Best cartridge for black bears?

Newpond0

Newpond0

Active member
I have a tikka 30:06 and have been shooting federal copper 180 grain based on I read they leave a nice exit hole and blood trail making it easier to track. On the range they’ve been very accurate as well. What cartridge do/would you guys shoot?
 
I've always been told by the people who know that whatever you're hunting deer with is plenty for a black bear. I carried a 20" 6cm shooting 108gr elite hunters, and I've never wondered if I had enough gun. I'll be carrying that rifle in Idaho in May.
 
Hecouldgoalltheway said:
I've always been told by the people who know that whatever you're hunting deer with is plenty for a black bear. I carried a 20" 6cm shooting 108gr elite hunters, and I've never wondered if I had enough gun. I'll be carrying that rifle in Idaho in May.
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Makes sense. I killed my one and only with a .280 and the wife used her .257 Roberts on her bear. Neither were big ol' pumpkin-headed monsters though.
 
I read some Alaskan bear guides won’t take you unless you got a 30:06 or bigger. A lot of folks showing up with the deer rifles and talking about they’re a great shot and next thing you know things get scary.
 
Guess it depends on the style of hunting you are doing and terrain you are hunting.
Spot and stalk in mountainous terrain where shots could be cross canyon, I'd want a lot more gun than if I was still hunting or even calling where shots will be relatively short.
Of course, shot placement is key regardless. Personally, I want enough horsepower and penitration to break shoulder bones and ideally exit the opposite side. 2 bleeders is better than 1 and that fur can soak up a lot of blood.
Just my opinion from my limited experience.
 
Newpond0 said:
I read some Alaskan bear guides won’t take you unless you got a 30:06 or bigger. A lot of folks showing up with the deer rifles and talking about they’re a great shot and next thing you know things get scary.
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I suspect there's a pretty big difference between the black bears we're talking about here and the bigger brown bears those Alaskan guides and hunters may encounter.
 
Bait them with a picnic basket and swat them with a broom. No hide damage that way.

On a serious note, I have limited experience, having only used a .30-06 and .45-70. But I would be comfortable with about any cartridge suitable for deer with a good controlled expansion bullet. As always, the key is shot placement and enough penetration to reach the vitals. An exit is nice, but bears hit right, don't go far, and die pretty easily.
 
A .35 Whelen would be an excellent choice, having said that, it has been stated many times over that a 30-06 will kill anything on the North American continent.
I hunt deer with a 30- 06 and use 150gr. tips, for bear I'd bump the tips up to 180gr. or more, I've read multiple articles, including a recent article in the Maine Sportsman, that shot placement on a bear is slightly different than on a deer, do some research on that, like others are saying shot placement is critical.
 
I don't think there's any cartridge that can be considered best for anything. But there are a number of different cartridges I'd say were acceptable for a lot of different animal's. Now if I was to go black bear hunting again, I could choose from my 30-06 down to my 243 and with a properly chosen and placed bullet each would work! Oh, don't have any 7mm's anymore but bet they could still make someone best list! If I still had my 280 or old 7x57 one of them could easy make it. Might say my last pick would be my old 7mm Rem Mag. Not that it would not work but I don't do well with recoil anymore!
 
I built a little 30-06 carbine and killed a number of big deer with it. I sold it to an AZ bear hunter. He shot 220 gr RNs out of it. I have only hunted bear once and carried a custom 1903 in 358 Norma Mag, I never pulled the trigger but felt very comfortable with it. Again another rifle someone made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Now it would be my 35 Whelen with 250gr RNs.
 
All depends on how you hunt. Anything that will kill a deer cleanly will do the same to a black bear. Myself, i normally use 444 marlin now, because im taking close range shots at bears. May as well throw a big brick. If i was hunting in a way that i expected to shoot further, id use something else. But for calling bears in the timber, a 444 seems ideal to me. When i go to idaho in the spring i use a 308, because im too chickenshit to cold call over there after seeing a big dam grizz ripping up a deer or elk, couldnt tell what it was, just saw its hooves flopping up from behind some brush as ol grizzle ripped it apart.
 
Nothing wrong with the '06, but I'm not a fan of your bullet choice. Bears don't require a deep penetrating bullet. I prefer a quick opening bullet that dumps all it's energy. My boys and I have shot several bears and my preferred bullets are the ELDs, Bergers and Ballistic Tips. The longest tracking jobs I've had were when we were using the Accubonds in .270 and 7RM.
 
MH WASH said:
Nothing wrong with the '06, but I'm not a fan of your bullet choice. Bears don't require a deep penetrating bullet. I prefer a quick opening bullet that dumps all it's energy. My boys and I have shot several bears and my preferred bullets are the ELDs, Bergers and Ballistic Tips. The longest tracking jobs I've had were when we were using the Accubonds in .270 and 7RM.
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I’m pretty new to guns and bullets to be honest. I chose the 180 grain copper based on Internet research that they leave a nice exit hole so you can have a blood trail to track and it’s pretty thick up here and I’m no expert tracker. They also said if I hit him on the right spot the bear will die anyways. Maybe I’m making a big mistake? The bullets shoot great on the range for me within 100 yards and I won’t be shooting at a bear farther than that
 
I wouldn't say you're making a big mistake, just that I would go about it different based on my experience. In my experience most blood trailers haven't even started within 50-75 yards.
I'm not up to speed on factory ammo but I would think any lead tip soft point in the 150-165 grain range would work just fine for you, especially for the range your talking about.
 
For firearms, I've used 7mag in 175 gr and 162 gr, '06 in abt 3 different grain weights, .44 mag, .44-40, .357 SIG, .40 S&W, and .300 H&H with 220 gr Olin Silvertips. The best were the .300 H&H to the boiler room and the 7mag 162 gr between the eyes. Those old Silvertips (my dad had a couple boxes) to the throat will leave you with a mess and one pissed off bear. Like MH Wash said, something that dumps all of its energy is the best.....so long as you do your part. I don't recommend shooting any bear in the throat; I didn't do my part on that bear and I regret that it suffered.
 
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