i went to roberval quebec to black bear hunt for the second time and what fun i had... took my buddy who never shot a bear and shot his first one this past sunday... i went to this outfitter last year and got me a nice bear and that was my first.. well this year i had a VERY nice size bear come into the bait that we were watching for some time. he was not a dumb bear it took him almost an hour to finally make his way to the bait. well here i was in this hut we hunt in and i was READY. he finally made it to the bait around 845 900pm... put my cross hairs on his neck and let it rip... well the next thing i saw was the bear drop like a rock and didnt move.... SO I THOUGHT........ the giude shakes my hand and says good shot. well then in a quick second he told me to watch the bear he was still moving. the bear then got up and walked behind the bait and i went to put a second shot into him and my saftey was on. by the time i let the shot go i hit to far back and he was gone. we looked for the bear found lots of blood but no bear the blood had stopped.. i was not a happy camper that day.... went back out and didnt see anything worth shooting except the one that wanted to come into the hut. that was scarey. has this ever happentd to anyone else but me.... i hope i am not the only one

by the way i was using a 30-06 180 grain federal

That is the main reason that I don't like neck shots.They often stun the bear but if they don't sever the vertebrae the animal often comes to and runs off.

Sorry to hear you lost him.

Sometimes you can get lucky with a neck shot. I spined and jugulared this small bear. Dropped him on the spot. I got lucky, worst shot I have ever made....

I shot a nice sized black bear with my 30-06 last spring. I too shot him in the neck, dropping him instantly. The bear started to move a little as he lay there, so I followed up my first shot with one to the shoulder. He did move a little more and I kept another shot ready to fire for several minutes, but he died shortly after that. I have no way of knowing if the neck shot would have been enough. I don't think that neck shots are necessarily bad ones. However, if the bear continues to move, his spinal cord is still somewhat intact, thus making a second shot likely necessary.

It's tough losing a good bear, but it happens... it doesn't take much for a bigger bear to escape sometimes. They are VERY tough animals. I guided several black bear hunters for my uncle's oufitting business this spring. Just this past week a 328 bear travelled around 100 yds or so after having an arrow blow right through his heart and pass completely through. He lost a significant amount of blood and kept going. Tough animals for sure.

stubblejumper I'm with you!,

I've never liked the neck shot either, "especially with bears"!! My vote goes for a high shoulder shot on most shots on bears. I always try to break both shoulders with my first shot, and even though the bear isn't instantly dead, they aren't going anyplace either!! You have plenty of time for a follow up shot if needed! With a high shoulder shot you can be off in any direction up to several inches, and you will still anchor the bear.

I also use the high shoulder shot on deer, moose, ect. at times too. I know it ruins a bit more meat, but i'm not running around chaseing game, or tracking them and looking for them either!! Also, looseing even "one" animial by trying a head or neck shot, "easily" out weighs that small meat loss problem!

Shoulder shots gives you a "lot" more room for error than the neck shot!!

Drilling Man

I always aim for the vitals or I don't shoot. Seems like a pretty basic lesson that all hunters learn early in life.