Bear Hunt in AZ

J

Jeff Thomas

New member
I plan to go bear hunting in a couple of weeks with a good friend.

Plan to use a Marlin 1894S, .44 Mag. I'm going to mount a Leupold 2-7 x 33 scope, because my eyes aren't the greatest with iron sights, and I want a clean kill. [Being wildly optimistic that we'll actually see a bear. ;) ]

Now, I have no idea what kind of ammo to purchase and sight in with. Without any other idea, I'd be tempted to choose a good .44 mag self defense load. Any specific suggestions for factory ammo (I don't reload, yet).

Any other bear hunting suggestions, stories, firearms suggestions, etc. are always appreciated.

While our bears don't get real big in AZ, it would be nice to have a nice rug.

And, is the meat worth sampling?

Thanks. Regards from AZ
 
I'm totally out of touch with factory ammo, these days, but I know Remington used to sell a fairly hot load with a lead bullet having a fairly large meplat.

Otherwise, I'd go with a 240-grain hollow-point bullet.

Art
 
I like the Speer 270 grain Gold Dot Soft-Point. I used these to take a 200 lb. hog with great results. They leave my 6.5" S&W 629 at about 1250fps. They should be very impressive out of a carbine. Buffalo Bore loads these in one of their 444 offerings so they should be sturdy enough for the increased velocity.
 
Jeff. I think that one of the heavier bullet loads is what is called for here. If the 270 gr. Speer comes factory loaded, that sounds like it might work well.
I guess you know you have to call Game and Fish every day before you hunt bears in AZ. Each area has a limit on female bears killed and once that limit is reached, the season ends for that area. I guess nobody told Game and Fish that bears don't recognize the boundaries the Commision has set up.
Good luck on your hunt.
Paul B.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top