bears to go with bear spray.

 

[AssawomanGunsmith]

Are you going to be hunting in actual grizz country?
I'd get my elk rifle dialed in for elk and have a large caliber pistol for the bears to go with bear spray.

yes. unit that borders yellowstone

 

[Bighorner]

I really like ttsx out of my 7 RM because they seem to do really well on elk. When it comes to bear defense, I was sold on spray after getting to use some intert spray at a Living With Bears talk put on my the WYGF. It is way more forgiving than a pistol. I get wind is always a factor.

A number of years ago I listened to a talk where a hunter killed his partner near the Idaho boarder during a bear attack. He shot the bear and the bullet left the bear and hit his partner. That has really stuck with me. I don't want to be put in a position where my only option is to shoot towards my friend.

 

[Bighorner]

Are you going to be hunting in actual grizz country?
I'd get my elk rifle dialed in for elk and have a large caliber pistol for the bears to go with bear spray.

If I have a rifle, I don't take a pistol. If I don't have a rifle I take my pistol. Rarely do i double up.

 

[DIY HUNTER]

i just hunt with what ever caliber/ bullet that shoots and performs well on elk/ deer. Being smart in bear country goes a long way!! I never carry a pistol and spray and a rifle. Figure my rifle is enough… if I am packing meat, scouting, or hiking with my wife then i have a chest carry pistol or sometimes just spray.

 

[Jnasa]

I don't choose my elk bullet based on if I may have to defend against a possible grizzly. However, I always choose a strong bullet. Something bonded or mono design.

I still like packing bear spray or a pistol depending on circumstances. I do not carry both on me. Cumbersome then what do you reach for first. Have whichever you are most confident in.

As others have stated unlikely scenario but better be prepared and not need it than being unprepared.

 

[Ben Long]

I think you're overthinking it. I shoot 165 Barnes copper bullets in a 308 and they go plumb through an elk, so I would feel comfortable shooting a grizzly with it, if I had to. But you probably won't have to. And if I were in a close-range scrap, I would want pepper spray over a rifle or even a pistol. I'm no professional shootist, but man I can hit stuff with a spray of pepper. I have a lot more faith in spray than I do my ability to hit a bear's brain with a pistol or even find it in a rifle scope if things are up-close and persoonal.

 

[brockel]

If the idea was to stop a charging bear with your rifle “good luck by the way” my bullet would be one that does the most tissue damage. Not one that drills a hole through them.

 

[ccc23454]

yes. unit that borders yellowstone

Listen to your outfitter and don't overthink bears, it can ruin trip. Take precautions, abide by storage rules, stay alert but have fun. If your in backcountry camp for a week someone in your group will have a run in likely but it will be 1 of 2 things. Bear in camp (most likely) that your outfitter will handle or a minor run in that bear runs off when confronted. Guessing 99+% of bear issues end with bear harmlessly running away and you putting on fresh underwear.

 

[LopeHunter]

I hunted solo north of Yellowstone. I felt good about my chances each day with my rifle and a can of bear spray at the ready on my chest.

In my lightweight tent at night I would have preferred a handgun. A rifle is a bit unwieldy in close quarters and bear spray inside a tent would be problematic.

My concerns elevated after seeing steaming grizzly crap in my headlamp one morning about 50 yards from my tent. Was a windy morning that day after the sun rose so I was rotating my neck frequently that morning to look behind me while sat glassing.

 

[buffybr]

I've lived, worked, and hunted in Montana grizzly country since 1975. I've only encountered 2 grizzlies while working in the woods and 1 while hunting.

When I moved to Montana in '75 my only hunting rifle was a .30-06. I shot Sierra 180 gr GameKing bullets in it for elk, and 150 gr Hornady Spire Points for deer. In the '70s we could buy OTC grizzly tags, which I did every year, but I only seriously went on a hunt for a grizzly once, but didn't see any bears.

In 1977 I had my .30-06 rechambered to .30 Gibbs for my elk rifle and I used 180 gr Nosler Partitions in it. At that same time I built a .257Ackley for my deer and antelope rifle, and in 1979 I carried it on a DIY solo backpack Unlimited bighorn sheep hunt in the Absaroka Wilderness just north of Yellowstone NP. I didn't see any sheep on that trip, but I killed my 2nd best 6x6 bull elk there with it and a 117 gr Sierra GameKing bullet.

In 2009 I built a .300 Weatherby Vanguard for my elk rifle and used it with 168 gr Barnes TSX and TTSX bullets. My hunting load for it now is with 180 gr TTSX bullets.

In 2021 I used my .375 RUM with 281 gr Hammer bullets for my Alaskan Brown bear.

On most of those hunts I also carried one of my Ruger SBH or S&W model 629 .44 magnum pistols.

 

[buffybr]

. . . Guessing 99+% of bear issues end with bear harmlessly running away and you putting on fresh underwear.

In 50+ years of hunting in Montana (20+ of those years with my horses in the wilderness backcountry) I only encountered 1 grizzly bear. Three of us were camped at the end of a Forest Service road near West Yellowstone. We had the quarters of a bull moose and 2 bull elk hanging in the stockrack in the back of my pickup.

Before going to bed one night I went out of our tent to check my horses and to water a bush. A grizzly bear woofed and clicked his teeth at me from less than 10 yards from me on top of the road cutbank.

I had my Ruger SBH on my hip and I took it out and fired one shot over his head. No reaction. So I fired another shot into the trunk of the pine tree next to him. Again no reaction, so I holstered my pistol, picked up a golf ball size rock and threw and hit him. He then ran off into the forest.

There was another camp about 1/4 mile from us that also had an elk hanging in a tree. About 5 minutes after the bear left our camp, we heard a bunch of quick (pistol?) shots from the direction of that camp, and another 20 minutes later we saw their headlights as they had broke camp and left.

There was some snow on the ground, and the next morning (I didn't need to put on fresh underware) I saddled one of my horses and followed the bear's tracks. He had gone directly from our camp to that other one, then when he left their camp there were occasional spots of blood in his tracks.

I followed his tracks to the upper end of the clearcut the other camp was camping in, the blood spots quit, and he went back in the direction of our camp.

We broke camp that day, and we reported the incident to FWP. The bear was wearing a radio collar and had a number 290 ear tag. He had been a problem bear near Cooke City, was trapped and released near where we had been camped.

The Grizzly Bear study team tracked him to a nearby mountain where he denned for the winter, and the next spring they found his collar but not him.

 

[nrpate05]

I wouldn't worry about a specific load for grizzly. I hunt elk in NW Wyoming with a .25-06 or 6.5PRC with a Barnes bullet. I like lead free and they shoot well in my rifles. Bear spray on my bino holster and head on a swivel! Had an encounter with a grizz last year and it makes you feel small.

 

[MTLabrador]

Any rifle/bullet combination that will kill an elk will also kill a grizzly just fine. I do carry a pistol in addition to my rifle a lot more than I used to. I would always prefer to use my rifle, but it’s not always practical to have it in your hand, especially if you’re quartering or packing out an elk. I like to hunt where there are a lot of grizzlies, and you’re a lot more likely to run into one now than you were 20 years ago.

Most likely combo for me this fall in grizzly country will be a .308 with Amax or Nosler ballistic tips and a 9mm Glock.