Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Shot Placement for Black Bear

'Twould seem to me that one presumes their guide is an able tracker when they are put onto a bear near or in heavy cover. By the same token, it would seem presumptive that one might conclude that an unguided hunter would be capable of same were he to take a shot under similar circumstances.

FWIW, if other states have statutes similar to Alaska's, you have legally bagged one bear when you draw blood. Finding it is up to you, or your proxy tracker.

A broadside shot might mot kill em right away but they are dead if a lung or heart. If they run 30 seconds it can be darn hard to find them. They seem hard to track. Then they lay down on the ground with 100 black logs laying all over the woods and die.( my experience) Vey hard to track in thick brush and green.

I agree with that. Any guide who has any experience with bears - or any other big game animal, for that matter - would definitely avoid aiming for the head and/or neck when placing the first bullet, regardless of the terrain and surrounding vegetation. That's just stupid.

The most experienced black bear guide I know is Jim Shockey. He is against the so-called "break 'em down" shoulder shot, because too many people become fixated on the shoulder and don't notice slight differences in shot angle. Instead he recommends the classic tight-behind-the-shoulder lung shot.

That said, Jim's guiding spot-and-stalk, where shots are longer than in typical baiting. The lung shot provides more room for error.But the most experienced brown bear/grizzly guide I know, Phil Shoemaker, is also against the shoulder shot for the same reasons.

Personally I've never seen bears go very far when solidly double-lunged. If you shoot 'em too far back, though....

I totally agree. When I'm following a bear through dense foliage after a client has shot it (bear) through the lungs, I know that when I come upon it, it's going to be dead. Nothing like a good ol' lung shot.

There is shoulder and then there is shoulder joint.

I've not seen a bear argue with 180 gr at 3K to the point of the shoulder complain.

Tight behind the shoulder. I also use a big bore. Hits them hard and makes them bleed more IF tracking is necessary.

I shoot tight behind the shoulder. It works fine. At camp we've lost bears that guys have shoulder shot. Now it's normally happened with .30-30's and .35 Remingtons and the like but guys shoot the bear in the shoulders and the blood trail is great.......for a while. Then it fizzles out to nothing. We also lost shoulder shot bear with the .308 and .30-06 but those guys were running cup and core 150's. Same deal, great blood trail then it fizzles out. I use the .30-06 with 180's myself.

I think the sight picture gives more people issues than the location of the vitals. A black blob in the shadows makes finding that "tight behind the shoulder" spot more difficult and can lead to poor bullet placement.

I watched a friend shot a black bear broadside at about 300 yds in a clear cut. Shot looked good, bear dropped and rolled end over end like an old tire down the hill. Got hung up on some brush for about a minute before he gave a kick and continued to roll down the hill. I remember watching him through binoculars rolling over his face appearing as dead as a hammer. As soon as he hit the creek he regained his feet and down the drainage he went. Followed him off the mountain and finally hit a paved road that he crossed and continued on. Not exactly sure what happened but I think he was hit high, shocked the system until he had enough time on the roll to recover.

The one my son shot last fall was standing when he hit it. The bear was turned ever so slightly as to not be truly "center punched". Bullet went in the right pectoral and out the back, left chest. Took the top of the heart and left lung. Short track into the alders found him.

He did not recover either bear, so I could not make measurements.

I have an acquaintance that takes a good buck and bull most years.

The guys shoots and fails to recover bear as often as he kills them.

I have known a few guys that lost black bears when hunting in
PA. When the adrenaline is up in a black bear they seem to travel a long ways after being wounded.

bears have soft feet that don't leave much of a track and a layer of fat that tends to stop bleeding. combined with rocky dry ground in the west makes them hard to track. i allways try for a double long shot close behind the shoulder. Ed

I'm finding this discussion particularly interesting. Headed on my first bear hunt this fall. I always thought tight behind the shoulder and slightly lower in the chest than a deer would produce quick kills....

Ideally you wait until the bear is quartering away and you slide that bullet in right behind the shoulder headed straight for the off shoulder. Hunting doesn't always produce ideal situations though.

Might be time to post this .gif again.