Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Maine Bear Hunt - Scope & Load Recommendation

Your combo of 180 SST and 1.5-4x20 will be more than sufficient.
The Trijicon might make for a nice addition but hunting black bears over porridge generally gets completely overthunk.

Either the Hornady SST or Sierra Game King would be my choice, both shoot accurately for me and produce good results on game. 2 1/2x or 3x in a scope with lighted reticle would be my choice as shots are close in and in very low light. As suggested practice in low light conditions would be a good idea.

I will mirror what has been said above. Do not overthink it.

I would have zero issues using the equipment listed in the OP. The SST is a fantastic choice IMO. but any C&C or bonded would be my first choice.

The only thing I would prefer is a lighted reticle. Been using Trijicons, and Firedots for a few years now and really like them.

You’re not kidding. We used my Dads deer rifles loaded with 220 CLs back when I first did it. Those worked fine for us with old Redfield’s and Leupold’s in Canada. If fellas can pull it off with a bow the rifle makes it that much easier.

I have posted this story before about Maine bear hunting....

I called on paper mills in New England as a chemical sales engineer years ago. I was in the Lincoln, ME area (Lincoln Pulp and Paper), and my normal hotel was booked, so I stayed at a B&B a few miles east of town. It was owned by a Maine guide. There were two guys from the Philadelphia area up for a bear hunt with the guide, starting the next day. I chatted with the "sports" after dinner, and listened to their chat about the upcoming hunt ( over bait).

They proudly discussed their rifles, scopes and loads. One had a 338 Win with a 3.5-10x Leupold. The other had a 300 Win mag and a 4-14x Leupold. Both were going to use heavy Nosler Partition bullets. They were in the deep Maine woods on a hunt of a lifetime, and both were excited. They went off to bed.

The owner/guide freshened my cup of coffee and chatted with me. Chuckling, he said, "I've been baiting that area for over a month. Their shot will be about 30-40 yards. All they need is an open-sighted 30-30 with 170 grain bullets, or a 35 Rem with 200 grainers, but to them...they are on a safari."

Don't over think your equipment selection. Use what works for you. Test your scopes to see which looks best to you in low light, and go shoot a bear. Your equipment will get the job done.

It is hard to judge the size of bears a combination of excitement and not seeing 100's of bears like we do deer just makes it hard. One way to help you judge whether you think the bear is shooter is to choose a reference object that is a height that says a bear over this height is a shooter. The reference object only works for baited hunting, your guide can help you understand what height to choose based on your goals and the size of the bears in the area. Size is not the only thing to evaluate when bear hunting, the last bear I shot was not a big bear but had a beautiful coat deep deep black thick fur without any rubs so I shot him. We all have different metrics for what a trophy is. Maybe you want a cinnamon-colored bear as one example of what a trophy is to you other than just size.

On to your question; listen to those that say the scope is more important than the bullet. Bears are easy to kill assuming you have the equipment to properly place your shot. I like illuminated reticles at low power, often the bear will come to the bait in the minutes of legal shooting time which can make it difficult to see a black reticle on the black fur. A friend I was hunting with missed his chance on shooting a big bear because he had the zoom on his scope at max power and could not acquire the bear looking through the soda straw. He, like many of us, used max power to sight the scope in and failed to turn in down before hunting. Good shot placement is a good thing so you are tracking a wounded bear in the dark, your guide will appreciate a dead bear close to the bait.

In most cases baited bears will give you time to evaluate them and to provide you with a good shot take the time they give you. A good guide will situate the bait so the bears are most likely to come in between you and the bait.

One thing that I find fun/spooky is bears can move through the woods very quietly. My ears are good and bears may be the only animal that I hunt that can approach within 10 yards without my hearing them.

Once you take a shot hit or miss and they run off making one heck of a racket lißten to it and the death wail so you can more easily find your trophy. Like others have said the fur will soak up a lot of blood plus a fall bear will have inches of fat that can plug the exit hole further reducing the blood flow so having a good idea based on sound of where they expired will be appreciated. Some guides do not want you going out tracking/retrieving your bear, imagine they do so for safety of the client from getting involved with a wounded bear or getting themselves lost.

They are easy to kill but I find they will run off about twice as far as whitetails that I have shot on average. Before hunting look online for pictures of the anatomy of a bear which is different than a deer.

Have a fun and safe hunt, hopefully you shoot a bear you are you are happy with.

Are you hunting with an outfitter? We hunted bear last year not too far from Allagash.

Yes, We have a place in Washington county so I used one of the local outfitters and we worked out a deal that didn't include room and board.
Luckily, I shot a bear on my first day in the stand. I was in shock when it appeared out of nowhere at the bait and I didn't want to let it go. It didn't end up being as big as it looked at the time but it has a nice thick coat and I'm happy with it.

[img]http://preview.redd.it/jca4jbzd2zl7...1ac7a3d3cfd77b018ed49c7860c9bddea6176973[/img]
[img]http://preview.redd.it/y21mwi4e2zl7...947d6fffc6aea938eb4852e33aeb0e9a9f7d5b72[/img]

Not sure why my photos won't upload. Says max file size is 96.66kb. I believe it used to be around 3mb.

I'd use 180gr Hornady RNs with a 1.5-5 Leupold.

I'm planning on going in 2022. I will be using my dad's 9.3x62 Mauser 98, Leupold 1-4, and 250 gr. Hawk Rt @ 2400

Another vote for .308 with Hornady 180gr. RN, my scope is a Weaver K2.5 with post reticle. With this load I took my all time biggest Maine whitetail, 254# field dress with an 11pt. heavy palmated rack. Used the same load and scope combo when hunting black bear in Maine.

Congrats on the bear, what did you end up with using?

Whatever it was, it worked. In New England, I also like RN bullets, use 154's in my 7-08 in VT, ME and CT. Most shots are within 150 yards, more like 100 yards and they are very accurate in my rifle


buttstock, love that story

Congratulations on the bear! They do sneak up out of nowhere and they seem to know they are being watched.