What bullet for black bears?

[OG-danimal]

Let's hear it

 

[Calvin45]

The hammer or the eldx. Whichever shoots best in your rifle.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

This should be good.

If we're talking blackies then your over thinking it. Black bear are not hard to kill. We've never had a bear walk away from a eld-m. We've killed a few with the 140 eld-m.

 

[Calvin45]

This should be good.

If we're talking blackies then your over thinking it. Black bear are not hard to kill. We've never had a bear walk away from a eld-m. We've killed a few with the 140 eld-m.

Hehehe…I do recall a recent thread about Saskatchewan black bear hunting, guy looking for bullet recommendations for hammer bullets in a .308 Winchester

Turned into a real ugly train wreck with someone getting banned and a ****ing match between rival monolithic bullet manufacturers haha.

People got so heated!

I stated about the same as you…

Just about any hunting bullet out of any "all around" rifle will be fine.

I have no doubt your 140 eldm will kill fine but I will say for any kind of bear I am still a big fan of big exit wounds and match bullets dont inspire as much confidence for those.

I will also say that, just for myself, I'd definitely prefer to get way closer than 500 yards to a bear of any kind, unlike deer and such. Maybe just bias but the stakes inherently feel higher.

But you're right, a black bear is plainly not a hard critter to kill and doesn't present as much danger to you if somehow something goes wrong.

To the OP - might be good if you haven't done this before to really familiarize yourself with bear anatomy - their proportions are different from the ungulates we mostly hunt and the heart and lungs aren't exactly positioned the same way relative to the shoulders and such. And as we've all heard 1000 times, shot placement is always the most important thing.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Hehehe…I do recall a recent thread about Saskatchewan black bear hunting, guy looking for bullet recommendations for hammer bullets in a .308 Winchester

Turned into a real ugly train wreck with someone getting banned and a ****ing match between rival monolithic bullet manufacturers haha.

People got so heated!

I stated about the same as you…

Just about any hunting bullet out of any "all around" rifle will be fine.

I have no doubt your 140 eldm will kill fine but I will say for any kind of bear I am still a big fan of big exit wounds and match bullets dont inspire as much confidence for those.

I will also say that, just for myself, I'd definitely prefer to get way closer than 500 yards to a bear of any kind, unlike deer and such. Maybe just bias but the stakes inherently feel higher.

But you're right, a black bear is plainly not a hard critter to kill and doesn't present as much danger to you if somehow something goes wrong.

To the OP - might be good if you haven't done this before to really familiarize yourself with bear anatomy - their proportions are different from the ungulates we mostly hunt and the heart and lungs aren't exactly positioned the same way relative to the shoulders and such. And as we've all heard 1000 times, shot placement is always the most important thing.

I saw that thread. That was certainly tragic to say the least. I wasn't saying to use the eld-m specifically. Just saying it doesn't necessarily matter what you use. Treat them like you do whitetail and all will be good. I know what your saying about exits. They have a tendency to plug up pretty quick. Ive only had one eld-m not exit but we always use heavy for caliber at a milder velocity. We kill them with the same archery set up that we use on deer as well.

 

[Buckskinner]

Same thing you use when deer hunting will suffice.

 

[Calvin45]

I saw that thread. That was certainly tragic to say the least. I wasn't saying to use the eld-m specifically. Just saying it doesn't necessarily matter what you use. Treat them like you do whitetail and all will be good. I know what your saying about exits. They have a tendency to plug up pretty quick. Ive only had one eld-m not exit but we always use heavy for caliber at a milder velocity. We kill them with the same archery set up that we use on deer as well.

Only eld m I have experience with hunting is the 225 30 cal. I've loved what I've seen.

 

[dogz]

Same thing you use when deer hunting will suffice.

Darn good point!

Side note, I've a lot of bear killing experience. I want a bullet that will give me 2 holes.

Secondly, and this is just an observation but cut that range to 300 or less and you could well be happy that you did. If...one muffs a shot on a bruin I would bet each and every time on one never recovering the bruin. Just one man's experience and opinion and obviously we all have choices to make

 

[wvbearhunter]

As stated, they are particularly hard to kill. I use a 357 mag Winchester with a 158 grain projectile at 2200fps

 

[OG-danimal]

Thanks all. Good info here. I'll decrease my range and stick to my 124 hammer load, shoots lights out.

 

[JiggyIi]

Hehehe…I do recall a recent thread about Saskatchewan black bear hunting, guy looking for bullet recommendations for hammer bullets in a .308 Winchester

Turned into a real ugly train wreck with someone getting banned and a ****ing match between rival monolithic bullet manufacturers haha.

People got so heated!

I stated about the same as you…

Just about any hunting bullet out of any "all around" rifle will be fine.

I have no doubt your 140 eldm will kill fine but I will say for any kind of bear I am still a big fan of big exit wounds and match bullets dont inspire as much confidence for those.

I will also say that, just for myself, I'd definitely prefer to get way closer than 500 yards to a bear of any kind, unlike deer and such. Maybe just bias but the stakes inherently feel higher.

But you're right, a black bear is plainly not a hard critter to kill and doesn't present as much danger to you if somehow something goes wrong.

To the OP - might be good if you haven't done this before to really familiarize yourself with bear anatomy - their proportions are different from the ungulates we mostly hunt and the heart and lungs aren't exactly positioned the same way relative to the shoulders and such. And as we've all heard 1000 times, shot placement is always the most important thing.

The bigger entrance hole the better 35 Whelen 338 WM 444 marlin, 45/70 etc

 

[RidgeTop]

Killed some with 30-30 and now use .350Marlin. 1894M Just don't hit them when they are moving - they can go a long ways if you don't drop them.

 

[sea2summit]

AMAX? I've shot a lot of black bears, they don't take a whole lot with well placed rounds/hunting conditions.

 

[ratso000]

The bigger entrance hole the better 35 Whelen 338 WM 444 marlin, 45/70 etc

I shot a large black bear in Vancouver Island at 165 yards with a 375 HH mag..300 grain Nosler partition he went 20 yards.
The guide was also carried a 375..exit hole was 2"..