270, 280, 7x57 or 300 for black bears?

[MD]

All of the cartridges and loads you list fall well within the performance envelope necessary for black bear hunting, even if you encounter an exceptionally large one. The real question is whether or not the rifles those cartridges are chambered in, are appropriate for hunting in typical black bear habitat. The first step is to decide what kind of hunting you'll be doing. A rifle that is suitable for hunting from stand over bait, or still hunting in the bush, and the rifle you'd prefer for hunting in an agricultural situation might not be interchangeable in each circumstance. My rifle preference is made with respect to carrying the rifle while still hunting in typical Canadian Shield country, the black bear habitat I'm most familiar with. While shots will probably be short, a long poke along a lake shore, across a swamp, a burn, or a clear cut, or down a survey cut line, a fire break, or a power-line, cannot be discounted. My preference from your list is the 7X57 in a 20" carbine, mainly because the .270, .280, and the .300 are most likely full sized rifles with 24"-26" barrels. The carbine would be equipped with a suitable sling, ghost ring and rectangular post iron sights, and a low power variable scope in QD rings. The Hornady 139 gr is a suitable bullet, but there are many good choices in the 140-160 gr class, if you handload.


Thanks for taking the time to provide such a comprehensive reply Boomer, I appreciate it.

Both my 7x57 and 270 Husqvarna rifles are model 4100 Lightweight rifles with 20.5-inch barrels.

The 7x57 is finicky as other owners of the same model will tell you; it doesn't like the heavier bullets. I'm not a sophisticated handloader, but I have a Lee kit for the 270 and using an RCBS scale, have found a load that works for it.


I'm in BC so there is no hunting over bait, but on any given day you can find yourself walking along an overgrown logging road in the coastal jungle in the morning and scanning a 600 metre wide clearcut in the afternoon, so a multi purpose rifle is necessary. I have 4X scopes on most of my rifles, a fixed 6X on my little 270 and a 3x9 on the 280. I carried and used the 300 the most in all of the above scenarios, shooting bears from 6 to 60 metres away. If I see one over 100 metres away I try to close some distance.

 

[Why not?]

Thanks for taking the time to provide such a comprehensive reply Boomer, I appreciate it.

Both my 7x57 and 270 Husqvarna rifles are model 4100 Lightweight rifles with 20.5-inch barrels.

The 7x57 is finicky as other owners of the same model will tell you; it doesn't like the heavier bullets. I'm not a sophisticated handloader, but I have a Lee kit for the 270 and using an RCBS scale, have found a load that works for it.


I'm in BC so there is no hunting over bait, but on any given day you can find yourself walking along an overgrown logging road in the coastal jungle in the morning and scanning a 600 metre wide clearcut in the afternoon, so a multi purpose rifle is necessary. I have 4X scopes on most of my rifles, a fixed 6X on my little 270 and a 3x9 on the 280. I carried and used the 300 the most in all of the above scenarios, shooting bears from 6 to 60 metres away. If I see one over 100 metres away I try to close some distance.

MD, I have owned five of the 4100 in 7X57. All of them had the 1:12 twist and none of them shot heavy bullets well.....unless they were the round nose soft points.

All of them shot the 175 gr Hornady and Norma RNs just fine. They are both great hunting bullets, and will be fine for your sub-100 metre shooting. In fact, my personal experience is that they work well out past 200.

Ted

 

[Johnn Peterson]

MD, I have owned five of the 4100 in 7X57. All of them had the 1:12 twist and none of them shot heavy bullets well.....unless they were the round nose soft points.

All of them shot the 175 gr Hornady and Norma RNs just fine. They are both great hunting bullets, and will be fine for your sub-100 metre shooting. In fact, my personal experience is that they work well out past 200.

Ted

Fairly recently, I've acquired a couple of 7x57's.



A Ruger M 77 Hawkeye RSI and a M 70 Zastava. I will probably indulge my usual reloading whim and gather an assortment of bullet makes and in a wide variety of weights,to 'play' with. I have been leaning towards a couple of specifics though. Matrix 140gr RBT or FB 10S and, the 150gr Barnes TTSX. I haven't physically checked the twist rate of either rifle yet but going by the tech info listed in the back of the Sierra edition V manual, my Ruger should be 1 in 8" or possibly 1 in 8 3/4", or even 1 in 9 1/2". The Zastava is probably in there somewhere as well. That being the case, it would almost indicate what heavier bullets might fir the bill a little better. Any suggestions?? Both rifles are more or less slated for use on our giant island Blacktail but could also get the call for Black bear. Regardless, my usual tact for any rifle is to go with what shows the best accuracy.

 

[hoytcanon]

Fairly recently, I've acquired a couple of 7x57's.



A Ruger M 77 Hawkeye RSI and a M 70 Zastava. I will probably indulge my usual reloading whim and gather an assortment of bullet makes... my Ruger should be 1 in 8" or possibly 1 in 8 3/4", or even 1 in 9 1/2"....

Johnn... try Hornady Interlock 162 grain BTSP in the Ruger... they were very accurate.

 

[medvedqc]

Fairly recently, I've acquired a couple of 7x57's.



A Ruger M 77 Hawkeye RSI and a M 70 Zastava. I will probably indulge my usual reloading whim and gather an assortment of bullet makes and in a wide variety of weights,to 'play' with. I have been leaning towards a couple of specifics though. Matrix 140gr RBT or FB 10S and, the 150gr Barnes TTSX. I haven't physically checked the twist rate of either rifle yet but going by the tech info listed in the back of the Sierra edition V manual, my Ruger should be 1 in 8" or possibly 1 in 8 3/4", or even 1 in 9 1/2". The Zastava is probably in there somewhere as well. That being the case, it would almost indicate what heavier bullets might fir the bill a little better. Any suggestions?? Both rifles are more or less slated for use on our giant island Blacktail but could also get the call for Black bear. Regardless, my usual tact for any rifle is to go with what shows the best accuracy.

wrong bolt side but beautiful rifles ....

 

[gwes2003]

All will kill a black bear deader than dead !!!!

 

[scruffee]

7x57 shooting 139 grain Hornady Interlocks

I hear dem sissy European calibres don't do sh!t against yogi bear, you see, those dang nancy millimetres don't do nuthin on dem thick skinned, freedom loving, red white and blue north american bears!