How to kill a bear quickly?

jim42

Member
Hello,

I 've bought 150 acres of land in Southern Vermont. As my wife and I were unloading the car a bear came out of the wood. It looked at us for a few seconds then started to trot toward us. The kids were playing on the second floor of an old original barn, which is the only building on the land. As soon as I saw that thing running toward us I locked the car and we both run into the barn. I closed the door and we joined the kids upstairs.
From the window we saw that animal destroy the driver's door to get to the food that was in the car. As soon as he was done eating our food or the whole weekend it left. It took two hours. We no cell coverage I couldn't call anybody. I was furious that the camera was in the car. The animal was shot by a local a couple days later. 460 pounds.

I just can't deal with that. As of today I just don't feel secure there. I'm going to have a bunch of people helping me fix the barn, most of them students, and a few kids will be playing around.

I have inherited a 30-06 from my late father. I've shot that gun a lot at the range with him, but I never hunted or killed anything with it. Frankly, I'm not that knowledgeable about guns.

Is this the right gun to kill a bear?
A few precision. I'm not going to try to hunt bears and shoot them from 200 yards. Unfortunately I have a grimmer scenario that could happen. There is only 50 yards from the edge of the wood to the barn. I need a weapon that can kill a bear that will come out of those woods and start walking/trotting, running towards us. Most likely a front shot.
Is that savage 111 30-06 with a four bullet magazine the right gun to kill a bear before he can cover those 50 yards?
If now, what should I get instead?
A friend suggested a mossberg shotgun loaded with what he called brenekke?
Help!
 

Semi-Pro

Full-Pro
Also I've been told by local law enforcement that if you kill a bear out of season you better have proof or injury caused by the bear to kill it.
Can't just kill it cause it broke into your cooler
 

Uptonongood

Senior Member
Bears can and do attack humans especially if habituated to them. I had a roommate from Idaho that had some deep scars from an unprovoked bear attack when he was in his early teens.

A lot of guides in Canada and Alaska carry short. barrel 12 ga shotgun, no plugs, filled with slugs for protection. I would opt for a quality security semiauto gun by BerEtta. Semi auto won’t “short stroke” and jam on you in a crisis.

Be sure to learn “bear wise” actions to reduce attractions around your property. Talk with local LE if you see a Bruin acting unafraid of you or your family. That way you get documented that you may have problem bear near. Also learn and teach family members how to act and not act if you encounter one. Give sows with cubs a LOT of room.

I grew up spending a lot of time in bear country, had a number of them around, never had a problem. Never encountered the “wrong” bear, I guess.
 

Marsupial

Banned
I have bears in my yard all the time. I’ve walked up on many while hunting. Maybe Georgia black bears are different than Vermont, I can’t say. But I’ve never seen one that threatened me. Like people, bears have different personalities. Some are brave, some are stupid, some will let me walk up 20 feet before they trot off while others bolt when I crack the door to house.
I think you will need to learn to live with them instead of shooting them all. But to answer your question, the 30-06 is plenty gun to put down any black bear. I double lunged a 350 pounder back in October with my 270 while hunting and he went straight down. Matter of fact I’ve shot three bears over 300 pounds with that gun over the years and they all died quickly.
 

strothershwacker

Senior Member
Somebody been feeding that bear heavily. It associated y'all (humans) with food. I don't think you got anything to be concerned with. A lot of bear in the south have bird shot permanently implanted in there backside as a reminder to stay out of garbage cans and off porches. If your not interested in hunting it, you probably wouldn't have any trouble finding someone who is. Bear in areas that get hunted regularly do not behave this way. Another reason game management works. New Jersey will learn this the hard way.
 

j_seph

Senior Member
Other option is car bomb him, when he gets in car just push the button............................
hqdefault.jpg
 

jiminbogart

TCU Go Frawgs !
Please post pics of the car damage and the cell phone video you took of the bear attacking the car.

Ain't noboby gonna watch a bear chew on their car without taking video.
 

Liberty

Senior Member
We don’t shoot poor bears with mean ol guns. I know a witch doctor from West Georgia that will come cast a spell on the bear to make him stay in the woods if you pay travel, 3 days in a hotel, and $300 dining in advance. Unfortunately the spell will be broken instantly if you troll on the internet.
 

1eyefishing

...just joking, seriously.
So it happened to him in 2009 and then again earlier this week? So he now owns 300 acres in Vermont? Was it the same car with the door handle replaced or a different car? I bet it was a Subaru. Had to be a Subaru.

Mom's minivan...
 
Top