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

I am hunting bear in Maine in September over bait for the first time. Will be using a Mossberg Patriot in .308.

Need a scope and need to develop a load.

I have a box of 180 grain Hornady SST bullets that I could load up with Varget or IMR4064. If there is something better (Barnes TSX, Sierra GameKing, etc), I am open to buying and using those instead.

As far as the optic goes, I have an extra Leupold VX3 3.5-10x40 with a duplex reticle that I could use. The bait is 25 yards from the stand. Is 3x too much power? Do I need illumination to see the crosshairs on a bear once it starts getting dark?

I was also looking at a Leupold 1.5-4x20 with a duplex but am worried about the 20mm objective not transmitting enough light.

Any ideas?

I’d load the 180 SSTs with whichever is more accurate and Mount the scope you like on it. While it’s evening hunting we used old Weavers and Redfield’s for the same sorta hunt when I was young and don’t remember not being able to kill a bear due to the scope.

The SSTs will work great for what you’re doing. Fast opening and lots of bullet to push through. Black bear aren’t all that hard to kill.

Good luck on the hunt prep.

I like the TTSX. Two holes are never a bad thing. They will bust through bone too. Have killed a few with the 130 TTSX in the .308. Also used a 6mm Rem with a TTSX.

I also like an illuminated reticle. A Black Bear is REALLY black and can be difficult to place a shot on with regular cross hairs. The reticle will get lost quick under low light. A lot of the bears I shot were right at the end of legal light.

Good luck

Trijicon accupoint

jeg,

Your Mossberg has a fast 1:10 twist. With the close in work, the limited light and dark color of the bears, magnification, high bc bullets, nor black crosss hairs will be of much use.

For the occasional 400+ pounder like the ones I grew up eating in Maine, try a nice bullet with heavy weight and lots of lead exposed at the tip for good 308 Winchester expansion:


https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010544912?pid=572391

Ak_lanche and I had good luck with mr-2000 and RL 17 burn rate powders in the little 308.

The shorter flat base 200 grainers didn't eat up powder capacity like the plastic tipped boat tail bullets did.

Try to look for something zero to low magnification with an illuminated dot, like a reflex sight, or even something trijicon.

If you can back away from that bait more than 25 yards, then do so. I used to hunt at 30 yards, then backed up to 60. It was enough for the bears to come in between me and the bait, and then head toward it. Either scope will be fine at both distances.

I use the trijicon accupoint. Lots of guys shoot up there during daylight but my experience after being up there many times is that most are shot around dark, so I think an illuminated sight does help for the shot you're likely to get at the end of the day. A friend hunts not far over in New Brunswick (except for last and this year, the virus thing), he uses a 308 with 150 GMX and has taken several nice bears. IMO you need to double lung them or a heart shot or they can go a very long way and maybe go unrecovered in those dense woods. Bear fur soaks up a lot of blood so you can't depend on a good blood trail over long distances or sometimes even short distances. Seen many lost that were hit otherwise. Best of luck.

I've done some bear hunting over baits in Maine. A scope isn't necessary but a low powered one is fine. I have a few of the Leupold VX-3HDs 3.5-10s and focus at that range with anything other than the lowest power will be challenging. IMO, the Leupold 1.5-4X20 would be a better choice. At lowest power you'll get a 13mm exit pupil, and at highest power you will get a 5mm exit pupil. Light transmission will be a non issue. It will be just fine.

As far as loads, I don't handload. I used factory loads, Remington Core-Lokts amd Federal Hi-Shoks. The same 150 grain ammo (.30-06) I use for deer. I've never seen really big Maine black bear like I have in North Carolina. They may exist, but I've never seen one. Over baits from a tree platform, your standard deer load will be more than enough.

I’m thinking a red dot would work well.

I'm with 10Glocks. One of my 35 Whelens wears a Burris 1.5-5X. The other has a Leupold M8 4X. Plenty of power and you'll get better light transmission with lower power.

Your SSTs will work just fine...The Leupold 1-4x will work just fine. On anything but 4X it will transmit all the light your eyeball is capable of using.

Whatever works on deer works on black bear.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Black bears aren't much harder to kill than a deer is, but they are lots harder to find in bad light and that's when the big guys first show themselves. Their hair soaks up blood and they don't leave tracks, so hit them hard. My Savage 99F wears a a heavy Duplex in a 1.5-5x20 Leupold Vari-X lll and there is no losing that crosshair in last legal light. Not so with their standard Duplex in another rifle gunning a deer at first light under overcast and heavy canopy with a 2.5-8x36 Leupold. I've never been a fan of battery powered lighted reticles since my first one failed. That heavy Duplex is no target scope, but I've watched that crosshair along side 42mm Zeiss and Swarovski more expensive scopes into full dark and it doesn't give up much to those upper end scopes.

Yep

A scope for hunting bear over bait??
Save your money and get some shooting lessons.

I'm not a dedicated bear hunter but have shot whitetail in the 400+lb range in the northern forests. My goto bullets have been the 180gr RN in the 300 Sav, 200gr RN in the 308 and 220's in the 06 and Leupold 1-4x20's or Weaverr V-3 1-3x20..

If I were outfitting a 308 rifle for a Maine bear hunt I'd look seriously at the Nosler 180gr Partition and a Leupold VX-3 1.5-5x20mm w/fire dot.

https://cameralandny.com/shop/brand...0139-b7bf-00163e90e196?variation=2940723

I have shot a lot of bears over bait. Under a dense canopy and with marginal light, an illuminated reticle can be extremely helpful. I prefer a 1x or 1.5x on a variable with the "firedot" by Leupold. The firedot turns itself on when you move the rifle and turns itself off when the rifle sits idol.

Bears are no harder to kill than whitetails of equal weight. However, why not be prepared for an exceptional trophy and a less than ideal angle if that's what is presented. I'd load up some 180gr partitions and you'll be good to go under any conceivable scenario.

Test the scopes yourself.

Get a small enough cardboard box that permits having the scope lay across the front and rear edge of the box. Cut ~ 1" deep "V" in each edge at ~ 45-60 degrees, so you can rest the scope(s) in the notch (so they don't roll off the box).

Get up before sunrise and look through both scopes, resting on the box. Try different magnifications. You will find out very quickly if one scope is brighter than the other at the earliest hunting condition/time (15-30 minutes? before/after sunrise/sunset).

Use the the scope you feel is best. Set it on the magnification you want. Shoot a bear.

For loads, it's tough to beat a factory-loaded Winchester 180 grain power point in 308 Winchester.

Great advice above. Bears are not hard to kill . The scope or sight is more important than the bullet, as any good hunting ammo will work. Hunted bear twice up there and it’s thick, shots are close(20 yards or so) and it’s almost always in very low light. A low power lighted reticle or good red dot would work. Practice in low light conditions.

You can read the above again.....been guiding for over 48 years and I have used every scope made get a Trijicon 3-9 scope with a your preference Triangle crosshairs....remember a black bears hair is black why would you want to use a scope with black crosshairs....it makes it very difficult to see the last minutes of shooting.....
There is no other scope made like Trijicon you don't need batteries and I have several that are over 10 years old that work just fine still.....a quilty product that is worth every penny you pay for and then some......
When hunters come to hunt with me if they don't have a Trijicon they use one of my rifle with one ......

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.