mauser06

ok heres my little situation.....my buddy invited me to his camp to hunt bears during our 3 day bear season.....i know bears are tougher then deer....and bigger.....there were 3 800+lb blackbears killed here in PA last year..and a handful over 600....most are 100-300 id guess...but id rather be ready for any of them to step out then have a pea shooter....ill be carrying the trust mauser chambered in 3006 if i do go....depending on the money situation decides if i go or not....because id be off work over 2 weeks because our deer season starts the very next week...bear is mon-wed then deer comes in monday.....and im a deer hunter too....but i doubt ill have time to sight in diffrent bullets for deer.....i know shot placement is key....and have my deer dropping pretty good....and have a shot for bears i was told about from you guys...but need a bullet that can drop a deer like a brick and expand pretty good in a deer......but yet...stay together and exit in a bear and crush bone if needed....and drop a bear....id like my game to be dropped on the spot or not make it far at all leaving good blood....theres over 1million hunters in pa.....i dont need my bear or deer making it 100yds to the next hunter....so i want a bullet tat can perform....ive came up with noslers 180gr accubond...or hornady 165 or 180 gr SST-IB..not the normal SST the inner bonded ones made to stay together.....or failsafes....what do you think would give me the best results?? my gun will shot any of them im willing to bet.....ive shot a bunch of diffrent bullets and bullet weights out of it and it never didnt like them...diffrent brands and everything...it always puts em in there....but what bullet should i be packing this year?? i know im going to be paying a few bucks for these bullets also....so dont say go with corelokts their cheap...price doesnt mean ANYTHING to me when picking bullets....i want something that will do its job if i put it where it needs to be....a bear or a trophy buck means to much to me to loose because i rather be cheap about it....sure corelokts will work but so will a brick....i want something MADE to expand good but yet stay together so i can shoot deer and possibly a bear.....chances for a bear arent great......but hey...cant kill em sitting on the couch!

Mark whiz

I'd say that you would need to use toughest bullet you can - you need to be able to punch through heavy hide, bone, & meat. This would eliminate any of the ballistic tipped bullets. I would suggest using something like a Nosler Partition or the Combined Techolgies FailSafe. Any of the non aero-tipped bonded bullets on the market now would also get the job done well I believe.
These would be my choices for bear if using a centerfie rifle. Personally I'm saving my LARGE game hunting for my muzzleloader............ I'm getting brave in my old age!

handloader1

Win. 180 gr. Fail Safe. Good luck.

mauser06

will the failsafe even open in a deer though? i have no doubt they will stay together....but anyone kill a deer with them?? shooting a deer is somehting i have a pretty good chance to do....i kill them yearly....but a bear i dont know about even seeing one.....im just going to try hunting htem....but if the bullets just blow right through a deer i will be pretty bummed and proabably a hard track if they dont drop.....so do they open in deer?

bigbulls

What bullet have you been using for deer?

I would immagne that you will be hunting over bait???????

If so you aint going to be shooting that far so a failsafe or barnes is not needed. I would probably use a nosler partition, or accubond if they shoot well for you. Hit tthem in the shoulder and they aint going very far. Most likely both shoulders will be broken with either of these two bulles and they will expand well for you so as to do massive damage to the insides.

gsptarget

I use an "06 for bear and deer and I use 180 grain fail safes for bear and 150 gr. for deer
in pa.

UncleNorby

If you really need to use the same bullet, and you do select a bullet that is constructed on the heavy side for deer, when shooting a deer, shoot it through the shoulders. It will probably drop pretty quick.

oldelkhunter

Hornaday 165 gr Interbond is all you need for both..it will be quicker opening on deer then the Failsafe and will hold together for Bear which do get big in the Poconos but actually are not that tough to put down if hit where needed. Good Luck

Highpower

I'll answer BIGBULL for you mauser, NO, in PA you can't hunt over bait. And in SW PA, shots can be long, several hundred yards anyway. I'd personally go with the Nosler Partitions. I've had good success loading them in most all my rifles over the years and they've performed well on the deer I've taken. Granted, on most deer at 'normal' ranges, the bullet will punch through but, the bullet is designed to open quickly on the front portion and will give you a great wound channel. The rear of the bullet is designed to retain the weight and give you the drive you'll need on bear. Just my $.02 worth.

USMC PMI

I hunt central WV for whitetail and blackbear. I use a 270 Win for both, 130 gr Ballistic silvertip for deer, 150 gr ballistic silvertip for blackbear. I have killed four blackbear over the past five years with this setup, all over 200 lbs with no problems. The ballistic tips have gotten a bad rap by bad shooters. If you place the bullet where it is supposed to go they perform like no other, both game drop like rocks. If you hit bone the core of the bullet will still smash the bone an keep on going. Blackbear are still considered fairly thin skinned game, the Nosler CXP 2 will work perfectly for deer and blackbear and will still fly extremely well over long distances. Even better, at long distances very tough bullets at a reduced speed will not perform as designed, the ballistic tip bullets were designed for excellent expansion at distance, where others fail to expand properly. If you are one of those guys that never shoot over 50 yds. and hit bone the ballistic tip is not for you even though they can leave devistating holes. Buddy of mine shot a doe @ >50 yds using my 270, right in the shoulder. The bullet did not exit but did make a hole I could literally fit my fist in all the way to the vitals.