If you were leaving next week to go on a black bear hunt what would be your gun of choice?

The reason I ask...I'm planning my first bear hunt ever for the upcoming fall here in Tennessee. Will be hunting in east TN where the average weight is 250-300 lbs. I'm guessing???

Your thoughts?

I would say 30-06 or bigger.

BB, most of my guys show up with just about everything. Most common would be the 308, the 30-06, variations of the new mag 30 cals. the odd 45-70 and the occasional 12 ga with slugs. By far, the most damaging to a bear was the slug gun but any 30 cal worked just fine. The bottom line was always a good solid broadside hit that resulted in few bears travelling very far. The bears that travelled the farthest and are most often lost are those taken by archery hunters but weird as it is, many bears taken by archery don't travel as far as those hit by a rifle. You figger that one out[:-]

Black bear are not tough to kill. Use anything down to .308 or 7mm.08 - whatever you're comfortable and accurate with. gg

30-30 and up 308 270 30/06 are good

Any medium caliber 270 and up. But being your hunting tennessee and probaly most shots under 50yds. my 444 marlin I would take.

Thanks for the input! I was on the fence about my .270 wsm or the 30.06. Probably not enough difference to worry about but everyone I've talked to always reccomends the .30 caliber. Probably going to take the 'ol .06!

bentbarrel,
I would say you have no problem with a .270. I took my bear with one and he was dead before he hit the ground. He weighed 415lbs and measured 20 11/16". I use Winchester cxp2's, which are ballistic tip bullets with a nosler partition and have yet to have an animal run on me. So I would say take the .270 and have a blast.

.50 caliber CVA Hunterbolt with 348 gr. Powerbelt Aero Tips!

bentbarrel, the only black bear I have taken with a rifle was with a 270 win, the rest have been with an arrow. The shot was 75 yards and he was over 300lbs, dropped with one shot. As mentioned they are not very tough to kill, especially with a rifle. My hunting partner has killed several bears being raised in bear country and a sheep/cattle farming operation, with his trusty 3030.

My suggestion is take the rifle that gives you the most confidence and shoots the best. I would run solid constructed bullets such as: failsafe, aframes, trophy bonded, nolser parts, etc just due to the large/heavy shoulder blades they have.

Best of luck on getting a nice blackie!