Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

This is my 3rd bear hunt and the first 2 kills were with my bow...My Hoyt

I want to take a bear with a gun.... now that I have done the bow ...

Tell me what to use....helpful hint...max shot range is 50 yards...

My H&R 12 Gauge with 300 gr. Hornady SST's 2000fps.

My H&R 30-06 with 180 SST's 2800 fps.

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I realize both will do serious damage...what would you use...its 50 yards[8D]

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

I'd probably use the 12 ga.

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

Thats what I'm thinking...thanks

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

Depends where you're going, we talking avg black bear? or monsters on the pacific? 50yds is close, personally i'd use a rifle any chance I can, here in IL we have to use slugs for deer, i just so prefer the accuracy of a rifle to that of a slug, but I know we're only talking 50yds, at that distance id be leaning towards a .308 vs a .30-06, less we're talking large black bears, but even so I think I'd go .30-06 with 180, or maybe even 220, to slow that bullet down even more for such close range. I'm not sure how the diff in penetration would be, but with a larger bore of the slug, I'd suspect it would be less, though with the slower velocity and heavier bullet it might be more.

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

That last post made my head hurt. Bear are pretty easy to kill so I'd just use what shoots better at 50yds which is probably the 06. The 06 and 165 IB's have worked perfectly for me on many a blackie. Brett

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

As far as getting the job done at 50 yards or less, one choice is as good as the other...If I were you I'd use whichever firearm it PLEASES me most to use...

Personally, having been required by law to use a shotgun/slug for big game for many years in my home state, I'd use the rifle...Nothing against shotgun slugs...It's just that I'm a handloader and prefer to take game with ammunition that I have assembled myself..

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

Use which ever you feel more comfortable with. They will both do the job as good as the other.

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

Either would certainly do the job at that range. If it ends up longer than that, definitely I'd go with the .30-06 with a 200 or 220 grain bonded or partitioned core. The later would give you the accuracy at an extended distance and could still break bones and do the internal damage necessary. You don't want to be tracking a wounded bear from a lighter bullet and/or one designed for a thinner skinned animal that doesn't give the necessary penetration.

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

At 50 yards, I'm not sure the 06 would expand enough to do sufficient damage. A great chance of a pass through without causing lethal damage.
The slug on the other hand, should drop him like a wet card table. Something to consider.
But mainly go with the one you have the most confidence in.
You know, Federal makes a slug with a balistic tip that looks pretty efective, even out past 50 yards! Check it out:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20712-cat20841&id=0050481216450a&navCount=1& podId=0050481&parentId=cat20841&masterpath id=&navAction=push&catalogCode=XH&rid= &parentType=index&indexId=cat20841&has JS=true

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

I own that federal and have killed many deer with it....she's a beauty...I will dump my bear with a sabot slug out of my shotgun.....although the bow kill rocked my world...I will log the gun hunt under my belt...take my 3 bears...and head off west for an elk. Thanks dude!

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

Huh? explain that to me

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

06...

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

In myexperience, a close up shot with a high powered rifled is more likely to pass through the animal without significant expansion and therefore do little damage. I have had to repeat shots (as the critter still walks!) at close ranges vs. one shot "drops" at longer distances. I accredit this to the bullet slowing down and expanding on impact as it was designed to do.
The 438 grain slug at about 100fps slower at the muzzle is going to deliver almost 300 ft lbs. @ 50 yards, shock the animal, expand to do maximum internal damage, and drop the critter where it stands.

Apparently you disagree. More power to ya!

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

Ahhh yea lol, generaly the faster you drive a bullet the more violently it will expand. A perfect example of this is the difference between a bullet designed to be shot out of a 30-30 loaded into a 30-06. Same bullet diameter but built to expand at a much lower velocity, if you load them into 06 sometimes the darn things dont penetrate at all, the jacket isnt designed for that velocity, now slow it down several hundred feet per second and that very same bullet will penetrate just fine. Anyway my 2 cents

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

.30-06 with 180 grain bullets. Plenty of knock down power. More fun to hunt with a scoped, high power rifle than a shotgun shooting slugs any day.

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

Any of the weaponry mentioned will work fine. Take the animal with respect. It survives in a harsh environment every day and has earned the respect. True hunters understand that.

RE: Which gun should I use...Please Help
 

Use the one you can shoot the best and are most comfortable with. Either gun willkill a blackie at 50 paces if you put the lead where it goes. The slug gun will do it with immediate authority, the '06 may have a little less immediate effect, but it will get the job done. (Note: Alaskans who regularly fish and hunt in grizzly territory seem to favor carrying a 12 gauge over carrying an '06 slung over their shoulder. Could be that they know something that those of us down here in the lower 48 don't.)

Regards, & Good Huntin',
LlindeX