I'd take the biggest you can handle. I personally live in upstate New York and there are some BIG black bears here because they have lots of decidious trees like oaks, beechs, and wild apples to snack on... and also the occasional corn field and apple orchard... it is NOT uncommon for hunters to kill a few 400-600 pound males every year... and just over the border in Pennsylvania they are shooting 600-700 pounders every year and some 800 pounders. The point is that black bears can get big, as big as a grizzly. I would not trust a .30-06 to prevent myself from getting into a tussle with a bear. The thing about black bears that makes them more dangerous in my opinion then grizzlies is that they are more mobile, and faster... they have such power and size and actually pound for pound are stronger then grizzly or polar bears... a 400 or 500 pound bear can move through the woods as fast a deer, and they are REALLY quiet, you won't know you are near one unless you are right up to it and it gets scared and runs off and you hear a bulldozer running through the woods. I wouldn't underestimate if I were you, they are just as dangerous as any other bear, and any animal with jaws and clawas and weighs over 200 pounds can do a lot of damage to a human which we have no claws or teeth, only our tools and fists, which are not as damaging as claws that can leave nasty puncture wounds and tear an artery. I would bring something bigger thena .30-06. I would take atleast a .338 or higher. You will be really surprised at how quiet they are in the woods. I've walked up to 400 pound bears 100 feet up in an oak tree snacking on acorns, not even knowing they are above me until you hear a whole tree snapping and cracking like it was falling down from the wind, then you look up and see a big black blob running down the tree. I saw a 400 poundish bear last year (i can tell because of claw marks, its claw marks on tree were about the size of my hands and i'm 305 pounds... so i'll give him an extra 50 or 100 pounds of fat on me, and the size of the trail he polowed through the bushes was enough to fit me through it) It was really impressive how fast that 400 pound animal got down from a 100 ft tree, like in 2 or 3 seconds. Luckily it turned around and ran away, but it was maybe 15 or 20 yards from me, if it wanted to turn around and charge i'd be in trouble. Plus you owe it to the animal you hunt to use enough gun, if you can't handle a large enough gun to kill your prey humanely and effectively then hit the gym put some pounds on your bench, get some thickness, and then come back to the range.
Last edited by Polska; 06/07/11.
