Another grandson got a bear, with a shotgun at 15 yards.

[Okanagan]

Ben was walking an old abandoned logging road after work one evening a few days ago, in a shotgun only area.  He came on the bear at close range and shot it at 15 yards with his brother's 870 in 3 inch magnum, 00 buck.  The shotgun has a tight pattern coyote choke.

I walked into the shop yesterday, saw the bear hanging and thought that it was the first bear, though I was surprised that they had not skinned and cut it up yet.  My oops, the first one was long processed and this was a different bear.

These boys are all married in their own homes now and I don't get a daily briefing

[FinsnFur]

Made short work of that bear

[Hawks Feather]

15 yards doesn't give much room for a delay in shooting. But they are your grandsons and I would not expect anything else, but being fast and accurate.

[nastygunz]

In VT OO buckshot is only legal for deer hunting. For bear hunting you have to use OO bearshot... 🐻

[Todd Rahm]

The title of this post is an attention getter in itself. 

So was he hunting bear intentionally with a shotgun?

Hope you're doing well also.

[Okanagan]

The title of this post is an attention getter in itself. 

So was he hunting bear intentionally with a shotgun?

Hope you're doing well also.

Yes, he was hunting bear intentionally with a shotgun.  It's a shotgun only area for hunting (archery is legal also).  It's an area of scattered houses on acreages, with a big patch of woods in the middle.  There  are just enough people and it's on the civilized side of the highway away from the mountain side so that the county made it shogun only.  Grandson Cody has killed several bucks there with his bow, I got one with a shotgun, and it was a handy place to hunt bear after work for Ben, with easy access.  I think he tried to call a bear when he first got there, 3/4 mile from where he killed this one.  They have seen bear sign and bears on trail cameras in there.

A tight pattern of 15 lead balls of 00 buck from a 3" magnum is a pretty lethal dose.  I don't think he felt undergunned, and except for a big clearcut it is mostly close range in woods.  The bear went down fatally hit, but jumped up and ran so he hit it twice more with the pump shogun, for a total of 45 balls of .33 caliber each. 

I have the more accurate story now. He and the bear surprised each other on the road at 15 yards.  It ran out to 25 yards before stopping to look back, angled away, where he first shot it.  No exits, surprisingly little bloodshot meat, some shattered leg and hip bones and many pellets against the hide on the off side. 

[Hawks Feather]

Thanks for the update.