Best 7MM bullet and/or factory loaded ammo for a Black Bear under 100 yards?

[Reelamin]

In case he is not, I will say that a bear that has been eating right tastes very good. Apple, huckleberries, plumbs, green grasses, etc

You have to try CORN FED FREE RANGE NON GMO. and or PEAR fed are the best to me.

 

[WYOHTF]

You have to try CORN FED FREE RANGE NON GMO. and or PEAR fed are the best to me.

No non GMO here in the basin, it's all Roundup Ready and pears are just in town.

 

[TXTrained]

Going on a bear hunt, and decided to take a 7MM Rem Mag. I'm not sure if I will have time to reload but what bullet is the best to use on a black bear or, what factory ammo is best to use. Shot should be under 100 yards. Thanks

For such b a short shot why use a lo g flat shooting round.Why not something like a 450 Bushmaster with a Big Lick for Knock Down.
I own both and for c 100 yards or less I'd choose the 450 BM.
If the 7mm Rem. Mag is all you have I understand your choice.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I've taken many black bears with a 45-70 because I think it's just about perfect. However, my outfitter has a guy who hunts bear with him every year with a 22-250. I told him, "that's ridiculous"; but he said the guy is successful every year.

Moral to the story:
Use whatever you've got - anything out of a 7 mag is MORE than enough for a blackie.

More important is what optic you've got on that rifle. Black bears appear out of nowhere, stand in the shadows and could be hard to locate in a 4x scope when they're 15yds away.

 

[Andrew Massi]

Literally any 7mm bullet. You're in bow range

 

[BAKPAKR]

Black bears are not hard to kill. Just pick a bullet between 140 and 175 and go hunting...

This ^^

The Norma ammo you found will do fine.

 

[jbo829]

I killed a North Carolina black bear with a .357 magnum pistol one shot to the chest that was it so any bullet in a 7mm mag will be more than enough just make sure it expands

 

[WildRose]

I killed a North Carolina black bear with a .357 magnum pistol one shot to the chest that was it so any bullet in a 7mm mag will be more than enough just make sure it expands

Make that, "any bullet that penetrates well in a 7mmRM."

Keep in mind, the size of black bears varies greatly across the country. We've got some locally in SW Texas that stand over 6" tall, Northern Canada and Coastal Alaska have BB's that rival the Grizzlies and Brown Bears in size.

Time of year and condition also make a big difference. A fat fall bear has a lot more protecting his vitals than a spring or early summer bear.

 

[mnoland30]

I like high sectional density in my 7mm. 160 gr. or better.

I went on a special bear hunt on the Via Vidal in NM. Game & Fish treated me like a hero when I brought the hide in for tagging. The bears will grid an elk calving meadow until they find the calves. The elk herd was declining rapidly.

The first bear I shot was in my tent. I never wanted to hunt bear until I started seeing more bears than deer. We saw 10 bears on a week long hunt.

I shot a bear that had broken into Taos ski area. I think he was downstairs drinking beer. They're supposed to put down any bear that breaks into a building, but this one was shot 200 miles from where they released it. I don't believe it hibernated that year. It had 4 inches of fat on its back in the spring. My granddaughter said it was the best meat she had ever tasted. It is all about what they eat.

 

[jbo829]

Make that, "any bullet that penetrates well in a 7mmRM."

Keep in mind, the size of black bears varies greatly across the country. We've got some locally in SW Texas that stand over 6" tall, Northern Canada and Coastal Alaska have BB's that rival the Grizzlies and Brown Bears in size.

Time of year and condition also make a big difference. A fat fall bear has a lot more protecting his vitals than a spring or early summer bear.

Sir you are correct on that mine was a small bear she was 6 years old and was 5'10" tall nevered weighed her but she died on a very snowy day and had about 2" of fat on her I've hear the coastal side of NC has 600+ lbs bears here in my neck of the woods of TN where I hunt I've seen 3 but they seem to be under 300 lbs

 

[coyote wacker]

At that distance a flat base round nose jacketed bullet in 175 gr. class would do it.

I've guided bear hunters for over 45 years in Michigan over bait seen them shot with many 7mm Rem Mags one bullet I would never allow any one to use is 175 gr. bullet....black bears are not much tuffer that a large deer and a 175 gr bullets is just more than what is needed.....problem is a 175 gr. bullet just don't seam to mushroom a lot and will just push threw a bear and go out the other side putting most of its energy in a tree or dirt....
Not saying it will not kill a black bear just not a choice I would even consider....
I would tell every bear hunter I guided to use the same gun and bullet as you would use hunting deer....it will work I've seen it work.....
Actually black bears are not that tough with a proper shot.....deer with the same shot will go farther than a bear.....
Only problem is bears are usually shot in fall cover is still thick and a bear has long hair to absorb blood some times making tracking difficult.....

 

[WildRose]

I've guided bear hunters for over 45 years in Michigan over bait seen them shot with many 7mm Rem Mags one bullet I would never allow any one to use is 175 gr. bullet....black bears are not much tuffer that a large deer and a 175 gr bullets is just more than what is needed.....problem is a 175 gr. bullet just don't seam to mushroom a lot and will just push threw a bear and go out the other side putting most of its energy in a tree or dirt....
Not saying it will not kill a black bear just not a choice I would even consider....
I would tell every bear hunter I guided to use the same gun and bullet as you would use hunting deer....it will work I've seen it work.....
Actually black bears are not that tough with a proper shot.....deer with the same shot will go farther than a bear.....
Only problem is bears are usually shot in fall cover is still thick and a bear has long hair to absorb blood some times making tracking difficult.....

The weight of the bullet has far less to do with penetration than the type of bullet used.

There are a whole lot of 175gr class bullets on the market that have dramatically different terminal ballistics.

As for difficulty in tracking, two holes bleed a whole lot better than one.

 

[DakotaFire101]

Back in 2004 my old man shot the 3rd largest black bear on record in Saskatchewan. Not sure of the height and weight on it bit the skull measured at 21 7/16. Taxidermist had to use a grizzly bear form to full body mount it. He used a plain jane remington 700 bdl 7mm rem mag with 150 gr winchester soft point factory loads. Don't overthink it, they're not hard to put down with a good shot. I believe gunwerks has a video somewhere of a couple bears getting killed at extended distances with a 6xc.

 

[WildRose]

Back in 2004 my old man shot the 3rd largest black bear on record in Saskatchewan. Not sure of the height and weight on it bit the skull measured at 21 7/16. Taxidermist had to use a grizzly bear form to full body mount it. He used a plain jane remington 700 bdl 7mm rem mag with 150 gr winchester soft point factory loads. Don't overthink it, they're not hard to put down with a good shot. I believe gunwerks has a video somewhere of a couple bears getting killed at extended distances with a 6xc.

While not ideal for our purposes, that was actually a pretty decent hunting bullet for shots up to about 250yds.