How many of you would attempt a rear end shot on a big black bear?(350-500lbs) What cartridge? Bullet? The big blackie has winded or heard you and is ambling slowly away from you at 50-100yds. Let him go or put one up the stovepipe? This type of shot comes up about 50% of the time in my neck of the woods. BTW, this a big fat fall bear so take that into consideration(you should)MtnHtr

[ 03-02-2003, 22:24: Message edited by: MtnHtr ]

ive taken 2 black bears like that. they were both walking, one about 75 yds the other about 39 yds. with very good rests, both dropped hard in their tracks. these bears are smaller though, about 200 lbs. i used a 300 win mag with 180 tbbc. i found both bullets up in the neck nest to the skin. excellent weight retention and great mushrooms. the bears your talking about are twice the size. i would probably pick a .375 hh with 300 tbbc (just because i have one) because of the size and weight. my .02 cents

I have shots sevreal black bears and lots of other game I have never had the need to take a texas heart shot. I wouldn't take the the one you just stated. Unless he was wounded then any shot that presents it's self is useful.
If your of the mind to take such shots a heavy for caliber bullet is what you need and I would put the bottom at 3006 with 220s.

I love bear hunting. Been hunting bears, all kinds of bears, for over 40 year and I have never taken a "Texas Heart Shot" on any animal and on a bear it's got to be the worst idea going. The chances of ending up with a wounded bear is way to great. A 350-500 pound bear is nothing to fool with or take lightly and wounded is a scary though. If you had to take a "Texas Heart Shot" at a wounded bear(the only time this shot should be taken) then a .338 or larger magnum would be in order. Lawdog

Having hunted a few bears I have great respect for them and am always amazed at their stamina. I would never take the texas heart shot on these animals. I have seen how fast and far they can go when hit well with a large caliber. I wouldnt want to take the chance. As has already been posted the odds of having a wounded bear are just too great.

No texas heart shots unless the animal is already wounded. I have too much respect for the game I hunt. There's more to hunting than killing. I've never killed a bear but I've let some damn big elk and mulies walk away because I didn't have a fair shot at them.

Very few rounds will give you more than about 24" of penetration. If you need more than that, better be prepared for a wounded bruin. JMO, Dutch.

When I was first introduced to hunting, I read about the "Texas heart shot", sounded pretty good. Dumb as I was, I tried it once. Result: wounded and unrecovered animal. Older and a tad wiser now, I'll not use this shot on any animal (let alone a bear), unless the animal is wounded.

I'm not saying it can not work, but it is an EXTREMELY chancy shot, and you should respect your animal enough to make sure of a clean kill.

FWIW, my $.02 - mike

For what it's worth-I attended a bear hunting seminar this past weekend hosted by Alaska Dept of Fish and Game. An Alaskan guide spoke for a couple of hours. One the topics that came up was the shot on a bear traveling away from the hunter. In the guide's experience- he thought this was an excellent way to anchor the bear. He went on to mention that in most cases this would be the next picture most hunters would see after the first shot.

When the choice of rifle calibers came up-he mentioned the .300 win mag on up for adequate penetration and tissue damage with the appropriate bullet.

the person shooting a bear with the texas heart shot going away has bigger balls than i do, shoot man, when i saw my first bear i thought i was having cardiac arrest. the bears shot in arkansas are 100yd or less. and i mean 100yd on a bear in arkansas is rare. i first encountered a sow with two cubs squirrel hunting with my 22. needless to say, i was scared shitless. luckily, i had my dog with me, it distracted the bear long enough for me to get my ass out of there. cubs were so cute though