First Black Bear Hunt

Bigfoot 870

Bigfoot 870

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Nova Scotia
I've taken my share of whitetails, with rifle and bow, but never a bear.

I have a buddy that is about to go back to work, on an oil rig off of Africa. He wants me to hunt his bait, which is seeing fairly steady action from a 175 to 200 lb bear.

I'll be hunting from a ground blind, 50 yards from the bait, with the prevailing wind in my face.

My rifle is chambered in .270 Win and shoots Remington Core-Lokt 130gr PSP and Federal Premium 150gr Nosler Partition, to the "same" POI.

My questions:

1) Which round is best?
2) What is the preferred shot placement? (I am aware that the vitals are back a bit further, than a whitetail.)
3) The tree regrowth is young and dense, so the further he runs, the greater the challenge will be to get him out. Should I try to "break him down" (hit bone, to drop him on the spot)?

Thanks guys :)
 
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Either of the rounds will drop a black bear. I like to aim for the shoulder - this will help anchor the bear, and prevent it from running too far. Deepening on the size and exactly where the bear runs off to it may be more practical to break him down in the bush.
 
Arclight said:
Either of the rounds will drop a black bear. I like to aim for the shoulder - this will help anchor the bear, and prevent it from running too far. Deepening on the size and exactly where the bear runs off to it may be more practical to break him down in the bush.
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Thanks Arclight, by "break him down" I meant hitting bone, to drop him on the spot (revised OP) :)
 
"Breaking them down" is a fallacy. All you accomplish is ruining meat. Shoot them tight behind the shoulders as you would with an ungulate and they'll die just fine and you'll save some meat.
 
BigUglyMan said:
"Breaking them down" is a fallacy. All you accomplish is ruining meat. Shoot them tight behind the shoulders as you would with an ungulate and they'll die just fine and you'll save some meat.
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I hear ya BUM. If I wasn't "crippled up", I wouldn't care how far he runs. It's too thick to get an ATV through, so my buddies are in for a drag :)

Exactly where in NS do you live?? ;)
 
150 gr partition from a 270 at 50 yards to the neck will flatten him and waste a lot of meat. Personally I like the shoulder shot but I use big bores so I don't wreck as much meat
 
I shot one in the spring with a 270 (Hornady sst 130 grain bullet) and he didn't move. I trust an animals inability to breathe without lungs vs a bad bullet expansion or strange angle into shoulder bone. They are hard to kill and they're not but make sure you aim well, put the bullet where you want and recovery should be a non issue. I have seen almost any 270 bullet take them down without any issue so you choose what you feel best with and make it happen.
 
Either will work well.

Try to watch where he goes after the shot, the last one I took, the exit hole plugged with fat almost immediately, nearly no blood trail.
 
either will work. i have a preference for the 150 grains but that is just me. last two black bears i ve seen taken with a 270 win were with a 150 grains round nose core lockt.

one at 5 meters or even less and the other one at 162m and one shot in the lungs did the work. whole dead in the track.

so pretty sure the partition will work and may have my preferences.
 
Either load is fine... IMO forget the "beak him down" idea... put one shot through the lungs... follow the back edge of the front leg up to mid body, ease rearward a couple inches and "squeeze," equals rapidly deceased bear...

I am not a fan of intentional "CNS" or "Bone" shots, particularly from high velocity, low weight rounds... I have had far too many bad experiences with clients who have chosen to go this route.
 
Bigfoot 870 said:
I hear ya BUM. If I wasn't "crippled up", I wouldn't care how far he runs. It's too thick to get an ATV through, so my buddies are in for a drag :)

Exactly where in NS do you live?? ;)
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Shelburne County. I can sympathize with not wanting them to go far...this is the thickest country I have ever seen, and I'm been to Africa!
 
Either bullet will work. I shoot through the shoulders when I can, but that depends a bit on shot angle. Sometimes its only practical to get one. Frontals are also very decisive. I've never seen anything to make me believe that black bears are hard to kill, but I'd rather not have to look for them.
 
On another note, I haven't yet seen the trail cam photos of this bear, but I have been to the bait site. There are no defined tracks, as the terrain is mossy and grassy, with no mud. His "hard" turds are consistently 2" in diameter, when eating oats. Does my estimate of 175 to 200 lbs seem reasonable?
 
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