I too want to know where this "12 gauge Bear Stopper" myth came from. Where are the hordes of "Alaskans" who are always referred to who have stopped bear at chaw-spitting distance with a shotgun?

I have never hunted big bear but I have shot several {8} blackies of the local ilk, having also been in on the running of many with hounds {having them outrun many hounds also, their endurance is phenomenal}. After my experiences watching them take bullets and cover ground, I am duly impressed.

Only one of my bear went truly sour, but it very, I having shot it 6 times with a .44 mag revolver. All shots would have been lethal by themselves in time. These bullets demonstrated zero stopping effect {no CNS hit}. Three of those shots were fired with the muzzle stuck into the hair of the critter's chest. Vitals were mush but that bear still fought the dogs and me for maybe 2 minutes {I never stopped to take a close look at my watch}. My 13-year-old son put the last round in it, jumping over my shoulder and stuffing the thing with his 7x57R. Others were nearby and we all stood heaving and shaking after the affair was done. A big bear would have bit me in half.

Another sow I shot fell out of the tree after taking a 402 grain bullet from my .45-70 through the chest from below, the bullet exiting between her shoulders above. She hit the ground after a 25 or so foot fall and got up, shook a bit and looked for a dog to eat. I shot her again twice.

All my other bear were killed in a straightforward way without much drama so I am metaphysically certain bear can be KILLED with light calibers. I killed them with .30-30, .303, 7.62x54R, 9.3x57 and the .45-70. I am not going to say it takes a heavy rifle to kill bear, even big bear.

In addition, I have also shot many slugs into various test media. Penetration is generally poor and recovered Foster slugs typically look like donuts complete with center hole and even the mighty Brenneke and Aquila slugs perform in no way comparably to a heavy rifle. WOLFE publishing printed an interesting report put together by the Forest Service IIRC comparing various rifles and the shotgun for bear stopping some years ago. If anybody cares enough I'd be happy to dig around and find it and cite the Volume.

I interviewed the great Harold Johnson {creator of the .450 AK} shortly before his death and he told me many stories that only serve to convince me.

After my own experiences with live bear and ballistic media, I believe a guy would be making a very, very serious mistake to choose a shotgun over a heavy rifle if a fight with a big bear was even a remote possibility.