I am a duck hunter, and although I own a large tract of land and see several large black bear and deeer, have never hunted them.

I have shot rifles before, and, well, am a pretty good aim, my favorite competition with my brother in law is shooting pepsi bottles at 200 yds, yes 200 yds with the 30-30 170 Kore Lokt.

We can usually bounce them all over the field.

So tonight he suggested, we start deer and bear hunting.
I told him, I wanted a gun that would do very well at large distances, as my land is approximatley 400 acres of land, with about 80% or so being flat fields.

A shot of 350-400yds over a field is about what we are looking at for the bears as, well, im not getting closer to them


Now so tonight, I purchased my "first" real rifle tonight, and am shelving the 30-30, 22's and so on.

I bought a Winchester 70 .300

Okay, now my brother in law tells me that the .300 will knock a deer over at 400 yds and blah blah.

I know he somtimes knows his stuff, but well, Im looking for the gurus of the hunting world here to tell me about this.

I can shoot a pepsi bottle at 200 marked off yds with a 30-30, what can i do with a .300 at 400 yds?

I bought this gun

http://www.winchester-guns.com/prodi...item=535931255

I use these bullets

http://www.winchester-guns.com/prodi...tail.asp?id=59


Any thoughts?

you have purchased a fine rifle and caliber for both deer and bear. I have the same rifle. My first suggestion is to go to a decent gunsmith and get a trigger job. If your is like mine was it broke at close to 8 lbs and this is not appropriate for acurate shooting at long ranges. Have it taken down to 3.5-4 lbs. Next get a decent scope... I recommend a 4x12x50..The best you can afford. I presonally like the Bushnell 3200.
If you choose to shoot the ballistic silvertip for bear make sure to use the 180 gr as the 150 has too thin a jacket should you hit the shoulder bone. The better choice considering the .300 WSM velocity and energy is to shoot the failsafe bullets available in Winchester factory loads in a 165 gr for bears. Better to be safe then sorry. Losing an animal due to poor bullet choice just reflects a poor hunter. The ballistic silvertips in any weight will do a deer just fine....but just incase you run into a large bruin the failsafe is the way to go. I have harvested 3 bears now with my Model 70 SuperShadow.. the largest going 380 lbs and 7 deer, so I speak from practical field expierences but in the end it is just an educated opinion.

The gun that you bought is fine. But what caliber .300 are you shooting?? Is it the WSM or the long action Win Mag. Although they are both very similar in performance, it is important to know which cartridge you are shooting. I would recommend that you get closer to the deer and bear for the first couple of years before you start taking 400 yard shots. Either 300 has enough energy that you will not have to worry about a bear chasing you down at less than 300 yards or so.. It is better to make a good shot at a short distance than to make a bad one at a long distance, which can lead to a long tracking job, after an injured bear... NOT FUN! I would also make sure that you shoot at least 200-300 rounds a year to become confident in the rifle.

WSM is all that will fit in it !

I have 2 scopes to choose from, the first is:

Bushnell Sportsman Multi Coated 4-12 X40

or the:

Simmons fully coated 3-9 X40

Recommendations?

Congrats on the M-70...it's a fine rifle and the .300 Win Mag is a splendid long range cartridge.

I advise that you do a lot of practicing at the 350-400 yard ranges.....make sure you know your distances and the tradjectory of the bullets and you'll have no trouble with killing bear and deer at those distances. Rest assured it's easier said than done but it's very doable and all it requires is some practice.

I'd "0" your gun at 250 yards and all you have to judge thereafter is ranges greater than 300 yards.....the .300 will shoot "right-on" all the way to 300 yards.

Hoopy, there are several things you need to consider. Your rifle has enough power to kill a bear at 350-400 yards, but you have to be sure of hitting the bear in the vitals to make a clean kill. If you just hit the bear in a random spot you will have one really pissed off bundle of fur looking to hurt somebody. You need to put a high quality scope on your rifle to help you put the bullet in the right spot. I suggest Leupold or Nikon. Not the cheapest but you will not regret having a good scope that will let you have a good clear view when the light is poor outside.
Also, it is one thing to bounce around a pepsi bottle. It is something else to try to kill an animal that can bite back. You will need to practice with your new rifle under real field conditions. Get off of the bench rest and shoot off of an improvised rest or from shooting sticks. Practice the way you will hunt.
Another thing to think about is your choice of ammunition. Winchester makes fine ammo, but for bears you need to use a bullet that will penetrate deeply and not tear itself up on the first bone it hits. Do not use the Winchester bullets with the plastic tips, they are designed for thin-skinned animals like deer. Instead use the Winchester Fail-Safe bullets, they are built for tougher animals. As an alternative, look for ammo loaded with Nosler Partition bullets. They are excellent on tough game.
Finally, to really improve your odds of sucessfully taking a bear, try to get within 200 yards before you shoot. The bullet will have a lot more "punch" at closer range, and you will still be far enough away from the bear for safety. But have your brother-in-law with you for backup. He can cover your rear if the bear does happen to run in your direction after you shoot, and he can help drag it to the truck after you make a clean kill! Take a camera to record the stunned look on his face. Good luck

Apprecaite it guys, all is good advice that I am taking.


As far as taking my camera out Big Al, I can watch every night as the black bear(s) walk through my fields, normally right at dusk, which is when about the deer all come out.


There is nothing more fun then watching a bear waltz down my driveway, taking his time, knowing he truly owns the farm

Between those two I would go with the Bushnell, but consider something better to really do justice to the rifle and cartridge. However, if money is a factor then the Bushnell will do fine unless it has a defect or gets damaged.

Dang, you must live in a really nice place. The only bears around here are in the zoo. The only thing walking around in my driveway is my neighbors cat. Makes for good target practice though...