Bear, by their very biological design, tend to put on a lot of fat leading up to winter. This fat tends to close around bullet holes and make blood trailing a difficult proposition. I don't know about spring time bear hunting if that's what you are intending, but if I were to be hunting a fall bear, I'd want something that gives me both deep penetration and decent expansion. The .50 round ball will kill a bear, but will it give you a good hole to allow blood to leak out?
I'm not asking rhetorical questions, as I've never taken a bear. I love round ball for deer hunting, but I've heard a lot of horror stories about bear not giving good blood trails for following up.
Dan
