# Whats a good cartridge for bear?



## Onwardoutdoors (Oct 9, 2016)

Alright guys, don't make too much fun of me for asking because this is my first year chasing black bears. I've had a few close calls with my recurve but couldn't finish the deal. I am debating weather I should buy a larger caliber rifle because I dont want to play hide and seek with a black bear. I have a 30-06 that I do most of my rifle hunting with as well as a .308. Should I try to find something bigger? I had a friend say that 375 h&h was a good cartridge for bear . What is yalls opinion on it? any and every bit of information is useful to me. Thanks


----------



## smoothie (Oct 9, 2016)

If you are chasing bear especially Georgia black bear then your 30-06 is definitely enough rifle. 180 Remington core lokt round nose would devastate them


----------



## Flaustin1 (Oct 10, 2016)

Theyre just black bears.  Any normal deer caliber is fine.


----------



## northgeorgiasportsman (Oct 10, 2016)

Flaustin1 said:


> Theyre just black bears.  Any normal deer caliber is fine.



Yep, the majority of bears killed in Georgia are no larger than a whitetail buck and certainly no harder to kill.


----------



## hoochman2 (Oct 10, 2016)

ive killed them with 243 to a 7mm. nothing special needed


----------



## Onwardoutdoors (Oct 10, 2016)

Thanks guys.  I appreciate it


----------



## Barebowyer (Oct 10, 2016)

Deer take a bullet or an arrow better than bears do.....even a 430 lber I shot with recurve went 25 yards and piled up......your deer rifle is more than enough.


----------



## Hammer Spank (Oct 10, 2016)

Stay away from ballistic tips and you will be fine


----------



## Unicoidawg (Oct 10, 2016)

Flaustin1 said:


> Theyre just black bears.  Any normal deer caliber is fine.



This^^^^^ proper shot placement and they'll fold up like a lawn chair.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Oct 10, 2016)

Probably 90% of the bears killed in the NC mountains over the last hundred years have been killed with a .30-30, it's always been the "standard" bear caliber around here. So yeah, your '06 or .308 are either plenty of gun.


----------



## Buckman18 (Oct 10, 2016)

Shot placement on a bear is more important than caliber. Notice the vitals are a bit further back than on a deer. I have seen bears shot in the shoulder go a long long way before expiring.


----------



## Hammer Spank (Oct 10, 2016)

People have been pulling up that diagram for a long time and it is dangerously innaccurate.


----------



## Onwardoutdoors (Oct 10, 2016)

I fallow the gritty bowmen podcast and I saw Aron Snyder center punch one with his recurve and it only ran like 45 yards. so I would think that the vitals are further back than a deer. 

I decided I will be using my 30-06, What bullet is good? currently I shoot a 200 grain nosler partion, My remington 700 seems to like that bullet. I can ususaly shoot about a 1/2 inch group at a 100. I know that the gun is capable of better but that is about the most I can acheive with my hand loads. should I stick with the Partition or should I find something else?


----------



## NCHillbilly (Oct 10, 2016)

Brother, you don't need a bonded bullet. You ain't shooting an elephant. Cheap softpoints perform better on deer and bear sized game than the expensive bonded bullets, IMO. A long freight train wouldn't hold the bears that have been killed with Winchester Powerpoints and Remmy Core-lokts.


----------



## Buckman18 (Oct 10, 2016)

Onwardoutdoors said:


> I fallow the gritty bowmen podcast and I saw Aron Snyder center punch one with his recurve and it only ran like 45 yards. so I would think that the vitals are further back than a deer.
> 
> I decided I will be using my 30-06, What bullet is good? currently I shoot a 200 grain nosler partion, My remington 700 seems to like that bullet. I can ususaly shoot about a 1/2 inch group at a 100. I know that the gun is capable of better but that is about the most I can acheive with my hand loads. should I stick with the Partition or should I find something else?


Partitions will be just fine. Depending on which WMD I'm using, I shoot grey box winchester power points, ballistic silvertips, hornady SST's, Leverevolutions, Powerbelts, or Rage 2 blade. I've killed with all of them, and never have an issue. 3rd-4th rib back, center to upper body.


----------



## GunnSmokeer (Oct 10, 2016)

When my dad hunted black bear, he used a .35 Remington rifle (borrowed).
Other hunters used the .30-30.

One guy in the group wanted an excuse to buy a new gun so he bought a .375 H&H Mag for that trip.  And he got a black bear, and it was one of the biggest ones taken that entire year in that state. BUT, he still didn't need that much gun.  

He had a frontal shot and the bullet hit the bear's neck and the bullet was found in a rear thigh.  It went through all those FEET of bear meat and bone. Bang-flop.

Black bear in Georgia?  .308 or .30-06 are fine.
The .30-06 is good for any game in North America, even the bigger bears like browns / Grizzlies.


----------



## Onwardoutdoors (Oct 10, 2016)

Thanks guys!


----------



## northgeorgiasportsman (Oct 11, 2016)

Buckman18 said:


> I have seen bears shot in the shoulder go a long long way before expiring.



I've seen several bears shot in the shoulder drop right where they stood, exactly like most of the whitetails I've shot.


----------



## Buckman18 (Oct 11, 2016)

northgeorgiasportsman said:


> I've seen several bears shot in the shoulder drop right where they stood, exactly like most of the whitetails I've shot.



That's interesting. Back in the 90's my brothers and I lost several bears that were shot in the shoulder. Both bow and rifle. We would bury the fletching in the should with an arrow, or shoot them at close range with our rifles and blow bone all over the place and blood trail them up to several hundred yards. We were just kids then, and my uncle from Shooting Creek suggested we shoot them about 6-8 inches behind the shoulder, back in the ribs. Since we started doing that, we have found them all and none have traveled very far.


----------



## northgeorgiasportsman (Oct 11, 2016)

Buckman18 said:


> That's interesting. Back in the 90's my brothers and I lost several bears that were shot in the shoulder. Both bow and rifle. We would bury the fletching in the should with an arrow, or shoot them at close range with our rifles and blow bone all over the place and blood trail them up to several hundred yards. We were just kids then, and my uncle from Shooting Creek suggested we shoot them about 6-8 inches behind the shoulder, back in the ribs. Since we started doing that, we have found them all and none have traveled very far.




Killing animals is an inexact science for sure.


----------



## Electivire (Oct 12, 2016)

Give any bear that you encounter, especially a sow with cubs, plenty of space. Make lots of noise so that any bears in the area know that you are there and carry bear spray. Firearms should only be used as a last resort to defend yourself from a bear.

A charging bear can move extremely fast and only a hit on the bear’s central nervous system (brain or spine) is guaranteed to stop a bear in its tracks. Even on the biggest bears, the central nervous system is not a large target, so stopping a determined charging bear with a gun makes for some very challenging shooting.

Because of this, you must practice drawing and shooting your chosen gun extensively. Remember: even the biggest and most powerful bear defense guns are not guaranteed to stop a charging bear if you don’t make a good shot.


----------



## model88_308 (Oct 12, 2016)

It's always a matter of differing opinions. I like bigger calibers, even though smaller can work (simply make smaller holes)

My bear in Maine this past September, .358 Win using 225gr bullets never went anywhere. Bears are not near as tough as a big Georgia boar with a thick shield. BUT, they have long fur and can have fat shifting into a smallish hole, preventing a lot of blood flow for tracking. 

Dead bear, one thing. Finding dead bear can be another.


----------



## Flaustin1 (Oct 12, 2016)

Electivire said:


> Give any bear that you encounter, especially a sow with cubs, plenty of space. Make lots of noise so that any bears in the area know that you are there and carry bear spray. Firearms should only be used as a last resort to defend yourself from a bear.
> 
> A charging bear can move extremely fast and only a hit on the bear’s central nervous system (brain or spine) is guaranteed to stop a bear in its tracks. Even on the biggest bears, the central nervous system is not a large target, so stopping a determined charging bear with a gun makes for some very challenging shooting.
> 
> Because of this, you must practice drawing and shooting your chosen gun extensively. Remember: even the biggest and most powerful bear defense guns are not guaranteed to stop a charging bear if you don’t make a good shot.



Why would he want to make noise and scare it off?  The purpose of hunting bear is to kill a bear.  Im confused.


----------



## Rich Kaminski (Oct 13, 2016)

*I agree with many of the above posts*

Your 30-06 will do fine with the 180 grain bullet. With proper shot placement the bear should be DRT. The picture in my avatar is of me and a Brown Bear that I took in Russia using a 375 Sako. That is a large bear. Black bear are much smaller with the largest ones in Georgia only weighing around 500 pounds. I have also taken a Black Bear in Minnesota using a 300 Win Mag with my Weatherby. The gun is over kill for a Black Bear.


----------



## lampern (Oct 13, 2016)

NCHillbilly said:


> Brother, you don't need a bonded bullet. You ain't shooting an elephant. Cheap softpoints perform better on deer and bear sized game than the expensive bonded bullets, IMO. A long freight train wouldn't hold the bears that have been killed with Winchester Powerpoints and Remmy Core-lokts.



They make a bonded Core Lokt psp


----------

