Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Bear hunting gone wild

Well when a dude hunter with his shiny new 338 shows up and shoots a big bear thru the guts odds are it's going to run off into cover. The guide then has to crawl into said cover, alone if he's smart don't want the dude shooting him or getting chewed on, and put a finisher into the hopefully dead but more likely agitated and not very dead bear. Putting an insurance shot in if the bear looks to be marginally hit or badly hit is SOP to keep the bear from causing any problems or getting away to die a lingering death and not be recovered.

Why do you think 458win recommends his hunters bring their deer rifle if it's a 270 or larger? Because they can shoot it. Too many guys go on once in a lifetime type hunts without being able to shoot for beans. And when anybody mentions that the critter in question has teeth and claws the first thing dude hunters do is go buy a big ass rifle they probably can't shoot. I helped at a bear hunting operation for 2 seasons and saw about 75% of the clientele show up overgunned and underpracticed. Every year someone had to go into the brush to dig out a wounded bear or two, having done it once I can say it isn't fun. And there is always an excuse that doesn't involve the guilty not being able to shoot the friggen cannon they're lugging around.

The situation calls for judgement, if it's a solid hit then no need to shoot, if it's looking marginal or around the fringes I'm putting lead in the air.