Shot placement on black bear

W

Workin Man

CGN frequent flyer
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
68   0   0
Location
Near Coldwater, Ont
There seems to be 2 schools of thought on where to place your shot on a black bear. One is behind the shoulder, broadside double lung shot, the other is to put the bullet through one or both shoulders to anchor the animal. Obviously you are going to lose some meat on the shoulder shot, but you have better odds of recovering the animal. Which method do you prefer and why?
 
The shoulder shot is considered "anchoring" and is usually reserved for grizzlies. Blackies should not present this same problem and the lung shot will work fine. I should qualify, that although my father did, I personally have never shot a grizz, so my information here is second hand and book learned.
 
Black Bears need to be anchored with the first shot. They have a habit of sucking up subsequent lead. Probably even TSX's from 30-06's.
 
It is all about angle, I shot one behind the shoulder last season.... oops. It is a great "quartering away" shot to make or broadside you can shoot as close to the shoulder as possible. Mine was quartering towards me, there was exactly 30 seconds left in legal time and I took a less than desireable shot. She just kept walking, not running, not flailing, just walking. As she turened and started walking away, I knew I had to take any possible shot as she was already hit, she was walking away from me and just barely turned enough for a "quartering shot"

Upon the "autopsy" we found bullet #1 missed the lungs, hit the liver and lidged in her hip joint. Shot #2 also missed the lungs but passed right by them, travelling through her neck and exiting her skull. A head shot from behind the shoulder, who woulda thunk it?

I found the above link to be very useful and will hopefully take one this spring with a bow.
 
Well, I don't consider myself much of an authority on black bears, seeing as I've only shot a couple hundred in my lifetime. The shoulder shot is fine if the bear is in thick crap, and you don't want to track it in that stuff, but for 90% of all Black bears, the "Tight up behind the front leg" lung shot works great. Obviously, presentation has a bit to say on where you will put that bullet. I prefer a bullet that will exit myself, since the blackies hair will soak up a bit of blood, and make tracking, even for a short distance, more difficult if blood isn't escaping from both sides. Black bears are not hard to kill, and will not go far with a good bullet through the lungs. Regards, Eagleye.
 
Well it looks as though I've learned something myself. Thanks to the input of Eagleye and BillC68, I won't screw up come this spring. This will be "my" first spring bear hunt also. :)
 
Eagleye said:
Well, I don't consider myself much of an authority on black bears, seeing as I've only shot a couple hundred in my lifetime. The shoulder shot is fine if the bear is in thick crap, and you don't want to track it in that stuff, but for 90% of all Black bears, the "Tight up behind the front leg" lung shot works great. Obviously, presentation has a bit to say on where you will put that bullet. I prefer a bullet that will exit myself, since the blackies hair will soak up a bit of blood, and make tracking, even for a short distance, more difficult if blood isn't escaping from both sides. Black bears are not hard to kill, and will not go far with a good bullet through the lungs. Regards, Eagleye.
Click to expand...

:agree:

I like Blackie meat and don't want to mess with the shoulders. Double lunger's always worked for me.
 
You sure don't want to shoot a trophy black bear in the head, you could completely ruin any chance of having it scored. Additionally, The head shot is iffy at best on any game animal out beyond 50 yards or so. As I always eat the meat, I hate to shoot them in the shoulder unless I have little choice. These days, because of an abundance of black bears in my area, I have time to be patient and wait for a good presentation. Solid lungshot = Yummy sausage, roasts, etc. Regards, Eagleye.
 
I shot my black bear right through his shoulders (exited right through the other side...), only took 1 shot.....he went down.
 
Eagleye said:
You sure don't want to shoot a trophy black bear in the head, you could completely ruin any chance of having it scored. Additionally, The head shot is iffy at best on any game animal out beyond 50 yards or so. As I always eat the meat, I hate to shoot them in the shoulder unless I have little choice. These days, because of an abundance of black bears in my area, I have time to be patient and wait for a good presentation. Solid lungshot = Yummy sausage, roasts, etc. Regards, Eagleye.
Click to expand...

I never thought about the trophy aspect of hunting a black bear...you're right, if you're hunting a black bear as a trophy a head shot wouldn't be advisable. :D

Up around here we hunt for the meat and fur only...even with caribou it's all about the meat and skins. Mounts and taxidermy doesn't even cross my mind when hunting. I guess it's just cultural differences.
 
BearAnatomyCr.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom