Good caliber for bear

[WNYBuckHunter]

I am going on a spring black bear hunt in Quebec in May of 2018 with a group of guys. After having a conference call with the outfitter, Im thinking that my deer rifle may not be the ideal rifle for the hunt, so I am mulling over different options, and wanted to see what you guys have for advice.

The first few days of the hunt, Im going to use my bow, then switch to a gun if I havent gotten one yet. The two options I have at my disposal currently are my Remington 700 .308 and my TC Encore .50 cal muzzleloader. I know the Encore would be a good choice, but with this being my first bear hunt, and first out of state hunt, I dont know if I really want to take the chance with it, plus its an excuse to buy a new rifle, and I kinda feel like I need to take advantage of that lol.

The outfitter did say that they may put gun hunters in archery stands depending on where the bears have been active, so I may be looking at shots as close as 15 yards. I dont want to just poke a hole in the bear and not get any bullet expansion. No need for lost bears or super long track jobs. So lets hear it, what are some good options?

[letinmfly]

.45-70 would be a good choice for the hunt you'll be doing.  Slower moving bullet with excellent knock down power and especially at closer ranges. 

[ny hunter]

Your 308 we'll get the done no problem..Just use a good bullet...Now if your looking to buy another rifle I would buy a 30-06 or  7mm mag either gun well be fine again use the right bullet....Best of luck look forward to to see the pictures.

[Doewhacker]

Any thing from a 12g to 7-08 works fine. 12 Would be my choice, big lead=big hole

 

Its funny, I was planning a hunt for Bears for this year but decided to wait until my daughter can hunt in Maine in two years.

 

[Buckmaster7600]

Your 308 will kill them very dead, find a bullet that will hold together for weight retention but still expand "I recommend Barnes." If you want to buy a gun your options are endless. If a bigger hole is what you're after a 35whelen would be tough to beat, or a 45-70. Without getting into magnums "because I don't think they are needed."

I'm far from an expert and have only killed 2 bears 1 with a 308 shot him 3 times although didn't need to he went 40yds all shots were in lungs and liver from 30-50yds with 150gn Winchester ballistic silver tips. 2nd was with a 30-30 quartering to shot at 40yds hit heart and lung bear went 20yds and died.


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[Pygmy]

There  are many chamberings  that would work as well as a .308 for a black bear over bait, but few that would work BETTER...

Of course  , if you just want an excuse to buy another rifle...<<grin>>....

[WNYBuckHunter]

23 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

There  are many chamberings  that would work as well as a .308 for a black bear over bait, but few that would work BETTER...

Of course  , if you just want an excuse to buy another rifle...<<grin>>....

Of course I just want an excuse for a new gun hahaha

[WNYBuckHunter]

27 minutes ago, Doewhacker said:

Any thing from a 12g to 7-08 works fine. 12 Would be my choice, big lead=big hole

 

Its funny, I was planning a hunt for Bears for this year but decided to wait until my daughter can hunt in Maine in two years.

 

The only down side to this hunt is its gonna knock a week out of my turkey season next year lol

[Pygmy]

16 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Of course I just want an excuse for a new gun hahaha

In that case, since your .308 has the mid range of bullets covered, I'd go for something capable of handling heavier bullets, like the .35 Whelen or the 45-70....

[The_Real_TCIII]

One nice thing about the ML is you dont have to register it when you cross, which was $75 IIRC and quite a bit of time

[growalot]

Hunting over bait...a well placed 243 will kill a bear and leave a small hole in a bearskin rug...Now I know whats coming with that statement...But a dang many bear have been dropped with a 243 and not by chance encounters but chosen weapon...

[Buckmaster7600]

Hunting over bait...a well placed 243 will kill a bear and leave a small hole in a bearskin rug...Now I know whats coming with that statement...But a dang many bear have been dropped with a 243 and not by chance encounters but chosen weapon...

This is absolutely true but I'm pretty proud of the hole in the absolute perfect spot in my bear rug. When people see it they usually say wow you killed a bear followed by Jesus what did you shoot that with? Most don't believe me when I tell them a little old 30-30.


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[turkeyfeathers]

I'll throw this idea into the mix.  How about a handgun ? Especially if shot is going to be possibly short like you mentioned.

[Pygmy]

25 minutes ago, growalot said:

Hunting over bait...a well placed 243 will kill a bear and leave a small hole in a bearskin rug...Now I know whats coming with that statement...But a dang many bear have been dropped with a 243 and not by chance encounters but chosen weapon...

I would not hesitate to hunt black bear with a .243  with suitable bullets like Barnes or Nosler partitions, just to mention a couple.

However, If I were buying a rifle specifically with bear in mind  it would make sense to go with something that pushes a heavier bullet, especially if I already owned a .308....Heavy bullets moving  at moderate velocities are awesome killers and don't  produce as much meat/pelt damage as some of the lighter, higher velocity rounds.. My 9.3 x 62 pushes a 250 grain Barnes TSX at about 2500 FPS, and it usually leaves an exit hole about the size of a half dollar...And it ALWAYS exits, which can be anadvantage if you have to track your bear into dense cover..

[WNYBuckHunter]

1 hour ago, Pygmy said:

In that case, since your .308 has the mid range of bullets covered, I'd go for something capable of handling heavier bullets, like the .35 Whelen or the 45-70....

The first thing that popped into my head was an AR15 running .458 SOCOM. I looked into the laws up there, and you cant use an AR for hunting apparently. Ill have to see whats available in the calibers you are talking about. This time around Im thinking a nice wood stocked, classic looking hunting rifle with a mid range variable scope on top.

[WNYBuckHunter]

14 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

I'll throw this idea into the mix.  How about a handgun ? Especially if shot is going to be possibly short like you mentioned.

Cant bring a handgun up there.

Not all of the stands are that short, they have rifle stands, box blinds, and stands set for archery. Im figuring shots could be anywhere between 12 yards and probably 100.

[Pygmy]

14 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

I'll throw this idea into the mix.  How about a handgun ? Especially if shot is going to be possibly short like you mentioned.

You can't take a handgun into Canada.....Even Canadian residents are not allowed to  hunt with handguns.

[turkeyfeathers]

15 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Cant bring a handgun up there.

Not all of the stands are that short, they have rifle stands, box blinds, and stands set for archery. Im figuring shots could be anywhere between 12 yards and probably 100.

 

14 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

You can't take a handgun into Canada.....Even Canadian residents are not allowed to  hunt with handguns.

Well shoot, sounded like a good idea at the moment   But I did just learn something at my stupidity

[Pygmy]

15 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

The first thing that popped into my head was an AR15 running .458 SOCOM. I looked into the laws up there, and you cant use an AR for hunting apparently. Ill have to see whats available in the calibers you are talking about. This time around Im thinking a nice wood stocked, classic looking hunting rifle with a mid range variable scope on top.

Hmmm..I wasn't aware of that, John, although I guess I'm not surprised.. I know that "traditional" style semi autos are quite popular up there, Rem 740-742, Browning BAR, etc.

Do you like lever guns  ?  Marlin and Henry make  some nice lever guns in 45-70 and .450 marlin...Also, the .35 rem with 200 grain bullets is an excellent choice for black bear.

[Doewhacker]

18 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

Hmmm..I wasn't aware of that, John, although I guess I'm not surprised.. I know that "traditional" style semi autos are quite popular up there, Rem 740-742, Browning BAR, etc.

Do you like lever guns  ?  Marlin and Henry make  some nice lever guns in 45-70 and .450 marlin...Also, the .35 rem with 200 grain bullets is an excellent choice for black bear.

I like this idea, its also a throw back to the days when you were just in your twentys circa 1940.

But seriously, those were popular guns/calibers in Maine in the old days. Now I want one...dangit

Edited April 7, 2017 by Doewhacker
added word

[The_Real_TCIII]

Bears die easy, they get way too much credit. I did the same thing you are planning I bowhunted the first four days and never got a look so I too the Marlin 444 out the last night and killed one literally the last minute. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

11 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

Hmmm..I wasn't aware of that, John, although I guess I'm not surprised.. I know that "traditional" style semi autos are quite popular up there, Rem 740-742, Browning BAR, etc.

Do you like lever guns  ?  Marlin and Henry make  some nice lever guns in 45-70 and .450 marlin...Also, the .35 rem with 200 grain bullets is an excellent choice for black bear.

Yeah apparently, from the reading I did, you can own AR15s (which are classed as "restricted" firearms), but you can only shoot them at approved ranges. Theres some sort of testing you have to go through as well. Its kind of a bummer because everything that I have read about the .458 SOCOM, makes it an awesome round for anything inside of 200 yards that you need some knockdown power on.

I have one lever gun right now, a Marlin 30-30. Its not really my favorite though.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I've taken 3 with my '06 and plan to make it #4

[moog5050]

600 nitro express is what you need

 

[WNYBuckHunter]

15 minutes ago, moog5050 said:

600 nitro express is what you need

 

LOL good lord.