[northernbc]

from reading your post my thoughts are that you should buy a over/under chambered with a22lr and a shotgun under. is there some reason you hunt them with a shotgun.

[mrsocks]

only allowed to hunt with shotgun (or muzzle loader) in NJ.
No center or rimfire.

(technically you can with rimfire but only for groundhogs and dispatching trapped animals you have trapped with your trapping lisc.... that you need to pay separately for as well as the rifle license)

[northernbc]

it is my opinion that there is nothing wrong with carrying slugs behind your shot.nothing will probally ever happen but i believe in always being prepared.and this is very simple. you stated that the bear density was high, i also would recomend spray. there are serious encounters evrey year to a very small percentage of bush users. high density bears aptitudes do change as food becomes scarcer and not for the better. on another note you would be prabally be doing everyone including the bears a favour if you are able to harvest one it is a great chance to brush up on your skills needed to process meat and tan hide. and eventually down the line maybe keep them from overpopulation resulting in starvation or heavy cub killing by the older males.

[Bowman1911]

Originally Posted by mrsocks

I never really thought of the issue that the CO might think i was going for deer. I really only had this planned for JIC bear, and the deer out of season didnt even cross my mind. Thanks for pointing that out!

Either way, I did end up only loading one #6 and left the two slugs in my pocket, but easily accessible. Figure that has to be the happy medium.

I have been reading more and the people who do hunt the areas i am in say the areas are 'inundated' with them. I know they're there and they are not as shy as people would like to make them out to be.

So hopefully this is a good compromise and will keep me out of trouble with some power hungry CO.

I also have a call into the lawyer my shooting club has on retainer and will ask him what the worst case scenario is.

No problem! Glad I could be of help. Just wanted to point that out due to the fact that around here, game wardens have infinite power, much like a federal marshall.

[PreacherLWIC]

why do we carry firesteels? why do we wrap everything in paracord, why do we carry stuff in our trucks and keychains? the What IF? I think carrying Bear Spray would be better than slugs and that is what I would carry. BUT that being said you have every right to protect yourself from the what ifs JMHO

[northernbc]

just wondering if you were able to hunt bears.

[Celticwarrior]

Heh. at least it's only bears! I now have a new problem up here that I never thought I would need to worry about. COUGARS! Just the 10th of October, a deer hunter's game camera caught one stalking in front of it up here in the U.P. of MICHIGAN, not very far from me. (Man, I want to get a copy of that pic and email it to every DNR idiot that has blasted people as hallucinating when they would report seeing a cougar or panther! Put a big ol' "We told you so" on it for 'em!)

Like I said, I've never had trouble with wolves or bears. Cougars are a whole different type of dangerous critter though. And if there is one, there are likely more. Already there have been sightings downstate in Sleeping Bear dunes of other cougars.

[Pat/Rick]

Carry what makes you comfortable. Develop a system to make it work, try different techniques. I have bear and cougar along with bobcat crossing my property. I carry daily.