Bear rifle suggestions please!
- Thread starter RifleRookie
- Start date
stagpanther
New member
That's on my to-purchase list--another classic cartridge that can be loaded up and down.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Looks to me as though she now has a veritable plethora of information. 
RifleRookie
Inactive
Hey all!
Thank you all so very much! I appreciate all of your expertise. You intro'd possibilities that I had not previously considered and I'm looking forward to trying several of your suggestions. Still considering options/arguing with buddies that are WAY make-model dogmatic/etc.....I'll sum this up quickly:
1) NO. The OPr was NOT scared off. Life happened....post got neglected. Sorry.
2) There is no need for anyone who misinterpreted my "grizz" comment to apologize. If anything, I should thank YOU for the chuckles (personal fav = 'get a 22 and educate yourself')!
Your advice is very much appreciated and I thank you (and Art E.)
It would take me 10+ lifetimes to learn all that I want to learn.
Thank you all so very much! I appreciate all of your expertise. You intro'd possibilities that I had not previously considered and I'm looking forward to trying several of your suggestions. Still considering options/arguing with buddies that are WAY make-model dogmatic/etc.....I'll sum this up quickly:
1) NO. The OPr was NOT scared off. Life happened....post got neglected. Sorry.
2) There is no need for anyone who misinterpreted my "grizz" comment to apologize. If anything, I should thank YOU for the chuckles (personal fav = 'get a 22 and educate yourself')!
Your advice is very much appreciated and I thank you (and Art E.)
It would take me 10+ lifetimes to learn all that I want to learn.
A rare balance of perspective.
I will apologize though, we should read posts carefully and not jump to a conclusion like I did. Duffus was right to point it out.
I have yet to see medicine applied to a bear via a gun, but then I am still learning. I have seen them dart bears with special guns?
How about a 30-06 loaded to normal velocity good for killing bears (my step dads father took 6 or 7 grizzly with that round.
That said a black bear is not a real challenge for much of any round. 223 in Semi auto would do nicely.
I will apologize though, we should read posts carefully and not jump to a conclusion like I did. Duffus was right to point it out.
I have yet to see medicine applied to a bear via a gun, but then I am still learning. I have seen them dart bears with special guns?
How about a 30-06 loaded to normal velocity good for killing bears (my step dads father took 6 or 7 grizzly with that round.
That said a black bear is not a real challenge for much of any round. 223 in Semi auto would do nicely.
'Bear medicine' might well be a 30.06 loaded with premium 200gn or 220gn bullets. I love my old .375 BRNO 602, but the truth is, if I were going to be hanging out in 'black bear country' today for long periods of time, I'd have my 30-06 Mini-G with me loaded with an 8-rd clip (or, if actually hunting, a 5-rd clip) of said heavy-for-caliber medicine.
Running the Schuster adj. M1 gas plug, my '06 Mini is currently tuned for a handload topped with 200gn Speer Grand Slams at about 2450fps - the GSs being from an old stash I bought years ago. But it also shoots Hornady's 220gn RN slug acceptably well too (at about 2400+fps).
Black bears ain't that hard to kill, especially at the distances you're likely to shoot them.
If the 'bear' in question were of the species found in AK, I'd move up in caliber.
Don Fischer
New member
These type thing's have no right answer but rather a lot of answer's. Anything from say a 6.5 on up will work for what she need's. smaller the cal, less the recoil. Lighter the bullet, less the recoil. Now, haven't a clue about factory ammo but in 6.5 as light as I'd go is 120gr. 7mm is 140gr and 30 would be 150gr. Your probably gonna need a rifle unless you plan on throwing the bullet's. Check out the inexpensive kit rifle's, new rifle generally with a plastic stock and an inexpensive scope, normally a 3-9x. I think Ruger makes one, know Savage and Mossberg do. Only one I ever bought was the Mossberg Patriot and without a scope and plastic stock at the time it was $299. I don't recall the price with the scope. I think it does come in 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08 and 308, I'd suggest the 7mm-08 in it. Supposed to be fairly easy on recoil and should be easy to find in 140gr loads. 6.5 Creedmoor will probably be harder to find ammo for and 308 is easy to find ammo for but it will also increase recoil some. I have a 6.5x55, similar to the Creedmoor and recoil is not bad at all. Ammo is easy to find because I don't buy factory ammo, I reload every thing. In the past I had 7x57's which are close to the 7mm-08. Recoil is not bad at all. 308 Is a favorite of mine but in a bolt action recoil will go up a bit. How much you can take, no one here can tell you! Put's us back at the 6.5 Creedmoor! There are those that will suggest the 243. It would work but there are a lot better answer's! You could kill the bear with a 22 rim fire but there are lot better answer's. On the world record grizzly killed with the 22 long rifle, I read about it a while back and the shot in in position that suited her she shot it in a soft spot below the ear just a bit and it went right down. The story I read was not in self defense. The shot was carefully placed where she knew it would drop the bear. After the shot she went to it and fired several more shot's into it. I doubt many of us here have the cool to pull off something like that! Which ever story is correct, I don't know but, bears can be cleanly killed with pretty much anything is all your stars aline right! But there are better answer's and for me they start at 6.5 caliber.
I do not use premium bullet's on anything, not necessary but in your case it may be. I assume that solid bullet is the law every where in California. Use a solid copper bullet in that case. Be sure it is not a full metal jacket, that is not a solid copper bullet! Most importantly, before you try this, practice with the rifle you end up with and learn where to place your shot's. A black bear will likely be interested in avoiding you but who knows if it's wounded. Learn to shoot well and where to place your shots. Probably the best answer for you in your situation is to have someone that knows how to do this and has the rifle come in and do it for you. That guy would not be hard to find. Local sporting good's store could probably set you right up!
I do not use premium bullet's on anything, not necessary but in your case it may be. I assume that solid bullet is the law every where in California. Use a solid copper bullet in that case. Be sure it is not a full metal jacket, that is not a solid copper bullet! Most importantly, before you try this, practice with the rifle you end up with and learn where to place your shot's. A black bear will likely be interested in avoiding you but who knows if it's wounded. Learn to shoot well and where to place your shots. Probably the best answer for you in your situation is to have someone that knows how to do this and has the rifle come in and do it for you. That guy would not be hard to find. Local sporting good's store could probably set you right up!