Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles pick a black bear bullet

It's funny- everything I have plugged with the 120tsx has certainly died, but blood trails have been distinctly underwhelming. Does the TTSX opens up just that little bit more? It's not that the untipped version doesn't kill, but finding a bear can be more challenging that killing said bear, so bigger exits are the goal here.

154 rn Hornady would be a good choice, i'm familiar with it but if you could post a picture of a " viking fire princess" I'd appreciate that. I may have seen one but obviously didn't identify it as a "VFP". THANKS IN ADVANCE..mb

TTSX is a great option for black bear

I’d pick the bullet that went through the lungs, clipped the top of the heart and maybe even broke a shoulder.

Because I split hairs, I’d choose a premium bullet in the mid weight range. I’d call the 140 or 150 Partition ideal, but a dozen other ones would really be just as good.

Any bullet that will work for deer will work for black bear.

Swift A Frames

Hornady Interlocks

Nosler Partitions

Remington Corloks

Would be my bullets of choice.

Don’t over think this.

Go and enjoy your hunt.

Use any bullet that you shoot accurately.

I have never shot a black bear but I have two opinions that I trust, ! guide who has shots or seen shot a lot of black bears . His bullet of choice was the 308 180 gr Winchester power point. The second opinion was from my friend who had shot 69 bears including 2 in the record book. His choice was 3006 and the 150 gr hornady interlock.

If you are talking bait than, to me, that says the situation is likely very controlled, relatively close range and you will likely have the chance to be discriminatory in your placement. I probably favor something with a little less weight retention in that scenario for maximum damage to the vitals without needing to worry about penetrating bones (which most good c/c would anyway). The only bear I have ever shot, or seen shot, with a 7mm anything was one I took a bear with a few years back over my hounds. I shot it with my stubby little Contender Carbine in 7-30 Waters. I specifically loaded the 140 Nosler Solid Base in the hopes that it would open well at slower speeds. Just looked at my notes and it looks like I was working at just over 2300 fps in the 21" contender. Worked perfectly with a shot up into the chest between the legs. I just rewatched the video I had on my phone. At the shot, the 5.5' boar climbed straight up a few feet, got the wobbles within just a few seconds and was stone dead within 6 feet of the base of the tree.

Great picture Med.

Awesome bear, congrats.

I would choose a 9.3x62 with a 286 gr soft point, but if I had to shoot a smaller caliber it would be the biggest bullet I could get.

I'm still laughing at this one...

Good advice from my GA friend.

I am not a terribly experienced black bear hunter...have killed 10-12, maybe a few more and been around a few more killed. That said, I haven't noticed any standard hunting bullet not working just fine on them. Anything the OP mentioned would be just fine, especially at 7mm-08 velocities. I am not a mono fan for a few reasons but they'd be fine too for this situation.

Good luck, if the hunt hasn't happened already.

I've found it prudent,to shoot Victims until they quit wiggling. Hint.

Not all wares are equal and bloodspilling is a sure fire barometer of evaluation. Hint.

Pardon my being afforded the luxuries,of not being forced to guess. Hint.



Fhuqking LAUGHING!................

been a change for me finally got a new to me Winchester model 70 s.s. with a claw 30-06 so i will use 180 gr. Nosler Partitions on these African plains game. i go along with Big Stick if i shoot a bear and it wiggles i will hammer a shot bear more there once , i don`t want pain from a bear. this 180 Nosler Partition bullet is what i would use on bears too.

I'd use any quality bullet with controlled expansion. Nosler ballistic tip, SST all work great on bear. I've used cheap cup and core and ended up with bits of lead in meat in the opposite end of the bear after hitting a bone. Not recommended but it will do the job.

The black bears I killed in Alaska were all taken with a 270win and 150gr corelokts. No telling how many bears have fallen to corelokts.

If I were wanting to step beyond a traditional deer bullet I’d get into a box of 139 LRX and never look back. Oughta be great at just about any scenario a hunter could encounter related to medium game. Have a great hunt!

One load for all!

I don’t know cshit about bear hunting, but I’d go Nosler Partitions