.357 Magnum For Bear
 

Hey guys, I might be going on a black bear hunt in the near future, and i was wondering about a good close range rifle. I was thinking a marlin model 1894 lever action 357 magnum. I do not want to go much bigger than that. It will be a baited hunt will this work under 30 yards or so.
Would a good shot on a bear be on the neck or a heart shot.

RE: .357 Magnum For Bear
 

357 should do the trick. The best shot is heart or lungs, but wait for the near leg to be forward aor a slightly quartering away shot. The front shoulder is pretty tough and can easily deflect the lead.

RE: .357 Magnum For Bear
 

The .357 would work at close range, but it's surely marginal..

Most any rifle round from .243 up would be a much better choice...You mentioned in another thread that you have a .243...Why not use that..??.. With well constructed 100 grain bullets it would be quite adequate for black bear over bait and would be a much better choice than the .357... The .357 is a fairly powerful handgun round, but compared to most centerfire deer caliber rifle rounds, it's a peashooter..

RE: .357 Magnum For Bear
 

thats would work but i use a 44mag loaded down with 180 grain bullets they work fine for me i have only wounded 1 but it was a bad shot and the guy next to me shot it on a drive but it would have died becuase i got its guts and stuff but the guy claimed it so i didnt argue and let him have it i was mad[:@]

RE: .357 Magnum For Bear
 

Would have died where??? And how many days later??? Don't be mad someone else shot and got it, be glad the animal didn't have to suffer from a gut shot!

If i had gut shotthat animal, it wouldn't bother me one bit that someone else got it, but it sure would bother me that i made such a pisspoor shot!

Most every year here on my place, i have to clean up someone elses mess that they make with poor shooting on deer.

DM

RE: .357 Magnum For Bear
 

Do you already have access to a 357 or are you planning to purchase one? It sounds like you are recoil sensitive, which is fine many of us are as well. The 44 mag, 30-30 and 35 rem are all available in the 94 on the used rack with very little recoil and would serve you much better for deer hunting later than the 357. I have no doubt the 357 will work if everything is ideal, but if you do not have one yet, it's going to lead to disapointment some time down the road if you use it on big game. I am going with pygmy on this one, I have never personally used a 243 but it has a lot more energy than the 357.

Just for reference down the line. The recoil pad can be removed on synthetic stocked rifles and the cavity filled with lead shot. The recoil pad can be replaced with a deccelerator. A recoil shield can be worn. I have a battle injury. The strongest rifle I have is a 308. I do not fill it with lead but do the other things and shoot a semi auto to bring the recoil down to 223 class. I haven't used the 308 in several years since I now use an ar with different uppers for hunting.
http://www.manventureoutpost.com/out...oducts_id=6460
This will bring a 30-06 or 308 down to a 243 feel by itself. Any of the model 94 calibers listed above will be knocked down to a 223 recoil or less.
Blessings

RE: .357 Magnum For Bear
 

i was mainly mad about the poor shot but i did hit it in one lung i just took off a little chunck of it thats the other reason i was mad so dont give me **** about it

RE: .357 Magnum For Bear
 

I say no even with a selective shot. When you consider the 30-30 Winchester has over double the KE of the 357 mag it is not enough cartridge for a larger bear. Here in Pennsylvaniablack bear can weight over 800 LBS and in nearly all their habitat 450-500 lbs is a mature male. A 44 MAG with a 300 + grain hardcast bullet from a rifle is still a minmum for a mature bear.

Beyond a 250 or 300 pound bear the 357 is a very bad choice. If you are really into the pistol cartrige thing I would choose a 45 Long Colt +p load with a 335 grain hardcast bullet from a Lever action riflelike inthe attached link.

http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/index.php?cPath=21_38

Our parts manager at work shot a 500 lbs bear in the chest with a 30-30 and 150 grain bullet and the bullet did not even get thru the chestwall much less damage the heart or lungs. The bear waskilled by another hunter in his groupwith an 06 and they found the 30-30 bullet when they skinned the bear flattened against the outside of the bears chest bone. For what is worth the 06 was a pass thru breaking both front shoulders with a 220 grainer.

RE: .357 Magnum For Bear
 

Even though it's a rifle, the .347 is still a handgun round. You would be wise to check the hunting regs where you are going to make sure it is a legal caliber.
Here in Wyoming it is not a legal caliber for any big game. Has to do withregs like:
"delivers at least five hundred (500) ft-pounds of impact at one hundred (100) yards"
The .357 does not do that.

RE: .357 Magnum For Bear
 

If your going to shoot a rifle get a rifle caliber. 1894 in 45-70. (Garret hard cast)
Most guys around here use a deer rifle for bears or .50 cal. muzzleloaders

I'm going after Browns this spring in AK and a Marlin 1895 in 45-70 is the rifle for me and my brother with his tag will shoot it with a 375 H&H. I suppose I'm just a pack mule and back up for him but should be an adventure.

Any rate the 45-70 can do allot. If cost is an issue consider 12 ga. slugs. But do use enough gun. .357 mag ??????..........well allot of better rifle choices out there IMO.
Cbulovsky
Washburn Wi