bear hunting
- Thread starter shooter43
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Yogi isn't a predator. He's an opportunistic omnivore just like humans.
Grizzlies have been killed with everything, including the .270 Win and .30-30, but minimum for inexperienced hunters would be a .308/.30-06 class calibre with 180 grain plus bullets that are made to penetrate. A lot of hunters opt for a .300 Magnum though.
Where you plan on going matters too.
Grizzlies have been killed with everything, including the .270 Win and .30-30, but minimum for inexperienced hunters would be a .308/.30-06 class calibre with 180 grain plus bullets that are made to penetrate. A lot of hunters opt for a .300 Magnum though.
Where you plan on going matters too.
Rifleman1776
New member
Ask yer guide. Personally, I wouldn't go with anything less than .300 mag. I know much smaller calibers have been used but most of us want insurance for a quick, humane kill and self-protection. If going for big Alaskan coastal Kodiak griz' I would probably choose the .338 maggie.
I would really like to use my traditional muzzle loader, a .54 cal. Jaeger flintlock. But I have read enough about history, including grizzly encounters to know it is not enough gun for the job.
I would really like to use my traditional muzzle loader, a .54 cal. Jaeger flintlock. But I have read enough about history, including grizzly encounters to know it is not enough gun for the job.
ammo.crafter
New member
big bear
I've used my .444Marlin with hand loads of 315gr cast Keith style with gas check.
Consider a .338 Win Mag. Plenty of power, range and a proven killer.
Have fun!
I've used my .444Marlin with hand loads of 315gr cast Keith style with gas check.
Consider a .338 Win Mag. Plenty of power, range and a proven killer.
Have fun!
grubbylabs
New member
I have found that if you smother yourself in honey and cook bacon they will come in close enough you could use almost any thing at hand to kill one
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Comments from guides in gunzine articles lead me to believe that .300WinMag and up are the recommendations. .338s, .375H&H and suchlike.
It's not just the kill as a kill. It's the stopping in case of "Oops!" There's a big difference...
It's not just the kill as a kill. It's the stopping in case of "Oops!" There's a big difference...
Bear "calling"
For bear “calling” all you need is a 12 ga with 00 buck. Here is how you do it. You take a couple cans of sterno, a couple pounds of bacon, and a frying pan into the woods where you think there are bears. You setup in a thick place in the woods and cook two pieces of bacon. You cook with sterno because it doesn’t smoke and cover up the smell of the bacon cooking. You eat the two pieces of bacon and keep a watch out down wind. You have to eat the bacon and not put it down or you would be baiting and that is illegal here in Montana. If you get grease on your hands just wipe them on your pants. It will help with the "hunting". You repeat this every hour for the day. You repeat this in a new area each day until a bear shows up. When the bear does show up he will be well in range of the 12 ga with 00 buck before you see him. As always, tell someone where you will be so they will know where to look if you don’t come home.
Willis
For bear “calling” all you need is a 12 ga with 00 buck. Here is how you do it. You take a couple cans of sterno, a couple pounds of bacon, and a frying pan into the woods where you think there are bears. You setup in a thick place in the woods and cook two pieces of bacon. You cook with sterno because it doesn’t smoke and cover up the smell of the bacon cooking. You eat the two pieces of bacon and keep a watch out down wind. You have to eat the bacon and not put it down or you would be baiting and that is illegal here in Montana. If you get grease on your hands just wipe them on your pants. It will help with the "hunting". You repeat this every hour for the day. You repeat this in a new area each day until a bear shows up. When the bear does show up he will be well in range of the 12 ga with 00 buck before you see him. As always, tell someone where you will be so they will know where to look if you don’t come home.
Willis
The largest animal I've hunted is deer, but my father used to hunt brownbear in his day. His choice caliber was .338 win mag, and he had a preference for 100% copper expanding bullets, probably from Barnes. I think he shot mostly handloads.
Personally, I'd go as powerful as .300 win mag or .35 whelen; .338's recoil is a bit much for me.
Personally, I'd go as powerful as .300 win mag or .35 whelen; .338's recoil is a bit much for me.
Black bear are not much harder to kill then a large deer. Grizzlies are a totally different animal. A large (not trophy) black bear will go about 350 pounds and a large (not trophy) grizzly will go about 650 to 700.
Now you'd think the grizzly would be 2X harder to put down.
Well,------ grizzlies are a lot more then 2X more bear, and for what reason I can't really say.
We have LOTS of grizzlies here in Wyoming. I have been around them for years and have seen first hand what they can do.
I used to kill black bears easily with various "deer rifles" and about anything that you can depend on to break a big deer bone will do on blackies.
Grizzlies.....well you want to use anything up to and including a 458, as long as you can shoot it WELL, and do it pretty fast.
Now I would galdly shoot a large Grizzly with my 270 as long as I could shoot without the bear knowing I was there. All animals on earth can be killed with small calibers IF you get to choose the placement and are willing to go home without shooting at all unless you get the shot you want.
Most of us don't want to go home without a shot. So it's best to shoot something "big enough" or even a bit bigger then you need, as long as you can shoot it WELL!
I am 100% certain you are better off with a 30-06 and 220 grain bullets, facing a grizzly then you are with anything more powerful, if you shoot the 06 well and you don't shoot the _____ < (add your caliber here) well.
You MUST shoot well!
If you have to face a bear that is mad, the rules are going to change, and not in a way you will like.
If you can hit an orange at close range in 1 1/2 seconds EVERY time, and your bullet will hold together and penetrate making a good sized wound, then you are fine with what ever you carry.
If you can't hit the orange EVERY time with more power, then the more powerful rifle is not going to help you against a grizzly, and in fact, it's likely to make things worse (if you can get worse then being killed......I don't know...)
Now you'd think the grizzly would be 2X harder to put down.
Well,------ grizzlies are a lot more then 2X more bear, and for what reason I can't really say.
We have LOTS of grizzlies here in Wyoming. I have been around them for years and have seen first hand what they can do.
I used to kill black bears easily with various "deer rifles" and about anything that you can depend on to break a big deer bone will do on blackies.
Grizzlies.....well you want to use anything up to and including a 458, as long as you can shoot it WELL, and do it pretty fast.
Now I would galdly shoot a large Grizzly with my 270 as long as I could shoot without the bear knowing I was there. All animals on earth can be killed with small calibers IF you get to choose the placement and are willing to go home without shooting at all unless you get the shot you want.
Most of us don't want to go home without a shot. So it's best to shoot something "big enough" or even a bit bigger then you need, as long as you can shoot it WELL!
I am 100% certain you are better off with a 30-06 and 220 grain bullets, facing a grizzly then you are with anything more powerful, if you shoot the 06 well and you don't shoot the _____ < (add your caliber here) well.
You MUST shoot well!
If you have to face a bear that is mad, the rules are going to change, and not in a way you will like.
If you can hit an orange at close range in 1 1/2 seconds EVERY time, and your bullet will hold together and penetrate making a good sized wound, then you are fine with what ever you carry.
If you can't hit the orange EVERY time with more power, then the more powerful rifle is not going to help you against a grizzly, and in fact, it's likely to make things worse (if you can get worse then being killed......I don't know...)
Jack O'Conner
New member
Don't under estimate the lethality of a well placed shot. This bear was taken within northern California with an antique Winchester model 94.
Jack
In Alaska, most every guide you can buy will tell you .300 Win Mag is the minimum they allow their clients to carry for brown bears.
Most everyone I know that hunts or has hunted brown bears uses/used a .338 Win Mag or a .375 H&H Mag.
Every guide I know carries a .45/70 Gov't lever gun.
I've hunted them with a Browning BAR .30/06 with 200gr Nosler Partitions... But my backup buddy carried my .45/70 Marlin.... I carried the .45/70 as backup the next year for him... He carried his Matthews bow.
The caliber isn't nearly as important as the shooter. If you're carrying a .600 Nitro Express and you can't put holes in a barn door from the inside, then that firepower ain't gonna be worth much in the bush... If you have a .30/06 Spfd that you can drive tacks with from 10ft to 150yds, then you need to get some 200gr or 220gr (whichever groups the best) Nosler Partitions or similar ammo and use it.
Most everyone I know that hunts or has hunted brown bears uses/used a .338 Win Mag or a .375 H&H Mag.
Every guide I know carries a .45/70 Gov't lever gun.
I've hunted them with a Browning BAR .30/06 with 200gr Nosler Partitions... But my backup buddy carried my .45/70 Marlin.... I carried the .45/70 as backup the next year for him... He carried his Matthews bow.
The caliber isn't nearly as important as the shooter. If you're carrying a .600 Nitro Express and you can't put holes in a barn door from the inside, then that firepower ain't gonna be worth much in the bush... If you have a .30/06 Spfd that you can drive tacks with from 10ft to 150yds, then you need to get some 200gr or 220gr (whichever groups the best) Nosler Partitions or similar ammo and use it.
spclPatrolGroup
New member
Any good deer setup will be fine for black bear, I have taken a black bear with my .270, .47/70, and a 50 cal muzzle loader.
Buckfever4life
Inactive
Not to hack this Thread, I used a 338 Win Mag to harvest my Saskatchewan Black Bear. This is no Grizzly, but I woul not hesitate to use this gun on a Grizzly or any North American game animal.
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grubbylabs
New member
Those are some nice bears you all have harvested.