Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters bear gun?

gunner, someone who can afford such a hunt can afford at least a cheap 30-06 and stoke it with your favorite the 200 gr. NPT.

Or borrow one of your big boomers...

And promise not to scratch it up...

DF

I shot an "easy-to-kill" medium sized bull moose years ago...with my Swede..distance around 150 yards.. 2 140 A-Frames, 2 140 Partitions. The all four shots landed basically broadside catching the muscles of the legs as well as the lungs over a period of time that it took to reacquire the target among a small group of animals. The animal finally keeled over when a buddy snuck in and poked a 180 Core-lokt (30-06) which ventilated the lungs and both side of the animal. The best penetration I got was the Partitons, which were against the hide when they stopped; the A-Frames stuck in the muscle mass of the offside leg. Having had a much smaller animal, a small DLP bear 'catch' (and hold) a 12 gauge Brenneke slug , broadside, at under 30 yards, I'm not a big fan of playing bullet/rifle limbo. Not saying it can't be done....

10-4 Klik, I did wonder about the 6.5, but of course don't know the Mans situation, were I too specifically book a BIG bear hunt the smallest I'd carry would be my 9.3x62 firing 320 gr Woodleighs at 2400 fps.

Better still would be my 400 Whelen with 400 gr Woodleighs at 2255 fps, both are 98 Mausers and wear 1.5-5 Leupolds.

If I ever get the opportunity to hunt a grizzly on the tundra, I would feel comfortable with my .270 or 30-06.

If anyone cares to read the stories and advertisements of the old Alaskan bear guides; men like And Simons, Hal Waugh, Jay Williams, Slim Moore, Bill Pinnell, Morris Talifson and dozens and dozens of others with a lifetime of killing bears you will find out that I am in a rather large group of people who recommend rifles in the power class and capabilities of the 30-06 for bear hunters. The bears of today are no bigger and our bullets are better .

Some of those guides, just as I did after my first serious charge, eventually chose larger calibers with which to back up clients. As you take any advantage when you have to wrinkle a wounded bear out of the pucker brush when a client misplaces a shot, but many guides had enough faith in both their 30-06 and their shooting ability that they continued to use their 30-06's .
There were even a few guides who thought the .270 big enough !

I've offered to wager with anyone willing to take the time to research it, that more bears have been killed with the .30-06 than the next two cartridges combined.

What so many gun geeks overlook is that the bullet, and the bullet only, is what does the killing and with all the great bullets we now have, if you place your shots carefully you can safely get by with a lot smaller caliber than in the past.

Even a 9mm

But with modern bullets the 300's, 338, 375, 416 and 458 are more effective as well.

Phil,

what bullets do you use in your rifle and pistol?

Looking for specifics.

Thanks.

The biggest trouble with the 'shot placement is "98%"' argument is that "98%" of people who come into bear territory to pursue them or other things are unfamiliar with the conditions under which they will be shooting and often find some challenges in doing the 98% thing. While 'more' certainly doesn't give one the freedom to simply 'hit fur', and energy alone is hardly a good figure on which to base killing effect, there is something to the mass/momentum/energy/frontal area which certainly gives an edge to 'more'.

This is the stupidest thread since the one asking about the SKS being okay for deer.

I think it's patently irresponsible for people to give firearms to animals. Giving a bear a gun is just asking for trouble. Besides, most animals do not have opposable thumbs, so handling a rifle is extremely problematic, regardless of the chambering. . .

. oh. Nevermind.