308 for bear?

leverlover

leverlover

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i have got a new 308 blr, i want to use it for a bear gun.

is 308 a ok caliber for black bears? goldbridge area?

my concern is power, expansion and range.

last year when i tangled with bears using a 7mm-mag i had over penetration and no expansion. the bear i shot cried out jumped up and ran off lung shot:confused:( we got it still).


i have also purchased a 45 70 marlin guide gun. while i doubt i would have expansion issiues(and with a 45 cal entracne hole who cares;)), range, acuracy and speed of loading now concerns me the best i can get with this gun is a 2-3 inch group with every 5th shot going wild.


the blr seems a strait shooter and has a fast action with easy loading drop-in mags but i am concerned about the cartridge size. i want somthing that can reach out and drop that bear! could this blr be it?
 
unless you are up in the high country your shots won't be too long at Goldbridge. I would say the BLR is pretty good for that area. Bigger factory bullets should be good. Of course the 45-70 is good too. I think I'd go with the .308 to cover the variety of terrain there.
 
The problem with your 7mm-mag is a matter of bullet selection.

.308 is a good round for bear just as your 7mm-mag. However, if you use the same type of bullet you will end up with the same issue - "over penetration and no expansion".

Switch to Nosler Partition or Barnes TSX and your problem will be solved. If you don't handload try some Win Supreme Elite XP3 or Rem Premier Scirocco Bonded.

Cheers!
 
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There's also grizzlies in that Goldbridge country :).The 308 should be fine with proper bullet.Good bear area you've chosen I used to go up there quite often always seen a ton of bears.I haven't been up that way for about 5 years though.Beautiful country.
 
+1 in favour of using the .308. Of the 9 bears I've taken, 3 were killed very dead very quickly with a .308 firing 165 gr. Nosler Partitions.

Mind you, after finally taking one with a bow, I can't ever see going back to a rifle for black bear. There's just way more excitement going on when stalking one on the ground with only a pointed stick in your hand :p. For me at least, even a failed stalk on the ground with a bow beats a successful rifle kill hands down...
 
Your 308 has more punch than a 44-40 and here is what the 44-40 can do
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So the answer is yes.
 
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Danny Boy said:
The problem with your 7mm-mag is a matter of bullet selection.

.308 is a good round for bear just as your 7mm-mag. However, if you use the same type of bullet you will end up with the same issue - "over penetration and no expansion".

Switch to Nosler Partition or Barnes TSX and your problem will be solved. If you don't handload try some Win Supreme Elite XP3 or Rem Premier Scirocco Bonded.

Cheers!
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so you dont want over penatration but you should use barnes bullets :confused:
 
bone-collector said:
so you dont want over penatration but you should use barnes bullets :confused:
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The problem is a lack of bullet expansion. The matter of fact, the more penetration the better. However, bullets without expansion is going to cause a prolong suffering, tracking and perhaps a lost of the game.

IMO, TSX and Partition class bullets would provide a well balanced expansion and penetration for a larger wound channel and shock wave which would result in a more instant kill.
 
I've shot lots of bears with my little Remmy model 600 in 308 with Federal Premium 180's (Nosler partitions). It's also knocked down my largest moose as well. Definitely enough gun, no doubt about it. I've killed three bears that were less than 30 yards away and they were all flattened with one round; although in fairness, two of those were head shots. I actually just purchased a short Rem 742 carbine in 308 for my wife as a camp gun; mostly for bear defense and maybe a close moose of opportunity. Chose a decent bullet and hit the animal where it counts and you're done.
 
Sorry....got to interject here....cant help it...... since when did we start questioning a friggn .308 on a black bear?? Maybe I should start a thread on ..."can a fly swatter "really" kill a fly??". C'mon, I hunt black bear with a bow and arrow at 295fps out to 40 yards. Sorry, maybe I'm an idiot but this is kinda like the 30-06 not mighty enough to kill a moose thread.
 
josh1976 said:
Sorry....got to interject here....cant help it...... since when did we start questioning a friggn .308 on a black bear?? Maybe I should start a thread on ..."can a fly swatter "really" kill a fly??". C'mon, I hunt black bear with a bow and arrow at 295fps out to 40 yards. Sorry, maybe I'm an idiot but this is kinda like the 30-06 not mighty enough to kill a moose thread.
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The guy just wants some reassurences from guy's who have done it...but you are sort of right.
OF COURSE a 308 is fine on bear.

Everthing on the continent has been laid low for a hundred years now by short barrelled 30-30's firing the cheapest factory ammo that poor old backwater bubba can find at his hardware store, or trading post. If your shootin iron is equal to, or better than that, then you're good to go.

Sometimes, people just want a friendly reminder is all...
 
josh1976 said:
Sorry....got to interject here....cant help it...... since when did we start questioning a friggn .308 on a black bear?? Maybe I should start a thread on ..."can a fly swatter "really" kill a fly??". C'mon, I hunt black bear with a bow and arrow at 295fps out to 40 yards. Sorry, maybe I'm an idiot but this is kinda like the 30-06 not mighty enough to kill a moose thread.
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Anything under .50 cal BMG will just bounce off a moose. 30 mm is the minimum I would use.
 
I have to comment re:

QUOTE "the bear I shot cried out jumped up and ran off lung shot"

That is NORMAL behaviour after a lung shot and was probably the result of normal 7mm mag. bullet performance. Lung shots seldom drop animals if ribs are the only bones hit. Double lung shots are always fatal, but any big game animal takes 10-30 seconds to die from a lung shot, it takes that much time for the blood pressure to drop sufficiently to cause them to pass out and then die. I'm constantly amazed at inexperienced hunters who expect that if they just shoot a big enough gun, everything will be "bang flop". The only thing worse is when they don't even check for a hit because they figure they must have missed. The 7mm magnum is a very good bear cartridge, and so is the .308! We all like to play with different rifles, and it's a lot of fun, but I suggest you spend more time reading and in the field learning about hunting and tracking skills, and less time worrying about your gun, and you'll be more successful.
 
I carried a savage 99c in .308 as my saddle rifle for several trips in the goldbridge area
my Dad did the same........a .308 will take anything that you are worried about in the area
 
Danny Boy said:
The problem is a lack of bullet expansion. The matter of fact, the more penetration the better. However, bullets without expansion is going to cause a prolong suffering, tracking and perhaps a lost of the game.

IMO, TSX and Partition class bullets would provide a well balanced expansion and penetration for a larger wound channel and shock wave which would result in a more instant kill.
Click to expand...


well Dan being a guide for a few years in BC and seeing a few bears die from everything under the sun from 257 to 458 and alot of them bears died from winchester power points and federal hunter packs of EL cheapo ammo, the matter of fact you put a hole in lungs or heart and its DEAD it dosnt matter if its mushroomed out the size of a toonie or a hole the size of a pencil eraser its DEAD and if you lost your animal I would say you made a crappy shot ;)
 
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