favorite black bear HUNTING caliber

I don't use my .375 Ruger because I don't think a .30-06 can do the job, I just like shooting animals with the biggest gun I have on hand........... I would certainly want to be put down with a big gun if there was a choice. For me, I just feel better knowing I used my best choice, available to me, to maximize the "death blow" .
 
Bullet construction and placement are vital considerations. Yes I use a big gun 458 wm. A 300 gr Hornady hollow point at 2750 fps hitting the shoulder of a 400 lbs black bear is not smart placement. I doubt I'd ever recover that bear. That same bullet fired at 1400 fps thru the ribs from a 45/70 would most likely get me a nice bear rug. But that 458 wm shooting a 400+ controlled expansion bullet at 2400 fps will smash thru the shoulder and take out everything inbetween
A 600+ lb bear was taken where I hunt and I've seen several that would go easily over 500. Even the 185 lb bear I took last year had nearly 3" of fat of each side of him plus a nice thick long coat.
I've seen what my 25/06 does inside bear fat. 5" hole going into the ribs. No exit but a very dead bear. If i had pulled my shot the outcome may have been different. On large bears and even deer I like to smash the shoulders. I find it very effective and it's nice to drop the animal in its tracks instead of letting it run into thick bush. To me a big bore rifle is up to the task even on the biggest bear ill ever come across so that's what I use. Plus I just love those guns I have so chambered. I'm not saying a big bear can't b killed with a small high speed bullet.
Everyone has their reasons I was just curious as to what ppl carry in th various locations. There seems to be a wide selection from 6/243 thru 25 and 6.5 with a decent following for 270 and 7 mm. Majority is 30 cal of some sort which I figured. It is nice to see that many use short handy guns in 375 and lever guns that start with 45. Even shot gun and front stuffers. Life would be boring if all we had was a 30-06 or 303.
As fun as it would be to take a bear with a bow and I do hunt with archery gear I'm a gun guy and will choose a rifle over a bow any day

My next project will be a short handy bolt gun in most likely a 35 cal
Anyway just over a month until my bear hunt begins
 
Brybenn.........I think I have posted on here a few times that I use almost exclusively my 350 RM in my Rem mod 7 KS. I have killed dozens of blackies with it and they are almost all pretty much where they were when the shot hit. No, I do not believe this cartridge is necessary for Yukon blackies, I just love the way it flattens them, AND one may always run onto a grizzly that he may wish to take. In this case I do not feel I am terribly over gunned.
As far as minimum goes, I took one of my largest Yukon blackies with a 243 and 80 gn bullets..........I guess a lot of this answer would depend on how good a shot one is.
 
45/70 lever action, iron sights with Hornady leverevolution 325gr ftx, or 12 gauge slug. Have used 30-30 successfully as well. I hunt over a bait in heavy bush, and never take anything with a scope.
 
Doug I've been looking really hard at the 350 rm. I need a 35. Not normally a magnum fan except the 458 wm but it could use a Lil brother lol.
The last bear I shot was with a round loaded in brass I got from you actually
 
i used a 30-30 for mine this year. 150gr seirra bullets. It was my first black bear and my first time using my great uncles 30-30 that I inherited years ago. My boar only made it about 40 yards after a heart/lung shot. It was great to use his old rifle now. Next year I will use my bow.
 
brybenn said:
Doug I've been looking really hard at the 350 rm. I need a 35. Not normally a magnum fan except the 458 wm but it could use a Lil brother lol.
The last bear I shot was with a round loaded in brass I got from you actually[/QUOTE]

Glad you're making good use of it !!!!:):)

BB.......you also wouldn't go far wrong with a 358 Win or a Whelen. I just happen to have a Whelen for sale that puts 250 Parts into 1 hole groups at 2700 fps. Good for black bears or anything else on the continent you may wish to take home with you.
I was going to show you some pics but Photobucket is screwing up right now...........

And here's a couple of my black bear slayer............



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Phil......I use the 225 AB and I trim the plastic tip off to fit my mag. I have a cute little pair of wire cutters that do a fantastic job and I get them clean off with the jacket every time. I also had the foresight to buy 10 boxes when they were still standard stock about the countryside.

BB.........Photobucket is back up so here's the photos of how the Whelen shoots..........







 
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how does the .375 Winchester fare on the Bear? or the 38-55 for that matter?

I just signed up to Cast boolits, reignited the flame for the 375BB an began loading cast pills.. load development done, sounds like a bear round


WL
 
WhelanLad said:
how does the .375 Winchester fare on the Bear? or the 38-55 for that matter?
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Both the .375 Win and .38/55 are good bear cartridges within their effective ranges... I had a number of clients take bears with them over the years.
 
I've had great results with my .35 Whelen taking a 6X6 elk, nice 4X4 Mule deer and a blackie all in one weekend a couple years ago. I was using a 225gr. TSX which was under the hide on the off-shoulder and expanded perfectly. I really like medium bore calibers on the '06 case ie:.35 Whelen, .338-06 and wouldn't feel "under gunned" on a bear hunt though I might use the opportunity to carry my .375H&H Browning.
 
Hey Whelen Lad, we need to send you a couple dozen breeding pairs...........you could get them started over there. Something else to hunt...........suspect they'd do just fine there.
 
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