Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 35 cal. bullets v. black bears

In recent years I have been using a Remington model 700 in 350 Rem Mag for black bear hunting. I've been using the Hornady 200 gr. spirepoint bullet, 59.0 gr. IMR4320, R-P cases and WLR primers, and get 2650 fps from the 24" barrel. The location I hunt has a 90 degree arc behind it of tiny thick spruce and fir followed by a swamp with shoulder to head high grass and shrubs immediately behind the bait pile. I can only see to the end of my finger tips in this stuff. Of course this is where bears run when they are shot. In short, if I don't have a blood trail I'm screwed.

In 2012 I shot a yearling boar that dressed out at 128 lbs. The shot went in and out the ribs and both lungs at 20 yd., and the was an adequate blood trail. The bear went 20 yd., and was easy to find.

Last year I shot a similar bear at 60 yd. there, but did not find a single drop of blood. I searched for two hours that night, and three hours the next day and did not find a bears. The shot looked clean and good when I took it, but I figureed I must have missed. I was baffled.

Two days ago I shot a sow at 60 yd. that dressed out at 196 lbs. Again, there was not a single drop of blood anywhere. There bear had traveled about 60 yd. in an arc to end up about 20 yd. from where it was shot. Even at the site where it dropped the only blood was coming out its nose. The bear was slightly quartering away when hit. The shot entered behind the near shoulder and wrecked the far shoulder. No exit wound. At this point I think something like this happened to the last bear.

None of this would be a problem in a more open area. But in this area I won't be using that bullet any more, and need to find a different solution. I haven't had any problems with the Hornady 195 gr. spire point in the 8 x 57, or their 180 gr. round nose in the .30-'06 giving an exit wound and a blood trail.

Am I expecting too much from the 200 gr. 35 cal. bullet, or just drawing a conclusion from too few instances? If I want to keep using the 350 Rem Mag, I think I should try the 225 gr. Sierra or the 225 gr. partition.

What have been your experiences with any of the bullets mentioned?

Given a potential layer of fat on bear, a shot above midline may not leak at all. If one wants serious blood, use some high speed explosive round that will open them up on both sides. Taken lots of animals of a variety of species, and quite few never leak a drop. When I'm after bear in rugged or dense habitat, I strive for shots that will break them down on the spot (neck, spine, or shoulder).

Partition. What was the question?

I've seen a few shot with the 35 whelen using either 225 or 250 Partition. You won't have penetration
'issues' with either bullet.

I’d go with the above mentioned Partition, or a Barnes of your liking.

I've had that 200 grain Spire Point come apart on whitetail bucks when started 100fps slower than your .350 RM and no longer trust them for hunting. I've killed 9+ brown bear using 200 TTSXs at similar velocity and would do so again without reservation. I've found cup & core bullets need more mass to reliably penetrate when used at /350 RM velocity levels. I'd use 250 Hornady or Speer SP for black bears without concern. 225 & 250 grain NPTs are fine, but not at all necessary in my experience.

There it is............

My 250lb bear traveled 15 yards after being shot with a 150gr NPt out of a 270.

I hunt much the same terrain in Minnesota except with a 358 Win. I first used factory loads with the 200 gr Silvertips and found I seldom got an exit wound which made finding the bear difficult and rather exciting in the dark. I got a great deal on bulk 250 gr Hornady spire points which did everything I wanted on bears, even those over 300 pounds.

I am running low on those bullets and am looking at the 225 gr Partition as a replacement. I would stick with the 250s but the Savage 99 I picked up does not like them. I shoots the 225 gr Sierras decently and I hope the Partitions will do so too.

I would go to either a much heavier cup and core bullet or a controlled expansion type bullet. At the speeds and distances one tends to shoot bears over baits there is a lot of stress placed on the bullet. I feel the 200 gr bullets are just not up to the demands.

In my 358 Win, tests show the 200 Core-lokt penetrating better than the 250 Interlock SP. But I'd opt for the 225 Partition or 200 TTSX if I felt I needed a sure exit.

After catching a few 225gr Partitions, I went to 250gr Partitions and never caught one. Never had a bear do more than roll down a hill after hit with a 250gr Partition from the Whelen.

Youper - I think you just need a little more bullet. You've got plenty of rifle, just need more bullet.

Either more bullet weight if you stick to a conventional "cup and core" bullet.

Or go to a premium bullet such as the Nosler Partition.

Either way should provide deeper, more reliable penetration, and a better chance for an exit wound.

Regards, Guy

People here will tell you 223 is fine. But up here 60 yards can feel like 600 some days.

I was hoping to get a chance to use my new 45-70, but didn't pull a tag for Baraga zone. Though buddy of mine who turned me on to the round, has said he has found the round at the exit side hide,

Some ahole trolls shot one that was hanging around, in my field. When I wasnt there. Can't stand hound hunters.

Two bullets I really like in my Whelen are the 200 gr Accubond and 200 gr TTSX, in your model 700 350 Rem Mag the 200 gr Accubond will be too long but you should be fine with the TTSX. Two others I would look at would be a 225 gr Partition which has also done well for bears here and I hear lots of great things about the 225 gr Woodleigh's both RN's and Protected Point's.

I’ve got the 180 TTSX’s loaded up to around 2875 in my 350 Rem Mag. It’s about as long as I’d want in that case in a SA 700. Saying that, there isn’t much I wouldn’t hunt with that combo either.

I think I'll see how it shoots the 225 and 250 partitions. I've never stepped out of the cup and core world before, but bear hunting is the only thing I do with this rifle so for the few bullets I shoot expense won't be a problem. Thanks for all the replys they have been a big help.

.45-70.

I took my first one with a Marlin 1895 using a Speer 400 gr. & whatever the starting load of H335 is in the Marlin section of their manual. 1680 fps. I shot the yearling boar at 9 yd. through the onside shoulder and out the ribs behind the far shoulder. The exit wound was the size of an Eisenhower dollar, and all the bear did was roll down hill. Yeah, that would solve the problem, but I want to hunt with a scope and can't bring myself to scope a Marlin lever action.

^This

That'll work. Provided you stay away from those 300 hollow points

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/gallery/80/medium/54297.jpg

I've never posted a pic here. The pic is in the image gallery, but I can't get it into a post. Any help appreciated.

A 250AI works too, but I haven't tried it on yearling bears....

Keep on eye on SPS. Thats the only way I buy Nosler bullets. Also, the 225 Sierra isn't a bad choice either. I haven't shot bears with it, but loaded out of my 350 it has killed 4 elk. 3 hit the dirt and one made it about 25 feet.

Good luck to ya.

Anyone have experience with the 180 & 220 FP Speers? From what I've "read" they are quite a bit tougher than the typical C&C's.

Here's couple of 200 TTSX's I pulled out of a moose last month. The long shanked one is 198.6 gr (99.3%) and the shorter one is 193.0 (96.5%). The longer one was just under 100 yds, slightly quartering away and the shorter one was the Coup de gras in the neck. MV = 2,840 fps out of my 22" barreled Whelen.

Nice looking bull! Those bullets opened up nicely............

7 bears and no tracking. 130 gr ttsx .308, 200 gr tsx. 350 mag, 110 gr accubond .257 bee, 180 gr corlock .30-06.

All neck shot. I don't like to track on my hands and knees where we hunt. Biggest bear went 350. A few were over 250.

In my 700 350 Rem Mag the 200 ttsx is still too long. The ogive is inside the case mouth when seated to just barely fit inside the mag box. The 200gr tsx fits fine, as well as the 220gr Speer and 225gr partition. However I could only get the 200gr tsx shooting 2700fps. The 225gr partition shot the same speed, and was a bit more accurate for me, so that's where I settled.

Unfortunately I have, and the 25cal 100g partition kills the little ones just fine. It also kills 280 pounders just fine too. I have also used 200sp from a 358 on two and 225nps on one. I can say that I haven't noticed much difference between the terminal performance between them. all five bullets exited just fine and 4 of the bears were DRT the other went maybe 15 yds. Other than the yearling, the bears were 175-280lbs so no monsters.

If you can put it in the bear's chest, probably nothing would kill faster than a Berger.

Pls. note that "blood trail" and "exit hole" were not qualifiers in the above sentence.

I shot my only black bear with a .35 Whelen and 225 gr. Sierra SP handloads. Bear was about 250 lbs or so. It was DRT but when we cleaned the bear, the jacket and lead had completely separated. I have used the 225 grain Partition and 225 TBBC in the Whelen as well, so if doing any tougher game than deer, I will be using one of those bullets.

If you want "leakage" I'd go TTSXs. This one fell to one shot from a 35 Wheelen at 65 yards and 225gr Swift A Frames. Great bullet, but nowhere near the penetration of the Barnes. My best bear. Bowlin Camps was a beautiful place, but between the weird Mainers, getting constantly harassed by that C U N T who use to own Burt's Bees, and the irritatingly complicated regulations, we sold the business in 2009.

250 Gr bullet in my Whelen usually gets 2 holes in moose and bear. Last black bear I shot with it looked like some one threw a paint bucket of blood. Bear went about 25 ft. Some times works to well it deflated my wife,s bear.

I have never shot a bear, so take what I say as just another guy with 35 cal experience. I have only killed game with the 35 Whelen Ackley ( though I have played with .35 Rem, .357 rifle,.358 win, .350 mag and 358NM) and I killed all kinds of Plains game with the original 250X and 200X from the AI. I only shot one Eurasian hog ( up in your town! Raging Russians! :)) with a 310 Woodleigh rn going 2400fps. It was perfect, 40cal hole in, 75 cal hole out, soup in between. I sent some 225 Woodleigh round nose to a friend in Texas who used them in his standard Whelen on hogs with outstanding results. IF I was going to use the 350 mag, I think I'd try the 225 Woodleigh round nose or even the 225 round nose Hawk Precision bullet. I shot bookoo fireforming loads with the Speer 220FN in that AI and some loads in that 350mag, it too would be a good candidate, in my "lack of bear experience" mind, ha. I loved the UP! Except for a few plants differences, it looked just like the East Texas I grew up in! Of course, I wasn't there during cold, snowy winter, but early spring. have a ball Pard!

In my Whelen I've used the 225 Accubond on 5 bears now, and 4 of these required no tracking. One 300 lb bear went 70 meters (according to my Canadian guide's GPS). I'm almost out of these bullets, and can't find more lately. I do have a stash of 250 partitions that I can switch to. I expect they will do the job.
I hope Nosler gets back into making .35 cal bullets soon.

This came from a 200lb Idaho bear from my Whelen at 2740’ish. Shot the boar at about 50 yards.

Of course 250gr Partitions launched from a Whelen work on black bears too


15 year old fall sow





18 year old spring boar

Great bears. Dig the Whelen with 250 PTs.

I've killed 4 bears with the Whelen, only one ever moved (not counting rolling down a hill). A few with a 30/06, one with the 250AI and one with a 257 Weatherby.

Seen them killed with everything from 243 up to a 375.

never shot a black bear with a gun always used my bow in the past tp kill my bears . but I do enjoy handloading rifle ammo and shooting my ruger # 1`s I own. I have thought about really smoke`n a black bear once with a rifle and reloading ammo to use too ,I have been considering using my 375 HH just because I can or my 458 lott ?

I used a 358 Winchester with a 200 grain Hornady Interlock at 2450 fps. Opened up nice with a great blood trail...all of 15 feet.



Dan

I haven't killed much game with my 358 Winchester Savage 99, yet. I put four bullets into 2 black bears in Alberta this past spring and did not recover the slugs.

I used Double Tap ammo, which according to their website is loaded with 250 gr Speer Hot Cor bullets at about 2450 fps. I did not chrono this ammo out of my rifle, so I can only report the factory reported velocity. Both bears were shot through the shoulder and into the chest cavity with the first shot. Both bullets went through-and-through. The black was shot again after he turned to run, and I hit him high in the left shoulder above the shoulder blade, the bullet exiting the brisket. The color-phase was shot again after he turned to run, but this time he ran across my front so I belted him in the shoulder and again the bullet exited the off side of his chest. Both bears fell to the second shot, but I don't think they would have gone far based on the amount of blood from the first shots on each bear.





The black black bear was over 400 pounds, so the performance of this cup-and-core bullet was pretty impressive to my mind. I would not hesitate to use this bullet on any other bear including griz.

Great bears. Like that 358 Win!