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Taking my son on bear hunt need help

bowtech2

By bowtech2,
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bowtech2 Newbie

bowtech2

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I'm taking my son on black bear hunt in Maine next year. He's 8 do you think gun or cross bow? Im looking for calibers that I can get in youth model and won't have to much recoil but enough nock down power. I'm willing to put muzzle break on. Or do I just get a cross bow?

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NYBowhunter Rising Star

NYBowhunter

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Yeah, i would have to agree if you had to go with a gun for an 8 yr. Old i cant see it being more powerful than a 243 or 6mm. I have 3 boys and i cant imagine my 7yr old shooting a 243 and i would say that would be the max caliber i would allow my 11 yr. Old to shoot. Tell ya what if he practices with that crossbow that could work out just as good. My 11 year old is deadly out to 30 yrds with my crossbow. Whichever you decide good luck and make memories to last him a lifetime, thats awesome.

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bowtech2 Newbie

bowtech2

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Yeah, i would have to agree if you had to go with a gun for an 8 yr. Old i cant see it being more powerful than a 243 or 6mm. I have 3 boys and i cant imagine my 7yr old shooting a 243 and i would say that would be the max caliber i would allow my 11 yr. Old to shoot. Tell ya what if he practices with that crossbow that could work out just as good. My 11 year old is deadly out to 30 yrds with my crossbow. Whichever you decide good luck and make memories to last him a lifetime, thats awesome.

Thank you for the info. What kind of crossbow does your son use? I can't wait for this hunt it will be 3 generations of us going.
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Buckmaster7600 Mentor

Buckmaster7600

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I know I already said 7mm-08 but I would also add 44mag my daughter is 8 and doesn't really like shooting her 7mm-08 and I changed the stock on my Cva 44mag for and put her compact stock on it and she loves shooting it. Hunting bait there won't be any long shots and a 44mag out of a rifle would be plenty to kill a bear out to 100yds

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Skillet Rising Star

Skillet

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When I was a teenager, I worked for a bear guide in Maine, 3 summers in a row. I'd go up in late July to help get stands ready, trim trails / shooting lanes, & bait the stands. At the end of the summer, He'd let me hunt the first week for free. I killed 2 bears at his place. He's dead now, but those are some great memories. I learned a lot from him.

He would cringe every time someone showed up with a gun like a 243, 308, 300, etc. He said that shooting the faster calibers, that have lighter bullets, didn't work well at the ranges you shoot over bait. He said a lot of bears were lost by guys shooting 30yds with a 300. He didn't think the bullets really expanded at such close distances. He wasn't a fan of archery either, a lot of bears were lost that way, too. He said you're paying a lot of $ to shoot a bear, so why lower your chances at all? They don't always offer a bow shot, & it would suck to come away empty handed, when a gun would've made the difference.

I can vouch for seeing some bears lost, over my years with him. Of course, it could've just been poor shot placement. Of the bears I saw lost, the hunter was always shooting one of the faster, flatter shooting rifles, usually a 30 cal. The blood trails were poor, & dried up quickly. I never saw anyone show up with a 243, & I'm sure he wouldn't have allowed it.

Maybe it was coincidence, but I didn't see any bears lost by the guys who shot them with a 444, 45-70, 44 mag, 20ga, etc. Harold would always try to convince hunters to show up with a 40 cal, or a shotgun. He loved the guns that threw a big hunk of lead.

Both of my bears were shot at around 35yds, & both died within sight of me. I used a 444 on one, & a 458win on the other.

Personally, I would stay away from archery tackle for such a young guy. Bears are put together funny inside, the vitals sit a little lower than a deer, & there's a helluva big leg bone in there.

Not sure how big your boy is, but if it were me, I'd try to get him shooting a 20ga or 44.

I'm not claiming to be an expert, just going off of what I saw.

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bowtech2 Newbie

bowtech2

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I know I already said 7mm-08 but I would also add 44mag my daughter is 8 and doesn't really like shooting her 7mm-08 and I changed the stock on my Cva 44mag for and put her compact stock on it and she loves shooting it. Hunting bait there won't be any long shots and a 44mag out of a rifle would be plenty to kill a bear out to 100yds

Ok I might try that out also. Been with this outfitter twice there are no shots more the 40yds

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NYBowhunter Rising Star

NYBowhunter

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Thank you for the info. What kind of crossbow does your son use? I can't wait for this hunt it will be 3 generations of us going.

He shoots my 10 point titan extreme. Yeah i hear ya on the 3 generations, i was fortunate to share my crossbow hunt this year with 2 of my boys and my dad. We all got to par take in retrieving the deer and butchering it. Heres a couple pics. Be sure to share your hunt with us and stop and slow down sometimes and take lots of pics. Not to hi jack your thread or preach to you but as we get older we need to slow down, relax and take everything in (take pictures). Ive always been the lets do it NOW and get it done type of person, now in last couple years i have learned to slow down if you know what i mean.

post-14-0-98380200-1449688852_thumb.jpg

post-14-0-71870600-1449688874_thumb.jpg

post-14-0-61791200-1449688940_thumb.jpg

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bowtech2 Newbie

bowtech2

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He shoots my 10 point titan extreme. Yeah i hear ya on the 3 generations, i was fortunate to share my crossbow hunt this year with 2 of my boys and my dad. We all got to par take in retrieving the deer and butchering it. Heres a couple pics. Be sure to share your hunt with us and stop and slow down sometimes and take lots of pics. Not to hi jack your thread or preach to you but as we get older we need to slow down, relax and take everything in (take pictures). Ive always been the lets do it NOW and get it done type of person, now in last couple years i have learned to slow down if you know what i mean.

Thank you so much for all the help. I'll take all the advice I can get. Took my son out on Sunday he was dressed and ready to go before me. I wish NY would do something like Maine with age restrictions. I think it would help out a lot. But that for another discussion.
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bowtech2 Newbie

bowtech2

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Look at the Cva hunter they are nice and light you can get the compact stock for it. Last week my daughter shot about 30 rounds through mine and had a blast

I'll be looking at them tonight. Muzzleloader question how many shots do you take before cleaning it?
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The_Real_TCIII Grand Master

The_Real_TCIII

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When I was a teenager, I worked for a bear guide in Maine, 3 summers in a row. I'd go up in late July to help get stands ready, trim trails / shooting lanes, & bait the stands. At the end of the summer, He'd let me hunt the first week for free. I killed 2 bears at his place. He's dead now, but those are some great memories. I learned a lot from him.

He would cringe every time someone showed up with a gun like a 243, 308, 300, etc. He said that shooting the faster calibers, that have lighter bullets, didn't work well at the ranges you shoot over bait. He said a lot of bears were lost by guys shooting 30yds with a 300. He didn't think the bullets really expanded at such close distances. He wasn't a fan of archery either, a lot of bears were lost that way, too. He said you're paying a lot of $ to shoot a bear, so why lower your chances at all? They don't always offer a bow shot, & it would suck to come away empty handed, when a gun would've made the difference.

I can vouch for seeing some bears lost, over my years with him. Of course, it could've just been poor shot placement. Of the bears I saw lost, the hunter was always shooting one of the faster, flatter shooting rifles, usually a 30 cal. The blood trails were poor, & dried up quickly. I never saw anyone show up with a 243, & I'm sure he wouldn't have allowed it.

Maybe it was coincidence, but I didn't see any bears lost by the guys who shot them with a 444, 45-70, 44 mag, 20ga, etc. Harold would always try to convince hunters to show up with a 40 cal, or a shotgun. He loved the guns that threw a big hunk of lead.

Both of my bears were shot at around 35yds, & both died within sight of me. I used a 444 on one, & a 458win on the other.

Personally, I would stay away from archery tackle for such a young guy. Bears are put together funny inside, the vitals sit a little lower than a deer, & there's a helluva big leg bone in there.

Not sure how big your boy is, but if it were me, I'd try to get him shooting a 20ga or 44.

I'm not claiming to be an expert, just going off of what I saw.

im with you. 20ga slug is perfect for a hunt over bait
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bowtech2 Newbie

bowtech2

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Look at the Cva hunter they are nice and light you can get the compact stock for it. Last week my daughter shot about 30 rounds through mine and had a blast

How hard was it for you to get the Hunter in .44 mag. I called cva they said it's hard to find one cause it's there best selling gun right now.
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hunterdan44 Collaborator

hunterdan44

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I think you should think about how well he tolerates recoil. Kids think they can shoot an elephant gun but when your on range they can be intimidated which is normal. See how he shoots the different guns that you own or a friend or relative have to try them out. When my boys were small I took them to Texas on a deer hunt and they used my .223 and both were successful. Shot placement is important, more so than gun. I have a Ruger 44 auto , shot bear and deer with it and not a lot of recoil. Good luck and enjoy your hunt.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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