Black bear medicine
 

I'm considering a hunt for black bear in GA next fall. My deer rifle is a sweet Kimber 308 but I'm thinking about re-barreling a Rem 700 long action in either 35 Whelen or 300 Win Mag. Any thoughts


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Best bet is Whelen.

The .308 is perfectly adequate for black bear but why not have some fun?

The good lord ain't built a black bear that will not be humanely harvested with a 308 and good bullets!!

Having said that, the 35 Whelen is another favorite!

If you simply need a "excuse" I say go Whelen. Otherwise the 308 will fill your freezer and keep it full!

CW

After spending 3 months in the NC mtns. this past fall black bear hunting I have changed my entire concept of what it takes to kill a black bear. We killed 28 bears rangeing from 150# to 400#s. Every bear was shot with a 30-30 (most shots in upper neck or head) except 2 were shot with 308 & 450. We were of course running the bears with dogs. When you wade into a bear/dog fight 2 things you don't want. 1 is buckshot and the other is to knock the bear down with any gun (460 weatherby - 22 magnum) and not kill him on the spot. A wounded bear hit good from neck back will kill a pile of dogs. Now if you are tree stand hunting over bait or still hunting most guns placing the bullet through the heart or spine MIGHT kill on the spot. It is a toss up. If you don't care for bear meat then break both shoulders with a good deep penetrating slug.:faint:

.308 with a quality constructed 165-180 bullet... No 400lbs. or substantially larger animal can take a solid hit from a quality .308 round and continue on it's merry way...

Absolutely there are stronger rounds, but why start down a path with no end... I'm all for finding excuses for more firearms, so in that regard heck yeah get another rifle but don't do it out of the notion of necessity...

Like magten mentioned, if you're gonna be up close and personal you may want to rethink your rifle, but I'd be more concerned with faster follow up shots than more horsepower... Maybe a levergun of varying calibers but even with thats said, I'd still be content with your bolt .308...

I've taken black bear with a single shot from a 45 acp with a 255 grain bullet at 950 fps. Any good deer round will take a black bear without issue. Just use a good bullet in your 308 and save your money. Don't get caught up in the more power/kinetic energy hype. Energy doesn't kill, holes in vital organs do.

I plan on still hunting so the brain shots are out. The two issues I have with my Kimber is it is a blue gun and my Remington is stainless. Second the issue the Mountains. A running bear can go a long way down a mountain in a hurry and I will need to pack him back up to the trail.
My hope is to re-barrel and restock this Remington 700 ADL and make it my all terrain rifle. Maybe one day chase elk around with it. I know a 308 will take larger game but I would love to have an exit wound to help with tracking. I've dug two Remington Core Locks out of the fare side of 160 pound whitetails.

www.eezox.com awesome rust preventative. Don't doubt blued steel! How many stainless guns have you seen from the 1800s??? None they didn't have that option then, good bluing is nearly as corrosion resistant as stainless (stainless can still rust). As far as exit wounds get yourself some barnes bullets or nosler partitions and penetration wont be an issue. A 180 grain .308 bullet has nearly the same sectional density as a 250 grain .358 bullet so all thing being equal they will penetrate the same. Good luck!

I have a couple of dedicated "black bear" rifles sort of, but not because my Remington 600 .308 won't do the job, bear is just an excuse to have a couple more neat rifles.

Excellent point! Scratch what I said, you need more guns! If i were to do a "buster" gun on the long 700 I'd love to have a 375-06 improved. Id say its about as much pop as you can get out of the '06 case. The 35s have a great fun factor with being able to load 357 mag bullets and plinking or small gaming too. Maybe a 35 whelen improved :supergrin:...

My Dad has the Model 600, but in a 350 rem mag... Wonderful little gun with big power... We've deer hunted with it and shot some big tough hogs... It's redundantly powerful for both... Three-hundred pound hogs getting hit with 250 grain handloads in the shoulders are done and over, on the spot.. But for reference, he has also dirtnapped dozens (hogs) up to 500+ yards with his Rem 700 Varmint .308 with handloads...

Nothing yet bigger or smaller can take away the basic effectiveness of our core American calibers like the 270, 308, 30-30, 30-06, etc...

Ok it's agreed then I can tell my wife I must have the 35 Whelen or I may get eaten by a bear


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Good way to add to the collection. That said, I have taken black bears with old lever guns in obsolete calibers, my .270 Remington pump, magnum bolt guns. 44 mag revolvers, and even one with my bow. You need lots of variety.:cool:

I bought a Savage 110 in 30-06 with that in mind but before I could get it off the ground I found a .35 Remington and a 45/70, and then a set of 6.5/06 dies fell in my lap.......

Get a short (19") bbl .243 - or better yet 6mm and you won't have to lug so much weight around. It will kill a bear dead. That's all a .50 cal can do - to the bear.

If you want more guns in a variety of calibers - use the '48 hour rule'. It was invented in MN and works great.

You buy something your wife may not approve of. If you can get it in tothe house and keep it there for 48 hours, you're allowed to say: "That old thing? I've had that forever".

It's not considered cheating or lying. You have told the truth and don't have to feel guilty about the purchase. :wavey:

For a 'long gun', this has never failed me yet. My hand loads.405gr Hard Cast from a Marlin lever, built back in 1972 with a cresent butt on it..


http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/a...005001756a.jpg





CanyonMan

yup, my "DRT" rifle,

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/...tryG/002-2.jpg

True, very true ! Hits like a freight train !

I will admit at 61 now, that cresent butt is starting do "dig his spurs" into my shoulder a tad ! haha. Just gotta jack another in there and keep goin. Usually one is enough on most things I have encountered so far.



Good shooting amigo ! ;)













CanyonMan

Very popular around here. If it isn't an older one like yours (that's what I have) then it is the Guide Gun.

.308 is fine for Black Bear. I'd spend my money on
other goodies for the hunt unless you're really just
wanting a new gun.
Dano

So... are you saying 30-30 is enough or not? I think you mean it is fine for black bear?

LOL! That might be signature material right there!

The 308 is just fine, my last bear was taken with a 284 win. Nothing wrong with a new gun though.

I read an article of 2nd. largest black bear shot in NC last year (close to 800#s) was first shot twice in skull with '06 and did not penetrate skull.:wow: