bear hunting and back up firearm

[paulvallandigham]

Some carried on half cock, others carried with the hammers down, and their hands behind the hammer spurs, to prevent the hammers from being lifted by brushing against a branch or rock.

I carry with the hammer down, until I have some indication that game is near. Then I move them back to half cock. I wait to cock the hammer until I see the game. That may sound slow, but its not. After doing it this way many times, You don't have any trouble cocking both hammers in turn as you require a(nother) target. :thumbsup:

 

[Zoar]

Yes, Indeed. I share your view that a double barrel 10-14 gauge (hence 12 gauge being perfect) is a sensible weapon. It is a great camp gun or ideal for dangerous game country. Better than a double rifle in my opinion for low light or stopping a charge. You have options of round ball OR shot.

I'm a huge fan of the double 12 side by side. I own several moderns and am looking for a Flintlock double. Or I may build one.

I generally have a round ball in one barrel and shot in the other. When I found Mountain Lion tracks on my land I never went out without my 12 gauge double. By day I had one slugs in the right and 12 .33 caliber shot in the left. By evening I had both barrels loaded with 12 .33 caliber shot in each. I would rather have a spray of .33 caliber shot going out there than a single round ball/slug. Indeed, it seems the 12 gauge double makes more sense than a double rifle and I own one of those too in 50 bore. (both barrels).

A double barrel twelve gauge flintlock would make for a mighty bear gun.

 

[bowkill]

I have a double rifle that is 58 cal. wonder if it can be converted to shotgun?

 

[rabjr]

I plan on shooting a bear if I get the chance this season with my muzzleloader. since this will be my first bear hunt should I carry a pistol as a back up? also, after the shot, how long should I wait before tracking, and should I be making noise or be stealthy about it? don't want to surprise a wounded bear.thanks :wink:

First of all make sure the shot is good. Double lunged bear with a bow lives about 40 seconds, give or take a few seconds. A rifle is much the same. A lot of people like to use a gun big enough to bust through one shoulder and both lungs.

If your on a Guided hunt Guides usually tell you to stay put and wait for them before leaving the tree. If your on own, you know it was a good shot, you may have heard the death moan, I would still wait at least 30 minutes before getting down and checking.

By that time my gun would be reloaded and I think you need to check on your county as to what and when you can carry any type of pistol, N.Y laws are so ****** up when it comes to pistols. Each County is different.

 

[texcl]

A properly shot bear won't go as far as a whitetail, mainly because a deer can run faster,but a bears vital area is more armored and the most vulnerable part is relatively small add that to all the fur and it makes proper shot placement tougher for the novice, all of the wounded bears I've seen were due to poor shot placement, I've also seen alot of guys take them with pistols and small calibers such as .243 with zero problems, but they hit them right.

 

[Zoar]

Man, I would not want to mess with a 58 caliber (24 gauge) double rifle and convert that to a shottie unless you have TWO of them and don't need the second one! :grin:

Double rifles are expensive!

If you want a double muzzleloader shotgun I would go out and buy one! maybe you could sell your double rifle and buy a double barrel muzzleloader shotgun and put $ back in the bank!

For shotguns I like 12 gauge; 24 gauge is too small for my applications.

 

[bowkill]

I am parcial to flintlocks, i have it listed in the for sale section but could not figure how to load pictures. 650.00 for the gun and 7 boxes of bullets.