theres no real advantage in significant power increases over what a 308 win with proper ammo potentially provides,
other than, it might provide the shooter with a bit more confidence
,but in most cases that Ive seen videotaped ,black bear are shot at well under 100 yards,
and if a 308 win can drop an elk at twice the distance and one that is easily twice as heavy as your average black bear it certainly does not lack lethality in skilled hands
btw I got one guy who asked me , after reading this thread,
what I would have suggested to take on that same black bear hunt if I was doing the hunting?
well to me thats a perfect match to using my BLR in caliber 358 win with those 250 grain speer bullets over a 44 grain charge of IMR 4064 with a 215 federal primer,
and id certainly select a scope with a 30mm tube and large lenses to make making shots in dim light easier.
I really doubt you could significantly improve on that combo,
as it certainly, and consistently works on larger and heavier elk.

It will be interesting to see what he decides to use!

a scope like this would be helpful
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/102227146


for those few that don,t know what a browning BLR carbine looks like,
heres a picture someone posted