Thought I'd drop a few ideas in new firearms for consideration for some of the applications discussed here. I saw the thread about guns for the vehicle. I'd add to the firearms mentioned a pump rifle. Remington makes the 7600 up to .30-06 caliber, but Browning just discontinued their BPR recently, so get one while you can. I found one cheap at GunsAmerica.com. A Browning in .300 WinMag would be an excellent bear gun. Extremely fast shots and very reliable action.<br><br>I got the Browning BPR in .270 and I love it. It's accurate out to 300 yards and within 1" at 100 yards. It's got 4+1 capacity with lightning fast followup shots and an action more reliable than any semi-auto and faster than any bolt or lever action. And, like all the pump shotguns mentioned in the thread, it has the loud "racking" sound when the action is worked that has such a dramatic psychological effect on people who hear it!<br><br>Another pump gun that I've read about recently (Guns and ammo annual) is the Crossfire LLC. It's a combination 12 gauge shotgun/rifle in .223 that changes from one barrel to the other with a flip of a switch. The 12 gauge holds 4+1 rounds and the .223 takes any magazine from the AR-15/M-16 line. Accuracy is comparable to most semi-autos, in other words not as good as hunting rifles, but it'll do out to 150-200 yards or so. And of course it's got that nice, loud, intimidating "racking" noise that's often all you need to dissuade people from doing things they should not be. Plans are in the works to offer the rifle in .308 apparently too. I might look into the .308 model. It'd be the ultimate turkey/deer combo as well as a great home/vehicle defense weapon.<br><br>Another firearm I bought recently is from a Russian company called EAA Baikal. Their model IZH-94 is an over/under break action 12 gauge 3" shotgun/rifle in several calibers up to .30-06 and more being added soon. A .300 WinMag is due sometime this year they say. It's an inexpensive firearm (under $400 retail) but shoots very accurately - under 1" at 100 yards. I was impressed! And it's a over/under so its barrel and stock can be disassembled for very compact transport on planes, trains, autos, boats, kayaks, even bike trailers. I plan to take it down the Great Divide Mountain Bike Trail some year and I hunt from canoes at times. If I come around a river bend I always have the correct ammunition just a trigger away whether it be for ducks, deer, hogs, or even turkeys<br><br>One note on ammunition for any of these rifles. You can get "uploaded", "hot" ammo in factory loads to make your .30-06 have the ballistics of a .300 Win Mag or a .270 near the ballistics of a 7mmMag or a .308 hit as hard as a .30-06 for instance. You can practice with lighter loads, then take the "hot" loads into the field where you won't feel the extra recoil if you have to use them. Federal High Energy and Hornady Light Magnum are the two brands that I know of. I've got the Federal High Energy .30-06 in 180 grain Nosler Partition and from the kick sighting it in, I can vouch for the added energy!<br><br>As for shotgun slugs (best bet against large predators at close range from what I've read), Winchester has a new saboted 385 grain Partition slug that shoots at 1900 feet per second. That's some serious energy at both ends. Lightfield ammo (I'd never heard of them either!) does one better with a 400+ grain slug at near 2000 fps! That would stop pretty much anything on the North American continent in its tracks.<br><br>All that having been said about these firearms versus the four legged predators (as opposed to the two legged variety where many calibers work well), I've read studies that conclude that using pepper spray is much *less* likely to get you hurt when used during a bear attack than trying to shoot the bear. Use a firearm only as an absolute last resort and be practiced and proficient with it. Personally, I like to carry *both* pepper spray and my over/under 12 gauge/.30-06 (with the Federal High Energy Nosler 180g Partitions) when around bears.<br><br>-kayaker<br><br><br>

Your ideas are very good. Thank you for takeing the time to fill us in. I did not realize how many combos are out there. I have a Savage Scout which would probably rate an honorable mention here. I like the little rifle. Light weight, 308 cal, iron sights, short in length, synthetic stock and accurate ( 1" groups at 100 yds ). I mounted a Burris 2.75x scout scope on top. <br><br>Ranger.<br>The older I get, The better I was.

I almost got Savage's combo gun, but always wanted something a bit more powerful than a .30-30 which was their largest caliber for the rifle. The Baikal came along recently and I grabbed mine in .30-06 and haven't been disappointed. Now if they'd only make it with a 3 ½" 12 gauge chamber......<br><br>I forgot to mention that it's only about 8 lbs without scope. Not bad for two barrels. Disassembled and wrapped up, it'd be easy to carry on most types of transport as the longest part (barrels) is just over 2 feet long. Also forgot to mention that Baikal makes the IZH-94 in the popular European caliber 9.3x74 which is similar in ballistics to the .375 H&H Magnum. In other words, very good for anything in North America and over most of the world. Only problem is getting a reliable supply of the ammo around the U.S. and then getting it to where you'll need it in the field.<br><br>The other thing I like about the combination gun aspect is the possibility of using less than lethal 12 gauge ammo - pepper shells, rubber buckshot (often called rubber "bullets") or even beanbag rounds against two legged or four legged miscreants while still having the rifle option as backup.<br><br>One other combo firearm I forgot to mention comes in revolver form. Magnum Research ( Desert Eagle makers) has a model of the BFR (they call it biggest finest revolver, I modify the middle word somewhat....) in .45 Long Colt/.410 shotgun! It's big and I'm sure quite heavy, but much lighter and smaller than any rifle and at decently close range I'm sure it'd work for small game up to large predators.<br><br>

Going in the opposite direction heres a recommendation for those of us on budgets.Find a clean,shooting grade mauser 98,British SMLE,Swede 96 Mauseror 1917Remington.This is like buying a used car so get help!The Mausers and older SMLE could stand a sight upgrade.Some of the Mauser cartridges are rather uncommon but all are in production and boast surplus military rounds for cheap training.These old rifles were made to go bang! in filthy conditions from the poles to the equator.Homesteaders in the Alaskan Brookes range use 8x57 mausers on caribou, while tsavo game wardens take out ak-47 armed poachers with .303 smle's! I have a 1909 Argentine cavalry carbine in 7.62x54.Total cash outlay for rifle,cartridges and electricians tape for muzzle $200.Money saved vis a commercial rifle going to another survival school enrollment!<br><br>