The more I have read about black bears, since making my original post, is that they don't seem to require monster calibers to put down. It seems the general concensus here is same. What got we wondering was a video I watched about hunting coastal bears, both blacks and browns. The video is called, "Hunting Alaska's Coastal Giants, with Glacier Guides, Inc." In the video, the outfitter recommended using "the biggest caliber you can comfortably shoot, with a .375 being the minimum." The guides carried either a .416 Rem Mag or a .458 Win Mag, which seems like overkill to me. Maybe they recommend such large rifles because they can encounter black or brown bear, and they want to have enough gun for the big browns? This is all I can figure. Anyway, thanks for getting me straight with regards to black bears.

I will take the loads I have already developed for my .338-06. I know they are accurate and after reading your comments, I am confident they will do the job. I recently shot some Hornady 180gr Interbonds in my .30-06, and they seem to shoot well, so I will take some of these along too.

This hunt will be a bit unique. There will be four of us in the group, and many of the other hunters have asked if they can use my rifles, so they don't have to transport theirs on the airplane. Without the need to check a rifle case, they can bring more gear and (hopefully) take the bear meat back with them. I think this is a good idea, and it is a great opportunity to use different bullets/loads on the same hunt to evaluate their performances. I am really looking forward to it, and I will be sure to post results and pictures of our hunt.

Thanks again,
Dan