I've taken 3 bears over bait in Quebec. All dropped within sight. I use a .35 Whelen with 225 gr Accubonds. I think I would have done about as well with a .30-06 with good bullets.

I know a couple other bear hunters. One has taken 25+ with a .308 using factory 150 gr core-lokts. His shot placement is good. His rifle looks like it was "rode hard and put away wet."

The other hunter I know has taken maybe 7 or 8, but has lost a couple with poor shot placement. His first loss was shot with a .30-.378 Weatherby. So, he decided he needed a bigger gun and moved up to a .338 Lapua. Guess what! A couple years later he lost another bear with a poor hit with the Lapua.

Shot placement trumps headstamp.