Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Black bear caliber question

I will be planning a hunt out of Ketchikan in 2 years. I did a great hunt there with my father in law back in 99, when we moved there, with a guide named AJ Slagle. We had a great time and both of us shot really nice bears. We hunted a huge area around Johnson arm and saw alot of animals. Wish I still lived there! Anyway, Does anyone know if AJ is still guiding? Another question, what do you all think about using a 243AI for blackies? I have bigger rifles, but think it would do the job nicely with a well placed e-tip or accubond. Thoughts?

I killed a bunch of black bears with my 243 before I bought my 270. 105g Speer Spitzers at 3000 fps out of my 243 worked on black bears and elk too. That being said, a 270 is a better caliber for both.

Been a lot of blackies shot with a 30/30 over the years. My guide carried a 30/30 as his charge stopper. Pretty sure a 243 will get it done. As always, do your part.

Better bring the biggest rifle you have. I have it on good authority that 165 gr. partitions out of a 300RUM simply bounce off AK blackies.

Ironbender,
Thats funny. I had a friend of mine try to convince me that anything less than a 338 win mag spelled DEATH to the hunter when I went on my first black bear hunt! I used a blued Ruger 30-06 with 180 gr partitions and all went as planned. As said before, I just finished a new 243AI and thought it would be cool to take it up for another hunt. Just wondering if it would quickly drop a big blackie, or should I stick to the '06 or 300WSM.

I'd go with the TTSX, E-Tip option in 100gr. Should do just fine.

Maybe a 200 grainer will do better eh...grin

Dober

I will make you a deal on a box of 105gr Speer round nose if you want them.

Only if the basic problem is fixed first.

I've only hunted black bear in Alaska twice now. Both times I chose the rifle on the conditions that I'd be hunting in. The first time I went to SE AK I took a .30-06 Rem ADL because it was the only synthetic stocked rifle I owned at the time. This time I took an Encore .375 JDJ because it was the only stainless synthetic rifle I had in the safe. Now if my 6.5X55 M96 sporter had shot better I might have taken that along as I have no doubts the cartridge is more than capable for black bear.

I'm sure bears can be killed with a 243AI, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Still lots of time. I have a 35 Whelen AI in the works right now. Mabey that one for bear and the 243 for woofs.

My last two were shot with a 25 caliber (250AI and 257 Roy), killed 3-4 with a 30-06 and another couple with a 35 Whelen. They all died.

I see no reason to go with less than a .30 caliber if you have one already.

Decisions, Decisions...

You'll be fine with your 243 AI, run a decent bullet, put it in a good place and good things will happen.

I've seen quite a few blackies taken with 22/250's and Swifts so I'd not worry about a 243.

Dober

Though I think SE Alaska runs a bit thicker and wetter than Montana, lest from what I've seen.

Still I'd have no problem with a 243.

I agree with Steelhead here. My SE bear hunt was wet and if the bear gets off the beach and into the thick stuff, might be hard to follow. I guess what Im after here is, will the 6mm get him down quite quickly? Steel, how far did the 2 you shot with the 25's go? Were you spot and stalking from a skiff? That is what I am planning on doing again.

longshot3,
Most everybody would agree that proper bullet placement is more important than the caliber.
I spoke with a 3rd generation Colorado rancher once about his 25-06 as an elk rifle. He said that if you hit them right it doesn't matter what the caliber is, and if you hit them wrong it won't matter what the caliber was either.
I do think that when the caliber is light then you should pay close attention to the bullet construction. For example a 35 Whelen is more than needed for deer but you don't need to do any research on what bullet will be suitable because they will all work fine. Smaller calibers have bullets which might be constructed for use on varmints.
I helped a guy track a wounded black bear once who used a 7mm Magnum. He tried for the neck and hit the front leg. Late in the day we found the bear eating blueberries on the hillside.
The hunter got into position for a shot, fired again and the bear ran downhill into a stream and we never did pick up his trail after that. He told me he shot for the neck the second time too??????????? Maybe the brush deflected the bullet, I don't know.
whelennut

I think you'll be in brown bear country too, if you're hunting out of ktown.