It would be no last episode, what if I used a 3" brenneke slug? Or my special 3 1/2" 0000 buck load? Hell I could use an armor piercing shotgun slug (thy do make them) that can cut through a quarter inch of steel!!

From Squirrel to Elephant, the Shotgun is your gun.

With the right slug, you would win! No doubt about it. Never was an argument on that one.

<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> If You Ain't Hunted Alaska, You're Still Just Practicing <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

But these 3.5&quot; buckshot loads are more powerful than slugs.

From Squirrel to Elephant, the Shotgun is your gun.

One word...PENETRATION!

It's like a vacuum cleaner. Everybody brags about suction, but it is not suction that cleans, it's air flow...a whole different animal.

Same with killing charging bears, it's not power that kills, but rather penetrations, and bone breaking capabilities.

And wet phone books don't count.

<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> If You Ain't Hunted Alaska, You're Still Just Practicing <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

Wouldn't more power break bones better than less power, generally?

From Squirrel to Elephant, the Shotgun is your gun.

No NO NO NO NO! (did I mention &quot;NO&quot;?)

Too many other factors must be taken into account. Primary among them is the shape and composition of the material being used.

Tight though a buck shot pattern may be, it is still not a solid object, and will deform (as a whole), before exacting the required damage. This is precisely why buck shot is not used in self defense against bears.

And this is precisely why a hardened slug is.

If you're able, try this experiment at home. Take a five gallon metal bucket, and fill it to the rim with sand. Now fire your buck shot into the side of the bucket from 10 yards away.

Now do the same thing with an arrow, sporting a very sharp, two edged broad head.

This little experiment will show you the difference between surface damage, and penetration.

While your at it, fire one of my &quot;bear loads&quot; for the .44 mag into the same bucket. Then tell me which penetrated more, the buck shot, or the .44

In short, more power does not equate to more penetration or more bone breaking ability. More power combined with the right projectile does.

Oh, and before any of you say it…I already know that no one has ever been attacked by a mad bucket of sand (unless it had a mad person behind it)

<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> If You Ain't Hunted Alaska, You're Still Just Practicing <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

Well go to the shotgun forum at thefiringline.com and try telling the guys there that a round of birdshot is NOT like a slug the first 10 yards. Also at space shuttle speeds, even dust can go right through titanium!!

From Squirrel to Elephant, the Shotgun is your gun.

Who glues those little tiles like the space shuttle uses to that buckshot so it doesn't burn up in the atmosphere at those speeds?

Blain,

Give me the name of the outfitter / guide that will allow you to hunt a Grizz with buckshot.

How much do you think the hunt will cost?

What did you get for your 20th birthday?

Why, Skyhigh, you planning on treating me to a grizz hunt?

From Squirrel to Elephant, the Shotgun is your gun.