308 for bears
- Thread starter thehunterman
- Start date
diesel_weasel666
CGN Regular
.308 will do, but a 500gn .45-70 will do it a lot better!! But then again .45-70 is my answer to everything, from coyote to moose.
Yes guys sorry for another "will it do thread" but this is my first year hunting black bear and talking to most of the guides around they would have you believe that nothing short of a 45-70 500 grain hollowpoint to the head would stop a trophy bear,all I wanted where some people's opinions and that's what I got.
Thanks,
Hunter.
P.S.the model 70 is and amazing gun,it's one of those rifles much like the 94's that just feels right to shoulder and the open sights snap to you eye like nothing I have handled before................not bad for a 100 bucks
Thanks,
Hunter.
P.S.the model 70 is and amazing gun,it's one of those rifles much like the 94's that just feels right to shoulder and the open sights snap to you eye like nothing I have handled before................not bad for a 100 bucks
CreamySmooth
CGN frequent flyer
I've shot several hundred gophers with my .308. And my .257 Bee is awesome on elk, but my favorite is the beaver I shot with my 10 gauge! Awesome!!! Now at the same time, a buddy shot this deer with a .243 and it went over 300 yards, not impressive. Later we used a 17 HMR on coyotes and weren't impressed with how far we had to walk as well.
What do you take from this? Well duh!!! .308 is for gophers, .257 Bee is elk medicine, 10 gauge is to be used for beaver and DO NOT use .243 on deer and 17 HMR on coyote.
Very simple really. And as relevant as anything else on this thread....
What do you take from this? Well duh!!! .308 is for gophers, .257 Bee is elk medicine, 10 gauge is to be used for beaver and DO NOT use .243 on deer and 17 HMR on coyote.
Very simple really. And as relevant as anything else on this thread....
Looks like the .308 Win has overwhelming support as a black bear snuffer. As I recall, my first 3 bears were all shot with a Rem Model 7 in .308 shooting 165 grain Partitions. They all died where they were supposed to -- within a few feet of where they were shot.
The one thing I'd recommend for black bear, regardless of the cartridge used, is to make sure the bullet you're planning to use can be counted on to exit the animal regardless of shooting angle. Now don't get me wrong -- you want decent expansion from that bullet as well. But if Yogi decides to take a bit of a tour before expiring, you absolutely want an exit wound in order to facilitate some kind of a blood trail. It's nothing short of remarkable how much blood their hide and hair can soak up -- and if you only have one hole on the way in and nothing on the way out, you typically won't have much to follow.
Incidentally, should it ever happen that you have to follow a bear without much sign, do your best to remember the bear's last known direction of travel. In my experience, they will tend not to deviate from that path very much. And go slowly -- on a couple of occassions I've gone on merry marches after one, only to regroup at the initial crime scene and discover that I had walked right past an expired animal that within 50 yards had dived under a brush pile and simply disappeared.
The one thing I'd recommend for black bear, regardless of the cartridge used, is to make sure the bullet you're planning to use can be counted on to exit the animal regardless of shooting angle. Now don't get me wrong -- you want decent expansion from that bullet as well. But if Yogi decides to take a bit of a tour before expiring, you absolutely want an exit wound in order to facilitate some kind of a blood trail. It's nothing short of remarkable how much blood their hide and hair can soak up -- and if you only have one hole on the way in and nothing on the way out, you typically won't have much to follow.
Incidentally, should it ever happen that you have to follow a bear without much sign, do your best to remember the bear's last known direction of travel. In my experience, they will tend not to deviate from that path very much. And go slowly -- on a couple of occassions I've gone on merry marches after one, only to regroup at the initial crime scene and discover that I had walked right past an expired animal that within 50 yards had dived under a brush pile and simply disappeared.
