My last run on black bears was four in a row from 2012 to 2015. And three of those on the same private property in 2012, 2013 and 2015. The other was in 2014 on Crown Land. The three on private property (old farm land) were taken with my Tika T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62. I used 3 different bullets. The first (2012) was a 286 Hornady SP-RP at +2400 fps. It had been wounded by a young friend, and I had to chase it down, going away, with a shot to its short ribs on the right side and the Hornady came out its back behind its shoulders taking out 6 - 7 inches of vertebrae. The Hornady went off into the trees beyond leaving no traces of metal behind. Impact would have been ~2300 fps.
A year later, I killed my own bear (over bait) from a tree stand using the same rifle with a 286 Partition at 68 yds to the bait barrel (lazered). The bear was standing off to the side of the barrel about 15 ft, eating something from the barrel, looking up at me. In the 28 - 30" tall grass, weeds and bush, I could only see his head and top of shoulders. I aimed just below his chin and fired. He disappeared in the weeds and grass. My partner at another bear-bait setup 2 miles away, called to see if I needed help. I said: "Yep!!" It took him about 15 minutes to get there. In the meantime I found a dead bear at the bottom of an escarpment, which was 20 yds from the bait barrel and 20 more yds to the bottom. He gave a hand in field dreessng and it was a challenge in getting the bear up out of there. It was dark by then and we hung it over night on a big limb at the back side of the tree my stand was in. Next morning, early, in skinning, my left hand felt something hard, just poking through the hide in front of the right hip. I thought it was bone, but the bullet fell out to the ground. I picked it up covered in blood and fat, brushed it off and stuck it in a jacket pocket. Next day I cleaned it up and weighed it. MV was +2600 with impact about 2500 fps. It had tumbled with some "wings" pointing forward, slightly bent with front core missing. It retained 211 grs or nearly 74% of initial weight. It was a 6' bear from nose to tail.
Two years later on the same property (different location in 2015), I shot another 6' boar bear from my tree stand at 85 yds. That bear would not come to the bait when I was there (I was using a trail cam behind the bait barrel, and identified 11 bears had been visiting the site in a week. 3 sows - one with 1 cub, another with 2 cubs, and a 3rd with 3 cubs - never at the same time. Plus two good size male bears - always alone. The one I shot was the largest of those two). Same rifle (9.3 x 62) but the bullet was the Nosler 250gr AB at ~2700 fps (RL-17 for both Noslers). I left my stand one chilly evening to go across an open pasture to my van for a sweaater and some food. When I returned this reluctand bear was on the bait barrel. I shot him high in the back (right side) behind the shoulders and the 250 AB made exit in the left-side chest, low, taking a chunk out of the left leg. That 250 AB went off into the ground somewhere - in one piece. Bear went 20 yds with massive blood loss that a near blind person could follow. Impact velocity would have been about 2600 fps. That bear was 7 ft from top of head to heel.
That was the most accurate load in that rifle at SUB 1/2 MOA. Other loads were the 232 Oryx and 320gr Woodleigh PP at +2400 fps for each - they shot into the same group at 100 yds.
That 4th bear was killed in 2014 on Crown Land using my .458 Win Mag (CZ 550).
Bob
www.bigbores.ca
