Given: Black bear hunt scheduled for late May in New Brunswick
Given: hunting over bait, where shots should be short
Given: Wife will be taking .257 Roberts

Given the above (no, we're not getting her a bigger gun, so work with me here ), would you choose to shoot her current load of 100 grain Barnes TSXs (a pretty stout load) or move to a heavier, softer bullet like a 120 grain Partition?

Thanks for any advice re: the bullets for a .257.

Either, well placed, will do the job no problem.

Either bullet should do it with proper placement. First black bear I shot was with a .250 Savage and a 100 grain Nosler PT. It had been wounded with a .44 Mag and I put it down with one behnd the ear at 40 yards. Any typical bullet would have probably worked.

Have killed two other black bears; One small cinammon bear with a 270/130 grain Nosler and another with a 50 cal muzzleloader and patched roundballs launched by 100 grains of FFFg. Both were plenty adequate; shot through and through and nothing went more than a few yards.

I personally don't think that a 300 pound black bear needs a whole lot of killing. Hit the right spot with a suitable projectile an call it good.

Just remember the 'hit the right spot part'.

my experience is "a well placed bullet" will make for a lovely bear rug.don't think the bullet weight in a bait and stand situation will be much of a factor. 257 is plenty of gun and either bullet well placed will be enough.good luck and lets see some pictures.

DR,

I agree with Joe above that either bullet will work. I think my choice would be the 120 NP only because I've used it on caribou and pronghorn with perfect results. I think I'd try to keep the shots to lungs only and expect amazing tissue damage from the small bullet.

Mark

Ram,
I got one a few years ago there, who are you hunting with?
I had a great time, and the average bear is not that big there 150-200lbs, so your wifes 257 is just fine. I would go with the TSX, but either one is perfect. Your shot will only be 40 yards or so.

Move to the heavier 120 grain Partition.

Hey Troy
If you have an accurate load already with a 100 TSX just go with it, that bullet should get complete penetration on a bear with a broadside shot and probably complete penetration with some angled shots and there is not a bear that walks this planet that will survive a poke through the lungs from that. Shots will be short you said so I'm assuming 75 yards and under and I'm pretty sure that your wife won't shoot until the right shot presents itself ( not like some guys who will try to make a shot out of a situation that is not a shot because they have a magnum in their hands) so I say go with it and have confidence in it. Show your wife a cutaway picture of a bears anatomy and make sure she picks something in the anatomy to target ( heart, lungs, spine) and she will have her first bear.
What rifle are you taking, your 6.5 Swede?

Guys, thanks for the input. Looks like the jury here is still out. The wife's little rifle shoots real nice with the TSXs, so we may just stick with what works. Neither of us has killed a bear before, hence the request for bullet experience from those that have. Since we're not really looking for flat shooting abilities offered by the lighter bullet on this hunt, I thought perhaps a heavier bullet would be more appropriate.

Wolfgar, we're hunting with Big Paw Outfitters.

Dave, thanks for the input. I'm actually leaving all my rifles at home and hunting with my bow. Since we're hunting over bait, I think it's the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with my bow. I even hope to get down to TX and stick a pig with it here in a few weeks!

I like to shoot them with bigger stuff when it comes to firearms. This is mainly because I don't have a rifle that is smaller than .30

My favorite for bear over bait the last 3 years has been my Marlin guide gun in 45-70 with 300 grain Barnes X. I also realy like this gun and load for whitetail and I had a buddy borrow it for a moose a few years ago and it worked great.

HOWEVER, that being said I would have no quams taking a person out to hunt with a 257 Robby.

The bullet choice is excelent. BARNES ALL THE WAY !!!!!!

I have seen a lot of bears, BIG bears killed with the 243, the 270, 308, 30 30.
The most important thing is SHOT PLACEMENT, then BULLET CONSTRUCTION and lastly calliber.

Have her use the gun she has confidence in and that she can shoot well. I don't care if you use a 460 WTHBY if you gut shoot a black bear he is gone and you WILL NOT RECOVER HIM. A bear shot through the heart and lungs with anything over 243 will die.

The only disadvantage to smaller calibers in my opinion and based on experience is that you must shoot behind the shoulder on the black bear, and you blood trail will most likley be bad. Even a barnes in smaler calibers can not reliably smash the bears shoulder. With a bigger gun (270 on up) with a Barnes you can shoot on the point of the shoulder like most African game is shot. The shoulder is smashed, the bear is down and you can put another one in and the bear dies right at the bait.

With the small calibers you have to shoot behind the shoulder. What usualy happens is the bear spins like a top and takes off like a scaleded dog. The thick hide and heavy fur leave little in the way of a blood trail. This is compounded by the small hole and the fact that the bear runs off at steplechase speed through thick stuff (bear woods are usually jungles)

This is just my 2 cents from a guy who lives in Maine who has shot a few bears, hunted and passed on a lot of them and seen the results good and bad from about 200 shot. For the last 3 years I have worked for a Guide and outfitter who has kept records of all the bear shot over bait in the last 17 years of his huntig opperation. This anmounts to over 500. He kept track of calliber, distance shot from and how far the bear went (if recovered) and where the bear was hit. His stats seem to back up my assertions.

Good luck, BTW bears shot with a bow, wher ethe shot is good and you get a double lung die the fastest. They seem to not get the huge adreline dump that makes them run off. They get stuck, feel some pain and tally off, before they know what is happeining they lie down and bleed out. Most go less than 30 yards. I have decided my next will be a bow kill.

Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement. That having been said, I would do exactly what Mark Young says. I can't say it any better. To justify that opinion, let me claify: although both bullets are excellent choices, the 120 grain could give her the margin of error should she strike the shoulder (animals tend to move at the wrong time). I'd prefer the extra weight if that happens. The Bear is going to run off 90% of the time and a broken shoulder with continued penetration will be needed. As I say "just in case." Good luck to you and your Wife, and let's see some pics! Good hunting, LDK