Okay Gents, your thoughts on the use of a .308 and .30-'06 for black bear, the kind of bears they grow up in British Columbia. I was thinking of 180 grain TSX or Swift A-Frame, or for the '06 maybe Norma's 200 grain Oryx. Thanks!

I've shot plenty of black bears, even in B.C. You've got plenty of medicine, just make a good shot!

Good luck.

I have used 30.06, 300 winmag and 375 H&H and all resulted in dead bears. Good bullet and shot placement is the key. Your choice is excellent.

BigB

I haven't shot as many as some but I have shot and have seen bears shot with both.

I have seen blk bears that have been over 400lbs dressed shot with both.

Shoot them in the right spot and one well have a dead bear.

A good 165 to 220 gr bullets works great.

A good freind of mine who is in on 10-15 bear kills a year for the pass 30 years or so.

Carrys a Rem model 7 in 308 with 165 core locks the last bear he shot with it dressed at 416lbs.

He says it is plenty.

Inland B.C. bears will be relatively small. Plus or minus 200 lbs. is a typical adult, depending on whether you are hunting spring (lighter) or fall (heavier). Coastal and Vancouver Island bears will be somewhat larger due to their fish diet.

From my limited experience, I would say the perfect rifle for inland bears is about a .30 caliber shooting a 165 to 180 grain bullet between 2600 and 2800 fps. For the larger coastal bears I would say that the perfect rifle is about a .30 caliber shooting a 165 to 180 grain bullet between 2600 and 2800 fps. If either of your rifles fit this description it should should be "just about perfect".

However, don't think in terms of too tough a bullet. Blackies succumb much more quickly to proper expansion than to just drilling a .30 caliber hole through them. I'd rather use any good conventional cup and core bullet than a monometal or limited expansion bullet like the A-frame. A Nosler Partition might be a good compromise if you're worried about lack of penetration.

Well said Stonecreek.
A .308 or a 30/06 with 165 or 180 grain bullets is a big killer and don't let anybody tell you different, put one where it counts and you've got a dead bear.

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

quote:

You've got plenty of medicine, just make a good shot!

quote:

put one where it counts and you've got a dead bear.

Savvy hunters and even better advice.

Now learn anatomy of the Black Bear. You have plenty of gun and great bullet choice there.

Black bears are not hard to kill.You are not underarmed with a 30/30 in what ever bullet you like.

black bears die quick. All but 2 of my rifle kills were with my 30.06. I used a 168 TTSX on one, a 200 AB on another and 180 Swift Scirocco on the rest.

Every bullet passed through except the AB.

next time I go bb hunting, I'm taking my bow and one of my 270s or my 308. will archery hunt primarily.

I have shot black bear with a 300 WBY Mag, a 475 FA revolver, a 450/400 3 1/4" double, a 9,3x74R double, and a single shot in 308.

The 308 killed the bear as good as anything.

The bear shot with the 450/400, at 4 or 5 yards, and one of the bears I shot, at 12 yards with the 9,3x74R did drop to the shot, however.

I think my next well be with my Ruger no.3 in 45-70 with a 460 gr cast bullet made by me.

Just because I can

mine will probably be with my 7STW
but if he gets too close....
I'll "ruin the bruin" with the 45 auto

quote:

Originally posted by ravenr:
mine will probably be with my 7STW
but if he gets too close....
I'll "ruin the bruin" with the 45 auto

There there just

Black bears do die easy, but if you are faced with a frontal shot on a big bear, you better have a good bullet.

I have shot five with a .308. I did shoot one once with a cup and core bullet with a frontal shot and didnt' find him until the next morning, even though I shot him two hours before sunset.

Even more so if you have to shoot a big bear going away. No cup and core bullets for bear for me.

quote:

Originally posted by PSmith:
Okay Gents, your thoughts on the use of a .308 and .30-'06 for black bear, the kind of bears they grow up in British Columbia. I was thinking of 180 grain TSX or Swift A-Frame, or for the '06 maybe Norma's 200 grain Oryx. Thanks!

I shot a 436 lb Black bear in Maine in 2010 with my .308. I hand-loaded some 165 gr GMX Hornadys. They were not "hot-loaded", only about 2500 fps muzzle velocity. I got 19-20" penetration and had 99.9% weight retention. Did the job just fine. A TSX or A-Frame should do just as well or better.

I have only shot one black bear. I shot it with a 308 and a remington 180 grain corelokt about 225 yards. Hit it in the throat and found the bullet in the rear leg nicely mushroomed. It squares 6' as a rug on my wall.

You do not need a heavy for caliber bullet.
But as some have said here a bonded or mono bullet would be a decent idea.
The only other bullet I recommend is the Hornady interlock if you shoot them @ 2800 fps or less @ muzzle.
A 150gr mono or a 165gr bonded would be plenty of bullet in a 308 for B Bear.
For spring bear they are easy to kill with a well placed shot.
Fall bear with a heavy fat accumulation require a bit more bullet.

The last B bear I potted was a spring bear and I thumped him with my 7mm Rem mag shooting 150gr Federal blue box (long story LOL) dropped at the shot rolled downhill bout 30ft and was dead when he got there.

The largest B bear I saw actually weighed was a Island bear that went 356 lbs in mid sept.
It had been hanging around a slaughter house and became a nuisance.

Oops weight should read 536 lbs... typo! LOL