Black bears with a 7x57 Mauser?

[Rossbayo]

I have a nice light 7x57 Mauser rifle that only likes to shoot 139 grain bullets accurately.

Would that be lethal on black bears?

I usually use a 300 Winchester magnum but the rifle is heavy to pack around a lot.

I do see some old Imperial 160 gr. 7x57 loads around occasionally at gun shows. Might they be better if they shoot accurately?

 

[Why not?]

Yes.
Agreed.
Yes.

Ted

 

[daddylonglegs]

Your 7x57 with 139 grainers is perfectly adequate for black bears. The Inuit routinely kill Polar bear with .222 Rem & .223 Rem. Where you hit them is more important than what you hit them with. Any deer rifle is adequate for black bears.

 

[black powder]

head shot our shoulder shot will nail it on the ground ..they like to run when lung shot .

 

[a j cave]

great cal and will kill well. A high sholder will stop a bear & a finishing shot. Good luck & injoy the BBQ

 

[mbogo3]

Worked for Karamojo Bell on hundreds of elephant.........175gr FMJ's..........Harold

 

[TheTooner]

Yeah, I wouldn't use a 7x57mm for anything bigger than an elephant.

 

[TheCoachZed]

You won't have a problem if you make a good shot.

Most people have the misconception that black bears are hard to kill. They aren't. Down in Maine they kill them sometimes with a .22 (it's legal) when running them with dogs, or so I have been told.

The trouble with killing a bear is, sometimes it takes them a while to die, and they can put a lot of distance down in that time. But still, at least over bait, there isn't a deer rifle I wouldn't use, although I'd rather have a 12 gauge slug. They slow down fast and leave all their energy in Mr. Bear.... and you don't need an exit wound because the entrance wound is so big. With a pump or semi auto, follow up shots are fast, too, and if you have to follow a wounded bear, a shotgun is MUCH handier than a scoped rifle.

The only person I've known to kill a bear in self-defense used birdshot..... not something I'd want to try. I also know a former game warden who shot a seven foot blackie with a .22, years ago.

 

[captonion]

I have a nice light 7x57 Mauser rifle that only likes to shoot 139 grain bullets accurately.

Would that be lethal on black bears?

Plenty lethal! I have taken quite a few bear with a 25-06 without a problem. The 7X57 will serve you well.

 

[jiminthecorner]

The 7x57 ...................has killed more game of allsizes and types for a 100 years!!!!!!!!!!

Jeez use it!1 Jim

 

[jacky]

I took a 5'6" bear this past spring with my Savage 7X57. One shot from about 175 yrds ( I paced it out) and it was over. I just love that gun

 

[BigUglyMan]

I'm with Ted.

Why not just do it?

 

[peterf]

7x57 is my all time favorite. I use it more than any of my others. Deadly on bears.

 

[Northman999]

Go for it.

There was a time when the 7x57 was considered a perfectly adequate ELEPHANT killer.

Really.

 

[fuzzynuts54]

I read a story on a guy hired to exterminate grizlies in an area surrounding a particualr roadhouse in norther bc, Yukon or where ever, taking place in the 20's, 30's or so. Anhow this guy went on to kill 8 grizzlies in only a few days, I believe with this bullet. What book was that, it deserves another read.