A friend of mine in high school killed a pretty fair sized black bear with a .22 long rifle. He was grouse hunting with a .22 and came on a bear eating huckleberries in a clear cut. He rested on a stump for precsion and shot the bear at the base of his ear at 40 feet. Quote.
[/quote] Well there ya go. A 22 shooting a bear. A .270 will do it too. When was a kid I saw my uncle shoot a 1200 lb. cow with a 22 pistol. First shot stunned it, second shot put it down. We way under estimate the killing power of our guns.
Last edited by ihookem; 02/13/13.
But the fruits of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, Gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5: 22&23
Welcome to the Campfire! It's always interesting to observe yet another Internet hard-charger who enjoys being more obnoxious than the members he accuses of being obnoxious.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
The sour part is accurate. FWIW these are the posts of a skilled troll. He is the only one who insults anyone yet he accuses others of being insulting. Accusing others of what you are doing is a slick old trick effective since way before Goebbels used it for Hitler. Honest people naturally react to the false accusations and that gives him a chance to jab the knife again. We can feed him or ignore him.
�Wow, you must slow up the party every time you squat to piss.
Sweet Jesus, where do all you tools come from�. _______________________________________________________________
Really, really?
I make a call for civility and the best you can do is come up with school yard taunts; that speaks volumes.
Sourdough, I'm a relative newbie on here so I hesitate to say too much but this thread has been pretty civil. You want to see uncivil go to the campfire forum.
I appreciate your desire to see civil discussion but to join up, make a few posts and comments then start rebuking others for the manner in which they comment just isn't going to go over very well. Some of these guys have been on here for years, discussing, arguing, sharing info, and busting each other in the chops. It's kinda like being the new guy in a long established deer camp coming in and telling the old timers in camp that you don't approve of their card playing or bourbon drinking. (I prefer cognac myself but that's another story) As you can imagine, that wouldn't go over very well. So I'd suggest you just chill a little bit, read a lot of threads, get to know who is who, and don't worry about what some are saying. You'll figure out who is knowledgeable and who is full of themselves. There is a wealth of useful information and I'm sure plenty you can contribute too. Enjoy! Oh, and welcome to the campfire!
Last edited by snubbie; 02/13/13.
Gloria In Excelsis Deo!
Originally Posted by Calvin
As far as gear goes.. The poorer (or cheaper) you are, the tougher you need to be.
Welcome to the Campfire! It's always interesting to observe yet another Internet hard-charger who enjoys being more obnoxious than the members he accuses of being obnoxious.
There it is.
You writers sure can cut to the chase!
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
Geez, I just wanted some advice about the best caliber for black bears. Seems like it touched a nerve with some folks. I can't thank you all enough. Most everyone made great suggestions for their own reasons, which was exactly what I was looking for. That's the great thing about these forums. Someone commented that I must feel insecure about the 270, but that was not it at all. I just don't have any bear hunting experience. Whitetails are the biggest game we have here in the hills of Kentucky, so I really just didn't know whether a 270 would work for blackies. After reading all of your thoughts, or at least the ones pertaining to the OP, I feel completely confident using this caliber. Now, since I am never one to waste a good reason to buy a gun, I am thinking about a 338. Any advice about your favorite manufacturer or particular type?? Thinking about consistent accuracy and durability when I ask that. Thanks again for all the input, I can see why this site is so popular.
Dont really need a .338 unless you're hunting Alaskan kinda bears...but if you want one, Id opt for a Ruger stainless Hawkeye...then you are ready, should you head for the Great Land....
"...the left considers you vermin, and they'll kill you given the chance..." Bristoe
[quote=dennisinaz][quote=Sourdough54][quote=dennisinaz] If you don�t think that saying �The hunting you just described would really suck� isn�t judgmental or to follow up and say that it�s �merely an observation of the situation that he is stuck with� isn�t negative, you are truly clueless and lack all social skills.
Wow, you must slow up the party every time you squat to piss.
Sweet Jesus, where do all you tools come from.
Thanks Steely, had to wipe down the keyboard after reading this one from drinking coffee and laughing
I've been following this one all along and the best part of Sourdough's "defense" is the guy he is defending had no problem with the comments made. I never hunted bear in PA but have friends that do, its pretty much as Moosemike describes as the season is short(3 days if not mistaken), no baiting allowed, and not much in the way of "open" spaces to glass. And if you think the bear hunting scenario he describes is regarding a wounded bear running to another hunter after being shot, try deer huntin there when the woods double with hunters. Definately a put them down now situation and where I was taught shoot em in the shoulder and take out their running gears
As to the OP, any excuse is a good excuse to buy another rifle. The 338-06 is a handloader only option for the most part, so keep that in mind. If comfortable with your 270 then load up some 150 or 160 Nosler PT's and go kill your black beareven though the 280 rem and 160's are a bit better
(This topic reminds me of sheep hunting in grizzly country: a sheep is easy to kill and doesn't require a .338, but that is what most sheep hunters in Northern BC were carrying. The purpose for the .338 wasn't to kill sheep but for a secondary reason. Ditto for larger calibers on black bear in thick brushy country with no dirt to leave tracks: the purpose is not killing power but the secondary reason of tracking/finding power.)
This is why I hunt elk and moose with my 338wm.
And I carried a .338 Win hunting deer solo and packing meat on Admiralty Island. Arguably the densest population brown population in the world, one per square mile (once you subtract out the uninhabitable portion (the bare rock in the mountains) the number exceeds far one brown bear per square mile). But some of our friends in Montana (that don�t even live in grizzly country) are bullies and pretend to know it all. That island is one quarter the size of a county in Montana, but has more brown/grizzly bears than the entire lower 48.
I'll bet I've been around and seen more grizzly bears than you have.....