I'm just curious if anyone has used the 243, with good or bad results, for black bear. I know that there may be better choices, but with a good bullet like a TSX, I don't see it having any issues with a black bear. The main reason I'm asking is I had a guy claim that 6mm and .257 caliber cartridges are good for only "stinging" bears. It's obvious he is clueless on the .25 cal stuff, as I've seen plenty here prove otherwise. I don't have a dog in this fight, just would like some feedback from those much more experienced than myself.

So, anyone who has used the 243 on blackies, your input would be greatly appreciated.

I haven't used the .243 myself on a black bear, but know several people that have, or used similar cartridges. One New York friend killed a nice black bear in the Adirondacks with a .250 Savage and the 100-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, which a lot of people wouldn't consider a bear bullet. One shot in the heart-lung area put it down pronto though.

The problem is not that it won't kill a bear, it will. The biggest problem is that bears don't always go down on the spot and are difficult to track without a good blood trail. Their soft feet really don't stir things up much so unless there is snow it's hard to follow foot prints. They have very long hair and a lot of fat which clogs up the bullet wound quickly. In short: big diameter bullet equals good blood trail, small diameter bullet equals difficult if not impossible tracking situation. Make sense?

I've shot two Idaho black bears with a .243 using the Barnes 85 gr. X bullet. Both were one shot kills, both bullets passed through the front shoulders on relatively close shots. Neither bear traveled very far but the one rolled a fair number of feet down a steep grade.

One bear was fairly young, I'm not very good at judging bears. The second was aged as a 13 year old dry sow.

I believe a .243 is too light for bear hunting. I was carrying the .243 while hunting varmints and stumbled upon the blackies, waited for a perfect broadside and too the shot from a rest.

The 243 will kill black bears and sting the big dangerous bears.

Maybe this guy got his bears mixed up??

The 243 with a good bullet, is a very capable black bear killer. The 25s even more so.

Next time you see this guy, make a gentlemenly wager to him that your 243 (if you have one), or your 25 cal, will kill black bears with one well placed shot everytime. Say a grand or two per black bear?

If I were using a 243 on a wager for the black bears and someone were betting against me, I`d load me up some "classified super secret" 115 gr Berger hunting VLDs and then double the bet!!!

I`d really like to see the blackies walk away from those with that kind of,,,,,, "stinging only?",,,,, wound channel.

bigsqueeze,

If I were a betting man, and had a 243 I might make such a wager. Like I said, I've really no dog in this fight, as I normally hunt a 260, 7mm-08, or 280. Was just curious if some of the guys here had used it on black bears.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Oh! I forgot to mention that I do have a friend who owns a 243, whom on more than one occasion has used it on the blackies with very good results.

However, I have never personally used a 243 for B/Bears.

are you nuts?

My cousin killed one that was about 250# with a 100 gr Sierra. It worked very well on that sample of 1.

.......You bet! I`m really nuts!........Don`t have a 243, so I just put up with a 300 WSM for my black bear use.

I've seen some taken with the various 6's from 243 to 6/06. And I've seen some taken with the 22/250 and Swifto.

All will work just fine as long as the nutt behind the butt does his/her job.

As far as blood trails goes, I've seen bruins taken with the 22's to the 375's and to date the bestest blood trail I've ever seen was from a 22/250 and a 55 NSB.

Dober

Thanks Dober, I figured you'd chime in. If you recall offhand, what bullets were the various 6mm's using?

I've never done it, but I'd have no qualms about putting a 100 gr. Partition in a black bear with a .243 Win.

No 243 experience (except when my friends cousin shot a decoy with one), but I've seen the .257 in action on black bear and elk. Worked just fine.

I had a highschool science teacher/basketball coach that came from southern Oregon said he used the 243 for bears. Then a few years later (1973 or4) my Dad killed a bear while elk hunting with his 243. Also have a logger friend that made two trips to Wisconsin for bear first time he took his 30-30 and ended up with a shot bear that wasn't found, next trip took his 243, later on his exwife laid claim to the bearrug.....

Scorpion,
I know of two guys who tried it and next year went to a much bigger rifle.
Another guy says if you are in a stand shooting down into the spine it works well.
Another guy used a 204 Ruger. The bear went 100 yds. gut shot.
Lots of guys use bow and arrow.
Flip a coin.
whelennut

Shot one with the .243...100 gr. Hornady...in the ear...worked great....boolit didn't exit!!
Ingwe

My buddy shot a 200lb boar 2 years ago 3 times with his. The bear died but it wasn't quick and there was very little blood. He now uses a 300wsm or a 12ga.

NO but...I shot a couple with a 6.5 which is only half a mill bigger!!!

When I was younger I did almost all my big game hunting with a .220 swift. And I've used .243s on and off over the years as well....hunt with the rifle you have the most confidence in. I've always believed accuracy trumps power. Black bears are no harder to kill than a deer IMO. The above bear was killed with one well placed shot from a .220 swift.

I took my very first black bear in 1972 near Stevenson, Wa. with a
6mm Remington.....close enough to the good old .243. It was about a 60 yard shot to the back of the neck as he was running away.
I have also got a couple with my .243 and my .25-06.

Makes too much sense for anyone who wants to hunt bear with a .243 to pay any attention to.

I've shot or been in on at least half a dozen black bears shot with .243 or 6mm, probably more like a dozen if I think awhile. We lost one of them that was hit at the back edge of the shoulder broadside. I was watching the bear through binos when the shooter hit it at about 90 yards, and I am sure the bear died, hit through shoulder into lungs with a 95 grain Nosler Partition. It was in heavy rain and rain forest and there was no blood trail past ten feet from the hit. I've posted on this earlier.

As anecdotal evidence favoring .243 for black bear, later the same day the same hunter with the same rifle and bullet killed a gorgeous dark chocolate black bear that dropped instantly on the spot. I've also seen bears killed with .22-250 (not to mention .22 rimfire, several bow/arrow combos and a tire iron) so .243 killing power is a given.

I'd not pick a .243 with any boolit as my first choice for hunting black bear, based on a fair amount of experience/observation. Our mileages does vary. Yet if that's all I had in hand I would hunt them with it and not feel much handicapped. I would limit my shot selection a little more than with say a .30 with heftier bullets. Go forth and ballistapply.

Scenar: agreed that black bears, like deer, are one of the easier animals to kill.

Thanks again for all the input guys. Like I said, I don't really have much of a dog in this fight, as I don't even own a 243 (I know, I know), just figured I'd ask the brain trust here at the 'Fire.

Scenar great point, but you look like you killed him bare handed....your shoulders look stronger than the bears!

Seriously, I'd not hesitate using an 85 TSX or perhaps a 90 Scirocco. Partitions will do, bu I'd bet the TSX weighs more when the job is done, if that counts for anything.

Right on...shot placement, would not be my choice, but it will do.

My brother shot a bear when bowhunting and the range was not close enough for sticks, the guide loaned him a Mohawk in 6mm, in that carbine bbl, you have 243 speeds no doubt. Bear went a little ways, but I think just cup/core 100 factory and not sure of placement, I think shoulder/chest, will ask for more details when I see talk to him next.

I wouldn't want to try it on a 700 lb bear like the one just shot in Wisconsin this year.

Back in the early 80's, a bunch of friends and I ended up with a huge bait pile of dead cattle--every scavenger species known to us showed up on that bait. And the bears showed up in droves.

At least 4 of the bears died from 243's, all of them with Sierra 100 grainers.


Casey

Generally that's just fat--although fat can slow a bullet down too!

According to the biologists I've talked too, bears in Colorado are about the same size as bears in say, Pennsylvania. But the bears in Pennsylvania are a lot fatter in the fall and tend to weigh a lot more. A 600lb Pennsylvania bear will have the same size skeletal structure as a Colorado bear, but have 150lbs more fat than a Colorado bear.

Interestingly, bears in the Southern Rockies tend to have larger skull size than other regions, making it easier to qualify for the record books.

Casey

That sounds about right to me, Casey. Lots of huge bears shot here weight wise, though when the skull sized is compared to other parts of the country, they often aren't much bigger than say a 250 pound bear. One of my good friends shot a 414 pound bear, and it had about a 18"-19" skull, which seemed kinda surprising. Another guy I know shot one that was over 650 pounds, though I'm unsure of the skull size. Between all the corn, wheat, and berries that the bears eat, it's no wonder they get so fat here.

Like the way you put it.

2 more cents from someone who has never shoot a bear. My 6mm Rem wouldn't be my first choice for 2 reasons. First I don't think the cartridge is adequate (I will admit I could be wrong on that point). Second I have 2 rifles that I feel are adequate.

Interesting old thread. I'm probably going to carry my Remington 660 .243 for Black bear here in a couple weeks and I found this thread helpful. I was going to grab 100 Partitions but the 100 grain Federals I'm using penetrate so well that I can't imagine needing more.

I've had bad luck on 5 or 6 hogs with some type of federal soft point load years ago and my brother lost a shoulder shot buck with the same rounds.

I would not hesitate on a broadside shot at a bull elk, however, with the partitions in a 243.

Here's a nearly 600 lb'er that fell to a 243, no lack of blood either.
Kid in the pic is 240.
Not my 1st choice in caliber for BIG bears but it works

Why chance wounding the animal with a light bullet when there are so many other calibers to choose from. I sure wouldn't use a .243 for bear hunting under any circumstances, unless life or death situation.

Me neither. They don't recoil nearly enough to be effective.

I have yet to see a bear in Colorado that I wouldn't use a 243 on.

Same in WI.

You've seen a lot of bruins killed in TX, have you?

IIRC an #800 black bear was killed in pa. a while back by an amish guy using a 30-30...so why wouldn't a 243 work

Do a search for Boxer or Big Stick (same person), and look at the bears he kills with the 223 and the 243- Then try to tell HIM a 243 win't big enough.

I've witnessed 3 bears killed with 243's.

Use enough bullet......like a 100gr Partition......


Casey

I have probably killed at least a dozen w/my old HVA 243, all w/ max. loads of H4831 and 100 gr Nosler PT's. Never lost one, most shot through the heart lungs and one shoulder. ANYBODY who says that a 243 is in anyway inadequate for black bears is blowin smoke. What WILL get you a lost black bear is a bullet that is too stiff, you need expansion right now and penetration, hence the PT's. Muddy

I remember that too. And the same year a kid killed a 500 pounder with a 243.