Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Black bear caliber question

My wife took her moose with a .243 - I've taken several caribou and a black bear with the same old Sucks. None of them with premium bullets, all with 100 grains.

I'd now use a premium for the moose and bear, at least.

Grew up an WV and almost all the black bears I knew of were killed with the Appalachian Assault Rifle. Most subsistence fish camps along the Yukon River don't have much more than .30-30s in them most times and they've dropped lotsa black bears and the occassional grizzly with them too.

There's not much to a black bear especially in the spring and summer. I wouldn't have a problem shooting one with a .243.

It wouldn't excite me to carry a .243 in brown bear country. I remember Bob Hagel explaining that he carried a .338 already to hunt Blacktails on Kodiak, and it wasn't because of the blacktails.

Running into a Brown wouldn't excite me either with a 6mm in hand. Thanks for the responses. Can't wait to get back up there.

I carry a .338 when hunting deer in brown bear country. When I get my 35 Whelen built, I'll feel comfortable also.

A story from back in 2007 when a guy got ruffed up a bit while carrying his 6 mm. This is not to say a bigger gun would have helped in this case as the bear got to him first.

http://juneauempire.com/stories/120207/loc_20071202016.shtml

My hunting pard's 12 year old girl just took a Bear in BC with a CZ 7.62x39 carbine with 150 grain bullets. I'll have more details shortly....

I watched one die 10 days ago from a 243/85TSX. It was convincing.

Wish I could give you the load details, but right after I loaded up a couple different loads, I turned around to see the kid mixing the bullets up in the box.

First shot took out his shoulder and made a hole in the offside that I could get my whole hand in.

That is the kind of performance I was wanting to hear. Prolly didn't go too far either. If my guide carries a larger caliber and is good with his rifle, I think I should be fine.

The 243 AI will get it done no doubt, but You may want to consider a bigger rifle in case You bump something a little bigger in the thick stuff.

Gunner

Barne TXS or Nosler Partition and you will have a Dead Bear on your hands to skin

Big Se AK Black bears are fine game animals. I have seen just one instantly flattened (by a 130gr .270)...I have trailed two shot by '06 180gr. I like bears. I have a Whelen, a 340 SS Wby, my luckiest gun is a 30'06. It just seems to be handy when needed, anyway... I hunt bears with a 416. 416s turn bears into rugs. I like that. Softer bullets seem to drop them faster. I once double shouldered one with a 1990s 125 gr X bullet from an '06 @ 60 yards. My guide stopped the show with a 411KDF (416 Taylor class). Rug!

Tough punishment just for mixing up bullets.

125gr Shuttle T Locks also work well on bears, buddy killed a 6 footer on Saturday with one.

To each his own, but it seems unwise to me to hunt in brown bear country with a 243. I'm sure 22 rimfires can kill black bear too but if you bump into a sow with cubs, I suspect you'll want more horsepower.

As for dropping them in their tracks, I've killed black bear with a 45-70, a 376 Steyr and a 338 RUM. They are all good killers, but only the RUM dropped them in their tracks never to get up again. It was like instant death. They weren't little bears. A couple of the bears were pushing 7 ft.

My then 15 yo. daughter killed her 6' black bear with a .308 and it never took a single step - hammer of Thor and all that. Cheap ass cup and core bullet too, but she put it where it needed to go.

Bullet placement and a stout bullet. Hopefully, we won't run into any brownies. The area I want to hunt didn't have a high population of them(according to the folks I got to know around town). We didn't see any the 7 days that we were out. I realize that there are exceptions though. Hell, I'm still 2 yrs out. Lots of time to think about it.

Shot placement, of course, however bullets on the soft side have field proven results, for example, before the 416 craze, most of the old timers who have seen dozens of bears killed (A.Runion and their likes) firmly knew a 270 375 slug was a better stopper than 300, this too, before wonder bullets. Big diameter bullets going 2400-2600fps with alot of lead and a soft front end is still sound advise.

My bad, allow me to rephrase....

"243/85TSX kills like the hand of GOD HIMSELF and STOPS BEARS IN THEIR TRACKS! BANG-FLOP, INSTANT DEATH, RUG, BEAR MEDICINE, RIP YOGI, BEAR DOWN. It's as if the HAMMER OF THOR were wielded by CHUCK NORRIS himself, and a roundhouse kick thrown in for good measure."

And all of that with very little recoil....

Just the ticket.