Bear gun/caliber?

[waterhaulerhunter]

So this spring me and a friend will be going on our first bear trip. I will be using my Sako A7 in 7-08 with handload 140gr accubonds. I am just curious as to what everyone else uses!? Gun, caliber, bullet, etc. And good luck to everyone this spring lol i know im going to need it.

[nimrod]

12 Gauge shooting slugs, was my choice, close shots, no time for high power bullets to do their job, a slug will wallop them, but if you are doing a spot and stalk, a rifle would be the choice.

[Rockymtnx]

If I do decide to shoot a bear this spring I think it will be with my Traditions Vortek Ultra Light. I will use 250gr .50cal Hornady SSTs.

My second choice will be the Sako 85 Kodiak in .375 H&H. In it I would use my .260gr Nosler Accubonds.

[catnthehat]

I use whatever is handy or what I decide for that hunt.
bears are no tougher to put down than anything else IMO, hit them properly and they're dead, hit them with a bad shot placement and it doesn't matter with what, you have a BIG job on your hands!:scared:
Cat

[alfoldivandor]

I only have One gun for big game 300 win mag Nosler partition 200 gr , hit the shoulder blade spine from up to 300 m, of course practice before the hunt .

[Redneck Renagade]

300 win mag with 180 gr barnes triple shock

[Alberta Bigbore]

I'll be using a .270wsm or a .444 marlin this spring...... never really had a desire to take a bear for at least 14 years..

I hear you can get them done like hams at some butchers.

[montec]

I'll use a bow like I always do!!!

[Eric hunter]

My tikka 30-06 with ttsx 150 gr at 3000 ft. sec.(muzzle) zeroed at 225 yards.
2'' high at 100 yards.
My wife with her 260 rem. and ttsx 120 gr.
Eric.

[Marko]

Rem 710, 30-06, hand loaded nosler ballistic tip 165gr, with IMR 4064, and a Mathews DXT, with rage broad heads. Both only made it 25-35 yards

[scrapper]

Rueger .45 ACP

[CNP]

So this spring me and a friend will be going on our first bear trip. I will be using my Sako A7 in 7-08 with handload 140gr accubonds. I am just curious as to what everyone else uses!? Gun, caliber, bullet, etc. And good luck to everyone this spring lol i know im going to need it.

I have your same rifle and I`m really getting into it.

Any deer rifle will do for a spot and stalk. If you`re baiting and using a stand..... a lever carbine, slug gun, black powder, muzzle loader, musket, bow, crossbow or spear are recommended:)

[hunterbobthebuilder]

38-55 255 grain bullets

[thirty-30]

.45-70 325 Grain out of a Marlin 1895 GS, makes a fine moose round too

[KegRiver]

I've used a 30-30 for most of the Bears I've shot.
A few were shot with .303 one with a .338 mag and a couple with 6.5x55.
And one with my brothers .284

They all died.

Some took a bit of tracking to find.
Interestingly, I have never had to track a bear shot with a 30-30. The few that I did have to track were shot with more powerful guns.

A bear is no harder to put down then a Deer, if you hit them right.
Hit them wrong and it can take a lot to end their suffering.

My advise, use whatever gun you are confident with.
Anything from 25-35 to .600 Nitro Express will work fine.
And if you think a big bore will guarantee success, stay home.

[bdub]

Should have no problem with your choice. Bullet placement followed by bullet construction are the most important factors IMO. Personally I shoot a 300 WTBY in and either 200 or 180 Grain Nosler Partitions for everything. I have others but have utmost confidence in this particular rifle. Good luck

[Rayzor]

So this spring me and a friend will be going on our first bear trip. I will be using my Sako A7 in 7-08 with handload 140gr accubonds. I am just curious as to what everyone else uses!? Gun, caliber, bullet, etc. And good luck to everyone this spring lol i know im going to need it.

AS you can see from the replies, looks like pretty much anything works! I've used a 300 win mag, a 450 Marlin, a 308 win, bow and arrow and my son has used a 25-06 rem and a 243 win. Shot placement is critical (especially with lighter calibers like the 243, 25-06 and 7mm-08). I would suggest using the heaviest caliber you can shoot accurately. I was a little leary of letting my son use the 243 but that was all he was big enough to shoot. He shot the rifle very well, but I was still tentative. We waited for a spine shot to present itself and he dropped him as quickly as my 450 marlin. Good luck and have fun.

[elkamaholic]

.100 gr montecs out of my Mathews switchback

[338ultra]

338 RUM with 250gr Swift A Frames, close or far it does the trick

[deepfried]

Remington 700 in .308win

[Rackmastr]

I've got my 7 SAUM shooting 160gr Accubonds at around 3000fps and into some very tight groups....

I'll be hosted for bears back in Alberta this spring and looking forward to it. One of my favorite times of year to do a hunt, share some stories, and just hang out a bit.

[openseason]

I use whatever is handy or what I decide for that hunt.
bears are no tougher to put down than anything else IMO, hit them properly and they're dead, hit them with a bad shot placement and it doesn't matter with what, you have a BIG job on your hands!:scared:
Cat

X2

[Doorguy]

.100 gr montecs zipping off a Matthews Z7 extreme tactical. Up close and personal is the way I like to hunt bears. Except for that one time Momma bear had me in a tree for an hour, she was some mad! wasn't about to take her with her three cubs in the trees. Just gave her her space. Can't wait till the season opens!

[Dick284]

Of the 4 bears I've taken, I've used.

270Win (100gr Barnes X)
7mm Rem Mag (150gr. win PP)
30'06 (150gr Hornady SST)
358 Win (225gr. Sierra BT)

My daughter took her bear with a 7x57 loaded with 154 gr. Hornady RN's, and an earth shattering 2350fps.(20" bbl)

And my son took his bear with an arrow tipped with an 85gr. Slick Trick broadhead, at a wopping 40 lbs of pull.


Bears are not armour plated.:snapoutofit:
Many have been sucsessfully harvested with cartridges like the 30/30 Win, and 25/35Win, and even the 44/40, then all those fellers shooting pointy sticks off a string under tension.:thinking-006:

The end result is more indicative to the amount of skill imparted by the hunter.
Not the amount of lead thrown or powder burnt.

[catnthehat]

When I hunt with a bow I prfer a flat bow , about 56" long.
I hunted with reciruves for years and 68" American long bows, but prefer the straighter, shorter limbs and very light weight of a good flat bow of about 45-50lbs. for still hunting , especially bears.
I alwys semed to get inot branch issues with the limbs of the reurves I shot!:confused:
Cat

[spur]

if your comfy with your 7-08 then thats a thousand times better then a big magnum and a poorly placed shot cause of flinching. And a 140grs to the heart is just as dead as 200gr.

[waterhaulerhunter]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm not questioning if my choice is adequate or not. I was just simply curious as to what everyone uses. We will be doing spot and stalk and the compound bow will be making the trip with us. Good to hear all the replies. Keep em coming!

[Jamie Black R/T]

i dont know why but spot and stalk bear hunting screams lever gun to me.

an open sighted 94 or my 45-70 guide gun get the nod for spring bear.

fall its whatever im carrying for elk most of the time...either a bow or my guide gun again.

[sinawalli]

I saw a 470 Nitro double gun a Cabela's about 2 weeks ago. It was only $13000!! Maybe that would work.....:scared0018:

[pseelk]

7MM Rem Mag.175 gr speer mag tip.Sent several to the promised land with this combo.:sHa_shakeshout:

[eric2381]

I've shot em with my 7mm rem mag with 175gr hornady, 45-70 with 405gr corelokts, 300 win mag with 180gr AB, and 35 whelen with 225gr tsx. All with great results.

The 35 whelen is my favorite bear gun.

[steve]

Over half the bears shot this year will weigh less then a WT buck. No need to shoot something your not comfortable shooting

[spur]

I have 3 guns I use all the time and killed bears with 338 win mag, 300wsm and hoping to this year with my 264winmag, or maybe my bow if opportunity knocks

[Rantastic]

black bears are big wussies... shoot them with any big game cartige... 243 and up in the chest and they will run between 20 - 100 yards and hide in some thick bush and die. I blasted one with a 80 yr old 12 gauge with a 2 3/4 slug, an arrow, and 7mm and they are did exactly what I described... the only benefit to using more gun is they will probably fall closer but they are not hard to find as wounded deer so don't worry about it. Shoot what ya got and are comfortable with.

[leeelmer]

375h&h I use it on everything from bears to yotes, thats just me any calliber you shoot well and accuratly and confortabley is the one to use, there is no subsitute for shot placement, big cals however have a little bit of error room not alot but some.

[greylynx]

On behalf of my fellow .338 owners, there is nothing more effective and efficient in accomplishing your objective of smoking a bear than a .338.

I have shot the right handed Sako A7 in .338 and the percieved recoil is that of a 30-06. just like a Sako left hand.

[rancho-non-relaxo]

I use a bow with 100 gr teken. My back up gun for when they decide they need to climb the tree and sit in my lap is a 357 mag carbine. both bow and gun work well bear usually only goes 20-30 yards.

[Zuludog]

So this spring me and a friend will be going on our first bear trip. I will be using my Sako A7 in 7-08 with handload 140gr accubonds. I am just curious as to what everyone else uses!? Gun, caliber, bullet, etc. And good luck to everyone this spring lol i know im going to need it.

I have the same rifle, in the same caliber and plan on using 140gr partitions.

[Rantastic]

is a 357 carbine a rifle? This is something i have not heard of before.
But a sound argument for handguns is for bowhunters who encounter dangerous situations such as angry bears even while deer hunting... for self defense purpose carrying a shotgun is very cumbersome on top of a packing around your bow... also looks uncouth in bow season for deer but when gun season for bears is open.
I don't advocate handgun hunting as a personal opinion but for self defense, which is why the guns were invented in the first place, I think they would be great

[Speckle55]

6 Black Bear
2 cinnamon Black Bear one in the blonder phase

Rem 700 BDL 7mm Mag 175 PP

well placed shot it does't matter they won't go far:acigar:

all tanned/ one rug
none in the last 20 yrs
5 ate mmm good
48932

David

[PoppaW]

I saw a 470 Nitro double gun a Cabela's about 2 weeks ago. It was only $13000!! Maybe that would work.....:scared0018:

A little small and slow. Heavy gun too. I would need someone to carry it.:scared0015:

I will use my 510 as its lighter and faster and more powerful. In all seriousness I will probably not hunt bear this year.

[IHUNT]

Bow hunting bears is the best in my opinion but if you decide to use a rifle it all depends on what kinda area you are in. if you are hunting the fields i would use a 300 mag 180gr if you are out in the bush where you will get a close shot with lots of bush in the way an old leaver action 30-30 180gr works great or a 444 marlin works good to.

[rancho-non-relaxo]

is a 357 carbine a rifle? This is something i have not heard of before.
But a sound argument for handguns is for bowhunters who encounter dangerous situations such as angry bears even while deer hunting... for self defense purpose carrying a shotgun is very cumbersome on top of a packing around your bow... also looks uncouth in bow season for deer but when gun season for bears is open.
I don't advocate handgun hunting as a personal opinion but for self defense, which is why the guns were invented in the first place, I think they would be great

It is a small lever action rifle. Mine is a marlin 1894c it holds 10 357 rounds and with lots of practice you can load with one hand. this is nice when the bear is below you and slapping your ladder around and you have to hang on with one hand. :)