I will be hunting the Big Blocky Vancouver Island Black Bear next spring, and am trying to pick a round for my Remington 30-06 ADL.
I am a bigger is better kind of guy when it comes to ammo.
I was thinking of using the Remington Core-Lok 220 grain softpoint.
Is that a good round.
Am I better off using a expensive (I have no problem with that) premium round, like a Nosler Partition. Problem with the Fancier ammo is it dosnt go above 180 grain ammo. (I dont reload, even thought this is the relaodign forum)
I was hoping to keep the ammo 200-220 grain.
The shots arent very long, not normally over 100 yards, but you could occasionaly have a longer one.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks,
W.

I've killed black bears with my 30.06 using 180 Swift Scirocco handloads, and I think one 180 Partition. My Sciroccos always passed through, no matter the distance, and always dropped the bears where they stood. It is my opinion, that of the 3 major bonded plastic tipped bullets, Scirocco, Interbond, and Accubond, the Swift Scirocco is the toughest.

Your choice will be just fine, but not necessary. My partner who is going with me next month to BC for black bears killed one some years ago with a 220 Remington bullet at less than 10 yards. It did not pass through but was a perfect mushroom.

I prefer 180s myself, or a good 168. I suggest you consider looking at the clearance tab at midwayusa.com and you will see that they have several 30.06 factory ammunition on sale with a 180 Barnes TSX bullet. Cor-Bon is one company that comes to mind. Black Hills also loads that same bullet and may be cheaper.

Ultimately, any hunting lead bullet off the shelf in 180, 200, or 220 will cleanly kill a big black bear from your rifle. I prefer a premium bullet myself simply for those "bone" shots. Black bears have dense muscle and hefty bones in the shoulder region. I still aim for shoulder when I can. I do not know how the Remington corelokt bullet would perform if shot into bone, if you chose to do so.

I will be loading up some Barnes TTSX bullets in 168 and 180 next week for my bear trip. Whichever one shoots best is going to BC next month.

If I were limited to factory ammo I would personally use the PMC brand with the barnes X 180 grain.
I know that it is not as heavy as you are wanting but it is a homogenous copper bullet that expands well and retains almost 100 % of its original weight.
You can start off heavier with a lead core bullet but in the first few inches of penetration it will have shed enough weight that the 180 will end up weighing more.
Most often a lot more, which equates to deeper penetration.
I do not shoot factory ammo very much but I recommended this load to friend that was going cow elk hunting, I know a cow elk is not a big bodied black bear but he did shoot one in the chest at over 200 yards and recovered under the hide in her right hindquarter.

I really disagree with going with a 180 barnes X. Blackbears have thin skin and aren't very hard to kill. Go with a 180 accubond, partition, corelokt, barnes triple shock, or interbond. I think the only problem you will have is if you get too much penetration with too little expansion. You wanna make a big hole in these guy's cause their hair soaks up a lot of blood. I've seen a lot of bears killed and the only bullets i've had to consistently follow wounded bears with is the old barnes X and failsafe's, they pencil through where the softer bullets open up.

Schmaus,

Good suggestions.

I still would not hesitate to shoot a black with the 180 Scirocco. I found it to be an excellent black bear bullet, leaving quarter sized exit holes.

The problem with Sciroccos is it is pure copper, pure lead. It can be a picky bullet, but once you find the sweet spot, it is as good if not better than a Btip.

I believe factory ammo exists from Remington in their premium line and the 180 Scirocco is a choice.

But,

quote:

I really disagree with going with a 180 barnes X

...if I recall, when I spoke with Abe Dougan, in BC, of Big Boar Outfitters, the only bullet he used was the original Barnes X in 180 from his 300 RUM.

I would agree with a BarnesX only if it was going really fast. Not from a 30-06, I wasn't saying I don't like them for all calibers they just need to be movin to open properly.

makes sense

180 gr of any premium bullets is more then enough.My 11 yr old son killed this bear with one shot from his 222 rem using 50 gr soft pionts at 120 yards

There ya go, 50 grain 22 cal bullet.

By the way, welcome to the forums!

Thanks Guys,
I'll definatly stick with a premium bullet, and not worry about the heavier bullet.
Thanks again.
W.

quote:

Originally posted by woodsie:
Thanks Guys,
I'll definatly stick with a premium bullet, and not worry about the heavier bullet.
Thanks again.
W.

Just one piece of advice. If you do choose a solid copper barnes bullet, you really need to clean your barrel as thoroughly as possible with a solvent that actually works, like Barnes CR-10 or Warthog1134 BEFORE you check for accuracy. After testing it myself, I did find, in fact, that Barnes was right when they recommend this.

I shot some known handloads in 2 rifles with the Barnes TSX bullets after I had shot some Nosler Btips, and they did not group as well as normal.

Thanks,
I was thinking about using the 180 gr. Nosler Partition.
Thanks again,
W.

quote:

Originally posted by woodsie:
Thanks,
I was thinking about using the 180 gr. Nosler Partition.
Thanks again,
W.

Excellent choice. No worries about the extra cleaning then.

It's hard to go wrong with the 180 Partition. It's front end is frangible and provides the quick expansion you need on thin-skinned game. It's rear portion will penetrate deeply, giving you extra margin for shots from difficult angles. Two hunting partners of mine used it (one in a .30-06 and one in a .300 Win) last year in Africa to take everything from jackals to kudu and zebra. Worked like a charm.

I've only shot one black bear (19 1/4") in Alaska so by no means am I an expert on them. I was very satisfied with the performance of my .30-06 with my handloads using 200 grain Nosler Partitions. It blew through both shoulders leaving an quarter sized exit wound at 200+ yards. I wouldn't hesitate to use the 180 grain Nosler Partition against any black bear.

I only used the 200 grain bullet because I had them on the bench collecting dust.

quote:

Originally posted by chilcotin hillbilly:
180 gr of any premium bullets is more then enough.My 11 yr old son killed this bear with one shot from his 222 rem using 50 gr soft pionts at 120 yards

Doc,

I think your 270 will work on your black bear hunt.

Woodsie: Go to Conley Precision Cartridges on the internet, go to premium rifle calibers and scroll down to 30.06. The company is pricey but t has a good product and in the weight range you are seeking. Tom

I have killed two black bears, one with a 150 grain corelokt out of a 30-30 and the other with a 200 grain Speer Hotcor spitzer out of a 308. Neither bear was much over 200 pounds and I have killed many feral hogs that were much bigger. I wouldn't hesitate to hunt any black bear with a 180 grain Power Point or Corelokt but I will use a 250 grain Speer Hotcor from my 35 Whelen just because I can. I might look around for some Federal 180 grain Partition ammo if I didn't reload for my 30-06 and would most likely use the same bullet in a reload if I just had to use my 06.

Woodsie,

Any good 180 grain bullet from a 30-06 will work just fine for Vancouver Island black bear. I have shot quite a few with a 175 grain from a 7 mm Remington Magnum. It worked.

I really like the 200 gr. Nosler Partition in the 30-06 and I have used it all over the world for the last umpteen years on Afrian plainsgame, Deer, Pronghorn, Javalina, coyotes, elk, moose and black bear. Also use it in my 300 H&H..Never had a single regret.

I actually prefer my .338 Win. or 375 H&H for black bear as they have such thick wooley fur that absorbs blood and they don't leave a great blood trail with most calibers, but with the .338 or .375 and a 300 gr. Woodleigh or Nosler they leave a lot of blood, but this is not a condemnation of the 30-06, just a preference on my part.

Any over the counter 180gr ammo will be just fine for black bear; Remington, Federal, Winchester it doesn't matter.

If you handload then I would definitely recommend the Nosler Accubond, Nosler Partition or Hornady Interlock in weights of 180 or 200grs, for any .308 caliber... the Sierra Gameking 200gr is also excellent IMHO.

While I respect premium bullets in the 06, I'd still rather have a good old 220 grain RN... a 220 grain SMP Partition would be my choice if you need to have a partition to satisfy your mind...

Bears are going to be taken at fairly close range.. less than 200 yds max, and more like 50 to 75 yds.. so you don't need a 500 yds load and 500 yds zero for the hunt..