Ok for bear?

[brewer12345]

From my reading, it sounds like bears pop their clogs about as easily as deer do, but shot placement is a bit more of an issue because they have thick coats, layers of blubber and very heavy bone structure. I would imagine a bigger bullet/ball helps with all of that, so a 280 grain round ball or a 200 grain 30 cal boolit should be fine. If I am really feeling sporty I suppose I could experiment with the 54 conicals I have on hand. 400 grains of 54 boolit is bound to penetrate really well.

[Norske]

Deer have smooth coats, bear are shaggy. Finding the shoulder, leg bone, tight behind the leg/shoulder etc. is not easy.

[trapper9260]

Is it best to just shoot them in the front shoulder then?

[dverna]

Haven't actively hunted bears before, no real idea how to do so and will need to read. Any advice appreciated. No bait or dogs allowed, so half of what I have read so far is useless. My default plan is to camp out looking over a berry patch that is near where I have seen bears in the past.

My other options are a 35 Rem, using a full house jacketed load in the 30-06, a muzzleloader in calibers up to 58, shotgun slugs (this tag is in the area we usually hunt blue grouse), and I suppose I could work up a load for the Marlin lever in 44 mag.

I am not a fan of cast bullets for hunting as they offer no advantages. Given your choices, I would load a 165-180 jacketed bullet in the .30/06. You may get one chance and one shot. Using cast and turning your .30/06 into a .30/30 seems like a less than optimum firing solution.

[725]

Seems like your .30-06 w/ a 200 gr cast (assuming good alloy) @ 1900 fps would work well. Shot placement is critical and NORSKE has given very good advice about learning the innards of the black bear. What seems right from hunting deer, isn't quite so hunting bear. I've only taken a few black bear (3) and have luckily placed good DRT hits requiring no tracking. Have helped a couple fellow hunters go after poorly hit bears and that is something I'm not fond of. Head shots are poor a choice, even though when done right, are spectacular. Know what you are doing, wait for a good, solid shot and have fun. Good luck.

[brewer12345]

I am not a fan of cast bullets for hunting as they offer no advantages. Given your choices, I would load a 165-180 jacketed bullet in the .30/06. You may get one chance and one shot. Using cast and turning your .30/06 into a .30/30 seems like a less than optimum firing solution.

Heh, black powder has greatly inferior ballistics to even cast bullets in a modern rifle yet I persist in hunting with such rifles.

[GregLaROCHE]

All the guns you mentioned can get the job done. However, with a muzzle loader, you really only have one shot to do it. It would be good to have a friend to back you up or at least a powerful side arm. Bottom line I would suggest using the gun you are the most comfortable with.

[Tripplebeards]

Is it best to just shoot them in the front shoulder then?

Yes, its about the best place to brake them down. I agree with the comment of using jacketed ammo just because you have no idea how close or far you will be from a bear...of you are lucky enough to even see one spot and stalking...and no head shots. Most to all of those shots are from guys who shoot bear out trees with dogs so I a bad shot is taken the dogs can trail it to another tree or loose their lives over poorly thought out and placed shot. I’m sad to say I’ve seen a few dog’s lives lost trying to bay a wounded bear on the ground from poorly placed head shots.

[Edward]

You will do fine with a patched round ball if you place it in the lungs= dead bear ,if you happen to screw up make sure you bear hunt with your LONG patch knife

[Hickory]

Wow, after reading this thread I have found out there are different degrees of dead.
There is lead bullet dead, jacketed bullet dead, patched round ball dead and the one common denominator is . . . . they all end up dead.

[Wayne Smith]

Ned Roberts, in his book the Muzzleloading Caplock Rifle tells of going bear hunting - and after one experience stated he will always take a double barrel rifle when bear hunting! With a backup person.

[Markopolo]

just use the 30-06 with cast and it will work... i kill a lot of bears with cast every year! only one ever got up again...

[Tripplebeards]

^^^^this guy harvests a lot of bear. Markopolo is like EF Hutton...when he talks, I listen.

Marko, do you solids, HP’s, and what alloy?

[brewer12345]

just use the 30-06 with cast and it will work... i kill a lot of bears with cast every year! only one ever got up again...

Yeah, my other alternative is Dad's 35 Rem from 1958. Shoots j-word fodder into small groups at 100 yards.

[Tripplebeards]

I’m guessing a bear won’t react any different between those two calibers out to 100 yards. I’ll give you a friendly tip. The first time I went bear hunting and I saved up for a guided hunt for years. I got all while wound up in the marketing hype and went out and had to buy a marlin 4570 guide gun because they marketed it with a black bear on the same pages and catalog. I went out and bought 405 grain 1800 ft./s Winchester loads. My guide set me 150 yards away from the bait site. I had only practiced to 100 yards at the time and didn’t know my drops. This was almost 30 years ago so no internet to check drops or research all the things you can now a days. I shot two bear and even videotaped them. I could see the bullets going across the screen and enter both bear behind the shoulders. I never found either of them and no blood trails. I guarantee if I would’ve took my trusty old 30-06 and 180 grain, 2700 FPS core locts I’d been shooting for a good 10 years straight and had taken dozens of whitetails with I would’ve brought home a bear that trip. I’m sure it was more my fault than the gun and the ammo, but long story short, use whatever gun that you’re used to shooting and have been shooting for years and you feel confident with instead of picking up a new gun or borrowing one you haven’t shot enough with to be familiar with it. Wish I would’ve had somebody tell me the same back then. I did go back the following year and shot a 7’6” black with a 19 3/16” skull with bow and arrow as stated before....a bow I had been shooting league and hunting with for years. Live and learn. Bottom line, use what ever gun you have been hunting with for years.

[Markopolo]

i use 170g flatnose boolits with no problem in my 32 win special.. normal hunting alloy of wheel weight and range scrap 50/50.. before that I used the 200g flatnose custom 311299 from NOE in my 308 filled with 2400.. both had the same result.. i never have to shoot more then 100 yards. and usually 1/2 that due to brush.. i use a fawn bleat to lure them in close... he he... come to papa...

[Tripplebeards]

Sweet!

[brewer12345]

I’m guessing a bear won’t react any different between those two calibers out to 100 yards. I’ll give you a friendly tip. The first time I went bear hunting and I saved up for a guided hunt for years. I got all while wound up in the marketing hype and went out and had to buy a marlin 4570 guide gun because they marketed it with a black bear on the same pages and catalog. I went out and bought 405 grain 1800 ft./s Winchester loads. My guide set me 150 yards away from the bait site. I had only practiced to 100 yards at the time and didn’t know my drops. This was almost 30 years ago so no internet to check drops or research all the things you can now a days. I shot two bear and even videotaped them. I could see the bullets going across the screen and enter both bear behind the shoulders. I never found either of them and no blood trails. I guarantee if I would’ve took my trusty old 30-06 and 180 grain, 2700 FPS core locts I’d been shooting for a good 10 years straight and had taken dozens of whitetails with I would’ve brought home a bear that trip. I’m sure it was more my fault than the gun and the ammo, but long story short, use whatever gun that you’re used to shooting and have been shooting for years and you feel confident with instead of picking up a new gun or borrowing one you haven’t shot enough with to be familiar with it. Wish I would’ve had somebody tell me the same back then. I did go back the following year and shot a 7’6” black with a 19 3/16” skull with bow and arrow as stated before....a bow I had been shooting league and hunting with for years. Live and learn. Bottom line, use what ever gun you have been hunting with for years.

Eh, the 30-06 is almost boringly accurate with jacketed to 200-300 yards, 150 with cast. The 35 I have shot for years and took a couple of pigs a few years ago (lever makes for quick follow up shots), no issues to 150 yards. Muzzleloaders I could do to 100 yards. I shoot the more difficult stuff often and when I take out stuff like the 30-06 it feels like cheating. Where I would be looking for bears I would not expect a shot over 100 yards.

[Tripplebeards]

Boring is good! All you have to worry about is concentrating on the challenging part...finding a bear without bait to dogs.

[Markopolo]

around here, bears are the number one predator of our deer, especially in the spring. that fawn bleet call is the ticket here. I go to good country where there is lots of bear poop... fresh, and start calling.. stay about 15 min.. make it sound like a fawn is stuck in distress... the other day a decent sized bear came running in so fast it nearly ran me over.. it happened so fast I couldnt get a shot.. i hunt the 2 year olds mostly though, cuz they are MEAT!

My wife and I were out hunting bears a couple weeks ago, and we saw a 1 year old cub that got spooked and ran up a small tree looking at us, and my wife kept yelling "Shoot Shoot it", and I said baby, he is too small, but she said.... IT's FOOD!! .. i passed.. lucky for that bear cub my wife forgot her tags and license.... the wife has no qualms.. food is food to her.