Anybody head shoot a bear?

[alanger]

shot my bear like 4 times in the head and didnt die, 7mm-08

[JackOfAllTrades]

One thing to keep in mind about head shots is that they do not always result in dropping the animal in its tracks.

True!  In my lifetime, I've seen several bears taken with traditional heart/lung shots and have witnessed three failed head shots that did hit scull that did not drop the bears. None were recovered. There is no blood trail. Two were from behind, one from the side. Yeah, they tumbled, but did run away.. Maybe to die. All shots were with 30-06 at less than 200yds with quality bullets.  I would take a neck shot at the base of the scull before I would ever take a skull shot. But I would always look for a mid body vital shot first. Otherwise, pass.

-Steve

[k_rex]

While my dad was hound hunting years ago, his partner shot a treed bear in the head with a 308.  The impact knocked the bear out of the tree and it hit the ground running.  A few (or more) shots from their revolvers later and the bear came to rest at their feet.  After dressing it out they inspected the entrance and exit of the head shot and found that the bullet had never made its way through the skull.  The round landed between the eyes and glanced upward off of the bone exiting at the top of the forehead. 

[link]

I've shot two in the head. Both were under 20 yards though. The first one was in Curlew when I was a kid deer hunting. I was sitting in a stand of timber watching a thinned area, and heard a twig snap behind me. I looked over and there was a bear walking right behind me, I mean maybe 5 yards! It gets out to my left about 20 yds and sits down like a dog, watching the same area I was. I just raised my rifle and shot her in the head. She was a nice sow, close to six feet and had a hide like a sheep. Love those later season bear hides.
The second one was just one I snuck up on just for kicks and ended up shooting it at about 10 yards.

[Hornseeker]

Well, I grew up hound hunting and most all the bears I killed were 1-40 feet...thats the only shot we ever took. If you heart shoot or lung shoot one he'll keep kicking just long enough to eat a dog up pretty good... so brain shots were the recipe of choice. If I'm hunting without dogs...I"ll take the heart/lung shot unless he's REAL close.

I saw maybe 200 bears hit the dirt with head shots and they rarely went bad... but like I said...10-30 feet was probably average....

As mentioned above....its not a good choice at longer range because sometimes you end up blowing a jaw off and they get away and starve to death later...same with deer or elk...

[BOWHUNTER45]

shot my bear like 4 times in the head and didnt die, 7mm-08

  HUH .. What you shootin blanks ?  what grain bullet ? last time I seen one shot with a 7mm 08 it got spanked ...

[uplandhunter870]

i have twice, first was around 125yds with a 300wsm right above the left eye, the pics are not appropriate for posting lets just say there isnt a taxi in the world that world that would even attempt a mount or rug.

second was with a 243 around 75yds again right above the left eye, pics again not appropriate but less hide damage only an entry hole the skull im sure is a mess still waiting on word from my taxi as to if its even euro mountable. with this one we recovered the bullet from the base of the spine.

both shots put the animals down in their tracks. both times these were the only shots i had presented.

is it the best way to kill a bear?, as we can see the jury is still out it worked for me and were clean quick kills

do i prefer to shoot bears in the head? no, but i will if its the only opportunity that presents itself

[True Sportsman]

Well, I grew up hound hunting and most all the bears I killed were 1-40 feet...thats the only shot we ever took. If you heart shoot or lung shoot one he'll keep kicking just long enough to eat a dog up pretty good... so brain shots were the recipe of choice. If I'm hunting without dogs...I"ll take the heart/lung shot unless he's REAL close.

I saw maybe 200 bears hit the dirt with head shots and they rarely went bad... but like I said...10-30 feet was probably average....

As mentioned above....its not a good choice at longer range because sometimes you end up blowing a jaw off and they get away and starve to death later...same with deer or elk...

Great stories, thanks for sharing that stuff.

[Swatson]

Shot a stud 530 pounder in the Colockum elk hunting when I was a kid(1997).  Found him eating a dead cow and never got a shot.  Took my buddy back in there with me the next morning and found him eating on her again.  My buddy put the first round in his shoulder with his .270.  After a very long track I put 3 more rounds in his head(one hit him in the snout) in thick brush at about 20 yards from my 30-06(180 grain).  That just stood him up on his hind legs and pissed him off!  Two more rounds from the 30-06 and .270 behind the shoulder finally put him down!  Taxedermist skinned him out(yes we put him on a meat pole and packed him out whole, only about a mile or so from a road) and the head shot bullets dropped to floor as they didn't penetrate and just layed in their behind the hide.  He was estimated by wdfw at 19.5 years old.  One of his rear paws was a nub(maybe got caught in a trap at one time and chewed his way out).  Taxedermist knew of this bear as apparently a lot of locals did as well as he had been run several times by dogs and was obviously unique in the fact that he was running on a rear nub!  My buddy put the tag on him and has the shoulder mount(I'd a done a rug).  Was young a dumb back then and didn't know what a true trophy we really had.  My buddy never got him scored but was told by the taxedermist and several others it woulda scored way up there in the Washington books.

[carpsniperg2]

Well, I grew up hound hunting and most all the bears I killed were 1-40 feet...thats the only shot we ever took. If you heart shoot or lung shoot one he'll keep kicking just long enough to eat a dog up pretty good... so brain shots were the recipe of choice. If I'm hunting without dogs...I"ll take the heart/lung shot unless he's REAL close.

I saw maybe 200 bears hit the dirt with head shots and they rarely went bad... but like I said...10-30 feet was probably average....

As mentioned above....its not a good choice at longer range because sometimes you end up blowing a jaw off and they get away and starve to death later...same with deer or elk...

My thoughts as well. I shot my first bear in the head at about 50y, and it was a done deal. If its a close shot, and you know your gun very well and have a solid rest. A head shot with good placement works great!

[blacktailcrzy]

my first bear was shot i the back of the head and it dropped in its tracks 

[CementFinisher]

Head shot mine in 2010, crumbled damm quick

[beardog T]

never shot a bear in the head. all the bears ive killed have been over 300 to 600 yards. except the one i smoked with my bow  . but i would shoot a bear in the head if close enough. cuz them beasts can pack some lead lol