Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters A Close-In Black Bear Rifle

Starting this thread to avoid derailing the Close-In Deer Rifle thread.

I'm getting my feet wet hunting black bears. They rarely go over 300 pounds around here and most of them will be within 100 yards. I want to keep tracking to a minimum because I'm hunting on tree farms in western Washington and the brush is super thick. Season runs from August 1 to November 15, so I can probably afford to pass on shots that aren't exactly what I want. Methods include calling and still hunting.

I'm looking for input from the experienced bear hunters among us on rifles, cartridges, iron sights, optics, shot placement, training, preparation, or anything else that matters.

What do I need to know?

Thanks,


Okie John

Not as experienced as many…..but, am highly opinionated!

Learn a little about bear anatomy, use a quality bullet that will assure an exit wound (the more they leak, the easier the tracking if needed), and a slightly larger diameter round can’t hurt!

We’ve taken bears with, .270 Win with 150 Partitions, .375 H&H with 300 grain Sierra SPBT (which I would “never” recommend), a .338 WM with a 225 TTSX, and a 44 Mag using cast bullets. It doesn’t require anything special, placement is important….all of the other stuff is just a little added insurance! memtb

35 Whelen for every thing

We have killed Black Bears with a .350 REM mag, .308, .257 Weatherby and a 6mm REM. All neck shots and 1 behind the shoulder with the .257 Weatherby. Bears weighed up to 350 pounds. Oh, and a .358 Win

As stated, shot placement is key.

A lighted crosshair of some kind makes life easy. A black bear coming out at last light can be a challenge. The cross hair will disappear quickly when laying it on that pitch black fur despite being able to spot the Bear.

Thutty-thutty probably killed more than any other one caliber. Doesn't mean it is ideal. Just that it works.

Same as my close in deer rifle:
.35 whelen 7600.

Keeps life simple.

For blind/stand shots, last one I shot was ~400lbs, 6.5x55 with 140gn Gold Dots, full pass-through collarbone to hindquarter. Bear never moved, just exhaled and that was it. For a planned shot, whatever works for whitetail is going to work for black bear.

For brush busting, 9.3x62 hasn't not worked yet. 338-06 or 8mm-06 would be good, too, if you're into semi-wildcats.

The OP stated "brush is super thick" and "I want to keep tracking to a minimum." Marlin Guide Gun 45-70 would be a good choice. I have a couple of friends that guide Black bear hunts and that's what they carry. I'm sure anything mentioned so far will work. Just thought the 45-70 should be on the list.

I'm on board with the 35 Whelen. I think it's the perfect black bear round. 250gr Speer spitzerss or 220gr flat points.

Black bears aren't hard to kill unless they get riled up. A .30-30 or a .357 Magnum pistol work up close.

A .35 Whelen might be a good choice I had one but it went to a relative headed for Alaska.

A 12 or 20 gauge Ithaca Deerslayer smoothbore with a scout scope, loaded with Brennekes is near ideal in my opinion as I can still shoot a grouse if I get a chance.

358 Winchester and a fixed power shotgun scope.

I bought a Shaw barrel from MidwayUSA and put it on a Savage .270 win.
Speer 250"s out to 200 yds kills pigs VERY DEAD.

i use Starline brass and 45 grains of BLC-2 and a Win large rifle primer.

Its my pig gun here in Texas.

Best
Heavy

+1 for the 45-70, quick and handy in a Marlin Guide gun

30-06 or 308 with Partitions in 150 or 165gr. These are the only good choices; other than the 270, 280, 300 Savage, 358 and a bunch of others. I’d sure not stay home if a 30-30 was my only rifle.

i'd go with either the 30-30 or the 35 Remington. i have shot a 396lbs black bear with a 308 Winchester with 150 Hornady RN and IMR4064.

if i where to do it all again, i'd go with my TC Encore in a 23" MGM barrel in 444 Marlin and 280gr WFN GC with Reloder 7 or the Winchester m94 with Williams FP aperture sight in 35/30-30 with 200gr RCBS FN GC and 2400/tuft of dacron.

Same rifle as a close in deer rifle. I like a compact 20" or shorter bolt gun with a low power scope on it. Cartridge doesn't matter much, I like 308, but 7-08 or any other short action using bullets on the heavier end will kill them. No need for more power for black bear, it just makes for a heavier gun and the recoil just slows down repeat shots. With practice a bolt gun is just as fast for "AIMED" repeat shots and they tend to be lighter and more accurate. If you're doing it right you don't need repeat shots.

And just like for close in deer hunting laser like accuracy and flat trajectory are at least as important as in long range work. Where I hunt 20-100 yard shots through wooded areas are the norm. And 200–300 yard shots present themselves on rare occasions. More often than not there is only a softball sized area of the game animal visible at 20-100 yards. It takes a decent amount of accuracy to hit the vitals while missing the brush.

And don't discount flat trajectory. My 308, or any similar cartridge if zeroed at 100 yards won't be more than 1" above or below line of sight from the muzzle out to 130ish yards. A 30-30, 45-70, 44 mag or other lever action cartridge will be 3" to 4" above or below line of sight at the same ranges and are more likely to hit brush rather than shoot through the holes in brush.

You don't need optics to hit a deer or bear standing in the open in good light at typical woods ranges. But they don't ever seem to do that for me. A quality, low powered scope lets you SEE deer/bear in low light and helps you SEE the brush you're trying to avoid.

That's what I consider ideal. Doesn't mean something else won't work.

My pick as well. And it actually is my pick as this is the kind of Bear hunting I do and Marlin 45-70 is my arm of choice

.358 Winchester ,.35 Remington , 45-70 , Lever or pump.

I have the understanding that black bear and large hogs require similar bullet performance from an expansion and penetration standpoint. I think the average bear would require slightly more penetration while the average “large” hog will be a slightly tougher medium.

Based on my “research” on lots of test subjects, a 208 gr 30 cal Hornady ELD m driven at roughly 2700 fps, or about as fast as you want to push a 30-06, is the best answer. It gets the job done up close and has the legs to reach out as far as I’m good enough to shoot a stalking rifle. Delivers great penetration while opening up some nasty wounds. It’s not a meat saver, but it gives a large volume cylinder of destruction that prevents much movement.

The wounding tends to be so traumatic, even marginally shot animals rarely are capable of moving far. The sectional density is such that even with the violent nature expansion and fragmentation you get more than sufficient penetration. The best rifle is simply the one that delivers that pill the best for you. For me it’s a bolt rifle with CRF that feels good in my hands, has a nice trigger, and a good low light scope.

Ok. Bizarre post.

Many calibers will work fine, as always, it’s shot placement that counts.