Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Another Bear Stopping Thread

I shot a wounded black bear once from less than 20’ as it ran towards me. In the chest with a 510gr WW SP from my 458. Bear rolled, changed direction and ran 50 or more yards before stopping dead, happened so fast I didn’t have time to shoot again. 6 1/2’ black bear.

A buddy shot a charging 7 foot grizzly in the center chest with a WW white box 240 SP out of a 6” 44 magnum from about 40-50 feet. He folded and died instantly, never twitched.

I shot another wounded black bear that was over 6 feet with a 150 Norma out of my 300 Savage, he rolled and never moved.

A good friend killed a 6 1/2’ grizzly that was trying to eat him once in the eye socket from 12 feet with his 2” 44 Special with 250gr Keith style bullet doing about 900fps. He too folded up and never twitched.

Watched a guy shoot a small, 4’ 4” black bear through the shoulders with a 45/70 and 325gr Hornady Leverevolution factory loads. It ran 40 or 50 yards at high speed before rolling and flopping around bawling for a while before dying, had a 3” exit hole through the scapula.

Watched a guy shoot a 5 foot bear through the chest with a 375 H&H with Federal premium 300gr Partition ammo. It died pretty quickly but the bullet was perfectly mushroomed and under the hide on the off side. 60 yard shot and didn’t even hit a rib.

Another guy shot a 7 foot grizzly repeatedly through the chest with a 20” 458Socom and Barnes 300ttsx bullets. It didn’t charge or run thankfully because it looked like it had been killed with a .458 diameter drill bit.

On other occasions even bigger black bears would fold right up with a well placed shot from a 100gr 243 or a 130 out of a 270. This plus many other examples I witnessed told me that the only thing that could be counted on to absolutely stop one now either coming or going was a spine or head shot. Everything else is hope and speculation

I have only killed bears with my bow and shotgun, typically over bait. Killing a bear over bait with a rifle is like taking candy from a baby lol

KB

True enough!

Whenever I am Elk hunting in Grizz country I carry this in my hands and my bow my back.

When I kill and animal in Grizz country and am skinning it out and quartering it, my shotgun is within arms reach!

Much, much better than nutt’n ….especially since you folks can’t (or very difficult) own a handgun! memtb

Soooooo, no one is gonna choose a semi auto 10 mm over the big bore rifles!

Though, I surprised that no one choose one of the big bore revolvers. Easier to carry than the rifle as it can be on person at all times while working around camp, ect., faster follow up shots if you have time for a follow up shot than a bolt gun. Though a double rifle would be faster than all others…..for two shots. And….the big bore revolvers out penetrated most of the rifles. Penetration is a nice thing to have on a large animal….more penetration generally means more stuff damaged!

I’d suggest that this test shows the big bore revolvers can hold their on and certainly be effective in a defense situation. Perhaps even superior in some situations! memtb

In this Stupid Country, you can not carry a hand gun for defense, unless you are a trapper I believe.

Besides when it comes to Grizz or a big black bear or Cougar defense I much prefer my Mossy 88 Defender with 5 rounds of 3" Magnum 00 Buckshot than a revolver.

KB

Considering the 4 "P's", if one cant get the first one right, the other 3 dont matter, and generally speaking pistols/revolvers are the most difficult to shoot quickly with good placement.

So, your recommendations would be…..do not resist fate, embrace the inevitable that you will be bear scat? Some folks would prefer to attempt survival! memtb

Haha, bears gotta make a living too... read previous post.

I actually expected that to be your response! A shotgun makes perfect sense for those under handgun restrictions.

However, when doing camp chores, field dressing game, ect., is the shotgun “ALWAYS” at arm’s length. While somewhat unlikely, bear attacks can be almost instantaneous….giving near zero response time to get to the long gun. A handgun can be easily/comfortably carried in a “cross-chest” carry type holster while doing most any chore! Even if downed by the bear…..there is a chance, albeit small, you may be able to access the handgun. That shotgun leaning against a nearby tree….maybe not! memtb

I actually expected that to be your response! A shotgun makes perfect sense for those under handgun restrictions.

However, when doing camp chores, field dressing game, ect., is the shotgun “ALWAYS” at arm’s length. While somewhat unlikely, bear attacks can be almost instantaneous….giving near zero response time to get to the long gun. A handgun can be easily/comfortably carried in a “cross-chest” carry type holster while doing most any chore! Even if downed by the bear…..there is a chance, albeit small, you may be able to access the handgun. That shotgun leaning against a nearby tree….maybe not! memtb

That is exactly what happened to me, bear comes in rifle against a tree out of reach. 475 Linebaugh which was in a shoulder holster did the trick

In bear country, I worry about shooting high if charged.