+P pressure

[Lexus_Truck]

Originally Posted by dick1van

Hi Tom,

Thanks for you detailed help.

You had mentioned a "shoulder shot" earlier. Do you mean aim for the joint? Sounds hard to do.

Dick

While aiming for the joint would work, doing so under attack would likely be difficult. Aiming for center of mass, under the head and above the belly, is going to be the biggest target with the best chance at doing fatal damage or at least deterring the bear.

[circ_director]

Dick,
Here are a couple of things that might interest you about bear defense. The first link is to the Alaska Outdoor Directory forum. The second link shows some area's for shot placement. Hope this helps.

Tom

Best bear gun? - Alaska Outdoors Forums

Kenaimike

[circ_director]

Originally Posted by Lexus_Truck

While aiming for the joint would work, doing so under attack would likely be difficult. Aiming for center of mass, under the head and above the belly, is going to be the biggest target with the best chance at doing fatal damage or at least deterring the bear.

You are correct about center of mass, but when a bear charges you it generally keeps its head down. Head down is usually the sign of a preditory attack (hungry) head up is usually the sign of a bluff charge or a defense attack. In either case the shoulders are clearly visible along with the upper back bone.

Either will stop the charge however aiming at the shoulder near the neck gives you room for error. A miss up gets you the back bone. Also with a shoulder shot that misses the bone the bullet may penetrate enough (not hollow points) to hit the lungs or heart. A shoulder shot that hits bone tends to send bone fragments into the heart lung area. Center mass is a very hard target on a charging bear.

Tom