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I’ve killed many black bear over the years with my 300 savage model 99. The 300 is more than enough for black bear. 150 or 180 gr will do the job just fine. The last one I shot went a mere 25 yds after one shot with the 300 through the lungs.

99F 300 Sav

What was your backup plan if the bear didn't go down on the first shot?
- 2nd shot?
- let the dogs find him?
- have the sherpa cocked and aiming?

I would choose best first-shot potential, which would likely be 358W for me.

Thanks for sharing Your success story!

Take this as you may. When bear started showing up on my property I ask the DNR agent local to me what I should use if I get a tag. He said they go down easy, what ever you use for deer, as long as you are a decent shot. If you can’t hit the broad side of a barn, nothing is good. If I got a tag it would be for close woods hunting from a stand. Since I shoot close deer and pigs in the eye, I would probably stick with my 250R. But, to keep from having people calling me stupid in public, I may use my F in 303 with 190 Silvertips, because that’s all I have for it. If presented the shot, shoot it in the eye.

Perfect. I am happy you filled your tag.

I'd NOT use any factory 38-55 ammo, on bears. I lost 2 one season, one with winchester ammo and one with Imperiol Canadian ammo . To weak. We think the 300 lb bear died, as it was a trouble maker, never seen again. We couldn't find it, I hit it 3 times. The 500lb was hit twice, and little blood. Never found.

In the end, as long as you use a Savage 99 it'll work. Some better than others. But a shotgun is so utilitarian.

Not to be a smart azz Joe but what makes a WV DNR agent an expert on what rifle you should use to kill a bear?

Probably never shot one or even shot at one in his life. DNR guys work during hunting season.

And if you shoot them in the eye might as well use the HP on bears. They work great on tigers....

If you are happy with the outcome we should all be happy for you. Glad you got your bear.

All I can say is that the bear I shot had 5 inches of fat all around the vital area.

That can plug up a smaller hole and leave you with no sign.

Exactly.

Two big holes on each side makes for easy recoveries. One small caliber wound plugged up with fat can equal a dead bear not recovered.

This can also apply to deer and other game especially mature bucks in certain circumstances, that include thick brush, dry leaves, cut agriculture fields, wet weather or in close proximity to an unfriendly neighbor's property border. Big bucks can carry a fatal wound a long ways. Dead on their feet, yep, but they can travel a loooong ways in 15 or 20 seconds. Leave them overnight you say? Not in Virginia where they will most likely spoil or be devoured by coyotes by first light.

Ask me how I know these things...

I think it boils down to what cartridge fits into the definition of a humane kill at the time and circumstances of the shot. A small dinky deer standing still for a close up precision shot - a .22HP would be the t*ts (or heck, even a .22 Hornet, or .25-20, or somesuch, or even a .22 LR). But what if the only shot you're presented on any animal, deer or bear, is a kind of sketchy one you could execute if you had something with some punch in your hands (and mind you it's the rare game shot that isn't sketchy in one way or another)? Do you take the shot anyway and risk losing the animal to a slow painful death hidden away where you'll never find it? Or, do you employ ethics and chalk it up to "the one that got away"? The deer/bear woods is not the place to show off - the animals deserve better. There's a lot of truth in the old saw "use enough gun". (And sometimes "the one that got away" stories can be as entertaining as "the dead deer I got last week" stories ).

I think Roger did the correct thing under the circumstances. Kudos for a well played kill on a great trophy. There aren't many Savage lever guns out there with the kind of savage power needed to punch through the innards of a large beast creating a massive wound channel such as what we see in Roger's bear. To my mind there's only a couple - the .358 and .284, and then only with good bullets. All the rest can, and certainly will, do the job (especially with carefully chosen premium bullets), under most circumstances, but will they do it under ALL circumstances not just perfectly presented shots? It boils down, again, to ethics and how each of us uniquely defines that term.

Some guys have such high levels of blood lust that they'll take a risky shot because somehow they weirdly believe that they'll be judged a lesser man if they don't fill their tag come hell or high water. For those guys no gun/cartridge combo is the correct answer, rather a schooling in ethics and adjustment of philosophy would pay bigger dividends.

If presented with an opportunity such as what Roger enjoyed, I would've taken not a Savage 99 because I don't own one in one of its truly romper-stomper chamberings, rather a .30-06 with 180 TSX's or 220 cup-and-core traditional bullets, or better yet a .40-70 or .45-70 with a 400 grain lead bullet that would've equaled Roger's shotgun slug load.

i took a Savage s.s. 110 rebarreled and chambered this rifle to a 350 Rem. mag 21 inch barrel . rifle shoots a 225 gr Nosler Partition 2850 FPS 3/4 at 100 yards .

Thanks for all the feedback and personal anecdotes. I do enjoy the banter.

On a slug gun thread people would probably argue about the brand of sabots, Optics thread, choice of scope. Its all good fun to read IMO.

One guy lost a bear he shot with a .338 Win Mag. That'll haunt him cause you know it was shot placement that was the reason. In that case it was the Indian not the arrow as they say.

That is a lot of fat on that bear, at least by our skinny bear standards. Good choice on the weapon because of that.

I think it might have been Bob Milek that said:

And I am paraphrasing, and it might not have been Bob Milek, but another gun writer:

Don't use a gun that will kill your quarry when everything goes right, use a gun that will kill your quarry when everything goes wrong.

Generally: There is a lot of truth in that statement.

Experienced hunters and riflemen know that especially under field conditions when shooting at game, things don't always go according to the plan.

Here is another very general statement:

"Most hunters overestimate their shooting prowess." 99Guy said that.

I finally found a problem I don't have. Thanks buddy!

LOL

Not to belabor this point but since we are on the subject, the picture below is a very nice mature buck I killed in Virginia a few years ago. It was shot with a 300 Savage 180 grain Federal soft point. Pictured is the entry wound. The bullet exited the offside right behind the last rib.



The bullet cleaned out his entire vital system. He was standing in a dirt cut cornfield right at last light. After impact in about 5 seconds, he took about 10 or 12 jumps and was off the cornfield, he crossed a dirt road on the neighbor's property, and he was gone. Try finding blood on dirt in the pitch dark even with a good light. Found one drop of blood on a stone in the dirt road. Had to track down the landowner and get permission to follow the deer. I knew I hit him good and told the landowner I was confident the deer was dead, I just needed to find it. Luckily, he gave me permission to go after it. After it got across that dirt road it got in the nastiest tangle of multiflora rose and briars and autumn olive you can imagine. Stuff that will tear your clothes off. He started bleeding a little better and after about 2 hours I found him. He travelled about 250 yards or so. Probably took 15 or 20 seconds for the deer to make that trip. The ONLY reason I recovered that deer is because I had 2 large holes to bleed out of. If I would have shot that deer with a 250 Savage with 87 or 100 grain soft point bullet, no way no how I recover that deer. He would have been just as dead, but never would have got him. Coyotes would have feasted on him. Not because I'm not a good shot or made a bad decision and an unethical shot, but because I took the wrong gun.

I hear that. ^^^^

Nothing like breaking down their transportation system, but in lieu of that big holes! We all "know" premium bullets aren't required but at bad angles and heavy bones they work way better.

You guys keep this up and I'll go back to hunting elk with my 300 Weatherby.