Bear hunt questions
 

Hi folks-

I've done some searching through the archives here to see if there's any answers to my questions, so here goes:

The wife and I will be doing some black bear hunting in Idaho in the Spring of next year. My hunting experience (non-human- I'm former military) is mostly deer and hog, while the wife has only hunted hog.

I've had some conversations with the outfitter, and they're obviously pushing us to bring as big of a gun as we can, preferably 45-70. The wife's 7-08 is too small, according to the guides. Not a problem, she has a Tikka 300 WSM just like me.

Question 1: I've had great success using 165gr Accubonds in the Tikka, they're laser accurate (generally too much gun for hog and deer under 100 yards), but I think these are going to be a touch light for bear. I bought a couple boxes of Partitions at 200 and 220gr weights, plus I have a couple boxes of 180gr Accubonds sitting on the bench. Are 180s going to be enough, or should I go straight into load development for the 220s?

Question 2: Load development- at 180, 200 or 220gr, how important is velocity over bullet weight? According to the Nosler manual, a 220gr Partition with a max charge of powder is going to be around 2500fps at the muzzle. If I drop down to 180gr, I can top out at around 2900fps, which is a difference of about 300 ft/lbs of energy. I'm not likely going to be using max charge, so the bullet velocities are going to be lower.

Question 3: Aimpoint- obviously bear anatomy is different from a deer or hog, and the boiler room is set back a bit further. As best as I can tell, tight behind the shoulder if the bear is standing still, around the horizontal midline of the body seems to be where to point in. The wisdom of the internet seems to be to go for a double lung shot rather than trying to hit the heart.

180 grains is plenty for a 300 Mag.

bears can't take a good hit as well as a deer, the 165's, especialy in the accubonds will do just fine, we normaly let youngsters shoot bear with a 243 under most situations, keep the 165's they'll be fine. I've taken a couple with the 7mm/08, it would suffice.
RR

While I am not trying to discredit you any RR.. I know a guy up here that put 7 rounds into a bear that ran towards him and dropped at his feet before. I also remember hearing about a guide that was attacked by a wounded bear when it came running out of a thicket. The guide got stove up none the less and the bear ended up getting shot while it was on top of the guide..

Bears can take quite a beating at times. But yeah, he has plenty of fire power and well placed shots is going to count pretty good.

I'd agree with ridge runner. Placement of the shot will make the difference. Several shots, with none doing serious CNS, organ, or vascular damage will not quickly bring much of any big game animal down. I'd think that anything that will kill a mature hog will kill a bear.

Dead Bears
 

I've shot two black bear's in my hunting life. First one was on a stand hunt in Maine. I used a 45/70 1886 Winchester, 405 grn Remi bullet if I remember right. Guides said to hit him right in the shoulder to brake it. I did, Bear ran 30yds, droped, death moan, and was done. When bear was butchard, The bullet smashed the left shoulder, past trough the chest cavity on an angle and was under the skin on the right shoulder. Bear #2 was with a 30/06 , 180 grn or 200 grn remi. This time I hit him right behind the shoulder blade , like on a deer shot, Bear dropped were he was at, never made a sound other than when he was hit. Now I stick with a Marlin 45/70 G.

I know this, you double lung a deer with a decent rifle and they run 40-100 yards, double lung a bear and he won't make it 20 feet, have saw probably over 50 shot, the 13 I have shot with the exception of 1 never moved, that one was head shot over dogs and missed the brain cavity.
RR

Ah, questions one and two are kind-of pointless. Anything you've mentioned will kill a bear if your shot placement is on.

Aiming for the shoulder is generally considered the way to go. Even if you miss the lungs somehow, breaking the shoulder will anchor the bear. If you shoot tight behind the shoulder they'll run around 40 yards tops. If they run farther something went wrong.:confused0024:

Good hunting!

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.

for what its worth , im taking a .300 win mag for bear in September. shooting 180 gr partitions

The last bear I shot was with a 300 WSM and it dropped him in his tracks. I've also taken bear with a bow, muzzleloader, and 7mm Rem Mag. Shot placement is the key.

mines not the short mag. i was tossing up the idea of using a 200gr barns bullet but i figured the 180 partitions will do the job just fine.

Blacks are relatively easy to put down. Put it tight behind the shoulder, and get your skinning knife out. They aren't armor plated. You don't need a partition to drop them.

what would you consider a really thick skinned animal?

I have used the 140 grain boat tail Hornady for a lot of years on everything from gophers and yotes to elk and moose. I have a pile of partitions and have used them also on everything. I haven't seen any difference on the performance on game animals. Dead is dead. I use partitions when hunting the moose, only because there is a pile of grizzly in the areas that I go into. Same with some of the elk areas that I hunt. I used to carry a 375 H&H all of the time, but have never had a problem with the grizzly, so I am sticking to the 270 Bee. Once the 140's are done, all that I will be loading are the 150 grain Speer. They just plain work. If I was hunting Alaska, then it would be partitions all the way. The partition is an excellent bullet, but is not really needed for most game animals. Use whatever you are comfortable with and good luck. I used to knock blacks off the cedar rail fences around the orchard with a 22 250. Killed them quick. Don't be paranoid of the black bear. They are easy to flatten if you place your shot in the heart or lungs.

Neither would I, based on my experience hunting bears. Put a well made bullet from any of those cartridges into a bear's lungs and you can get the skinning knife ready. I've personally seen a treed cattle killing bear laid low with a single round through the brain from a .22 pistol. Now I'm not saying a .22 is a good bear round but it was the only gun on hand and it sure killed that one graveyard dead, which proves bullet placement is more important than bullet size.

when you say not needed would you say its just over kill? ive shot a few deer with 180 partitions out of my 300 and i love them. drops them where they stand. yes you could say its overkill but the end result is a good one.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Noslers, all that I am saying is that a bullet of that quality is not an absolute must for most of the game animals. If you are taking iffy angle shots, then the partition will perform better than a standard cup and core bullet. If you are planning on crushing a lot of bone, the partition rules. If you are putting it through the ribs, any quality made bullet will do what it is asked.

i agree. i look for more what works best for most so i dont have to keep re sighting in my rifle. i use my 300 for a lot of different game but its the most finicky rifle i own as far as bullets. it will group as far as 6 inches off from 180 to 150 gr partitions

If you look on a box of .243. It shows bear & deer, but not Elk.

A lot of folks say bears are easy to kill, even with small calibers, as long as shot placement is good. BUT....shot placement on a bear is tricky. They look like a black blob, at all angles. Ask a guide, a lot of bears have been shot "behind the shoulder" but are actually hit too far back. Also, the difference between a small bear and a HUGE bear could be 800 pounds. I would rather have enough gun for the biggest bear I could possibly see than have an adequate gun for the smallest.

I am going to Maine for Black Bear next month. I will be using 180 grain 308. I'll let you all know.

Not really. The secret is to come straight up the leg to the lower third of the chest. This shot breaks the shoulder and get the vitals. If the bear isn't broadside the target will be the far shoulder and not the near shoulder but the hold is the same. Bear have smaller lungs than a deer so a shot a couple of inches behind the shoulder will often miss the lungs but if you stick a well made bullet in the shoulder the bear is a goner.

Hi everyone,
here i have new prospective to go with the hunting.As i personally feel that when we were in search of the peace or willing to spent some time with our selves..... I used to do fishing,outdoor adventure.... Which give me lots of pleasure. As every one has its own and different point of view.As i got such inspiration from camostorm . For your concern just go through it http://camostorm.com/category/outdoors/