I talked to a relative who has shot lots of bears. He says a .243 is plenty if you are in a tree and shooting for the spine.
Where you hunt bears may be different than Minnesota but the brush is so thick that finding them after you kill them is the challenging part unless they leave a good blood trail you may never locate them.
I don't think they are that tough to kill just tough to find afterwards. Especially if they can crawl under a log or get into the swamp.
whelennut
I respectfully suggest your relative is overstepping his experience. Spining a bear is neither pretty nor wise, IME. A good hole through the running gear, heart, lung area is fast and deadly.
A thrashing spined bear is only partly immobile and not usually going to die fast unless a leaky hole is included. Trying to figure out where the spine is in a sometimes odd-shaped body is difficult, +P.
art
