Outfitters see a lot of hunters, many with very little hunting and shooting experience, so I understand why he recommends big, like a .45-70.

Many bears have a thick layer of fat just under their skin which can easily plug a small bullet hole which will leave a small or no blood trail for tracking.

Obviously, larger calibers will make larger bullet holes.

Black bears are not armor plated. Like others have posted, a bullet into the lungs by way of the shoulder will result in a dead bear that won't run very far. Lungs are a much larger target than the heart is.

I have only killed three black bears. Two were DIY spot and stalk one shot kills on bears in Colorado and Montana. One kill was with a 240 grain cast bullet from my .44 mag Ruger, and the other was with a 220 grain cast bullet from my .45 acp. Both were shot broadside, tight behind their shoulder, and neither bear ran over 10 yards after being shot. The third was a problem bear that I killed with a .223.

I'm not advocating it as a black bear cartridge, but several of my friends hunt Montana black bears every spring with their .22-250s. They have killed dozens of bears, and as far as I know, they have not lost any.

When I hunted Caribou and Musk ox in Northern Canada, my Inuit guide told me of a Polar bear that he killed with his .223, but it took him three shots.

I would not hesitate to hunt black bears with a 7-08 or with 165 gr Accubonds from a .300 WSM, or for that matter, from a .308 Win or .30-06.