Animals large enough to want big calibers tend to be grumpy, and likely to come after you if injured. Besides that, everything the colonel said is complete and to the point: the thing has to feed, it has to shoot well enough to hit a vital, and the thing has to extract and eject reliably. The idea is that if you spent a lot of $'s to face death in the form of a grumpy animal, hopefully you spent enough care to make sure your firearm would not fail you.

Dan

I agree with the Colonel. I just like guys that walk the walk. Cooper has been on how many dangerous game safaris?

Exactly!

O’Man’does this remind me of a true story caught on video in Alaska. A Brown Bear Hunter near Katalla Alaska was stalking a Brown Bear. Unknown to him there was a Green Peace Activist sneaking in between the two of them. Just before the hunter fired, the Activist jumped out and started yelling and waving his arms. The Bear charged and the Hunter dropped the Bear within 12 feet of the Activist. Darn, I would have said my gun jammed and would have been on FOX News telling how the activist became a brownie dinner and making a killing!

A reliable firearm is a must, and a good helping of calm nerves when it comes to taking the shot helps, too!
As an old hunting friend of the family told me when I was a kid,"the gun ain't a gonna shoot itself!"

I know the different feed and extraction of a cartridge in the Mauser type guns and the Rem. 700 . double feed and missed extraction can get you killed while hunting dangerous game. i've never had a miss feed with the Rem. but never hunted dangerous game. A lot of the proble with hunting dangerous critters is due to operator fault. something like buck fever but more dangerous. Know one man had buck fever so bad, he ejected all the rounds from a 30-30 Win. never firing the first shot.

Throughout most of North America the most dangerous game we are likely to encounter is a wounded black bear. With expanding populations of these animals in exurban, suburban and even urban areas the likelyhood of coming across a bear which has been injured by a car or wounded by another hunter has increased. So even the 12 gauge and .30-06 in your gun-safe need to be maintained for uttmost reliability.

Our skills need to be kept up to par as well. Practice often, as Col. Cooper drilled in; practice with full power loads.

Whether hunting dangerous game in Africa or having a chance encounter here at home the other key is being mentally prepared to act appropriately when faced with a life-threatening situation. This is far more important than what caliber you shoot. Stay alert and mentally rehearse responses to likely threats.

Silver Arrow, I don't think a 12ga. with #7 1/2 shot would be of much help if you came across a wounded Bear. It is illegal to have Buck shot or slug while hunting upland game... What would you do in this situation?

Gary Smith
In some states you are right, here in New Hampshire I can legally carry a couple of slugs in my pocket anytime (coyotes are legal game 365 days a year here). At 'point blank' range that load of 7 1/2 s is still going to give that bear a pause enough to allow me to work the slug into the chamber of either of my pumps. I can also (and often do) carry a sidearm as well -- mine is a M 29 with which I can put six rounds into an 8" pie plate at 25 yards consistently and usually the full cylinder into that same size target at twice the range.
I must say that even if I still lived in New Jersey I would tuck a couple of slugs or buckshot loads in my pocket these days. Mindset.

Somebody said:"Anything is accurate at handshaking distance."
Problems with firearm reliability often show up with regular usage. Regular usage meant to maintain comfortable familiarity.
Here in the Cdn mtns, gunshots only mean gutpiles. Bearspray is hotsauce. My bearspray when fishing is a coachgun with SSG. The dogs watch my 6. Most dangerous, unwounded? Bison, but a Grizzly sow with cubs or a buried kill is nothing to mess with, wounded or not.

Is great to hear other seasoned hunters get excited at game. I too suppose that when we don;t, its time to stop hunting.I will never forget my first Deer hunt with a borrowed dble bbl 12 ga, I can at my age now recall it as if yesterday and that was 50 odd years ago. I get excited when I see game period, even if have a tag for that animal or not. But do believe, that a Bull Elk gets to me in a instant. Recall my first Elk Hunt as well, what a rush that was. I now look at him on my Den wall daily and thank the good lord for allowing me the opportunity to have been so successful. Most hunters today do not pratice enough to shoot tin cans. Prior to hunting season (about 3 months before) I begin to pratice and continue almost daily till season arrives. I know where my firearm will hit if I do my part. With these light wt firearms of today (mine wt around 9-10 lbs) I don;t see how they can shoot period. Many of the firearms I hunt with, all shoot different ammo, no 2 pattern alike with same Ammo. I suppose I spoiled them to quality ammo when I first bought.Also, I pratice and zero my hunting firearms for 200 yds , dead on. I don;t buy this l or 2" high at 100 yds to be dead on at 200. I want to know where that bullet gonna hit at 200 yds. I killd a Elk with a neck shot when he was surrounded by 30 or so cows, but his head was way above the cows and I knew where my bullet was gonna go. I had a solid rest and took my time to place the cross-wires on his neck, just below his ear. He fell in his tracts. Thats what I like, as unable to tract wounded game. Good hunting. The old GunslingerPS; A handgun is always in my shoulder harness what-ever I hunt or where.Smetimes its a short bbl shotgun, other times its a 45 or 44 mag, all depends where and what I;m hunting. Plus, I love and pratice the Buddy system. (We always have 2 way radios)Never to far away from my partner, be it my wife or etc.

My large game hunting is with a Rem 700 in 30-06, and for small w-tails or Lopes, its a Rem 700 in 25-06. However, I have a friend who hunts deer with a 22 mag, scoped. He shoots between the eye and ear at close range. He is successful as his freezers are all full when season is over. My trips west cost too much not to be a great shooter. All i ask for is a reasonable shot at a range I can handle and hit the vitals of the animal hunting. Last year, 2 shots 2 kills at in excess of 325 yds per the rangefinder. Too many Sunday hunters today, buy a scoped (bore sighted) combo rifle and a box of ammo and head to the woods. You know where the first shot is going, at least 8-12 " off target. If you want to make a guide, outfitter pissed of, tell him you just bought the gun and it's bore sighted dead on at 100 yds. Chances he will leave your Butt in camp, or make you pratice with the influence of the camp cook. you may get lucky and get a 25 yd shot and kill a animal buy pure chance. Pratice as much as possible and make a killing shot. If you care for the animal, make his death as easy on him as possible. Shoot that gun untill you know where the bullet will go even with your eyes closed. Sure pratice ammo cost, but not nearly as much as a trip west, then miss your only chance for a animal you saved thousands to make this dream hunt. I just hope I live to go west once more for Mulies and Elk. The Old gunslinger from the south land.

Use enough gun to kill the game you hunting. No reason to use a smalle caliber than needed just to prove a point. All I want to prove is I did my homework and a animal presented himself for a vital one shot kill. Never thought you could use too much gun hunting large animals. A dead animal is just that DEAD and he never knew what caliber you used. I hate to cripple a animal and he suffes till tracted down and finished off. Make it quick and easy on the animal. Then you can brag about your one shot kills to your un-happy companions who failed to see, or even worse, missed their shot.I always take 2 firearms with me wherever I hunt. One of two different calibers. Depending on what I hunt and kill first depends on 2nd gun I take out. But if hunting 2 different animals at same time, I take the larger caliber as never know which animal may cross your scope wires. Pratice, and then pratice again. Once that gun shoots as you like, leave it be, do not clean the bbl till season is over. If and when I go west, my rifles are never cleaned from time I start praticing here till I return and the season here ends.With good AMmo, no residue builds up and once you get over the fouling shots, your gun is set for your range that you prefer. Me, its 200 yds.I always put a piece of elec. tape over muzzle to keep junk from falling down bbl.It will not interfer with your shot. Gunslinger PS; I do wipe and oil my outside of teh guns, especially if encounter rain-snow, and I want to remove the finger prints from the metal to prevent the salt in your body from rusting the metal. Firearms are tools of my trade on a hunt, and we should treat them such.