Bear Caliber?

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49er1

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Hey guys, thinking about doing a bear hunt this year and I was wondering what caliber you would recommend for bear as I have never hunted bear before. I have a 12ga shotgun but Im sort of looking for a rifle both for bear and to scratch my itch of wanting another gun :D


Any suggestions would be appreciated
 
I've shot lots of bears with calibers from .270 to .375 H&H, and they all worked fine.

Bears aren't tanks, and hunting a bear does not require the same firearm as a dangerous "bear stopper" type firearm.
 
i dont have that much experiences ... but i know what is working 8x57js, 7x64 brenneke, 7mm rem mag, 30-06, 9,3x62, 300 savage, 300 wea and win mags, 270 win and wsm and certainly soon the 375 ruger ... at least on my little experience from european brown bear and black bear.

all the best.
 
My .300 win mag killed my 305 lb blackie at 70 or so yards instantly.Had lots of time to aim as the bear was just snacking at a large patch of raspberries.It Left a 6 or 7" exit hole broadside. Used factory Federal ammo with 180gr Hot-Cor bullets. What a mess. Heart wasn't even distinguishable.
Last year, I got a 340 lb blackie with a .30-06 and 180 gr Hornady Interlock over a load of Reloader 19. Anyhow, I again had ample time to aim, (this time at a little under 100 yards, and using a better rest.) The bear was hit well, but before I could recover from the recoil, the bear was gone????? I ended up not finding it until the next morning, and he was over 250 yards away, through THICK, almost impenetrable brush, and his lungs were almost liquified. Sometimes, a good bear just doesn't quite know that he's dead.
I just like the extra energy dump of the .300wm myself, but really, anything over a .30-06 or .308 is just overkill. I live in an area with the occasional Grizzly, I have seen one too unfortunately, so for me, the .300wm gives me more peace of mind than anything else. I don't carry it because I think its the minimum for black bears. Just use good bullets. I rarely use anything NOWADAYS other than GMX bullets, X-bullets, or really good proven bullets like the partition. (Or any good bonded bullets)
Bears aren't that tough to kill, but like any animal or human, an adrenalized version is just harder to kill QUICKLY.
 
trebor2880 said:
Just don't overdo it. I know a guy who shot one with a 300RUM.
Exit hole was the size of a basketball.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like a poor bullet choice and nothing to do with cartridge.

I have killed and seen a huge pile of big game animals killed with a wide variety of cartridges(small to very big). Big exit holes on thin skinned game are usually the result of an explosive bullet and nothing to do with the cartridge choice. Remember, I said usually ;)
 
crazy_davey said:
Sounds to me like a poor bullet choice and nothing to do with cartridge.

I have killed and seen a huge pile of big game animals killed with a wide variety of cartridges(small to very big). Big exit holes on thin skinned game are usually the result of an explosive bullet and nothing to do with the cartridge choice. Remember, I said usually ;)
Click to expand...

that is unless you are just plain too close to the animal , and then, even good bullets can do alot of damage purely because of the velocity of the bullet hitting meat. Its a fine line between over expansion and not getting enough , because your bullet was too tough, or the "medium" its travelling through, (I.E. broadside shot on deer) was a small distance from entry to exit.
I have only experienced one bullet failure with "cup and core" lead jacketed bullets, and that was from large bone deflection. The animal still died, but the exit wound was large, a lot of meat got splattered, and it travelled about half a mile before I got her. (thank god for bucketfulls of blood, or I'd never have gotten it. Thats the plus of large exit wounds.............blood trails. I prefer 2 holes than one. My Dad shot a fair sized cow moose about 7 years ago with a .30-30 win. The bullet didn't exit, and the moose hide shifted over the single entry hole, and left no blood trail. Had there not been fresh snow, probably wouldn't have recovered it)
Moral of the story, bring enough gun, and 2 holes are better than one. Whatever size hole you make, a good taxidermist can patch it up just like new;)
 
If you are hunting over a bait and your setup is under 30yds or less a shotgun with a slug is your best bet. Alot of knock down power and big exit whole...
 
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