Originally Posted by 54cal

1-There are two class of hunters. Ones that really know what they are doing and are cool under fire and know how and where to places shoot and those that let emotions rules them and throw wild shot and hope that big cannons will save their arse. Further they will compare a poorly place shot with a 44 mag pistol to that of a 44 mag rifle even though a rifle can double or more its effective hitting power.

2-A shoot through the ears of a bear is a bad choice because it will miss the brain and likely tick bear off more. Had this shot be properly placed it would have went down like it had been hit by lighting. The fault was not the 44 but the person shooting it. Had the shot been placed a bit lower and a bit more forward (toward muzzle) the game would have been over. Bears are not Sherman tanks and they can be killed with lessor calibers IF you place your shots well.

3-Eskimos have been killing polar bears for many years with 30-30's and they can dwarf a grizz. Hunters that shoot wildly and blame guns have no business hunting and give hunters and guns bad names. IF you place your shoot CORRECTLY you will have your bear reliably, even with a 30-30 or a 44 mag rifle.

4-Bigger guns are to make of for lack of hunting skill and shot placement. Also I like the way the poster morphs from North American hunting to African hunting in a attempt to save face. Again a 44 mag rilfe is not the perfect road for a big bear but with proper loads and a cool head/hand on trigger it is fully capable of doing the job. The quality and skill of the hunter is the determining factor here not ego.

5-BTW, if I was fishing in big bear country I would carry bear pepper spray as first line of defense as it does work and does not kill the bear too which has as much right to that stream as you do (actually even more) and should not be killed because you crossed it path unwisely.

6-The real dangerous mammal in the woods is not the big bear but rather the man, the one with the brain and that does not use it wisely as seen in above posts.