I've killed one Brown bear total, well one bear of any type to be honest. So I am no expert at all. In ten seconds I came to begin to understand that everything I though I knew was crap or just stupid. It did take me years to figure that much out. After returning home I bought a .375 for my next trip, which came three years later. I felt under gunned for close work with any bear, even with that, and was lucky enough not to need it. No bears came too close and never have had much interest bear hunting in the first place.
I also had a .458 that I had bought, but could not shoot it worth crap off hand due to the recoil and a nasty flinch I developed with it. The gun is long gone, I still get the flinch from time to time. For my money a rocket grenade or Laws rocket are best for close work with pissed off bears.
To be fair Jack O'Connor, Zutz, and all other sane writers, none of them would ever suggest that a .270 was the gun that was capable of taking a Brown bear. My point is that readers are often young or ill informed, seeking knowledge and entertainment and take too much of what they read as gospel. Many articles are just written to make a living, to sell guns and bullets, not inform readers of the facts of life. Zutz published his opinions like most others but he also gave a lot of insights. some facts and interesting methods or observations with them. Take them all with that large grain of salt.
It's up to the reader to shift through them and make choices. I made mine when young and it was both wrong and stupid for both the bear and myself. I had a far greater chance of wounding the bear and getting myself reamed by a bear than killing it. Heck I don't think that the .270 is that good a choice for most large game anymore but gun writers need to sell both articles and makers need demand for guns and ammo.
