Bear Rifle
 

Well the economic stimulus checks will be here in about a month and i'm thinking about joining my Uncle bear hunting in NY. I'm looking at the Mossberg Rifles as they are reasonably priced and haven't heard to much bad about them.

The Mossberg ATR is chambered in .270 Win, .30-06 Sprg., .243 Win and .308 Win. while the 4x4 is chambered in 25-06, .270, 30-06, 7mm Rem Mag,.300 Win Mag and .338.

I'm not sure what caliber would be appropriate for Black Bear so i'm lookin for some advice. Also if there are some other moderatley priced rifles you would recommend that'd be great to.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

Good guns for the price, and anything over the 25-06 will for fine if you do your job.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

How does he hunt the bear's?? With dog's?? If so then a fast lever action with good open sights is the answer. An 1894 Marlin in 44 Magnum would be a dandy. The rifle is light and fast handling. And the 44 is great bear medicine, especially with a quick folow up shot(if needed) from the 1894. Tom.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

For thos NY blackies you don't need one of the magnums. And you can also eliminate the 243 (great deer round but a little light for bear) and I'd say the same for the 25-06. Any of the others would work fine for you.
My favorite black bear rifle here in PA is my Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70. It hits them hard and puts them down fast.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

Every cartridge you listed is adequate for black bear shooting. Even the .243 if you use a premium bullet. However, I would choose a larger caliber. When I was living in AK, I did my black bear shooting with a .270 Winchester caliber Mannlicher Schoenauer carbine loaded with150-grain Nosler Partition bulletsat a MV of 2900 FPS.

With this load, my farthest black bear kill was at a range of slightly over 200 yards, and the bear was killed with one shot-he ran straight ahead as soon as the bullet hit, and my second shot missed! My excuse is that he was running!! He covered about 30 yards up a slight hill before flipping over on his back facing back downhill, where he remained. The bullet had traversed from just behind his last rib on the left side,forward through his chest cavity,smashingthe right shoulder before exiting into his right front leg, where it travelled down the leg to his paw, and was found lodged under the skin of his right wrist. It had broken his right leg in two places as well, before stopping! I still have that bullet. It is one of the only two NPJ's I've ever recovered inside a game animal! (My hunting buddies had been teasing me about "hunting bears with a varmint rifle". I killed two that day, with three shots. Afterward, they told me "well, bears are nothing but varmints anyway!!)

There was NOTHING forward of this poor bear's diaphragm except a bloody soup made of his heart & lungs, the biggest remaining pieces of which were about the size ofquarters...... Those two bears that day were in the 300-pound class-6'7" from nose to tail. There is no doubt in my mind that that particular 150-grain Nosler Partition bullet load would have killed things ALOT BIGGER than those two bears!

RE: Bear Rifle
 

This rifle would be less than 1/2 a step behind my choice of the 1894 in 44 magnum. This rig would also be a fantastic choice. I just like the lighter 1894 if you are running behind the dogs in the mountains.

I would also have to go with the 1886 instead of the 1895, but that is just a personal thing. Both rifles are of fantastic quality. Tom.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

This is kinda off topic but what do you think the biggest thing you could kill with a 25-06 is.
(africa and north america)

RE: Bear Rifle
 

You don't need to stomp a NY blackbear to death, just poke a hole in 'em, in the right place, with a good bullet, andmake 'em bleed.

350 to 400 pounds is a dandy for the most part, anywhere in the state with the majority of kills being smaller than that. 500 to 600 is rarer but certainly possible. Have one now 600 plus that been around the house the last three years.

The big one's aresmart enough to stay outta the way.

It comes highly reccomended from meto hunt 'em withX's....

An X will give you larger/flattercaliber performance in a smaller chambering.....IOW, if hit right, the 6mm 85 TSX or the .257 100 TSX will kill 'em fine.

The key point there, is shoot theRifle that you can shoot the best with nary a flinch. Most any clear shot in NY is going to be not more than a glimpse and likely inmoderate to heavy timber/brush...so the Rifle need handle well in your hands, and you need intimate operation of it's function.

Practice.................

Pick a rifle you can shoot, an average Deer Rifle will hunt bear just fine, and less in the hands of the skilled.

Pick a good bullet when going lightin chambering.

Practice some more............

RE: Bear Rifle
 

I think that a small bear will go down with any of those calibers. A big bear might also. However I would choose the widest bullet I could for bears. They have a lot offur and a lot of fat that has a tendency to clot bleeding and make it hard to trail if the shot isn't perfect or there are complications. 30 cal minimum for me and a 338 caliber, preferably 338-06 as the magnums are a bit much in my estimation. 35 cal would be nice too. of course 444 marlin or 45-70 450 marlin woulr be good choices also.

They can go along way when wounded, and keep in mind they bite back! a wider bullet is cheap insurance.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

aren't mossbergs cheap? maybe good for the money, but when talking firearms, I want quality, not good for the money, sure I don't want overpay, but I'd rather overpay and have high quality than save a nickel, and lose quality.

I think you can get a very nice rifle for a decent price, IMO spend the money.

As to NY black bears, I don't think they'll require anything overpowering, but of those mentioned, I'd go .30-06, and maybe consider, 300 win mag, or 338 win mag.

.270, .308 will work, though I'd want more gun for bear....

RE: Bear Rifle
 

As i said in my post i haven't heard much bad at all about them, also this a rifle that will be used once a year to bear hunt, if i am even able to go more than once. I'll end up using it as a yote killer so i don't want to pay a ton of money for a rifle that's gonna be used every once in a while.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

As previously said a magnum isnt needed. Personally I use my 338-06butabout 75% of the people I hunt with use a 308 and almost all the rest use a 30-06. Either of those would be my top choice based on the information you've posted.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

I'd steer clear of the Mossberg and get a Stevens 200.

For shooting bears, I'd also pick something like a 270, 308, 30-06, etc.

If you go with a lever, 44, 45-70 would be at the top of my list.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

Thanks for the suggestion on the Stevens, looks like an awesome rifle and frokm what i've read a very good rifle. Also it isn't as expensive as i thought it was. :)

RE: Bear Rifle
 

Good Gear sells itself and cheap gear needs replacing.

No such thing as a rifle that's needed only a time or two a year wheremost bear hunters areat.

To each his own tho', I'd guess...

Maybe more better info will come from the "thinkers" and not the "doers", to coddleyoursenses.........

RE: Bear Rifle
 

Ridge runner - apparently you haven't shot too many bear. They can move pretty good with 3 legs. I even watched my cousin bust a brown bear's shoulder with a 375 H&H and then the other shoulder when it turned to run and finally a 3rd shot to anchor it while it was plowing down the beach.
I only ever shot one blackie in the shoulder with a 300 WM and had to anchor him with another round. I don't care for the shoulder shot and found it better to slide the bullet behind the shoulder and into the vitals. They may run but they don't go too far - 50 yds at the most.
A shoulder shot will slow them down - but it won't stop them immediately.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

I havetwo friends with mossberg rifles all in 30-06 they both love them. For black bears I would get the 30-06 in the atr of the 4x4.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

378 Weatherby since its only blackies. 460 if we were talking brownies..[:@]

RE: Bear Rifle
 

For what you will be doing get the 30-06. Lots of ammo choices, economic to shoot, can buy ammo anywhere. Top it with a straight 4 or a 3x9, you want low power for quick shots on bear, and I am guessing you won't be in an area where you will be shooting over 200 yards. Load the 30-06 with a 180gr premium bullet that will hold together and penetrate, zero and practice with a couple boxes of ammo, and go kill your bear.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

3006 will kill anything. Load it w/ a 220 grain core lokt and you will stop a train!

RE: Bear Rifle
 

I am not too concerned about how he walks. I am more concerned about how he CHEWS??:D:D:D

I know a lot of people look down on a lever rifle, and I am not really sure why?? For Bear hunting with dog's there really is no better choice than a lever rifle, except possibly a pump action rifle.

Bear are not extremely dangerous game, but they are at least considered dangerous game. And hunting with dogs can be a close quarters experience. It does not make you a bad hunter to take a fast follow up shot. IMO it makes you a prudent hunter.

Also if you shot you can get a great deal on a used lever action. I just bought a used 1894 Marlin with beautiful wood for $390 on the internet. This is a top quality rifle that will give a life time of service, and then another life time of service to whoever you give it to.

If you buy a rifle like this and shoot with open sights(I prefer peep sights), practice and get good with it at 100 yards or more. You will gain the respect of all the hunters in the group when you show them you know how to use your rifle!! Tom.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

I prob avg less than once a year per rifle/hunt.....but I agree, quality tends to last, and i have yet to see a rifle lose value over 10-20years....

And if you are only going to own 1 rifle, to do most things with.....then spending the extra money you'll only come to appreciate down the road. I've heard quite a few guys say about a nice rifle they bought, that to replace that rifle/quality today, would cost them quite a bit more than they paid for it....

RE: Bear Rifle
 

I only say that because we don't have a bear season in Ohio, i'd have to go to NY where my Uncle hunts which would be once a year. But i understand your point since i will be using it on yotes. I just don't have a ton of money to spend thats all. I appreciate everyones help though really. You guys are life savers :)

RE: Bear Rifle
 

The 25-06 with a good strong bullet has done well with game up to and including Elk. I Africa it will take all but the biggest plains game and of course under the right conditions, it will kill any animal on earth. This said, it's at it's best for deer, pronghorns and long range varmit shooting. Works well for most sheep hunting as well.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

A 308win or 30-06 are great but no heavier than 180gr and a partition for the lighter165gr bullet.

The 338fed/358win/35rem are all great andblack bears are not hard to kill but bigger bullets work better and high velocitiesare not required either. The 35rem with buffalo Bores 220grSpeer @2200fps is prefect and so is the 336marlin. The 308win with a plan old 180gr corelokt round nose id prefesct as well and in a rem 700 bolt or Modle #7 with a 20 inch barrel great. Ruger offers both the 338fed and 358win which are bot neck up 308 cases. And no 3-9 scopes either thats to much magifacation a 1-4 or 1.5-5 is perfect a 2-7 is at the hi end ofmagnifacation. And yes all these will work too 7mm08 280rem 270win 260rem.

RE: Bear Rifle
 

Same cartridge you would use for Whitetail Deer