what is the best gun ammo combo for big black bear at 200+lbs? thanks all replaise are welocm

There is no one best gun for all situations, but any good deer rifle from about .270 on up should work fine. Personnally I shoot a .450 Marlin which should make an excellent bear gun. The only problem with the larger calibers is alot of people can't shoot them well because they flinch so bad. I may have to go to a smaller caliber myself because I broke my right arm the other day and messed up both shoulders in a ATV accident. I need to see how it all heals up.

As noted, a 270Win. on up should work okay. This would include such as 280Rem., 7x57, 7mm-08, 308Win., 30-06, etc. Use the heavier bullet weights. The 450Marlin or
a 45/70 would be good bear medicine, no doubt.
However, if I were buying a new rifle today for bear I would look at the 35Whelen. The Whelen can be hard to find, but looks like Remington is making some again, the 700 CDL model. Also available in a pump action from Remington.

I have read that the .30-30 is used pretty commonly for black bear in some parts. On the heavier bullet weight advice, use 170 grain bullets.

Shot placement is important - any of the already mentioned combinations will work well. I use a 30-06, but only because that's what I use on everything I hunt.

I've got a Marlin in .35 Remington that works pretty good with the 200 grain Remington factory stuff.

Lever action in 375 win. 444, 450, 45-70 take your pick big bullets big holes

Hi greatwhitehunter101,

I agree with Alastian,but placement is also critical.You don't want to hurt him and make him mad....


KEEP ON ROOTING!!!

No set "best". What's best for you will be the one combination you feel confident in.

Remember to use a good bullet, a Nosler Partition in a heavy for caliber weight will work great.

IMO BT type bullets, which is all I use for deer hunting, are not a good choice for bears. Bears aren't bullet proof but they are harder to kill than deer.