An AR-15 is woefully undersized for any bear, let alone a polar bear to take humanely. Not that it is impossible to use something less - the Inuit apparently sometimes take polar bear with a 22LR. Which is an upgrade from the spears they used to use, apparently. But you are no Inuit.
Also, a lot of them disappear on the ice each year.
You also aren’t going to get a fully automatic one as a civilian without a massive amount of paperwork. A military M4 is even less adequate due to the short barrel length.
Typically, a 12 gauge with 3” slugs is the minimum ‘good idea’ big bear defense gun.
45-70 with modern (high pressure) loads, or a 30-06 with heavy bullets (200gr partitions) are also considered good to adequate - at least for Kodiak brown, which is close.
The issue is with shot placement.
Someone successfully defended themselves against a Kodiak brown bear attack with a 9mm because they were lucky and got a great shot through the nasal cavity from 6-8ft away. Albeit with extremely hot ammo.
[https://www.americanhunter.org/content/alaska-outfitter-defe...]
do not underestimate how difficult or dangerous that shot would be to make. The shooter had been a hunting guide in that area for 30 years.
The same bear, if the shot was a couple inches higher, would have been able to keep going even if hit with a 12 gauge slug. They have highly armored skulls. [https://www.reddit.com/r/badassanimals/comments/14die7f/kodi...] Males in particular are also used to (and regularly do) literally fight grizzly bears, so are not cowardly opponents.
Many people disappear in that area every year, while armed. Eaten by bears is the presumed cause for a significant portion of them, but no one can tell for sure since the bodies never get found.
The US Air Force used to issue (literal) bazookas to airmen it stationed above the arctic circle as it was the only adequate man portable weapon they had that would consistently and reliably work if they could hit the bear with it.
Because that is not how I would describe the experience. Especially for registered machine guns. Also, it’s $200 except for AOW which is $5.
- Live in a Class 3 friendly state (so no living in California and then flying to Alaska for a trip)
- Form the gun trust (good idea).
- get yourself and any other controlling parties fingerprinted (the special way the ATF wants)
- get passport photos of yourself and any other controlling parties
- fill out the form 4 just right in the esoteric way they need
- then submit it all and wait 6 months to a year for them to return the stamped paperwork so you can actually possess the item. If you did everything right.
- if you messed something up, either redo it and go back to the front of the line, or (if you’re lucky) amend it ASAP when the examiner reaches out to you randomly when they find the problem.
Oh and a beat up but transferable M16 is what, $20-30k right now? More if in better condition?
That may not seem like a lot of paperwork to you, but for most Americans it definitely is. Oh, and you need to carry the stamped form 4 with you in the field, in case a cop runs across you and wants to be sure it’s legal.
Also, way outside the actual use case here, which is something to drag around in wilderness conditions that will make an angry polar bear stop trying to eat you at a moments notice. Preferably that can be abused and mistreated without causing problems too.
Which a $500 pump 12 gauge shotgun you can buy over the counter at any gun store is quite capable of doing very well with decent ammo.
And won’t require a 5320.20 be submitted (and take a month or more to get back to you) if you want to cross state lines.
Also, Canada is generally okay with pump shotguns, not with machine guns (registered in the US or not), and a lot of folks going to Alaska want to be able to drive over the border at some point.
I’m really curious what the odds would be of anyone making a fuss in legit polar bear territory though, hah.
Also, a lot of them disappear on the ice each year.
You also aren’t going to get a fully automatic one as a civilian without a massive amount of paperwork. A military M4 is even less adequate due to the short barrel length.
Typically, a 12 gauge with 3” slugs is the minimum ‘good idea’ big bear defense gun.
45-70 with modern (high pressure) loads, or a 30-06 with heavy bullets (200gr partitions) are also considered good to adequate - at least for Kodiak brown, which is close.
The issue is with shot placement.
Someone successfully defended themselves against a Kodiak brown bear attack with a 9mm because they were lucky and got a great shot through the nasal cavity from 6-8ft away. Albeit with extremely hot ammo. [https://www.americanhunter.org/content/alaska-outfitter-defe...]
do not underestimate how difficult or dangerous that shot would be to make. The shooter had been a hunting guide in that area for 30 years.
The same bear, if the shot was a couple inches higher, would have been able to keep going even if hit with a 12 gauge slug. They have highly armored skulls. [https://www.reddit.com/r/badassanimals/comments/14die7f/kodi...] Males in particular are also used to (and regularly do) literally fight grizzly bears, so are not cowardly opponents.
Many people disappear in that area every year, while armed. Eaten by bears is the presumed cause for a significant portion of them, but no one can tell for sure since the bodies never get found.
The US Air Force used to issue (literal) bazookas to airmen it stationed above the arctic circle as it was the only adequate man portable weapon they had that would consistently and reliably work if they could hit the bear with it.