Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Best black bear rifle and cartridge

Savage 99 308. Fixed 4 power.

There ain't no such thing.

Seen 'em killed with .22 rimfire to 375 H&H with various bows and a tire iron thrown in as the killing device. Take your pick.
Edited to add: A choice anywhere along the middle to upper end of that range will be in the best category.

Tire iron at a range of 18 inches at estimated 90 fps wrench tip velocity was more effective than expected as it was not intended as a killing blow.

Given I have never hunted any type of bear please forgive the question�
why would not a 450 Marlin with a 400 Gr bullet at 1900 ft/sec not be sufficient out to 100-150 yrds

Oh yeah, serious bear hunters always use jellies; that brings the big ones.

all ya need to do is set out a "pik-a-nicka besket"...and nature will run its course...lol

Temmi, not sure if you were hitting reply in general or asking me in response to my post. My comment was tongue in cheek, since many caliber combos are good for black bear, including the 450 Marlin you mention. There are so many good ones that it is impossible to pick a "best" IMO, was my earlier point. A 400 grain .450 should hammer one. Hope you get to shoot one with it.

I hit reply in general... but thanks for the reply... I do agree there are more good choices than bad.

I killed mine with a Ruger M77 in 35 Whelen.

My Maine bear hunt was a great excuse for a new rifle.

In camp, there was everything from a 30-30 to a 300 WBY.

I think choice of a mythical 'ideal' caliber depends a bit on just how and where you hunt them.

Lots of places in the Lower 48 have black bears as big and in a lot of cases bigger than Alaska.

To answer the question, shoot whatever the heck you want, using whatever method you want as long as it is legal. Personally, I'll be carrying a 7mm-08 with an off chance of carrying a 280 this fall. Why? Because that's what I have.

Never said they weren't bigger other places. Just don't see where a cartridge with a rainbow trajectory makes it a perfect bear hunting round, that be the point.

LOL,I'm still cry'in over Maude

RASBERRY jelly is the key to a good donut stand . . . . . .

BMT

Of the four rifles I own that would work for Black Bear, the one I would feel most comfortable with is the .375H&H. It has the reach and close up power if you need it.

Since you are a relatively new member, you have probably missed the discussions of how the traditional "pressure signs" aren't very accurate. Your load is WAY above what Nosler recommends (and they pressure tested it) for the .35 Whelen, by 5 grains. You may not be seeing any signs of high pressure, but your rifle is. The .35 Whelen is simply not capable of .338 Winchester muzzle velocities at normal pressures.

On the general question, I have shot a few black bears, and seen more shot, up to 500 pounds or so. Ranges have varied from very close to 300 yards or so. The quickest chest-shot kill was with a .270, but the second quickest (on a much bigger bear) was with a Federal 12-gauge load using a Barnes Expander. This was on a Vancouver Island 7-footer, at 75 yards.

A big Montana bear also dropped right there at 300 yards to one shot from a .300 Winchester Magnum, but he was hit at the base of the skull, which wasn't where the shooter was aiming!

I have (only) a few bear rifles left, (a move outside thins things a might)... Currently two 416s a 9.3X74 a 35 Whelen, and a dandy 340 WBY (that is really an elk gun just in case)...BUT the gun that has killed more black bears by me personally is my 700 '06 KS mountian gun, (my sheep rifle in fact). The '06 has just been the gun in hand when the time came. On purpose I hunt blacks with a .416 (out of respect, I think they are a top game animal and I cannot condone a sloppy kill on them) But... that '06 has just been in the right place at the right time. I really prefer to anchor a bear with a corner to corner 416 complete penetration shot, but by golly the LUCK factor goes to some guns more than others. Every bear '06-shot was a short trail... I once backed up a fellow with his 270, the only bang/flop I have seen (other than 416 kills), in short who really knows anything (for certain) about much of anything, when it comes to predicting performance in the field?

I'm taking a 30-06 with 180 grain partitions tomorrow.

I'll let you know if the bears are impressed...

I suspect that there are at least 15 or 20 cartridges that, with suitable bullets would yield results that were indistinguishable from each other.
The question presupposes that there is ONE BEST black bear cartridge, and I have yet to be convinced there is one best elk or deer or bear or anything else cartridge.

I'm thinking the Hack will have an opinion on that....

Wasn't responding to you, Kevin's statement made it seem like black bears down this way are like So. Texas vs. Saskatchewan deer. I don't particularly like cartridges with rainbow trajectories, anyway.

I think I saw this load on another thread titled "How to ruin my favorite rifles"

Sorry couldn't help it.