I came across an article from Joe Riekers concerning proper bullets for bear hunting that mirrored my own thinking on calibers and loads so I thought I would do a post on this subject. Joe starts his article by mentioning that black bears have been taken with all manner or firearms, including handguns, varmint rifles, black powder guns shooting .50 cal round balls etc.
He then gets into the nitty gritty of what one should use if he or she takes black bear hunting over bait seriously. Three factors he considers important to success in north east bait scenarios are the bear's anatomy, the close range and the downward angle of the shot.
The only variable is shot placement. One should practice from an elevated stand if hunting bear over bait from a tree stand. This will help you to determine the angle of the downward shot and what vitals you are likely to hit, especially if you can use some sort of 3D type target showing vitals. One has to imagine a straight line through the bear and has to consider not only the entrance hole, but where the bullets path will take it through the vitals.
CLOSE RANGE: Most bear baits are set up from 25 to 50 yards. I have seen them set up at 100 yards in some camps. The close range of many of these baits determines the type of load you should be shooting. ALL bullets are designed to perform best within certain limits. You can take advantage of these close range situations by using premium or hard cast bullets in .35 caliber or larger in diameter and a nominal velocity for the bullet design. Joe mentions that this would include the .35 Remington, .44 mag and .45 Colt , .358 Win, .444 Marlin, 45-70, .450 Marlin, .50 Alaskan and also .45 and .50 cal muzzle loaders and 20 and 12 gauge slugs of proper weight and composition. Your favorite load may not be listed, however this list is intended to be a guideline. not an all inclusive list. The bullets normally used in these calibers are already working within their intended parameters. You end up with a .35 cal and above rifle with a heavy for caliber bullet at a moderate velocity. These are near perfect for close range baited bear situations, and provide a better chance of complete penetration leaving and entry and an exit hole to bleed from.
Calibers such as the .270 Win, .280, 25:06, 7mm mag etc. need premium bullets and even then you may take a perfect lung shot which will kill the bear but it the bullet does NOT expand, you may obtain complete penetration and leave only a pencil size hole, inhibiting a decent blood trail. I would either use heavy for caliber expanding bullets and take lung shots or if up close and personal at 25 yards as an example, and using premium bullets, you may want to take a shoulder shot.
(MY INPUT) I would take a look at loads from Buffalo Bore and Garrett cartridges for the .35 Rem, 45-70 etc. I would add to the list the .350 Rem Mag with 225 grain Nosler Partitons and also the .338 Federal with 210 grain Nosler Partitions. In the .308 and 30-06 I would lean towards premium 180 grain loads. In the .35 Rem I would opt for the 220 grain BB load and in the 45-70 either the 405 grain expander load or the 350 grain penetrator load. Garrett loads have the widest meplat of any loads I know of. In muzzle loaders I would use either a bullet like the TC Maxi Ball or perhaps a 300 grain premium shock wave saboted bullet say in a .50 cal ML.
CUP & CORE conventional bullets: These loads consist of melted lead poured into a copper jacket and are fine for hunting whitetails. The problem comes into play with the close range of baited bear sites at 50 yards and under because of the possibility of the bullet still moving way to FAST and the heavy structure of the bear and heavy bones etc. These bullets can fragment and come apart inhibiting their penetration qualities. They would be better if the bait is more like 75 to 100 yards away allowing the bullet to slow down some before impact.
IN a nut shell if you use, larger calibers starting at .35 and up, heavy for caliber and/or premium bullets (vs.) the calibers UNDER .30 cal with bullets impacting outside of their intended parameters because of distance to the bait and the size of the animal being shot you have taken steps to insure a successful hunt.
Dan
Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.
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