Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game So, are black bears hard to kill are not?

Might/could place a boolit where it belongs... HINT

Also have a good bullet!!

I have never shot a black bear, but was invited to hunt them, max shots were said to be less than 125 yards, scheduling/work on my part got in the way and I couldn't go.

For what it's worth, I checked zero on my pre-64 270 WCF firing 160 gr Partitions at 2800 fps, I could come up with no plausible reason why that combo wouldn't work on any black bear.

Does your Momma know what you do down there in the basement?

The hair length is a big deal. Had I not happen to stumble upon a thread about shooting bears the night before I shot my first I would have no doubt shot low. The thread basically talked about the thickness of hair and fat on the chest leading to low shots. The following evening my first ever was killed with a midway between the top and bottom right behind the leg hold. He went 15 yards.

I have seen some bears with long shaggy coats but can't say I would necessarily correlate it with very big bears or any particular size for that matter. I have noticed the hair on our bears here is generally much longer on spring bears than on fall bears and I can see where especially in the spring it could cause a shot to be low. Just another example of how shot placement can be difficult on a black blob that doesn't display much for prominent features. The one thing I do know about the biggest of black bears relative to the subject is that they will test the penetrating ability of a bullet much more than deer sized game.

As far as the original question of are bears really hard to kill, well any wild animal can be hard to kill given the right circumstances and a bear is no exception. I have seen a lot of bears shot with about everything imaginable and I will say you can take a bear quickly and cleanly with almost any firearm or bow provided you select a proper projectile and take an appropriate shot for the weapon you are using. When it was time for my daughter to start hunting big game the only gun I could find that fit her was a 243 Win, she shot her first bear in the head with an 85 gr. Nosler Partition killing him instantly.

I prefer a larger caliber that allows more shot options and my personal bear guns for close range situations are a 444 Marlin rifle and a 454 Casull handgun but it is not because I think bears are necessarily tougher than other game animals but rather that I have a desire to be able to put them down immediately from any angle necessary, which can usually be done with either of those cartridges with the right shot placement.

I can't claim the experience of JJ HACK, but in thirty years of policing in NW Ontario, I have shot a few bears, mostly controlling nuisance animals, usually at very close range, in the dark, and near houses. I had to use an issued weapon and in those times, a Remington 870 Wingmaster 12 guage stuffed with 00 buck was what we had to use.

Nine balls in the twelve bore fired into the forehead took the starch out of every blackie I ever had to shoot. They issued slugs just before I retired, and I am guessing they work better, but if over penetration is a risk, double aught buck will work.

No but yours does....

I've seen more bears drop when shot than anything else, except maybe ducks.

I've also seen more than a few get the [bleep] up after the shot.

I just realized "Judman" is probably Big Stick.

Yep.......

I wondered about that too.

Not even close, carry on....

I doubt it... Stick does not usually say wrong dumb schit.

No doubt. They're always complimentin' one another, it's a regular love-fest.

Judman, you should throw up a kilt picture about now.

We're allowed three over the counter bear tags a year. I've killed a bunch of them, no where near as many as JJ or a lot of the Alaskan guys.

Been in on some rodeos with wounded bears, I personally know three guys that have been ripped up by wounded bears. One of the guys we call Franken Wiener because of the 30 something stitches in his crotch, I think it was 17ish stitches in unit.

That being said, most of them have died pretty easy. The rodeos mostly have happened by experienced deer/elk hunter trying to bust shoulders on broad side shots. The broad side shoulder shots will just barely clip the lungs, make for some sporty recovery.

Think bow shot, through the boiler room and try to pin the off shoulder or bust a shoulder into the heart lungs on a quartering to shot. Tends to make recovery much more boring.

This makes me want to use a .375 H&H. I have heard of similar incidents with wild boars. Usually happens when someone tries to grab them by the ears or something equally foolish.

He shot that thing four times with a 444 Marlin at maybe 50 yards. I got the call when he was at the hospital, then headed up to where he was hunting and recovered the bear.

HMMM?? 4 shots with a 444, I'd definitely say he lost his cool or something because no bear I have ever seen is going to be mauling anyone after ONE well placed shot from a 444. I sure wish Hornady would bring back the old 265 flat point for the 444, this new Revolution crap that they are loading may be okay for shooting something 200 yards away but comparatively they seem to pretty much suck at real close range from what I've seen. Why did this happen, had to be poor shot placement or total bullet failure?