I'm going after some Minnesota black bears this fall and would like to know what everyone recommends for bullets in my .30-06. I'm told that the shooting will be 100 yards or less. Will 150's work or will I need a premium 180?

Thanks for the help,

Al

150s will work if you pick your shots but I wouln't recommend them. Any good quality 180 grn would be my pick.

The last one I shot was with 220 rems the one before that with 165 gr rem corelocks the one before ythat 180 hornadays couldn't tell the defferants in any of them. I am loading some 180 hornadays for my daughter to use this fall at 2700 they well do just fine.

Most black bears are no larger than a good northern whitetail buck, and many hunters make the mistake of using a bullet which does not give adequate expansion on a 200 lb animal.

Occasionally, however, you can happen across a "farm raised" blackie, especially in the fall after it has fattened all summer, which may run much larger.

You're probably just fine with your 150's, but if you want to load some 180 Noslers (or Hornadys, Speer, etc.) in case that real "hog" comes along, that will be fine, too.

A
180 grain nosler partiton will do anything you ask and abit more.

I would not choosen a bullet lighter than 165 grains even if it were small bears

Cheers
/ JOHAN

I would go with a 180-200 gr. premium bullet. Fail Safes, X-Bullets, Partition Golds, A-Frames, etc.

You want an exit hole, bears tend to not bleed much due to the long hair and thick fat. Heavy bones like concrete tend to stop lesser bullets pretty easily.

I like the 165 Speer Grand Slams.

Carried 'em on several bear hunts. Never got a shot at a bear. I have used them on several big elk. I have never recovered a bullet so don't know what expansion looks like. They also shoot to the same point of impact at 100 yards as my 150 grain Nosler BTs.

Works well for me.

180 gr. Nosler Partition

AD

Guess I goofed up trying to reply earlier. What I was going to say is that the most important thing I've found is to get an exit wound. As long as the bullet can completely penetrate from the angle you shoot him at, and break any bone in between, you will get a good blood trail if he goes far. I used 180 gr Barns X in a 30-06 at 125 yards on my last bear and even if he hadn't had a broken shoulder and severed spine, The exit hole literaly poured blood from the lungs so tracking him would have been easy.

I guess a 180 grain X-bullet or Nosler would work fine (avoid the 150 since high velocity+short range will often equal goofy bullet performance)but why when you aren't going to be shooting at long range and a 200 grain X-bullet will work just that much better.

JMHO,

JohnTheGreek

I used 180 grain round nose "core-lokt" on my 2 Colorado bears. Shot them at about 50 yards over bait. I think any good 180 or 220 round nose is a good choice.

Well, here I am the odd ball again. The only Black I have ever killed, I shot behind the shoulders with a 117 gr Sierra BTSP out of a 25-06. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. He was quartering to me, facing the right. I was 13 years old. He was about 175-200 yards away. I had a 30-06 at the time and almost took it with me, but I liked my 25-06 better. At the time, I was shooting 150 gr Sierra's with the 30-06. If I took my 30-06 with me, that is what I would shot. My dad always liked the Sierras, that is what got me interseted in them. On this forum, however, nobody seems to be fond of Sierras. Since, I have been present on the kill of two other Blacks. A 270 with 130 gr Core-loct, and a 264 Win Mag with I don't even remember. All dropped immediately. I don't think blacks are too terribly hard to bring down with a well placed bullet of any kind. My advice...shoot what you are comfortable with.

Good luck and happy hunting.

A good 180gr bullet would be fine(Barnes,Part,TB,A-Frames)Since you mention short range my choice would be the 200gr Partition over RL22. Remember you will have to follow up on your shooting. This is where you don't want a poor bullet choice, especially if the cover is thick. MtnHtr

AL SMITH,
Just about any good 165 grain bullet will handle the largest boar to come down the pike. There are so many it is impossible to comment on them all. If you have a favorite brand, use it. If you don't have a favorite, I don't think it's possible to go wrong with a Nosler partition.
If you don't load your own, the Remington PSPCL, or core-lokt, Is a good bullet and brand of ammo. Good luck, let us know how the hunt goes.

Cave Man,
Your right black bear don't wear kevlar vests. I've killed one with a 100gr./6mm and another with a 117gr. /257robt. both of these were springtime bears ang weighted less then 200lbs. A fall bear can sometimes double that weight. The other three bears I've killed were with and you'll like this 130gr.Sierra's out of a 270win.
Fall bears are usually fat and the fat has a habbit of sealing up bullet hole. Alittle bigger gun may be advised in the fall. Pete

I have shot two blacks in Washington State. One took a 200 grain Speer spitzer out of a 308, he jumped out of sight, laid down and an hour later when I went to look for him he was done. The other bear was a monster that was raiding the Onalaska dump and causing problems (trying to help people unload their trash). One 165 grain Speer spitzer from my 30-06 thru the chest was all it took, he thrashed around for a few seconds and was done no exit on this bear but the first had a exit hole an inch or so across.

Most bullet makers put Black bears in a class with deer, I believe that Winchester calls it a CXP 2 rating ?? .. Not that they would know anything about it. Ive killed plenty Mule deer with 150s although I would also suggest the 180s, not because youll need the penetration but because I feel they would be more suitable in such close proximity.

I have seen several bears killed with 150gr factory loads out of a 30-06 and several with 140gr partitions out of various 7mm cartridges.All worked well as the average black bear is much smaller than most people think(200 to 300lbs)and heavy bullets are not required.

My 30-30 with 170 grain PP's will and has dropped the black bear monsters that roam the Manitoba forests...

I've had good luck with .270-150 Nosler Partition and .308-200 gr Barnes X. All were spring bears.

I second Allan's recommendation of the 180 grain Nosler Partition, you could also consider the 200 grain Nosler Partition.

My wife shot a 250 lb. black bear boar last spring with the 200 grain Nosler in my .300 Jarrett and he only went about 25 yards before falling over stone dead.

I am especially partial to 220 gr. Nosler partitions.

I have shot 5 moderately heavy black bears (ranging from 250-375 lbs) with an 06 with bullets (sierra) from 150 to 220 grains. All died just about the same.......however, I have settled on the 220 round nose because it will normally give you the best blood trail to follow.

Allen got it right.....again!

Rich Elliott

Here in Alberta black bears are considered varmints if you are the property owner. When I worked for the railroad I had more then a few fellow employees ask me to come and take care of bear problems on their properties. 90% of the time, it was with a Winchester 94, 30-30, 170 gr load. Black bears just aren't that hard to kill from a reasonable distance. - Dan

Dan Belisle

You mentioned that in Alberta that black bears were considered varmints. I heard the same remark about black bears in Ontario. Until now I never thought to ask a Canadian why they have this view of what can be a fairly large animal. I realize that they don't compare with grizzlies or brown bears but I think of varmints as critters like coyotes,foxes,weasels,etc. I realize that all the animals are bigger in Canada so is the black bear your smallest "varmint"?