whats a good rifle caliber for bear

[barracuda163]

From another bear thread, this was the caliber of choice in a poll I was taking.



Pretty much the same case as a .30-30, but with almost straight walls instead of being necked down. My load is a 220 grain bullet with RL-7. IIRC, runs about 2200 fps. I've never shot anything but paper and steel with it, but it is reputed to be a great woods and/or large animal cartridge. I used to always bring it along when elk hunting for those rainy days in the deep woods down near HQ road south of Castle Rock.

Great cartridge!  I would not hesitate to carry this in Alaska.

[jdb]

 :yeah:I'd love to have a marlin .375!

[Wetwoodshunter]

I really like 7mm's I have a couple 7mm rem mags and a couple 7mm-08's. When I leave the house I always end up taking my 7mm rem mag because we end up taking some long shots. This weekend I shot at a 12" wide flat rock and hit it from 900 yards as we were leaving a unit.

The 7mm's have great stopping power on game, I have seen my 7mag at 180 yards with a 175 gr. rem core lockt blow a standing Roosevelt elk over on its side lift up its head and expire. I also shot a 350 lb black bear clean through under the front left and exited right in front of the right hip going through 4 feet of bear with a 150 gr partition the bear went about 40 yards dead on its feet. The longest shot I took on a bear was ranged at 674 with federal fusions 150 gr. the bear took off into an alder bottom started yowling in the trees and expired about 70 yards away. Bullet mushroomed and was against a rib on the other side from a uphill shot.

But for your rifle selection it depends on what type of country you like to hunt bear in. 7mm-08 is a great gun for shorter applications I have also watched an instant death from one at about 50 yards on a cow elk over in Montana. I normally carry a longer ranged rifle because most of the people I like to hunt with don't like to shoot past 400 and you miss a lot of opportunities if you can't reach out a little farther. You could easily get comfortable shooting out to 400, maybe a little past there on game with a good bullet with a 7mm-08 and a turret.

I'm partial to 7's and I have more of them than any other guns, but that is what I have hunted with for the last 5 years. (before that all archery) Is the 30-06, .308 a good option? - Absolutely- My dad shoots a .30-06 and loves it, is it better than my 7mm rem mag that I have grown to love? Don't know never watched something walk away after it got shot by either gun. But the .30-06 can take some heavier loads if your doing some brush hunting this is a little bit of a bonus.

Also for bear and elk, don't look past the .270 my cousin got a Rosie last year at 800 yards with a single well placed shot shooting a 139 grin barnes something or other (its a blue bullet?). The shot broke through a rib, and went about 1/2 of the way through the vital cavity. Yes the bull walked 100 yards and the bullet didn't exit but if thats the gun your comfortable shooting its the right choice for you. Contrary to popular belief bears and elk are not armor toting animals impervious to bullets. You also don't need a pass through to kill, poke a hole in a lung and its game over.

Also as a last note, my preference is to stay away from stuff like the .375 Win or the 30-30. Sure you see animals in that range and its a great gun at short ranges but what if you decide to do a Montana Elk hunt or get drawn for sheep or moose, or see that giant bear at 500 yards about to go into thick timber? If you are hunting the same rifle for years and are comfortable with it your going to make that shot when it counts, I feel that lever guns although very cool are extremely limited in what applications they are good at. 

[Rich_S]

I really like 7mm's I have a couple 7mm rem mags and a couple 7mm-08's. (snip) . . . If you are hunting the same rifle for years and are comfortable with it your going to make that shot when it counts, I feel that lever guns although very cool are extremely limited in what applications they are good at. 

And yet . . . you can have both!



139 gr. 7mm @ 3100 fps. - Model 88 in .284 Winchester.

[Wetwoodshunter]

Well played Rich. I'll have to add that to the list of stuff to get in my safe.

[Bofire]

 :)if it will work for deer it'll work for bear.
Carl

[Rich_S]

Well played Rich. I'll have to add that to the list of stuff to get in my safe.

I'll be happy to bring it up so's you can take some pictures to see how it looks in your safe (not for sale though). If we can go fishing for Kings later. Caught my first salmon near there - a 35 lb. King on mooching gear. What a thrill!

[rasbo]

almost all my bears were killed with a .308 carbine,open sites..For the wetside it has been perfect for bears.

[tgomez]

.270 WSM would be awesome for a youth!! Coyotes to Moose covered, short action and ohhhhhhh the FLAT shooting. Would of loved one as a kid. Cant go wrong with a good Remington 308 either.

[JimmyHoffa]

Bill Hulet was a professional bear manager on the peninsula and killed over 3,500 bear, I think most were with a .348 Win, and Ralph Flowers was another bear manager in almost the same area that killed something like 1,500 mostly with a .270 Win.

[Machias]

I really like 7mm's I have a couple 7mm rem mags and a couple 7mm-08's. (snip) . . . If you are hunting the same rifle for years and are comfortable with it your going to make that shot when it counts, I feel that lever guns although very cool are extremely limited in what applications they are good at. 

And yet . . . you can have both!



139 gr. 7mm @ 3100 fps. - Model 88 in .284 Winchester.

Instant flash back and memories.  My first rifle at 15 was a Win Model 88, .308.  My Dad got it while stationed in Turkey for wild boar hunting.  Lost it in a house fire many years ago.  LOVED that rifle!!!!

[Jonathan_S]

.270 WSM would be awesome for a youth!! Coyotes to Moose covered, short action and ohhhhhhh the FLAT shooting. Would of loved one as a kid. Cant go wrong with a good Remington 308 either.

Yeah it's a great cartridge but I would never buy a kid a WSM...too much bite and flinching is tough to recover from.

[gilroym]

I prefer 30-06 as the variety it has for load sizes can help her progress. Start off with lighter loads then she can move up to hotter load as she get more comfortable. I feel 30-06 has the biggest variety.

[Stein]

I prefer 30-06 as the variety it has for load sizes can help her progress. Start off with lighter loads then she can move up to hotter load as she get more comfortable. I feel 30-06 has the biggest variety.

Saved the world and still works fantastic for any US big game.

[mountainman]

Smile every year when this topic comes up. Usually it is a little argumentative though! 😄Usually goes something like...

".223 is all you need, bears are wussies"

Followed by..

"Wouldn't hunt them with annything less then a .375 Whizbang magnum"

Usually ends with a more common sense..

" use what you are comfortable with. Good for deer, good for bear"

Thinking back on bears I have harvested,  with everything from small to large calibers, maybe half of them (12ish) have been taken with the trusty old 30-06! Like stated above, good enough for any north American big game! 👍