Whats a good cartridge for bear?

[Onwardoutdoors]

Alright guys, don't make too much fun of me for asking because this is my first year chasing black bears. I've had a few close calls with my recurve but couldn't finish the deal. I am debating weather I should buy a larger caliber rifle because I dont want to play hide and seek with a black bear. I have a 30-06 that I do most of my rifle hunting with as well as a .308. Should I try to find something bigger? I had a friend say that 375 h&h was a good cartridge for bear . What is yalls opinion on it? any and every bit of information is useful to me. Thanks

 

[smoothie]

If you are chasing bear especially Georgia black bear then your 30-06 is definitely enough rifle. 180 Remington core lokt round nose would devastate them

 

[Flaustin1]

Theyre just black bears. Any normal deer caliber is fine.

 

[northgeorgiasportsman]

Theyre just black bears. Any normal deer caliber is fine.

Yep, the majority of bears killed in Georgia are no larger than a whitetail buck and certainly no harder to kill.

 

[hoochman2]

ive killed them with 243 to a 7mm. nothing special needed

 

[Onwardoutdoors]

Thanks guys. I appreciate it

 

[Barebowyer]

Deer take a bullet or an arrow better than bears do.....even a 430 lber I shot with recurve went 25 yards and piled up......your deer rifle is more than enough.

 

[Hammer Spank]

Stay away from ballistic tips and you will be fine

 

[Unicoidawg]

Theyre just black bears. Any normal deer caliber is fine.

This^^^^^ proper shot placement and they'll fold up like a lawn chair.

 

[NCHillbilly]

Probably 90% of the bears killed in the NC mountains over the last hundred years have been killed with a .30-30, it's always been the "standard" bear caliber around here. So yeah, your '06 or .308 are either plenty of gun.

 

[Buckman18]

Shot placement on a bear is more important than caliber. Notice the vitals are a bit further back than on a deer. I have seen bears shot in the shoulder go a long long way before expiring.

 

[Hammer Spank]

People have been pulling up that diagram for a long time and it is dangerously innaccurate.

 

[Onwardoutdoors]

I fallow the gritty bowmen podcast and I saw Aron Snyder center punch one with his recurve and it only ran like 45 yards. so I would think that the vitals are further back than a deer.

I decided I will be using my 30-06, What bullet is good? currently I shoot a 200 grain nosler partion, My remington 700 seems to like that bullet. I can ususaly shoot about a 1/2 inch group at a 100. I know that the gun is capable of better but that is about the most I can acheive with my hand loads. should I stick with the Partition or should I find something else?

 

[NCHillbilly]

Brother, you don't need a bonded bullet. You ain't shooting an elephant. Cheap softpoints perform better on deer and bear sized game than the expensive bonded bullets, IMO. A long freight train wouldn't hold the bears that have been killed with Winchester Powerpoints and Remmy Core-lokts.

 

[Buckman18]

I fallow the gritty bowmen podcast and I saw Aron Snyder center punch one with his recurve and it only ran like 45 yards. so I would think that the vitals are further back than a deer.

I decided I will be using my 30-06, What bullet is good? currently I shoot a 200 grain nosler partion, My remington 700 seems to like that bullet. I can ususaly shoot about a 1/2 inch group at a 100. I know that the gun is capable of better but that is about the most I can acheive with my hand loads. should I stick with the Partition or should I find something else?

Partitions will be just fine. Depending on which WMD I'm using, I shoot grey box winchester power points, ballistic silvertips, hornady SST's, Leverevolutions, Powerbelts, or Rage 2 blade. I've killed with all of them, and never have an issue. 3rd-4th rib back, center to upper body.

 

[GunnSmokeer]

When my dad hunted black bear, he used a .35 Remington rifle (borrowed).
Other hunters used the .30-30.

One guy in the group wanted an excuse to buy a new gun so he bought a .375 H&H Mag for that trip. And he got a black bear, and it was one of the biggest ones taken that entire year in that state. BUT, he still didn't need that much gun.

He had a frontal shot and the bullet hit the bear's neck and the bullet was found in a rear thigh. It went through all those FEET of bear meat and bone. Bang-flop.

Black bear in Georgia? .308 or .30-06 are fine.
The .30-06 is good for any game in North America, even the bigger bears like browns / Grizzlies.

 

[Onwardoutdoors]

Thanks guys!

 

[northgeorgiasportsman]

I have seen bears shot in the shoulder go a long long way before expiring.

I've seen several bears shot in the shoulder drop right where they stood, exactly like most of the whitetails I've shot.

 

[Buckman18]

I've seen several bears shot in the shoulder drop right where they stood, exactly like most of the whitetails I've shot.

That's interesting. Back in the 90's my brothers and I lost several bears that were shot in the shoulder. Both bow and rifle. We would bury the fletching in the should with an arrow, or shoot them at close range with our rifles and blow bone all over the place and blood trail them up to several hundred yards. We were just kids then, and my uncle from Shooting Creek suggested we shoot them about 6-8 inches behind the shoulder, back in the ribs. Since we started doing that, we have found them all and none have traveled very far.

 

[northgeorgiasportsman]

That's interesting. Back in the 90's my brothers and I lost several bears that were shot in the shoulder. Both bow and rifle. We would bury the fletching in the should with an arrow, or shoot them at close range with our rifles and blow bone all over the place and blood trail them up to several hundred yards. We were just kids then, and my uncle from Shooting Creek suggested we shoot them about 6-8 inches behind the shoulder, back in the ribs. Since we started doing that, we have found them all and none have traveled very far.

Killing animals is an inexact science for sure.