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Recommendations for 12 gauge ammo for my Mossberg Maverick 88

Equally popular is those old, ancient 12 gauges loaded with slugs/ 00 buck. Most are short barrel pump actions or Shockwave types.

I've carried a lot of things over the years. But I've been using an 18" mossy 500 for a while now. Just me.

I've heard from others in Alaska that also feel very comfortable with pump shotguns.

I'm not going to tell you that it's the only choice out there. It is not. And 7.62x39 would also have no problem killing a bear.
 
Fortunately there are not a lot of things around here that are bigger than me and consider me food. That's why I stay out of the ocean(sharks) and anyplace there are bears!

That's all good, but suspect you must deal with a lot more two-legged preditiors than I worry about!

7.62x39 is excellent choice for those.

Regards
 
Quoting myself here, for clarification:

They are magnificent. I don't want to shoot or kill any bear. They rule the forest, just like a lion or a cheetah rules the savannah, and they deserve to be left alone if at all possible.

When I said "if at all possible", that does not include encroachment on populated areas be it neighborhoods, hiking trails, campgrounds. I believe that the killing of excessive numbers is good game management and I have no aversion to keeping their numbers within limits.Some people with guns just go out and kill tham just to be ruthless and to brag, not to be food providers or stewards of the land.
 
That is true. I know those kind of people too. But that's not the situation here.

Most people here are just tired of the stupidity and nothing being done about it, so after having sucked it up and dealt a bad hand for years, finally have had enough and just doing what they know they need to do. I can't fault them for that.

Most people are not keen about their garbage bins being turned over out in the street. Clean messes several times a day (and from it being different bears even). Have to fix their storage buildings because bears tore off part of the wall to get to something they wanted inside. Heck, I even have local news clippings of two different instances where bears tore through walls into peoples HOMES/KITCHENS because they wanted something inside.

I'm not just talking about a bear walking through the neighborhood. I'm talking legitimate destruction and problems. Pets attacked while on chains or in kennels. Horses mauled inside their barns. Being charged while in your own yard. The loss of all the other game animals on your property because they've either been ran off or eaten.

It's so bad that if you call in too many complaints about a bear in your garbage, I was told if he had to respond to another of my complaints that he was going to fine me for unintenionally feeding the bears (which is some really stupid law here) and I was the one who would have to go to court over it. True story.

Since the garbage only runs once a week here, now I'm forced to have to keep my trash stored in my basement stinking the place up. Why?

Because bears somehow have some magical ability to do whatever they want "because they were here first". Or, so they say even though they're wrong.

And stupid laws.

The people in my county are over it my friend. If you've not had to deal with it for decades, I really feel you wouldn't understand. And when I say "you", I mean people in general and am not referring to you specifically so please don't take what I said wrong. It wasn't meant that way. But I overhear conversations and hear gunshots all the time at all hours of the day and night. Even if the state didn't cause the problem by reintroducing the bears as they say, they sure have done a lot to exacerbate the problem by not allowing anything to be done to fix it and protecting them like you would a school bus of children. To the state, they're nothing more than a cash crop for tourism money just like how Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg and the Great Smokey Mountains is for Tennessee. Though more people being killed there seemingly every year or two from children to adults sadly.

The national forest service even shut down 3 campgrounds at Cumberland Gap national forest a few weeks ago because of bears. It's on their facebook page if anyone wants to read the announcement. But bears were tearing through tents and the campground and the rangers felt the people in those adjoining areas weren't safe. Yet, we've had to deal with this for years in our own yards.

Like I said, the people in this region are over it. If you find the post from the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park on their facebook from Oct. 6, read some of the comments if you want to see how the locals feels about it. I'm not blaming the national park service, but some of the comments show how many folks surrounding the park feel nonetheless.

If you make it to the bottom of the comments, you'll see this.
Most Relevant is selected, so some comments may have been filtered out.

yet, the most most pitiful response to protect the bears is the first thing you'll read.

Funny how propaganda works.
 
All a matter of balance. Good animal managrmrnt is akin to good forestry managrment.

If you allow underbrush and downed trees to build up over decades then you have catastrophic forest fires.

In the graphic I posted above look at the annual expansion of the grizzle range. This is happening all over the NW plus it's not just grizzles. The black bears are even further widespread.

Managed and Selective hunting will maintain a balance within reason.

Regards
 
I agree Ernst.

Many states (like Washington and even Pennsylvania and Virginia) have much better hunting seasons.

Florida is as much of a joke as Kentucky is in regards to bear hunting. And Florida too has a bad problem with black bear.

Unfortunately, here in KY, it's a quota hunt. They allow 6 bears to be harvested in the county per year (not season). Period. Which is a joke.

So, you see problems from bears thinking they own everything. No natural fear of humans.

And just general problems as you mentioned.

bear hunt.JPG
 
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