Technicalities. I'll give it a good squirt of Gun scrubber. Hey wait a minute....To heck with the scope, can I have Tracy?

I will trade her for a new custom left hand rifle in .243 with a Kahles
3-9. and your car. You don't need a women anyway you have your
own - don't get greedy.

Hmmmm, At that range, caliber and grain of bullet, IMHO as long as she is very familier with the rifle, and has lots of practice...it should/could be a great outcome. Good Luck to her!! Personally I would not use anything but my .06 Not because I am not confident, but I want a dead and not wounded bear...that is just me though. If she feels good with her shot placement, she should be just fine.

The 30-30 will do just fine.Have killed several big black bears with one,when I was a kid.

I am from NC, I can tell you this, your shots will be well over 50 yds on any black bear your planning on hunting.
You cannot bait in anyway in NC, so yes, you WILL be sitting on the side of a mountian looking dumb.
That is how you can tell a Bear hunter in NC, they all look the same, 3 guys sitting playing cards waiting for a bear to walk near them. No joke, been there done that, and every single bear I ever saw in NC in the 2 State Parks (that you can hunt in legally) were well OVER 200 yds away.
But that's just me, born and raised 1 hour from where you will be.

Thanks guys, I certainly appreciate the feedback. I was pretty confident of the caliber's capabilities but I just wanted reassurance to make sure I wasn't running a mad fever or something of the like.

Thanks

Natural selection at its finest.

"ANY GUN GOOD, SHOOT'UM GOOD!" The .30-30 is adequate for black bear. I know several Canadians who had to kill grizzlies with a .30-30, because it was the ONLY rifle they had. It worked!! I would choose 170-grain bullets for this task, and of course, it is essential to place the bullets through the heart-lung area, just as it is with ANY gun, big or small.

As a matter of fact, I concur with BigBulls' ammo choice-a 170-grain Nosler Partition!

I too live in NC, and have killed 2 bears with a 30-30. It is more than enough gun for your needs. The biggest bears in western NC weigh no more than 400 lbs. A scoped 30-30 with 170 gr bullet will give you all the pop you need out to 150 yds. No need for the 45-70 in this case because although it has more power, it's trajectory limits it's range to about 150 yds too.

Shots beyond 100 yds are possible under certain conditions, but the majority of bear hunting in Western NC is done with dogs, and 90% of all taken are under 75 yds b/c the woods are so thick.

Shot placement is far more important that calliber. Shoot through the shoulder and into the heart lungs.

Personally, if I were you, I'd bring the 45-70 over your 7 Mag, and load it up with Winchester 300 gr JHP. I shot a 411 lb black bear (dressed) with this load at about 125 yds and it is awesome!!!!!

My favorite black bear loads are: (I hunt both eastern and western NC and have shot at least 1 bear with each)
1) 45-70
2)30-06
3)44 Mag
4)30-30
5)7 Mag

The seven mag is at the bottom is this list b/c it leaves a smaller exit wound than the others and fat and hair seem to stop really hinder blood trails. It is still VERY EFFECTIVE though, I just prefer to have good blood trails in thick woods.

I have also seen bear taken with a 35 Rem, 308, 270 and 243. All work well.

Be very careful here. I think you should let your fiancé use the 30-30. She wants to hunt and loves her 30-30. I would insist she bring it along. The 30-30 is just fine. If he just says for her not to go on the hunt with it then I wouldn’t go on the hunt. It will show her that you support her and also makes for a life time hunting experience with her. Don’t let her get discouraged about her 30-30. Support her on this!

Hornet Man