Bear Shot Placement

[trapshooter]

Hey Guys,
Going after bear this weekend and I was wondering were you guys would shoot it? (Head, Lungs or Heart) I don't want a wounded bear chasing me! I am a very good shot so anywhere is possible, last year I shot a deer at 150yards and dropped it in 1 shot!

[jaylow?]

dont shoot him in the head , you'll destroy the skull and thats half the trophy.
shoot him through the back of his shoulder.

[Arn?Narn.]

Originally Posted by trapshooter

Hey Guys,
Going after bear this weekend and I was wondering were you guys would shoot it? (Head, Lungs or Heart) I don't want a wounded bear chasing me! I am a very good shot so anywhere is possible, last year I shot a deer at 150yards and dropped it in 1 shot!

You rock !!!!

Put it behind the shoulder ,,,done.

Good Luck !

[ishootbambi]

smash the shoulders and he wont take a step. if you plan to eat it, you will ruin a little meat though. a headshot will do it, but the skull will be FUBAR. show us pics when you get him please.

[bearbuster]

Just like isb said. Follow the front legs up about half way and let her buck
Take out the shoulders and he is done. Their hair makes them look a lot thicker than they are

[Arn?Narn.]

Any particular reason for advocating shoulder shots on black bears?

curious...

[TreeGuy]

My pals went to Alaska a couple of years ago in pursuit of the giant browns. They were instructed to cripple the animal with the first shot by breaking both shoulders, thus immobilizing the bear for safety reasons.

Not so sure the same tactic is necessary on an Albertan blackie, but if you have no interest in taking the meat, why not?

Here's the thread about the BB hunt if anyone's interested (pics).

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=15964

[New Hunter Okotoks]

I've never shot a bear but I assume the front shoulders are targeted to anchor the bear,and then a follow up shot is easy if needed.This, I assume is done so as to avoid poking around for a wounded,P.O.'d bear in the woods.

EDIT:I see that Treeguy types faster than I do!

[KegRiver]

I'm in the shoot em in the shoulder camp.

I have shot plenty of Black Bear. I have no idea how many. Problem bear on the farm, bears for their hide and problem bears on the trapline.

I've had to track more then one wounded bear.
I know some folks who wouldn't have a problem doing it. I do.
It scares the bejeebers out of me.

If you are into adrenalin highs. By all means, shoot for the lungs.
If you have ever seen what a bear can do when provoked, you wouldn't ask.


JMO

[bearbuster]

My reasoning for the shoulder is the same as KR. I enjoy hunting bears, the shooting of bears, But DO NOT like tracking bears. I have shot a few and very much prefer to walk up and admire than look for blood. If the meat is pf no interest, then there is no real down side to doing this. The head shot to me is not an option. I wouldn't do it unless it was absolutely necesary in self defence
JMHO

[paul1964]

The only time I shoot a bear in the heart lungs is when it is standing then it takes out the back also. I always try for a front shoulder shot bear never goes far. Good luck have fun,Cant wait to see pics.

[Jrbiggamehunter]

Shoot everything in the front shoulder should pile him up right on the spot.

[SHAKER]

Nice to chime in here finally...... DO NOT shoot a bear in the head! if you miss by just a little bit you could be dealing with a very bad situation. If you pack good good sized fire power with good bullets a shoulder shot is good if you "need" to anchor them on the spot. If not then tight behind the leg a 1\3 of the way up works every time! They will probably run about 30-40 yards but will be dead on their feet.

[roger]

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/pictu...&pictureid=504
having bear-ly any experience myself...i had the same question..
found this pickture , hope it helps.
now all i need is the son-of-a-bear to point at then its off to Marco's

[Arn?Narn.]

I guess I'm odd man out,...not the first time LOL

I have heard of people talking about the broken shoulder anchor on Grizz and Brown,...even a couple of guys said to do it on moose...

Just don't get why it's a popular shot on the blackies...

I have shot a number of bears, never tried to anchor one before..
Just tuck it in behind the shoulder and pick the bear up on the spot or within 20 yrds. job done...

I can't even begin to imagine the disadvantage a bow hunter is at, if indeed the shoulder anchor shot is needed to avoid tracking ****ed off bears.

shoot it in the lungs and heart and it will die has been my approach..

I think my days of black bear hunting ended this past spring.

It is wonderful hunting, no matter how you choose to shoot !

Good Luck !

[Dark Horn]

We have shot half a dozen bears behind the shoulder and thankfully none have gone more than 20 yrds. Last one was with the bow and same thing. I won't hesitate to put it there again. At least until I have to track one maybe.

[gunslinger]

Usually i tell everyone to hit em in the front shouldsers for sure, break em down, alot of the power in a bears body is his front legs, this is what he springs with , digs in and gets outa dodge with, If you nail him in the shoulders hes goign to either drop or spin circles which allows you to hammer him again and again..... Alot of time a bear that is hit will go to the deepest nastiest willow infested terrain he can to hide, and if you have to go in after him its a little butt festering..............Hammer him in the hsoulders for sure and even if you shooting out at 250 and hit a little to the right your gonna take his heart out......ive shot 11 of them , all different kinds of them and it works on them all.

[Arn?Narn.]

My shot when hunting will always be an attempt at a lethal shot, rather than a crippling shot.

[Popcan]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

I'm in the shoot em in the shoulder camp.


If you are into adrenalin highs. By all means, shoot for the lungs.
If you have ever seen what a bear can do when provoked, you wouldn't ask.


JMO

The closer it gets to dark, I take'em down with one behind the ear.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by Arn?Narn.

My shot when hunting will always be an attempt at a lethal shot, rather than a crippling shot.

Who aims to cripple? Anyone who thinks he can aim to cripple and finish the job later is a fool.

Make the first shot count, then hit him at least twice more.
If one shot does the job, who am I to judge.

I have my way and it works for me.

I've sat by the campfire and listened to hunters tell about how they could drop an animal with a lung shot at 300 yards, then watched them miss three shots in a row at 100 yards the next morning. With a 375H&H no less.
Big hunters those fellows. Most of them had never hunted alone and most of their hunting was done from an air-conditioned carpeted blind.

[ishootbambi]

Originally Posted by Arn?Narn.

Any particular reason for advocating shoulder shots on black bears?

curious...

i aim for shoulders on everything i shoot....blackies arent special. for me its pretty simple, i have no desire to chase anything around the woods. i am red on green color blind and have a brutal time seeing blood. by breaking the shoulders, nothing... bears, deer, elk.... nothing can run away. lets go back to the energy vs hole talk. the massive energy transfer in the skeletal support will take almost any animal off its feet and with broken shoulders they cant get up.

Originally Posted by Arn?Narn.

My shot when hunting will always be an attempt at a lethal shot, rather than a crippling shot.

the great thing about the shoulders of game animals is that everything between them is vital goo. the hole created will cause death no sweat. the immobilizing skeletal damage means no tracking job. sometimes a follow up shot is required, but rarely. the shoulders are a killing shot the vast majority of the time.

[Arn?Narn.]

As I said above,.. I aim for lethal shots, not cripplers..

I hear people talk about giving animals their just respect, and each man has hiw own conscience and moral compass,..

I would not hunt any animal with the intention of taking a crippling shot...

But that's just me... we all do what we are comfortable with...

[Arn?Narn.]

IMO,...shoulder shots are wasted meat, crippling, non vitals and often require subseqent shots, though the animal does stay in the one place.

[Arn?Narn.]

Originally Posted by ishootbambi

i aim for shoulders on everything i shoot....blackies arent special. for me its pretty simple, i have no desire to chase anything around the woods. i am red on green color blind and have a brutal time seeing blood. by breaking the shoulders, nothing... bears, deer, elk.... nothing can run away. lets go back to the energy vs hole talk. the massive energy transfer in the skeletal support will take almost any animal off its feet and with broken shoulders they cant get up.




the great thing about the shoulders of game animals is that everything between them is vital goo. the hole created will cause death no sweat. the immobilizing skeletal damage means no tracking job. sometimes a follow up shot is required, but rarely. the shoulders are a killing shot the vast majority of the time.

I have seen at least 10 moose shoulder shot,...and all were anything but lethal. Perhaps lethal if you want to wait 15 minutes while the animal thrashes around and freaks out...this has been my experience.

I have never had an issue with animals shot through the heart, lungs or both...

[ishootbambi]

Originally Posted by Arn?Narn.

IMO,...shoulder shots are wasted meat, crippling, non vitals and often require subseqent shots, though the animal does stay in the one place.

with enough gun to drive past the shoulder into the goo, it IS a killing shot under most circumstances. the exception is sharp quartering angles in which case....just like visualizing an arrow when bowhunting...im aiming through the animal to the far shoulder. again, a hole through vitals and a broken far shoulder. if you are crippling with shoulder shots but not killing, then your gun doesnt have enough energy to get past the resistance to put a hole in the vital organs. they do burn up a little meat, but its a trade im willing to make to save tracking, and with my eyes, maybe losing an animal.

my entire life i have lost one big game animal......i truly giant whitetail in the thickest nastiest wooliest river bottom ever. he dropped a fist sized chunk of lung, but we lost the blood trail and never found that deer. i looked for him for 3 days. i know he died....nothing can survive without lungs.....but i missed the shoulder and lost the deer. i sure wish id have lost 5 pounds of shoulder meat rather than a whole animal.

[Arn?Narn.]

If I had a problem with other guys doing it, I would not have been around for subsequent hunts with many good friends and family.

If you have enough gun to go through the shoulder meat, break the bone, continue through the middle and break the other shoulder, and know what your bullet is going to do in the meantime,..and have enough gun, well it's whatever floats your boat.. and far more gun than I use..

I like medium recoiling to light recoiling guns that are accurate enough to allow me confidence in a heart/lung shot...or even head shot...

Even when I hunted by big bores,...I still wanted to do the heart and lungs...

Again,...this just how I hunt and shoot and whatever you do, if it is legal...go ahead.

[SonnyJ]

Heart/lung will put them down everytime..

he dropped a fist sized chunk of lung, but we lost the blood trail and never found that deer.

lololololololo,

[ishootbambi]

im not sure i see the humor renslip....help me out?

[bearbuster]

Arny, Iam not sure why the issue? The shoulder is a killing shot.
After hours of searching for gut shot deer (and finding) I have instructed my newest hunting partner to "follow the legs up half way and shoot'. At the range she is an awesome shot to 250yrds with the .243. On deer, cannot visualise how far behind the shoulder to hold. Now all shots are shoulder and have successfully recovered 3 deer. with the furthest being 165yrds. The problem for you may be with a shoulder shot the animal drops so you witness the final 30seconds or so which are not real pleasant. With a lung shot you can get the same reaction but do not see do to the fact that they are still mobile and it happens 50 +yards further and out of view. Yes there may be some wasted meat but the animal is recovered every time.

[Arn?Narn.]

Originally Posted by bearbuster

Arny, Iam not sure why the issue? The shoulder is a killing shot.
After hours of searching for gut shot deer (and finding) I have instructed my newest hunting partner to "follow the legs up half way and shoot'. At the range she is an awesome shot to 250yrds with the .243. On deer, cannot visualise how far behind the shoulder to hold. Now all shots are shoulder and have successfully recovered 3 deer. with the furthest being 165yrds. The problem for you may be with a shoulder shot the animal drops so you witness the final 30seconds or so which are not real pleasant. With a lung shot you can get the same reaction but do not see do to the fact that they are still mobile and it happens 50 +yards further and out of view. Yes there may be some wasted meat but the animal is recovered every time.

The issue, is my own issue,...not issue with anyone else.... no issue with shoulder shots, just not for me.

As far as the gut shot deer goes,...that is not about shoulder vs behind the shoulder,..it's either a "**** happened" shot, or a shot that the shooter should not have taken
Aim a touch high behind the shoulder is what I do, and what anyone else does, go to it !