In the last few years, a series of high-profile bear attacks have stimulated wide interest in extra-large-caliber handguns and carbines. Whether you are a hunter, angler or bird watcher, when a bear actually appears, having a carbine can save your life or, at the least, save you some laundry bills.

The mother ship: MV Bear Necessity is Mark Galla's comfy, capable 53-foot floating hunting camp. Fourteen-foot Almar skiffs run hunters up to remote salmon streams.

Shortly after talking to Galla on the phone, I'd had a chance encounter with Hunting publisher Kevin Steele. "Get a set of Ashleys," he'd sagely advised. Finding a set was another matter. To make a long story short, the company has gone through about four name changes and is now--and we hope it stays--XS Sight Systems. At present, it is the choice for Marlin owners.

A beefy, fully adjustable ghost ring bolts up to the rear scope-base holes, yielding a 10-inch bonus sight radius. The front is a massive, luminous rectangular blade that retains enough light for shooting until it's no longer possible to see your target, and the rear is a true ghost ring--it is perceived more than seen. You have to readjust your stockweld slightly, as they are about 3/8 inch above the factory, but they're fast--very fast--and yielded a navel-orange-size group off the bench at 100 yards.

Marlin used to drill and tap every rifle for Lyman or Williams receiver sights, but only about 5 percent were using them, so it discontinued the practice. However, Marlin and its crew are all about customer service, and if you send them the rifle, they will drill and tap the receiver for free.

GUN AS FIELD TOOL
The hunt consisted of six days of skiffing from the good ship Bear Necessity, a spacious, comfortable and well-maintained 53-foot hunting camp, to the salmon streams. Ashore, we'd follow the streams as the wind permitted. Galla glided ahead while using his Smoke in a Bottle, and I stumbled along over the dead falls and through the salmon-choked pools trying to keep my balance on slippery logs and rocks. We'd settle in to cover prime zones from 20 minutes to two hours, depending on the wind.

Salmon: The foundation of Alaskan bear hunting. Boreal ursine populations can only exist because of this concentrated protein. Alaskan hunting is hard on equipment, and the finish of this tough Guide Gun shows it.

This is where the narrow waist of the Guide Gun came in handy. We all know and respect the hunter's-safety caution about unloading your rifle and handing it to a friend when crossing an obstacle. But in Alaska, you cross one about every 20 yards. The Marlin can be carried with a full tube, half-cock, safety on and empty chamber, and when a position is taken you can run one up the snout. As such, its rugged construction and soft buttpad create it into a grappling hook and walking stick for negotiating collapsing banks and slippery deadfalls. The balance is at the front of the receiver, and the lever pivot extension fits nicely against the little finger, preventing slippage.

BOO-BOO BOO-BOOS
Day six, and we'd seen 24 bears and no keepers. The hunt was extended three days. Half an hour before dark on day eight: I was seated on the low bank on the right bank of the stream, Galla slightly ahead, when we spotted a majestic shadow crossing an elevated deadfall. It was about 125 yards upstream. No cub-size shadows were seen.