Bear hunting…. So why not anchor with a shoulder shot?

[bessiedog]

I don’t really hunt bear… but it seems to me that a guy should break a shoulder and anchor that yogi….and that zaps his vitals as well…

No..?

[V45 sabre]

I've found its worked quite well for me on the 2 bears I've taken. No tracking into the bush required.

[BigJon]

Some do, some don’t. Depending on the angle, a bear (or anything) with 1 shoulder out can still do a pretty good death dash.

[CNP]

Shoulder is a great shot considering that the heart and lungs are more far forward than on a cervid.

[marky_mark]

Shoulder shot on bears works great

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by marky_mark

Shoulder shot on bears works great

I've hunted bears in places where you'd better anchor them where they stand, or never see them again.

Grizz

[C&C Outdoors]

Shoulder shot should work just fine. But that being said, I have always had quick results from placing my shots just behind the shoulder. Chest shots work great as well when given a shot opportunity.

[Smoky buck]

Many do

[sarahfaye]

High shoulder is a very effective anchor shot if your not comfortable with a meat saver neck shot.

[marky_mark]

Originally Posted by sarahfaye

High shoulder is a very effective anchor shot if your not comfortable with a meat saver neck shot.

On a bear, these are probably 2 of the worst shots you could intentionally aim for. Both of them your not going to hit any major organs

[58thecat]

Angles play a huge part cuz ya gotta take both shoulders out taking one out is going to make for a dangerously long recovery if you can’t get follow up shots placed accurately.

Was camping in the mountains many moons ago and on light a fella walks in from out of no where says his client placed a bad shot taking out a shoulder and for us to be careful.....huh....we had another 7 days in the area....

[bessiedog]

…. So there goes my whole anchoring idea…

I shall ponder more

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

…. So there goes my whole anchoring idea…

I shall ponder more

Unless you can break both shoulders you can be on a pack of trouble, even with a small black .
Cat

[marky_mark]

This is where I would aim on this bear
With a quality bullet at a decent velocity this bear would not go far. I was told that for big bears, if the first shot is good, a follow up should go in the hips to immobilize it. Makes sense. Hit ‘em in the hips to the front end after if needed


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[Big Grey Wolf]

Did we not have this discussion a while back. Thought we concluded bears need to be hit much lower than elk/moose as vitals lower in body structure. Just as Marky has shown in his picture.

[Dean2]

Easiest way to answer that question is a picture. I posted this on the head on thread too. As you can see, high shoulder doesn't hit any vitals. The front shoulders are attached with muscle and sinew, hitting one shoulder will not affect a bears mobility a whole bunch, especially with adrenaline running. Even hitting both shoulders does not make them unusable and a drop on the spot shot unless you take out the spine as well

[Ryanpktaxiderm]

or just use a soft fast expanding bullet? I did double lung right behind front leg on a slight quartering angle with a berger hybrid 168g out of my 308 and he dropped like he was hit by a train.

[Wild Bounty]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

I don’t really hunt bear… but it seems to me that a guy should break a shoulder and anchor that yogi….and that zaps his vitals as well…

No..?

Everyone can say what they want but , every time I see both shoulders exposed, I will aim for that and they drop in their tracks each time

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by Wild Bounty

Everyone can say what they want but , every time I see both shoulders exposed, I will aim for that and they drop in their tracks each time

Personally, I have never seen a Bear wearing a strapless off the shoulder dress, but if I ever do ........!

[bessiedog]

You get far enough off the hwy rotes in Northern Alberta…

There b sum hairy wimin…

[Wild Bounty]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Personally, I have never seen a Bear wearing a strapless off the shoulder dress, but if I ever do ........!

[Bigwoodsman]

September 2002 hunting moose North of Red Earth Creek. I had a bull hanging in camp and was out calling for my Dad. Had a bear tag in my pocket. Set up on a cross of cutlines for an evening call. No wind, clear evening. Two calls in I see a big black bear come out of the bush onto the cutline and loping towards me. I'm shooting a 7MM Remington Mag with Federal premium 175 grain bullets. At 50 yards I touch one off tagging him in his heart. He was blown over backwards and runs off into the bush. Wait 20 minutes then go and find a blood trail about 20 inches wide, bright red and leaking pretty good. 40 yards in we find him stone dead. Skinned and gutted him out, his heart had disintegrated.

I always studied animal anatomy and went for the heart every time and only recall a few headshots on supplemental whitetail doe tags or anterless mule deer tags. Most of the time I've taken the heart out, if not then the lungs etc will kill them in short order.

That bear squared at 6.5 feet and we estimate he was near 350 pounds.

BW

[270person]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Personally, I have never seen a Bear wearing a strapless off the shoulder dress, but if I ever do ........!

Go on...finish the sentence.

[Smoky buck]

Lots of different ways to get the job done just pay attention to anatomy and angles. Lots of different options to drop a bear and yes pinning the shoulders can work

Personally I say be versatile and know all your options because in the moment you may not have time to wait for the shot you dream of. Work with what the opportunity presents you is the way to go in my books

[treeroot]

I aim for lungs/heart because I shoot them for the meat. On a decent bear, there's lots of meat on the front 1/4's.

A friend aims for "middle of the middle" and does well. I aim more towards the front then middle

[roper1]

Seen high shoulder shot where the leg is completely broken, 2" of bone gone. Bear could & did still climb a tree. We shoot for vitals now, much better luck!

[PartTimeHunter]

I've never understood the idea of "anchoring" them with a shoulder shot. Hit the vitals it will die

[treeroot]

Originally Posted by PartTimeHunter

I've never understood the idea of "anchoring" them with a shoulder shot. Hit the vitals it will die

True.. but what I have found with bears (and others as well) is they don't bleed much most of the time. If you hit the lungs, they will usually take off and they can go quite far, but you don't usually get a great blood trail.. And bears always seem to run to the thickest, nastiest stuff they can find when they get shot. Those places the you need to step on the bear before you actually find them.

The fat on a fall bear fills the hole better then a needle and thread.. and any blood that does leak out, has to make the fur around it sopping wet before it drips. The fur is a giant sponge that must be saturated before it drips..

I've shot a bear that died 25 feet from where it stood. I drug it out of the bush and got it into the truck.. not a single smear or drop of blood in the drag marks or in the truck. I had to push on the bear to hear where the hole was in its lungs. I found the hole with my hand, but no blood came out of the hole.

They are odd animals for sure.

[PartTimeHunter]

Yeah but ..... I've seen one or two and heard of many a critter run (and do well) on three legs. A mad bear with a pucked up shoulder has incentive to come at you

[glen moa]

#1. Kill the bear.
#2. Hope it is dead near the truck.
When hunting it’s heart lung because I know it will be dead. Shoot and reload fast for possible follow up. Many times I shoot back up. Buddy shoots then I shoot a second after. Sometimes that’s at a 30mph bear. But it works.