Black bear round

[rdsii64]

I would like to believe that when hunting any kind of bear, you would use the biggest caliber that you can shoot accurately. . I would prefer to use a .300 winmag or at a minimum .30-06. Considering that black bear are not that large when compared to other bears, coupled with the fact that I currently only have one rifle, can you reasonably expect a one shot clean kill on black bear with a .308?

[screech]

If we are talking the normal hunting shot of up to 500 then yes a 308 with the right bullet in the right place will work just fine. Not that I would suggest it but I have seen black bears killed with a 22-250 in a tree and I use a 243 on bears with good luck. It dosent take much to kill a black bear. well at least the ones in Idaho. The biggest one I have ever shot was in the 250lb range so If you get where they are bigger it may be a different story.

Also most of the bears I hunt are on a bait but I have shot a few in the big open hillsides in the spring.

[Akbushape]

Yes rdsii64, the 308 will work fine on black bear. It is big enough to bust down the shoulder on a black bear and still make it to the boiler room. Use a good bullet, not a hollow point. Place your shot good and it'll do it's part. I have killed several with a 300 savage and some with the 30-30.
If you hit them behind the shoulder and through the heart they can still run farther than one might think, but if you bust the shoulder and get into the
heart/lung cavity he won't get far.

[angus-5024]

rdsii64,
.308 is fine with good shot placment. I preffer a little overkill because I don't really like tracking. my dad shot a monster 420lbs bruin with a .284 breaking the shoulder and taking both lungs @80yrd and the thing still went over 300yrd into thick, thick bush. we tracked it and he made and identical shot, droping it in its tracks. it was a very good shot, not heart but very good nontheless, and we had to track it. I on the other hand have shot 6 black bears in 4 years and they all droped in there tracks except one. The 5 that I killed on the spot i shot with a .340wby. the one that ran I shot with an 30-06.
the '06 hit the heart but had poor expansion and penetration, because I used a cheap bullet. lesson learned.
So my advice is this, use a bigger gun if you can, but if you cant make sure you use a good quality bullet.
my 2 bits.
jordan

[Varmint Hunter]

Last year my buddy shot a 356 lb black bear. He used a 30-06 with the 180gr CoreLockt bullet. Broadside hit with a complete pass through. The bear left a blood trail that Ray Charles could have followed. Bear was DOA about 50 yards away.

Black bear are just not that hard to kill. Your .308 is plenty of gun for them.

[EastHunter]

For hunting over bait or max 200yrd shoot the 444mar is the thing!
Noting bring big bruin to ground like it.

[Derek M.]

Originally Posted by rdsii64

I would like to believe that when hunting any kind of bear, you would use the biggest caliber that you can shoot accurately. . I would prefer to use a .300 winmag or at a minimum .30-06. Considering that black bear are not that large when compared to other bears, coupled with the fact that I currently only have one rifle, can you reasonably expect a one shot clean kill on black bear with a .308?

ABSOLUTELY!!

The 308 is MORE than adequate for black bear, even out to 300 yards. Stuff a 168 TTSX in there over Re15, IMR4064, or Varget and go kill one.

A buddy of mine took his girlfriend on her first ever hunt in NB this past spring and she killed a 300+ pounder with his 243 and a 95 btip at about 10 yards.

Relax, go take your 308 hunting and watch it ruin a bear's day.