As the title says, this is if you had to do it. It's not a matter of just derping around the woods, seeing one, and deciding you're going to shoot this bipedal creature. I'm talking in the sense that you or someone you love is in imminent danger. Say these creatures were confirmed, you were out wheeling, and for whatever reason you come to a halt, and you are being essentially hunted by the creatures.

As a rule, the weapon you choose must be available to the public and real world. So no bazookas, RPGs, catapults, flamethrowers, bio-chemical weapons, phasers, lightsabers, etc. And although they are available if the steps are taken to remain federally compliant, no automatic weapons either. The semi-automatic counterparts are acceptable though if you so choose.

With those caveats, what would you choose to defend yourself from a North American great ape?

AR10 (.308) should do it.

I would say a Marlin 45-70 Lever would be a good choice with out going too exotic. Will have fantastic stopping power and can be used for rhinos, elephant....

an RPG, available to the public here

MACHINE GUNS FOR SALE - AUTOWEAPONS.COM

intact and fully functional, though you'll never get a live rocket for it, and I think this guy wants like 20k for it. the yellow dummy rocket is a trainer that fires a 7.62x39 tracer, so my choice is basically a huge overpriced single shot 7.62 that would make a great florida man headline if you ever tried to kill anything with it

for real though probably a good bolt gun like a cz in 375 H&H with a 1-3x scope

Mk18 AR SBR with 60 round PMAG of M995 black tips.

A Republican.

What are you going to grab them by the feet and swing them around like a madman?

Going for the "more small holes > fewer large holes" I see. Also preparing for if the "bumbles bounce" from Rudolf also applies to projectiles it seems.

I agree with the .375 H&H. Classic round without overbearing recoil. But I'd almost say go for the debt and 15 minutes of "Florida man" fame.

Especially in the AR10 platform, there isn't much the .308 couldn't take down.

I was kind of thinking along these lines as well. I'm not sure they're the best for elephant unless you used some of the Underwood Xtreme penetrator ammunition, but as far as a hard hitting round with reasonably quick follow up shots, the .45-70 lever action is tough to beat. Although the ammunition is more expensive, a lever gun chambered in .50 Alaskan would also be a good choice.

That’s a great idea! I never thought about using them in that way. Imagine the inertia!

Hilary Clinton. Clintoncide is the most effective way to kill.

Given that I, literally, carry a lever gun on average 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, out here off grid, in the middle of the middle of nowhere, it’s pretty safe to say that......
I see a lot of brownies, black, wolf, coyote and some cougar. I never see Sasquatch.
So there you go.
When life is easy it’s 44wcf. When it’s dicey it’s 308win.
M1892 win src mfg 1913. Savage 99c. Both are good truck guns. Both suit the scabbard.
Do Sasquatch shoot back? Because, you know, that would suck.

Yeah but, then everyone would think bigfoot committed suicide.