I carry a 12 gauge with 2 3/4 in BB and drops them dead at close range . Black bears are unpredictable . There is nothing that I would want in my hands but the good old 12 gauge The most deadly gun there is at close range

hey a 20 guage slug i know i don't want to ge hit with one. was thinking of using mine after i read this post . but bought new shells for the 3030 and you know had to try them out. nice bear. Just my opion but as long as you have shot placement and are confident with your ablitly. its a good gun

Actually my bear last season was shot with a 20 gague slug that my friend owns But the bear wasn't going anywhere . I had lots of time for shot placement . Black bears are unpredictable and U may not have time for shot placement . It would be hard to hit something on the run with a slug unless U had a scope , I just use my 12 gague for safety purposes . I'll be carrying it back and forth to my bow hunting blind . I have to walk through about a hundred yards of raspberries 4 ft high and there is bear sign in the area I know for sure that there was 1 there 3 times I wold like to have the 12 ga on hand if I surprised it in the berry bushes . The 20 gague will certainly do the job .I don't have a rifled barrel with a scope on the 12 ga . Bears here are on the increase since a few years so there is lots of bears here I have a friend that does a lot of forestery work and H had 3 encounters with bears . A friend of mine was in his tree stand and a bear climbed the tree right to the stand . Nothing happened in any instanceses . The bears lucked out . If that was me there just wouldn't be enuogh room in the woods or in a tree stand for both of us