A cocked and loaded crossbow would be better than nothing but....... A crossbow arrow kills by a puncture wound that causes the critter to bleed out. Depending on how badly wounded the bear is you could find yourself in a world of shiete when you find him. For safety sakes you would be far safer with a firearm. Should the bear be waiting in cover for you the chance of your making a shot with your crossbow that would immediately put the bear down for the count is very slim. Wounded bears can be very cranky and many times are waiting/looking to deal with what caused them the pain they are in.