Former member US Army Gold National Match Rifle Team. Oct 3

Is a .308 semi-auto good enough for grizzly bear defense, specifically the IWI Tavor 7?

Sure, a .308 will kill a grizzly, and just about anything else on the continent, IF you hit it right. BUT, a .308 wouldn’t be a gun I’d choose for self-defense against one of these huge animals. Been there, many times. Here’s the deal: if you’re hunting—namely kind of hidden 100+ yards away and shoot carefully at a stationery griz, you might be just fine. BUT, if that big boy is charging you and you get one shot, at say, 25 yards, you’d better knock him down the first time around. And for that, a .308 is pretty minimal. Here’s what I’d choose instead: .375 H&H, .458 Win. , .338 Win. Mag, .30–06 with .220 bonded bullets, hot .45–70 or .450 Marlin with 350–400 grain bonded core bullets (I carried a Marlin Guide Rifle in .450 Marlin caliber, when I guided canoe trips in Arctic Canada for the Science Museum of Minnesota. A 12-ga. slug gun with “good” slugs, is another fine “close range” choice. I should add that thinking this on paper IS NOT the same as confronting one of these great bears in full glory, within yards of you. Trust me: you WILL be scared. Very scared. And the most powerful rifle you have in your hands at the time, will seem very very puny. You’ll be wishing for a howitzer, or at least a couple friends with similar rifles. You want to think big and powerful for self-protection against big bears. Hunting from a distance and stopping a charging bear are two different things. Photo below: That’s me, doing “bear watch” (polar bears) at the mouth of the North Knife River on Hudson Bay. That’s a 12-gauge slug shotgun loaded with Brenneke Black Magic slugs (these are the most powerful 12-ga. slugs you can buy). Yes, that’s a griz—in our camp.