My boys have dropped deer, including some decent-sized bucks, in their tracks every time with .243 Hornady Lite 87gr SST loads. They produce a muzzle velocity of 2,577 fps out of their youth model rifle with a 20” barrel. Very little recoil.
I know some bears in Pennsylvania can get pretty big. For me personally, I would rather face one of those with a .308 Win or bigger. My DPMS semi-auto .308 recoils, I think, a lot less than a bolt .308. Semi-autos, especially gas-operated versions, seem to round off the recoil pressure curve by spreading out the recoil over time.
Of course, if you put a can on any standard deer/bear rifle, you’re taking away a lot of recoil too. I’ve just never needed to do that.
I know a lot of low-recoiling cartridges will work fine on bear in many circumstances, but, if I were you, I would consider getting something like a semi-auto .308 with or without a can before finally deciding to go hunt bear under-gunned.
