Early bear season

E

EMN89

New member
As some of you may know, Virginia is having an early three day rifle bear season before bow season starts. I have a savage .270 wsm and I currently shoot 130 grain Winchester ballistic silvertips, I also have a scoped mossberg 500 smooth bore 12 gauge slug gun which holds 3-4 inch five shot groups at 75 yards. I will be hunting national forest and I don't expect any shots much beyond 75 yards. Would I be better off to buy a different less volatile load for the .270 or just take the 12 gauge? I won't be using dogs, I plan on hunting near food sources and or spot and stalk if the opportunity arises.
 
I know the load is capable of taking a bear but I'm worried about hitting a shoulder or a quartering shot if one is presented.
 
If I had a reg 270, I'd use it. Don't know a thing about the short mag, wouldn't want one. Unless it was really up close, I'd take a rifle over a shotgun any day.
 
A 270 sm is more than enough to handle any black bear in my opinion. A Kodiak grizzly is another story lol

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The cartridge is more than capable I'm just not sure about the silvertip, the bullet has proven to be quite explosive on deer in my experience.
 
The old CoreLokt has been killing critters for a long, long time. :) Focus on the shot. Don't worry about the bullet.

Back when I loaded for a .270, I used the Remington Bronze Point. Probably because it was "purty". Didn't matter; Bambi died.
 
I was thinking about going with the 150 grain corlokt or possibly the 150 grain fusion. I know I'm probably over thinking everything, I've killed quite a few deer but never had an opportunity to kill a bear with a rifle
 
99% of black bear ain't any harder to kill than a deer. If you get real lucky you might get a chance at a really big one. The 270 WSM is the way I'd go between the 2. A shotgun wouldn't even be considered.

The 130 gr Silvertips are designed for rapid expansion even at long range after slowing down. At 75 yards, at magnum speeds they may well over expand and not penetrate enough, even on a deer. They will still kill stuff, but shot placement in order to hit vitals without having to pass through a lot of muscle is more important.

A more stoutly constructed bullet would be my choice for deer or bear. Either of the 150's you're considering would be a better option. But a tougher 130 gr bullet would work too.
 
The silvertips were given to me, they aren't my first choice for deer either they are very explosive at close range which they are obviously designed for. I don't like the idea of having to wait for a perfect broadside shot, I like to be able to take a quartering or frontal shot if I need to.
 
Winchester Ballistic Silvertip's are the same thing as a No$ler BT. A 130 has lots of energy out at 300 yards never mind 75. Winchester says they're suitable for up to elk sized game. Yogi is for sure not armoured. The 130's will do nicely. People have been killing moose with 1230's out of .270 Win for eons.
Sight in 1.1" high at 100 to be on target at 200 and 5.5" low at 300.
"...at magnum speeds..." A WSM isn't really a magnum. At 100 yards, the .270 WSM is just 213 FPS faster than a .270 Win.
 
Jack used em on lots of sheep and elk. No reason to think that it wont work on a bear, esp w/ silvertips. Silvertips worked fine on my moose at 165 yrds(30-06).
 
I would definitely go with the 150 because the velocity of the 130 would be explosive at less than 200 yards and if you've got a bad angle, could be an issue.
 
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