I am going to Alaska for a boat based black bear hunt. I plan on shooting my Ruger Hawkeye
stainless steel 35 Whelen with 250 gr. Swift A-Frames. Id like some opinions from you old Alaska hunters. Is this Enough gun to keep them from getting off the beach provided I do my part?

It is all about shot placement. Do it right they don't go far. Miss the mark and you will chase the bear. I have seen them hit with a .243 and drop, hit with a .375 and runoff. Practice with and without a rest.

quote:

Originally posted by Dall85:
It is all about shot placement. Do it right they don't go far. Miss the mark and you will chase the bear. I have seen them hit with a .243 and drop, hit with a .375 and runoff. Practice with and without a rest.

Yes!!....Old School thought is that blk bears are 'soft'. Maybe so, but you better anchor a spring bear pretty quick or you may not have a blood trail because of the loose skin. Just speaking from experience. First bear I ever poked was with a 35 Whelen/250 Hornady....well placed hit, but lost the bear in the nasties.

That's a pretty good choice, but as said placement is key. We always have a second gun backing the shooter with safety off and pressure on the trigger. If the bear doesn't drop to the shot the backer shoots.

I know 35W is a good caliber for bear. My concern is one dying 100 yards from the beach and not finding it. And of course a hit bear is a tag gone. I may take a 375 Ruger with 300 gr
Swifts. This should give me some extra horsepower. Thanks for your input.

everything from 6.5,and up will work fine,good bullets and shot placment,and more important think is man behind a gun

Try to bust him through both shoulders .

Just relax and squeeze the trigger,,you have a fine rifle for any bear up here.

"It's not what you hit 'em with, it's where you hit 'em, blah, blah, blah and blah!"

Yeah, maybe, but I've hunted them every year for 30 years, and taken my share, but I've found bigger is better!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

quote:

Originally posted by .458 Only:
"It's not what you hit 'em with, it's where you hit 'em, blah, blah, blah and blah!"

Yeah, maybe, but I've hunted them every year for 30 years, and taken my share, but I've found bigger is better!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

I love bear hunting! But living in Texas, unfortunately I don't get to poke at them every day. I've fired exactly 5 rounds at 4 bears....I've collected two. Lost one to a well placed 250gr/35Whelen and the other to an equally well placed 225gr/338 Federal. Both shots were witnessed by very seasoned guides and coming up empty handed was a shock to both. The other two bears were taken during separate hunts using my 300 Win Mag....Dead Bears.....and I love Big Bores!

quote:

Originally posted by jpex:
I am going to Alaska for a boat based black bear hunt. I plan on shooting my Ruger Hawkeye
stainless steel 35 Whelen with 250 gr. Swift A-Frames. Id like some opinions from you old Alaska hunters. Is this Enough gun to keep them from getting off the beach provided I do my part?

BTW....Who are you going with??? My girlfriend and I were just discussing a vessel based BB hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by Craftsman:
Try to bust him through both shoulders .

EXACTLY!!! Take out the front wheels

TXPO, I booked it through Steve West. I'm not sure of outfitter yet.

jpex;

My last week's blog (March 3rd) is in praise of the .35 Whelen for bears! Click on my website where the current discussion is on the .375 H&H, click on the calendar for March 3 where I discuss the .35 Whelen.

Hope that helps.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Great article Bob. Thanks. I am going with the 375 Ruger and 300 gr Swift A-frames. I love my Whelens, I have 4. But in a situation where a bear may be lost in 100 yards I am going with the bigger gun. I use my Whelen when hunting over bait in areas where tracking is possible, but info like yours has made me decide to go with the bigger gun. I have 2 375 Rugers so I am not taking a bigger rifle that may be unfamiliar to me. They both shoot good so shot placement is on me. Thank you for sharing article.

quote:

Originally posted by .458 Only:
jpex;

My last week's blog (March 3rd) is in praise of the .35 Whelen for bears! Click on my website where the current discussion is on the .375 H&H, click on the calendar for March 3 where I discuss the .35 Whelen.

Hope that helps.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Bob,
i thought you have been converted to the 9,3x62 a while ago ....

quote:

Originally posted by medved:

quote:

Originally posted by .458 Only:
jpex;

My last week's blog (March 3rd) is in praise of the .35 Whelen for bears! Click on my website where the current discussion is on the .375 H&H, click on the calendar for March 3 where I discuss the .35 Whelen.

Hope that helps.

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

Bob,
i thought you have been converted to the 9,3x62 a while ago ....

Medved;

Have you read the piece mentioned? If you have then notice again my remark about my 9.3 and the last bear I shot with it!

By the way, in the current series, the 9.3 X 62 will be coming up again. I've owned just about all mediums (.375 Ruger excepted.), and this is by far the best by a country mile (you know a country mile is where a dog is let loose and runs over hill and dale until it can run no more)!

Seriously, it is near equal to a .375 H&H, slightly better than a "normal" .338 Win Mag and about the same as my former .340 WBY as I measure things that really matter. But it's only 7.6 lbs ready to go.

It can easily handle any and all hunting that I might do, or have done, with anything from .35 Whelen to .375 H&H (include the .375 Ruger in there if using the 20" format -- mine has a 22.4" tube)

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

My kids have shot over a dozen Spring Bear outta our stand with the 6.8 stag, 110 TTSX, 28 grains of TAC. They run 10-20 yards, let out their bawl and collapse. most were 200 lbers, but daughter did get one over 300 lbs.

Funny story about 458 win mag. I had this buddy from Georgia, has all his Africa guns. So anyway, he was sitting on bait along roadside pull off in his truck. Wolves came out on road, trotted down road towards him, (we had bait in woods along roadside) when 200 yards, the wolves turned sideways towards bait; buddy blasted and blew wolfs leg off, bone chips & blood, ole wolf kept going.

Then within 5 minutes, big boar comes off hill, crosses road and works his way up towards bait can, maybe 30 yards from buddies truck. When bear got to bait, my buddy (who had been drinking beer) shoots bear, then bear turns right towards buddy and starts his way. He shoots a second time with that 458 win mag, and bear drops not 15 yards from him. Wife and I were driving down the road to meet him when we heard the shot and got to him within 2 minutes. Buddy was stuttering on about bear charging him and 458 not being enough gun and how he couldn't figure. How bad that bear wanted to kill him, and we were laughing our butts off. I told him that the bear was just trying to get across the road to where he lives and come from, and buddy just was between bear and that hillside. Then the buddy settled down some and realized how humorous it all was, drank another bear and we gutted the bear. Bear was 370 lbs which is a larger than normal blk bear where we live. Also from what I have watched on TV sports show, most blk bear shot on coast ain't much bigger.

My kids still shoot our local blk bear with the 6.8 stag.

Zhurh;

Because your "buddy" "drank another bear", just wondering what a 6.8 stag is?

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

quote:

Originally posted by waterrat:
Just relax and squeeze the trigger,,you have a fine rifle for any bear up here.

Ditto's

You have a great caliber rifle combo for your bear hunt.

Your 35 Whelen with a 250 NP is plenty enough gun, now if you are looking for a reason to buy a new gun I am with ya if not then you are not in the least under gunned with the 35 Whelen

I think the whelen is a great choice. I use mine quite often and really can't tell any difference between it and my 375 on black bear. They both dump them hard.

The heart in a black bear is farther back than you might think; don't shoot/aim like it is a deer. I was with a hunting companion in 2012 that shot with a .375 and hit it too far forward. They can run forever on 3 legs. The bear I took in 2010 was hit on the shoulder with my .338, got up and ran just fine on 3 legs also. Had to neck shoot him on the run to anchor him (135 yards). Respectable 6'7" square. Went back in 2013 and took a quartering away shot at 170 yds with the same .338( from a rest) and it piled up after 60 yds. Bullet placement killed this 6'9" square bear with a perfect hide.

The 577 Nitro Express I used last week on my BC black bears with 750gr Woodleigh softs seemed to work just fine

All joking aside, I like to leave BIG holes just in case I'm off the mark a bit.

Your .35 Whelan w/ 250 gr. a Frames is more than enough for black bears. Hit the bear behind the front shoulder...broadside...a third to midway up and punch a hole thru both lungs. He'll be dead in 30 yds....works every time. I did just that two weeks ago with my .350 Rem Mag & 225 gr. A Frames on a 6.5' Montana bear.

My sons first 2 bears where shot with 55gr soft points from a 222 rem. First was a 300LB boar shot at 120yards the next was about 200 and was shot at 80 yards, both went 20-30 yards and piled up. Shot placement just as PhilR says.

The bear are eating me outta house and home. trying to keep all of them coming in several times a day to my stand. That being said, I will concur on those A-Frames as they shoot better than my nosler partitions. I don't hesitate spending 58 bucks a box for them no more. THANKS DIRK for cluing me onto them bullets; I load up a hundred each for several of my favorite guns that I hunt with.

Any gun will do for blk bear I do believe. I'm getting happy enough with my 308 for anything here in Alaska.