brierpatch1974

Hello everyone, I plan on going on my first black bear hunt this fall and was wondering what would be a good bear gun and what type of bullet would be best. I use a 7mm-08 for deer hunting but wouldn't mind getting a new gun just for bears. < a man can never have to many guns> . Thanks for all the advice and suggestions.

BP

KonaBoy

I'd think a .35 Whelen would do nicely for blackies if you wanted to be a little different. Of course, if you wanted to be plain, the 30-06 would work too (Ihave both )

Muliefever

I have killed several blackies. And just about any rifle with a well placed shot will do. With your rifle the heavier the bullet the better. However, I shot a six footer last year with my Rem. 6mm at 55 yds. And he dropped in his tracks. When I go back to alaska I am going to buy a Marlin 444. Or something similar to that. You know what they say, Bigger is Better. And you didn't mention, but if you are hunting with a guide some of them require a minimum caliber. So check with them. Hope your season goes well. If there are any other questions I can help you with just give me a shout.

James B

45-70. Marlin

CamoCop

.30-06

younggun308

30-06 does the job nice, but if you get the 30-06, you don't need anything else, which is sad.

If you wanted to do something cool, get the Remington 673 in .350 Remington Magnum, that would be cool.

CamoCop

it may be a cool rifle, but buying ammo will be a pain. you can buy .30-06 ammo anywhere.

Folically Challenged

Your 7mm-08 oughta work just great.

But... if you have to have another rifle (), I'll be the killjoy & bring up the dubious science of caliber spacing. A .30-'06 would be a superb choice, but it's not all that much different than your current setup. Maybe check out the .35 Whelen, as KonaBoy suggested, or .358 Win., or .338-'06, or .338 Federal, or... something bigger than .30 cal.

Naturally, there's always .338 Win Mag, but that's lots more than you'd need for blackies, & you're looking at substantially more recoil, muzzle blast, & ammo expense. Then again, none of the calibers I mentioned above would be exactly "cheap" on the ammo expense scale, owing to their less thanwidespread popularity.

Another thing to consider is range: the calibers above would be good 200-ish yard cartridges (generally speaking, folks!). So, if you want a "reach way out there" setup, then you'll likely be looking at a magnum of some kind if you're going with a larger diameter bullet.

Good Luck,

FC

ccobbett

I have taken people out here in Maine for year. All of the above work just great. Howeb am a huge fan of .50 cal muzzleloaders. They make a big hole and people know they have one shot, make it count. Sometime haveing big guns gives a hunter a false sense, and then rush shots thinking that any shot with a big gun will do the trick. As many of you know bears have a smaller kill zone than deer and it sits more forward than a deer. Nothing beats a well placd shot. I would rather see a hunter with a 30-30 that puts one one the button, than a poor shot with a cannon.

my advice is make a big hole and make it count.

brierpatch1974

Thank you for all of the replies as I really appreciate them. I know my 7mm 08 would be good enough but for some reason I like useing differant rifles for differant game. <crazy I know but this way I make sure all my guns get used each year >.
So with that being said I use my .257 roberts for yotes, .243 for doe season, 7mm 08 for bucks, and a .204 for pest smaller than yotes.
For a bear gun I have thought about afew of guns. A marlin .444 < i need a lever gun > a 12 ga with a rifled slug barrel, and maybe even a .260 remington though that may be a little on the light side. I know I will never shoot over 50 to 75 yards at the most in the areas I will be hunting in.

BP