Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Black Bear Medicine

I've black bear hunted with a marlin 45-70 and a winchester 70 338. The one and only bear I shot was taken with 225 swift A frames over RL19. This load was made for elk hunting someday, just wanted to try it on bear. Bear maybe went 15 yards. Next time I need to try out the marlin

All mine have fallen to a 6.5x55 or 7x57.....

Iv taken them with 45-70 405 rem bullet, 44-77 ballard, and 40-70 sharps, the last 2 with cast bullets!

The next time I draw a tag in MI or WI, I'm going to use my NOE 405 grain flat point. My 1895 45-70 shoots 405s with H4198 well.

I concur that black bear are not hard to kill with proper shot placement. When hit poorly they can go a long ways and leave little blood.

Just about any deer caliber gun or bow will kill them. Of the 8 I've taken in Maine & Canada I killed 4 with longuns (30-30, 308, 338 Federal & 20 gauge slug) 3 with compound bows and 1 with a recurve.

I’ve killed a bunch with 45-70 Buffalo bore 405 soft points. Also killed them with 35. Rem 150 gr coreloks and hornady leverevolution (which I don’t recommend). .44 mag Ruger carbine Remington 240 HTP. 7-08 with HSM 140gr. Hit them where it counts and they don’t go far but many times you need to be a decent tracker to find them if it’s thick and dark like northern Maine.

It's been a while since I hunted bears here in Pa. but when I did, it was usually with a Savage 99 in 358 Win with the 200 grain Hornady spire points. Sometimes a 99 in 300 Savage or a Ruger 77 in 270 saw the woods.

Dale

Shoot them in the armpit. I don't care what gun.
50 yards paint can splatter

As an old Frenchman told me who couldn't barely speak English, ..." Arrow, shoot the middle o de bear. Get bear everytime".

One of my hunting buddy's kids and his friend had 3 bear escape before finally ground one. Using and -06 and a 270. I suspect poor placement.

My son and I have taken several Washington black bears with our 30-06 rifles. He's been using 165 gr Nosler Partitions I handloaded. I gambled on a 165 Ballistic Tip - and it worked great! One shot kill at 325 yards.

Also shot a few with my 375 H&H Ruger Number One, using the 260 grain Nosler Accubond. That worked great from 15 feet to 300+ yards. Don't need that level of power, but it works well.

Regards, Guy

The NOE 35 cal RNFP mould I have that casts them at 315 grains is a long one. 270 is just about right for the Maximum or the Herrett. I've been shooting a 235 out of the Herrett at about 1800, which isn't too bad, and will work for all critters big and small in North America.

I shoot 270s because shooting a 300gr (green) bullet is overkill, lol.

Thanks, Dinny

Yeah, Dinny! That 270-grainer IS an interesting bullet! I like how long the nose is! That'll kill stuff.

Demms some good looking bullets!!!

Professionally made is quite obvious!!

CW

Professionally made right here in the USA! More specifically in CT.

Thanks, Dinny

I've only hunted two, one in Colorado and one in Montana. Both were one shot kills with my pistols...

Another time a black bear attacked a member of one of our Forest Service trail crews. The FS LEO, a Sheriff Deputy, and I were the first to reach the injured crew member. As soon as we got there the bear charged us and the three of us shot simultaneously and killed her. It wasn't until later that I spotted one of her young cubs. I went up a tree and caught it and held it until FWP arrived. They came back the next day with dogs and found another cub. They took both cubs to a wildlife re-hab facility near Helena, and released them a couple years later.

My boss made me get a tetanus shot and a prescription of anti-biotics for the scratches and bites the cub gave me.