buck460XVR
New member
For hunting, a 158gr JSP moving @ 1200 fps or greater @ 40 yards or less will effectively take care of either.....that is if you do your job.
Help, deer and black bear hunting .357 mag
- Thread starter dukes of hazzard
- Start date
No, 10ring, it doesn't. I never said a bigger bullet wouldn't work, or work better. I said you don't need them to get the job done, which in this case is hunting.
Note that I did say there is a big difference between hunting, and defense. Now if I were defending myself from bear attack, then yes, I would want the biggest thing available, and practical. But I wouldn't feel naked and helpless with a .357 magnum. Bears, even the big browns have been killed with less.
And old wisdom/wives tales not withstanding, there is no way, ever, that I would play dead. "they'll have to kill me before I die!" Arrr
Adamantium
New member
The OP was also asking about which 357 Magnum bullet/ammo would be best, not which caliber he should switch to instead. But that is a discussion forum for you...
I would recommend taking a pass on the Hornady Lever Evolution if you are using a handgun length barrel. I've yet to see someone get consistent expansion from them, and at handgun hunting distances do you really need a flatter shooting design?
I would recommend taking a pass on the Hornady Lever Evolution if you are using a handgun length barrel. I've yet to see someone get consistent expansion from them, and at handgun hunting distances do you really need a flatter shooting design?
The smallest black bear caliber I would personally use would be a .41 Magnum with custom handloads.
My .44 Magnum is the minimum for smaller black bears in the Arizona desert, "Bears in the Pears". If the bear gets larger, so does the caliber. Black bears have a tendancy to come in "on the fight" when called in during the fall hunt.
Biker
My .44 Magnum is the minimum for smaller black bears in the Arizona desert, "Bears in the Pears". If the bear gets larger, so does the caliber. Black bears have a tendancy to come in "on the fight" when called in during the fall hunt.
Biker
HoraceHogsnort
New member
DAMN!! I really love bear threads!!
10Ringmagic
New member
Yes, I understand what you are saying now.
I have heard of black bears being killed with a .22lr also.
If, and I repeat IF, one were to wound a black bear while hunting it, it could soon be a situation of you defending yourself from one very PO'd bear!
22-rimfire
New member
Black bears seldom attack people even when shot/wounded by a hunter.
My personal opinion is that the 357 mag should be considered the least caliber for whitetail deer from a handgun. I tend to believe something larger works better.
For black bear, my vote is for something larger than 357 mag. I would start with 41 or 44 mag. But if you make a good shot, there is no reason why a black bear won't go down with a 158 gr JSP from a 357. The thing about black bears is that they tend to run off a ways regardless of what you shot them with unless you hit them really hard or are lucky based on what rifle hunters tell me. I have never shot a black bear, never really wanted to hunt them.
My personal opinion is that the 357 mag should be considered the least caliber for whitetail deer from a handgun. I tend to believe something larger works better.
For black bear, my vote is for something larger than 357 mag. I would start with 41 or 44 mag. But if you make a good shot, there is no reason why a black bear won't go down with a 158 gr JSP from a 357. The thing about black bears is that they tend to run off a ways regardless of what you shot them with unless you hit them really hard or are lucky based on what rifle hunters tell me. I have never shot a black bear, never really wanted to hunt them.
RamSlammer
New member
I've hunted deer for over 20 years almost exclusively with my 6.5" Blackhawk in .357. It is very effective inside 60-80 yards. Have also killed hogs and two black bear with the same gun. The blackies weighed 210 lbs and 390 lbs. Both were one shot kills, but in both cases they ran out 50 or so yards before dropping from shots that hit one or both lungs with one having also clipped the heart.
I handload 180 (or sometime 187) grain Cast Bullet Performance LBT Hardcast Solids over a stout dose of 2400. It's a "Ruger Only" type load that I would not recommend in many other .357's. It penetrates extremely well . . . through and through. Even had one go through a 350lb hog from neck to butt and exit.
Based on what I've seen, I have no problem hunting black bear with .357 from a tree stand. I would not prefer it for still hunting or bear defense vs. a .44 mag.
I handload 180 (or sometime 187) grain Cast Bullet Performance LBT Hardcast Solids over a stout dose of 2400. It's a "Ruger Only" type load that I would not recommend in many other .357's. It penetrates extremely well . . . through and through. Even had one go through a 350lb hog from neck to butt and exit.
Based on what I've seen, I have no problem hunting black bear with .357 from a tree stand. I would not prefer it for still hunting or bear defense vs. a .44 mag.
L_Killkenny
New member
.357 is fine for deer and I wouldn't have any issues using them against blackies either. In reality, a heavy .357 penetrates "about as well" as a standard .44 due better sectional density. IMO again.
I roll my own. A 180gr XTP back by a good dose of BlueDot for about 1200 fps. My state requires expanding bullets on deer. Try Buffalo Bore heavy loads and check accuracy but for IMO most loads from 158grs on up should work well. And yes, those 180 xtp's damage some meat.
LK
I roll my own. A 180gr XTP back by a good dose of BlueDot for about 1200 fps. My state requires expanding bullets on deer. Try Buffalo Bore heavy loads and check accuracy but for IMO most loads from 158grs on up should work well. And yes, those 180 xtp's damage some meat.
LK
bamaranger
New member
aggressive black bears
A black bear is a wild, formidable creature, up to 600 (that would be a VERY big blackie) or so pounds of teeth, claw and muscle, and should not necessarily be trusted. But I'd have to disagree with the "aggressive" comment. True, there are black bear fatalities and injuries. But they are far from the norm. The Smokey's receives something like 13 million visitors annually, its the nations most visited National Park. Over the years quoted in an earlier post, the visitation would be in the hundreds of millions. From that there were what, 107 injuries.?
I no longer live or work in black bear country, but did for a while and had some interesting opportunities participating in black bear studies and relocating "problem" bears in Shenandoah and Great Smokey's. As with any animal, they can definitely get brazen if they become accustomed to humans. And humans ( myself included) can do some brazen and stupid things if they get accustomed to bears. That's for another post. Much of that has been resolved once the parks got a grip on handling trash, and relocated the real problem panhandlers. The "yogi" bear jams are largely a thing of the past.
To the OP. A .357 revolver loaded with 158 gr or up would be plenty for deer. Much depends on the placement of the shot of course. Average black bears are likely closer to 300 lbs +/_ and the .357, loaded heavy, though not optimal, should work there also. I would stay with SWC penetrators for bears, due to the larger bones, hair, hide, fat, muscle make up on bears, as opposed to a JHP. JSP's might be a happy medium.
A black bear is a wild, formidable creature, up to 600 (that would be a VERY big blackie) or so pounds of teeth, claw and muscle, and should not necessarily be trusted. But I'd have to disagree with the "aggressive" comment. True, there are black bear fatalities and injuries. But they are far from the norm. The Smokey's receives something like 13 million visitors annually, its the nations most visited National Park. Over the years quoted in an earlier post, the visitation would be in the hundreds of millions. From that there were what, 107 injuries.?
I no longer live or work in black bear country, but did for a while and had some interesting opportunities participating in black bear studies and relocating "problem" bears in Shenandoah and Great Smokey's. As with any animal, they can definitely get brazen if they become accustomed to humans. And humans ( myself included) can do some brazen and stupid things if they get accustomed to bears. That's for another post. Much of that has been resolved once the parks got a grip on handling trash, and relocated the real problem panhandlers. The "yogi" bear jams are largely a thing of the past.
To the OP. A .357 revolver loaded with 158 gr or up would be plenty for deer. Much depends on the placement of the shot of course. Average black bears are likely closer to 300 lbs +/_ and the .357, loaded heavy, though not optimal, should work there also. I would stay with SWC penetrators for bears, due to the larger bones, hair, hide, fat, muscle make up on bears, as opposed to a JHP. JSP's might be a happy medium.
If it were me, I'd go with a hard cast heavy wide flat nose bullet pushed as hard and fast as I could push it. In my case, that would be handloaded 180 gr Cast Performance WFNGC pushed by a stout charge of H-110, which happens to emulate the performance of the premium factory rounds that are available. Yeah, I use handloads for this purpose, but you can obtain similar factory loads of you seek them on the web.
357 Magnum is definitely adequate for deer or black bear hunting if the hunter has done a lot of practicing and can place the shot just where it needs to go.
For deer I would use a 158gr JSP, for bear I might go with a 158gr or even better a 180gr hard cast bullet.
First hand experience showed me bears can be very tough to kill once their adrenaline is up, but a well placed shot from ambush should do the trick.
For deer I would use a 158gr JSP, for bear I might go with a 158gr or even better a 180gr hard cast bullet.
First hand experience showed me bears can be very tough to kill once their adrenaline is up, but a well placed shot from ambush should do the trick.
My own opinion is that a .44 Mag should be minimum, only because it gives you a margin for error in case the shot you wanted to put in the lungs gets into the shoulder instead.
I've only killed one bear myself (68 lb. Hoyt throwing a 2216 with a 125 Magnus head
), but I also know a lot of guys who have, and it seems that in a hunting situation a black bear is no where near as tenacious of life as a whitetail. Put a good solid kill zone hit on them and they die pretty quick.
I've only killed one bear myself (68 lb. Hoyt throwing a 2216 with a 125 Magnus head
), but I also know a lot of guys who have, and it seems that in a hunting situation a black bear is no where near as tenacious of life as a whitetail. Put a good solid kill zone hit on them and they die pretty quick.