Bear guns and loads

[lucky guy]

I don't know what you're gonna find with more shock, stay-togetherness and penetration than the triple shocks.

 

[salmonriverjohn]

Place your shot through the vitals, aiming for the off side shoulder. If you've done your part the rifle will do the rest. We have taken a bunch of bear between the family and I and they were hit with everything from .6mm Remington's to .338 Winchester magnums. If you hit them through the boiler room while aiming for the shoulder on the other side, their dead.

Most well constructed bullets from the lowly Remington Core-lokt to the best bullet that money can buy will travel through what counts the most, and still whack the stuff on the other side if hit right, that hit right thing, that's your part.

 

[Accumark Man]

A 210 grain Berger VLD would cause massive trauma like he is looking for. My hunting partner and I have a killed many bears, elk, & deer with 168 grain Bergers out of a 7mm rem mag going 2920fps. Most of these are drt kills and none required a long tracking. Like many others have said shot placement is everything.

 

[clambo]

Are you guys talking about black bears ? .300 RUM ? Really ? I'm amazed at how many people use stuff like that on black bear. They're not that hard to kill guys. In Washington .22 LR was considered legal 25 years ago or so. It worked. I'm not advocating it, but I use a .300 Savage with factory Remington Corelokt 150 gr. and it kills them as good as anything.

 

[gehrheart]

wow so we are talking about NW bears..
I was pretty happy with my 257 Roberts.
A 30-06 on occasion...

Now Alaska.. Well I generally did not hunt with anything other then my .338 or .340wby loaded with 250gr, (them grizzys can get BIG) And even the blacky's can get big up there.

.300rum is pushing a lot of speed. Regardless of bullet, if you don't hit hard bone my thoughts are you are going to just punch a hole straight through the bear with little damage.
I would stick with heavy bullets no less then 200. Rounded nose not spitzers...

 

[longcolt]

For black bears in Oregon most shots are 200 yards or less. A nice ole 30-06 with about any of the over the counter ammo is more than enough rifle.

 

[Silver Hand]

If you want max penetration through heavy bone, you need three things.
A bullet with bonded construction that will stay together, or a monometal.
If it's not monometal, a bullet made of higher antimony lead that resists deformation against all but the heaviest bone, like the monometal does.
A bullet with sufficient sectional density (length) to retain weight when the nose does deform.

Your prescription of the 200gr Accubond fills the bill nicely IMHO, unless your friend wants to go to a 220gr, and give up a little more range.
Any argument against it ignores the established principles of dangerous game hunting.

I'm not convinced that any of this is necessary for a NW Black Bear though. There are lots of dead black bears from .270 and .25-06 bullets.

There is one school of thought that involves lighter bullets with larger meplats (and higher velocity) that together provide additional impact shock. AKA "the Hammer Effect." Think .35 cal pistol bullets in a .35Whelen for instance.

I have witnessed it on non-dangerous game and it IS impressive, in that it delivers DRT performance, by providing maximum shock. While it doesn't penetrate bone as well, it tends to shatter the first bone it hits.
It also damages a lot of meat, if that is a concern.
But the question is, is one shattered shoulder more lethal than two broken shoulders from better penetration?

The other downside, is that a bullet that provides the Hammer Effect ALWAYS involves a significant loss of downrange performance, as the large(r) meplat does ugly things to the BC of the bullet.
A better round to facilitate the Hammer effect would be a .338 or .35 of some kind too, rather than the .30.
YMMV.

I have seen blacks killed with a .30 carbine. Al a friend of mine killed many treed black bear using that carbine. Many other dog owners I ran with used a 30/30 Winchester. I myself always had the need for something almost as light and handy in the brush but with a bit more stopping power. I excused the experience of the veterans listed above, thinking I had just a bit more sense. I used a 250 grain .35 cal spire point in my .350 Rem. Mag. Mod 660.
As for pistol bullets in your rifle, you better be casting to your bore size first and fully understand what it is you are building regarding material elements, size [diameter] and weight.
Factory .35 Cal. pistol bullets are thin skinned and measure .357 diameters and will fragment upon impact at rifle velocity. Needless to say they do not stabilize well at longer range..
.35 cal. Rifle pills on the other hand are .358 diameters. The poorest have a much tougher jacket and will penetrate then fragment, even if you made the worst choice.
Silver Hand

 

[Trailboss]

For large blacks and browns, the 480 Ruger in the Rossi M92 is a good carry. It holds 11 rounds and can quickly and accurately throw out the shots. I love mine.

 

[coop44]

bears must be mutating kevlar hide and titanium bones

 

[Trailboss]

bears must be mutating kevlar hide and titanium bones

I once was witness to a large black that weighed in a 680 pounds that had 14 30-30 caliber slugs embedded in it when it was skinned. The bear was shot in a country diner, just having torn up the kitchen. A diner dropped it with 1 30-06 in 180gr and finished it with another.

It's best to have a bit more gun than needed rather than too little.

 

[tahoe2]

My personal choice is a Marlin (336) in 375 Winchester with a 220 grn jacked flat point @2200 fps (5 shot) and a
.41 magnum for a backup w/210grn Nosler XTP's @1350 fps (6 shot). Ranges are short, generally 100 yds or less where I hunt.
If I can't get it done with all that artillery, than I shouldn't be out there. LOL
We don't hunt with dogs here and we can't bait them either, so the hunting's tough, but it can be done.
So far I'm not the fortunate one , but it will happen one day when everything is right.

 

[russel78]

I have shot a 200 grain accubond out of my 30j&w for years never had to track a bear yet this is a very good flat shooting long range bullet and doesnt blood shot hardly at all.

 

[Silver Hand]

My personal choice is a Marlin (336) in 375 Winchester with a 220 grn jacked flat point @2200 fps (5 shot) and a
.41 magnum for a backup w/210grn Nosler XTP's @1350 fps (6 shot). Ranges are short, generally 100 yds or less where I hunt.
If I can't get it done with all that artillery, than I shouldn't be out there. LOL
We don't hunt with dogs here and we can't bait them either, so the hunting's tough, but it can be done.
So far I'm not the fortunate one , but it will happen one day when everything is right.
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Nothing personal but if you have never ran with dogs don't talk about hunting being tough.
Silver Hand