Deciding what rifle for my bear hunt
08-14-2016, 09:41 PM
#1
Banned
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Boncarbo,Colorado
Posts: 9,186
Deciding what rifle for my bear hunt
Got a left over year tag for a nice unit, but to be honest. I'm not really into bear hunting as its like looking for a needle in a hay stack when you can not bait or use lures in Colorado for bear.
Calls IMO are pretty much worthless. They might work when you SPOT the bear from afar, but calling one in is pretty thin chances IMO.
I plan on taking that hawken woodsman .50cal percussion, then I looked on the wall and saw the flintlock version and to be honest, that REALLY has me tempted!
Both rifles would be loaded with patched round balls of course. I know the flinter is on sight as well as the percussion, Just so darn hard to decide!
Do I get serious and go with the more reliable percussion, or put my back against the wall and force myself to slow down and do it with a flinter?
Finding a bear will be the hardest part, so a nice light rifle is a must since it mostly will be a site seeing trip while my brother hunts deer and elk.
Calls IMO are pretty much worthless. They might work when you SPOT the bear from afar, but calling one in is pretty thin chances IMO.
I plan on taking that hawken woodsman .50cal percussion, then I looked on the wall and saw the flintlock version and to be honest, that REALLY has me tempted!
Both rifles would be loaded with patched round balls of course. I know the flinter is on sight as well as the percussion, Just so darn hard to decide!
Do I get serious and go with the more reliable percussion, or put my back against the wall and force myself to slow down and do it with a flinter?
Finding a bear will be the hardest part, so a nice light rifle is a must since it mostly will be a site seeing trip while my brother hunts deer and elk.
08-15-2016, 04:15 AM
#2
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
Well take the one you are confident will go off every time. With a bear, and that caliber and projectile you mentioned, you are going to get only one chance. I hunted them with a .54 caliber loaded with round ball one day. Then after being quite shook up by a sow and cubs I went with a maxi ball.
I do know of one person that has shot and killed bear with a .50 caliber round ball but he's a dog hunter. The dogs tree the bear and then he got the shot. Bear are not as hard to kill as many think if you place the shot. But they do tend to not die immediately from what I seen. And that's where the hair on your neck will stand when you go after one in the brush after you shot it.
One year we had a hunter up here that had shot a bear. He was sure it was a killing shot. But when it came to going in the brush after it, he refused. He finally talked some locals into "trailing it" for him. It was dead about eighty yards in. But I never seen a man that terrified of going in. And "with good reason." A wounded bear is not something fun to go after.
Good luck. We are allowed to bait here and even then it is not a sure thing. And they allow dog hunters here. While there are views on both of them as ethical, they are the way we hunt them here. I currently have a large bear around the house. He's been leaving me his love messages in my yard when I mow and seems fascinated with my wild raspberry patches around the house. By the size of the piles he's been depositing in the grass, he must be a big one.
I do know of one person that has shot and killed bear with a .50 caliber round ball but he's a dog hunter. The dogs tree the bear and then he got the shot. Bear are not as hard to kill as many think if you place the shot. But they do tend to not die immediately from what I seen. And that's where the hair on your neck will stand when you go after one in the brush after you shot it.
One year we had a hunter up here that had shot a bear. He was sure it was a killing shot. But when it came to going in the brush after it, he refused. He finally talked some locals into "trailing it" for him. It was dead about eighty yards in. But I never seen a man that terrified of going in. And "with good reason." A wounded bear is not something fun to go after.
Good luck. We are allowed to bait here and even then it is not a sure thing. And they allow dog hunters here. While there are views on both of them as ethical, they are the way we hunt them here. I currently have a large bear around the house. He's been leaving me his love messages in my yard when I mow and seems fascinated with my wild raspberry patches around the house. By the size of the piles he's been depositing in the grass, he must be a big one.
08-15-2016, 06:00 PM
#4
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 12,747
How about letting the weather decide. Take both and use the flinter if its nice and dry. And if it looks like foul weather use the caplock.
Personally I would opt for a .54 or .58 shooting a PRB. But here in PA we grow some pretty big blackies! Take a look at my post below titled OT: What do you think? There is one hanging around my neck of the woods about that same size.
Personally I would opt for a .54 or .58 shooting a PRB. But here in PA we grow some pretty big blackies! Take a look at my post below titled OT: What do you think? There is one hanging around my neck of the woods about that same size.
Last edited by bronko22000; 08-15-2016 at 06:03 PM.
08-15-2016, 06:34 PM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Illinois
Posts: 3,695
LOL Bronko, Colorado tends to grow some mighty fine Blackies as well. Seen more than my share of them while Elk hunting. Many with bowling ball sculls and in the 500+ range.
But I do agree whole heartedly with the .54 comment. I'm thinking you have one right MD? If you are dead set on PRB going after a Bear then that would be the minimum caliber I would suggest. You know the old saying "go big or go home"? When hunting an animal that can rip your scrawny butt into small tasty treats, I use a different version of that saying,,,"go big so you CAN go home"
But I do agree whole heartedly with the .54 comment. I'm thinking you have one right MD? If you are dead set on PRB going after a Bear then that would be the minimum caliber I would suggest. You know the old saying "go big or go home"? When hunting an animal that can rip your scrawny butt into small tasty treats, I use a different version of that saying,,,"go big so you CAN go home"
08-15-2016, 09:48 PM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Illinois
Posts: 3,695
Ahhhhh family trouble. Aint it grand!! They're kinda like drugs MD....JUST SAY NO!!! Works well for me except for the women in the family who don't take no for a damn answer no matter who or how big ya are damn women!!
