308 for bears

thehunterman

thehunterman

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Well I have been looking for a new big game rifle after having sold my 300 win mag( the thing seemed to be a dud and would not shoot a group for all it was worth)or originally I was going to get a 30-06 maybe a newer savage or something like that,but my buddy is clearing out his some of his rifles and is offering me a old but still in good shape winchester mod 70 in 308 win for a really good price,so the question is do you guys think that this cartridge is a decent cartridge for bear?I know it'll put a deer down in it's tracks but will it do the same to a big bruin?thoughts and experience would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Hunter.
 
308 for bear no problem...if I could post photo that would be the evidence. It will take a moose it will take a bear. Heck 3030 will drop a black bear.
 
Black Bears are not particularly hard to kill.
That 308 is more than adequate to drop even a very large Black bear with ease.
There are chamberings I would sooner be packing if I was deliberately hunting Grizzly,
but the 308 will do that job as well.
Eagleye.
 
Thank's guys I really appreciate the feedback I always figured that the 08' was plenty medicine for bears but never having taken a bear I wanted to make sure.
Thanks,
Hunter.
 
I just finished reading an article written back in 1954 by WDM Bell. Thats the dude who became rich hunting elephants in East Africa. He killed over 1500 of them. He killed over 1000 of them with a .275 Rigbey. He claims in that article that the new .308 with solid bullets would make the perfect elephant gun!
This guy, 'Karamjojo Bell' is geneerally credited with developing the brain shot on elephants from any angle or position.
He owned a very fine custom built double rifle in .400-.450 Jeffery. He just didn't like to carry it.
Just goes to show you that it is way more important where you shoot an animal not what you shoot it with.
 
kkahmann said:
I just finished reading an article written back in 1954 by WDM Bell. Thats the dude who became rich hunting elephants in East Africa. He killed over 1500 of them. He killed over 1000 of them with a .275 Rigbey. He claims in that article that the new .308 with solid bullets would make the perfect elephant gun!
This guy, 'Karamjojo Bell' is geneerally credited with developing the brain shot on elephants from any angle or position.
He owned a very fine custom built double rifle in .400-.450 Jeffery. He just didn't like to carry it.
Just goes to show you that it is way more important where you shoot an animal not what you shoot it with.
Click to expand...

Not to be argumentative, but all of what you have stated here except shot placement is entirely irrelavent to modern day hunting with expanding bullets as our laws in Canada mandate.
Bell wrote 3 books and I highly recommend reading them, I have several times. Bell had certain criteria he used when hunting elephants and took as many heart shots as he did brain shots.
Just for those who don't already know, the 275 Rigby is just the British designation for the 7X57 mauser. This choice was based on the amount of ammunition he could carry and the availability in Africa in the day. The 7X57 was the favored cartridge of the Boers in SA and as such was extremely plentiful and cheap with it's 175 gn cupro nickel over steel, full metal jacketed bullet.

But I digress, the 308 with expanding bullets is more than a match for Blackies and I'd rather be carrying a 308 than a 30-30 if I had to dispatch a bothersome grizzly.
 
Why is it these threads keep coming up. Do people really think that animals are bullet-proof? Polar bears are still shot with .30-30's and the back-up rifle is a high-powered .303. So why can't you use a .308 on a blackie?

I have watched one old Metis hunt moose with a .22LR. Put 2 rounds in the stomach from 50yds. Build a fire, make some tea, take your time drinking it. The theory is, and it has proven out, that the moose doesn't know why it feels bad, but it does and looks for a place to lay down. while you are drinking your tea, the moose lays down, stiffens up, and when you finally track him to his bed, he can't get up. 2 rounds in the head and you can start gutting!!

The problem is that people don't want to take the time to make a good shot, so then they need to have more than enough rifle to make up for the mistakes.

Upshot of it, OP, is that the .308 will take care of anything you want to shoot in North America if you do your part and put the bullet where it will do the most good.

I had a very petite sister-in-law in Manitouage, ON who used a Winchester M70 in .308. She has shot moose almost every year for 6 yrs, and deer for the others. I don't think that bear would have caused her any problem.

I also have a brother in law in NS who used a Savage 340 for bear hunting. He never felt undergunned and yet got a bear every year.
 
I've shot several black bears with my Rem 600 in .308. My first couple of bang-flops on big game came shooting that little rifle on black bears, and not just small ones. .308 win is a GREAT black bear cartridge.
 
The infamous 22LR moose and bear stories black and grizzlies and even polar bears it always surfeuses when the subject of cartridge choice comes up.
 
rookie wildcat said:
I have watched one old Metis hunt moose with a .22LR. Put 2 rounds in the stomach from 50yds. Build a fire, make some tea, take your time drinking it. The theory is, and it has proven out, that the moose doesn't know why it feels bad, but it does and looks for a place to lay down. while you are drinking your tea, the moose lays down, stiffens up, and when you finally track him to his bed, he can't get up. 2 rounds in the head and you can start gutting!!

The problem is that people don't want to take the time to make a good shot, so then they need to have more than enough rifle to make up for the mistakes.
Click to expand...

Where to start with that anecdote.......... nevermind. :rolleyes:
 
Hey, I didn't say it was right. Just that it happened. Old guy came into my camp looking to chat. Told me how he shot moose. Wanted to wait around for a bit. Helped him track the cow down and it did exactly what he said it would. End of story.

People get too wrapped up around the axle when others post such things. Many families had very little years ago and they had to make do with what they had. My grandmother used to shoot deer that were in her kitchen garden from the kitchen window with a .22. All they had and Granddad was out in a lumber camp.

Don't like the truth in the story, don't read it.

Would I shoot a moose with a .22? Nope. As a matter of fact, my wife has a nice .243 that she shoots very well. We are going elk hunting this year and she is not taking it. We are building her a rifle on a p-14 action. .303 Epps. Would the .243 work. Yes. Am I more confident that a .311" bullet driven at .30-06 velocities will be better? Dang right.
 
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