I have an old Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. I am thinking of using it as my camp and back up rifle but second guessing that decision on the basis that it might not be enough thunder for an aggressive bear. I usually take a Defender 12 gauge for the camp rifle but dislike the fact that it has no other purpose.
Does anyone else use a 35 Rem for bear defence or have a view?
Black bear ok but grizzly bears not good. I personally use a 30-06. I used to use bigger guns but I shoot a 30-06 better than a big magnum and I have more rounds. 12 ga slugs are good in theory but the commonly found slugs don't perform well. If I could find Dixie slugs or similar I would prefer the 12 ga.
I certainly wouldn't hesitate to carry the 35rem for bear defense.
X2!!!!!
__________________ An awful lot of big game was killed with the .30-06 including the big bears before everyone became affluent enough to own a rifle for every species of game they might hunt.
I have to agree with using the gun that works best for you. both should do the job at close range but the one that you can get the second shot off with the fastest would be my choice. I was fortunate enough to be asked to take part in a training session with the Parks wardens a few years ago and they deal with a lot of bears. Their favored firearm for close work at the time was the 12 gauge with slugs. Back then ( and maybe still ) these guys had a lot of experience and belonged to one of the best government agencies going. I have never seen a better team attitude. This was before the issues with the handgun for their officers so I am not sure how that whole thing effected their moral. Bottom line "which of these two guns do you trust to save you and not malfunction when you need it most. "
I certainly wouldn't hesitate to carry the 35rem for bear defense.
X3
I have the same gun you're talking about and wouldn't hesitate using it to stop any bear.
A great big gun isn't going to be any better then a pellet gun if you can't keep cool under pressure and hit what you want to hit WHEN you want to hit it.
__________________ An awful lot of big game was killed with the .30-06 including the big bears before everyone became affluent enough to own a rifle for every species of game they might hunt.
I have an old Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. I am thinking of using it as my camp and back up rifle but second guessing that decision on the basis that it might not be enough thunder for an aggressive bear. I usually take a Defender 12 gauge for the camp rifle but dislike the fact that it has no other purpose.
Does anyone else use a 35 Rem for bear defence or have a view?
I used a 35 Remington for years against everything, it's a very good bear stopper.
I went to a 358 Winchester due to it being easier to find brass for, they both work fine against big fuzzy critters.
35 Remington Bear Defence
Hybrid Mode
