Thanks for all of the suggestions guys. I ordered a box of the 130 grain TTSX in .308. I figure I can try them out for now and see if I like them. I was about to buy the .260 but might put it on hold for now. I have a couple other rifles on my wish list and may go in that direction instead, at least for now. (Specifically, a BLR takedown for backpack hunts ans snow tracking deer in the northeastern woods - Adirondacks, Green Mountains of VT).
As far as the bear story, here is a summary. I had been using Nosler Ballistic Tips for abiut 12 years. I have killed 8 or 9 bucks with them out of my 30-06. I did have one perfect broadside shot fail to pass through on a deer at 25 yards but he dressed out over 200 pounds and ran only 25 or 30 yards. I had 2 bucks drop in their tracks. I did lose one big buck that I took a bad shot at on Pennsylvania public land but that was my fault (I found the bones and skull the following season.). So, when my buddy gave me the .308 I went out and bought more ballistic tips. (I like my 30-06 but he got me the .308 in stainless because my natural stubborness means I will sit all day in the rain at times and figured it would hold up better).
I sighted the rifle in at 100 yards and it was shooting well. I have property in Vermont and I usually spend a week hunting deer up there. Last fall, I had work obligations that kept me from going. I looked at the PA seasons on the Friday I normally leave for VT and saw that the 4 day bear season opened the following day so I figured I could hunt Saturday. I went an bought a tag and headed to the mountains that night. I didn’t really think there was any chance that I would see a bear but it beat staying home. I got up before dawn and headed into the woods. I was wandering around a good sized tract of public land the abuts out property. I had no real plan except to spend the whole day looking for bear. I would stillhunt then sit. Eventually, I was getting close to the top of the mountain (2 1/2 to 3 miles) from the cabin where I started, I heard something big run away from me in a thick patch where a bunch of trees had been blown down. I couldn’t see the animal but figured it was a big deer but could be a bear. I quietly circled above the thicket onto a rocky slope near the crest of the mountain.
The rocky area gave me a good vantage point because it was too rock for many trees to grow. I sat on a boulder looking down at the thicket and waited a bit. It was around noon so I ate my lunch. About 30 minutes after sitting down I heard something big coming through the thicket toward me - the opposite direction as before. It was so noisy and clumsy sounding, I figured it was hunters. Sure enough, a bear popped out of the cover and started through the rocky opening. It was quartering toward me. At abou 35-40 yards I aimed for the front left shoulder (my right) so the bullet would pass through the vitals (mistake, should have waited for a clean broadside shot). At the shot, the bear dropped and I was starting to celebrate in my head. A second or 2 later, it got up and took off. It ran away fast and back into the thicket.
I spent the rest of the day looking. I couldn’t find hair or a single drop of blood. I couldn’t find the bear either. When dark was coming, I hobbled back diwn to the cabin. My knees were killing me from all the searching on sloped ground.
The next morning, I hiked back out but brought my bird dog with me. No hunting is allowed on Sunday so I wasn’t armed. I spent the whole day searching with the dog but could not find a trace. It had snowed about an inch or 2 overnight but that didnt help. No luck. I had to go home and work the week but I went back on the following Saturday. Again, no luck. I tried to convince myself that I could have missed but I know that I didn’t. I have come to the belief that the Ballistic Tip hit bone and failed to penetrate. I hadn’t put enough thought into bullet choice or shot selection. It was an impulsive trip and I had no bear hunting experience. Since then, I use bonded or all copper bullets for deer in case I get another shot at a bear. Even on the shot I took, I think a TTSX would have killed the bear cleanly.
Last edited by Theeck; 12/17/17.
