First time Black Bear hunter, WHat do you use?

I shot my first bear and only bear back in 1985. I was sitting an the side of a mountain that had a small bowl shaped depression below me. I heard something that sounded liek it was dragging its feet through the leaves. Soon I saw a nice size black beer walking through the bowl.

It never even saw me so I took the time to lay on my stomach and used my extra jacket for a gun rest. I had my trusty 30-06 ready to go loaded with Rem factory 180 gr. It wasn't a long shot maybe between 50 and 70 yards.

Then it flashed through my mind where the heck do you shoot it? I really had no clue so I place the scope on the shoulder and pulled the trigger. The bullet found its mark and the bear hit the ground at the same time I started to get up. The bear rolled then it beat me back to its feet.

Now this is where everything went a little crazy, I couldn't believe this bear was back on its feet. Not only was it on its feet but it was running like all heck. I emptied the additional shells in my Rem 760 pump then ejected the magazine and put another one in. I promptly emptied that one too.

The end result was that the bear kept running and was soon out of the bowl and over the side of the mountain. I will admit that the 8 following shots probably hit a tree, the ground or the moon as far as I know. I'm as sure today as I was then that I never hit that bear other than the first shot.

As I recovered I found the spot that I had first shot at the bear and there was enough blood so I knew it was a solid hit. The long story short the shot had gathered a crowd and we tried tracking the bear. About an our later another hunter had killed the bear. It had been shot prior with one shot to the shoulder.

I have never seen another bear during beer season but I know I will never aim for the shoulder again,
 
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Grizz attacks are not usually from predatory nature. More often they are defensive assaults due to the presence of cubs. More people are attacked by black bears in a predatory sence. Black bears will hunt you, and chase you to eat you. DON'T PLAY DEAD! Female grizz will jump on your body until they feel you're no longer a threat, and thats the only reason to play dead. I hunt black bear in california with one of the states best guide, and his dogs, I use a 300win mag with 200gr safari nozzler partitions. Always have a side arm too. A salty black can close a good sized gap and you might need to drop the rifle and get a little dirty. Happy Hunting
 
I have the choice of a 30-30. win marlin 30 AS topped with a fixed 4 power shooting 160 grain hornady revolutions, a 30-06 remington model 742 woodsmaster shooting 180 grain silver tips topped with a fixed 4 power or finally a 7mm Rem Mag in a Remington model 700 BDL shooting 160 grain accubonds topped with a 3-9 powered scope. I dont know what to use. What do you suggest? What do you use? shots will be taken most likely between 75-150 yards. I know this because of a hunting partner hunting black bear for that past 15 years
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I would use the 3006, with the 180's. That's mainly because I don't care for 700's or lever actions. What is important is to use what you are best with and it will be fine.

Bears, well they're kind of like people, in that they are all different. From my experience about 1 in 10 will make things interesting and the rest generally die rather uneventfully. It's that 1 out of the 10 I am careful about.

This years spring bear ran about 20 feet after getting drilled through the lungs. Last years spring bear ran away for about 50 yards and paused when I yelled at him. So I drilled him again and he reversed direction and charged me. He never made it all the way to me but it was pretty interesting for awhile. Both shots were right through the lungs.

These days I use a .338wm. For the first 30 years I used a 3006.
 
I prefer the marlin 30-30 just because im comfortable with it and it is sufficient, that is if its under 200 yards... I also prefer lever guns because I feel I can rack the action faster than a bolt. Yet again as they have all said choose whats comfortable and ofcourse what you shoot well with. Any of those guns will kill it its just a matter of shot placement, if you feel you need to hit it with a 7mm than do it, but if you can do the same with a 30-30 then take the lesser recoil and lets face it "cooler" gun. lol:cool:
 
A bear cannot be too dead but,can definitley not be dead enough.I would recommend the 7mm as that's what I killed my bear with.
 
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This photo was taken one summer at a Christian Camp in Poconos of eastern Pennsylvania. My daughter worked there as a Counselor for kids. The bear probably weighed no more than 300 lbs and did not have body armor.

My Pennsylvania friends seem to bring in at least one bear every year to their camp. Eight guys hunt from this camp in McKean County. The most popular rifle by far is Remington GameMaster slide action in 30-06. But a couple guys hunt with slide action 12 gauge shotguns fitted with rifled barrels.

I speak from experience: Marlin's 30-30 has the accuracy and power to down game much larger than common black bears. But my friends swear by their 30-06 rifles and that amount of experience can not be ignored.

Jack
 
The 30-06 with 165 grain Nosler partitions, or the one you feel the most comfortable with. Feeling good with a certain rifle will make a big differnce in your confidence level, and that is very important in my book. I just feel better with the bigger caliber. But thats just me.
 
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