# .308 or 12 gauge



## mil_spec_hunter (Nov 3, 2009)

I'm trying to decide what firearm to take on my bear hunt. My options are a DPMS LR308 with a 3-9 Trijicon Accupoint scope or a Mossberg smoothbore 12 gauge with open sights. The Trijicon has a lighted reticle for low light shots but the 12 gauge has more stopping power. With the LR308 I could get follow up shots off faster. I just keep going back and forth on the two.


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## sourdough44 (Mar 2, 2008)

Since your talking smoothbore with open sights I'd lean strongly to the 308. I'd also really think about that 1st well placed shot & not give the 2nd follow up shot much concern. Yes you may have/need a 2nd shot but that 1st one is where it's at.


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## swampbuck (Dec 23, 2004)

I am a .308 fan and it is plenty of gun, However I used a 12 gauge last year because of thick brush/short range only........And it worked extremely well.

I have been looking at that DPMS LR.308...... How do you like it?


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## Spanky3 (Dec 22, 2004)

I have talked to a few fellows that thought they needed a large high powered scoped rifle , and had missed their bear . Reason??? All said all they could see when they shot was "black" . Could'nt find proper spot to shoot at . Most of the bears shot are 25yards or less . Open sighted shotgun with slugs are hard to beat . Practice before you hunt and you will have no problem .


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## skullman (Dec 9, 2008)

Depending on the hunt you are going on, is it tree stand hunt or stock and shoot. Most outfitters have stands and therefore your 12 gauge is fine. Use a slug.

Denis


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## Musket (May 11, 2009)

Both weapons will do the job just fine. The 3 things you need to ask yourself are which one are you the most comfortable, accurate and fastest with. That should give you your answer. If you chose the .308 I would drop the scope. All of the bear that I have taken were with the 12 gauge, very good at close range stopping power. While remote, when things go wrong and sometimes they do they go wrong fast.


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## Percha Man (Mar 16, 2003)

Both guns have more than enough stopping power the question falls to which one do you want to use ? I agree that for the spot and stalk the .308 would be better and for the stand close range the 12 ga would be my choice. Good luck either way.


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## hunterjb6 (Jul 7, 2009)

If it's any consolation, I will be sitting with my Ruger 270 with a 150gr bullet, with about a 40 to 60 yard shot. I am comfortable with my rifle as I can put a hole in a 50 cent piece at 100 yards. (Not bragging) just saying I love it because she is very accurate. I will go with everyone else that the first shot and the placement is what's going to count. I will also though as others have already. Your 12 ga would do just fine with a 20 yard shot with iron sights and it will put a nice big hole um!! Good luck to you this season.


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## mil_spec_hunter (Nov 3, 2009)

swampbuck said:


> I am a .308 fan and it is plenty of gun, However I used a 12 gauge last year because of thick brush/short range only........And it worked extremely well.
> 
> I have been looking at that DPMS LR.308...... How do you like it?


I love it. I deer hunt with it, it's fun at the range and it is really accurate. There are two things that I don't like though. First, it is really heavy. Second, after about 60-100 rounds it starts to get finicky. If you pull the bolt and wipe it down though, your good to go. I really would suggest that anyone looking for optics take a look at the Trijicon scopes. I won't ever buy anything else.


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## mil_spec_hunter (Nov 3, 2009)

Thanks to everyone for the quick replies. I will be hunting from a treestand but I'm not sure how long of a shot I will be able to take. I believe that I will take the .308. I've been looking at ammo and I think if I go with a premium 180 grain bullet that gets good expansion and will stay together if it hits bone I should be fine. Dropping the scope isn't an option as I have no other sights on my rifle. I'll just keep the scope on 3x and hope that I can actually pick a spot when the time comes.


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## DRHUNTER (Sep 15, 2002)

I shot one (238 lb dressed) with a .30-06 using a 180 gr Remington core-lok. Pretty much the same ballisticly as a .308. Bullet went completely through so if needed a blood trail would have been present. Been in on several shotgun slug kills which performed well but I don't recall any passthroughs. My point is you're hunting from a tree so a passthrough would be a plus if the shot wasn't just right. Good luck.


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## Musket (May 11, 2009)

Not to cause any arguments about a passthrough from a shotgun slug but in 08 the slug passed strait through with a double lung shot. In 09 I had a passthrough with a slug on a head shot also a passthrough from the side too.
Musket.


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## DRHUNTER (Sep 15, 2002)

Musket said:


> Not to cause any arguments about a passthrough from a shotgun slug but in 08 the slug passed strait through with a double lung shot. In 09 I had a passthrough with a slug on a head shot also a passthrough from the side too.
> Musket.


Ya I would agree with you that there is really no hard and fast rule with passthroughs and one will not always be better than the other for that. There are also now much better shotgun slugs out there that perform as well or better I imagine than some rifle bullets. Just an observation made on some bear we shot (and deer) that slugs seemed to have a considerably lower average on complete passthroughs than the rifle bullets which almost always gave us complete penetration. If any animal is hit right then its a non issue regardless. But we all know its not a perfect world when shots are taken a game.LOL Take care.


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## thaken (Sep 18, 2007)

I'd take the 308. I've used a 308 for bear hunting for 16 years now. If you make a good shot it'll knock them right down. I've taken lung shots and neck shots on bear and none of them have run. 

Good luck and have fun


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