OK, you've made the commitment to go on a Black Bear hunt on the coastal areas of British Columbia or Alaska.
Been there done that at least in Alaska and heading back in 09. Here is my limited experience since I've only killed one bear. Black Bears are not hard to kill, if you do your job with shot placement. I like the high shoulder shot on bears especially if hunting in or near thick timber, saves having to track a wounded animal that can and will bite or claw back.
Standard calibers work fine but would probably stay with a .270 class or larger rifle, might dip as low as a 6.5 on the low end. I chose the 06 using a 200 grain Nosler Partiton, 52 grains of H4350 and CCI large rifle primers. I chose 200 grain bullets because they were setting on the bench gathering dust. I do recommend a premium bullet though because if trying to break heavy bone like bear shoulders you want a bullet that will do it. I got a perfect golf ball size exit in the off side shoulder at 200 yards so the good ol Nosler performed perfectly.
I used a .30-06 M700 ADL for one reason only it was my only synthetic stocked rifle, would have liked to have used other rifles but these were extreme conditions I was hunting in. 200+ inches of rainfall in a year where I hunted, plus constantly riding in a metal boat and climbing rocks and thick forests will beat up a nice wood stock. Did I mention rain, it was very wet plus with all the salt water as I hunted coastal AK rust started very fast on my rifle. I recommend a Stainless and Synthetic rifle for this kind of hunt. This was a spot and stalk hunt if I'd been hunting over bait I might have brought one of my wood stocked rifles.
For a scope get a good one because there are no set hunting hours if you hunt AK. I used a 2.5-8X36 Leupold VXIII and was very pleased, I'm sure it took a beating on the plane ride and still held zero, not to mention the beating it took on the hunt. Plus it gathered in all the light I needed to make a good shot on my bear, it wasn't close to sunset but it was overcast that day. I'm not saying you have to use Leupold but don't be afraid to spend $3-400 on a good scope.
Good accessories to have for your rifle are lots and lots of Rem Oil wipes, bore snake, electrical tape for muzzle, sling, shooting sticks, and butler creek scope flip up scope caps. The rest of my recommendations will be for hunting coastal AK. Good things for you to have quality rain gear like Helle Hansen Impertech, ankle fit hip waders, good binoculars if spotting bears from off shore 10X at least, GPS w/spare batteries, maps and compass. Don't forget fire starter, lighters or water proof matches, rope or 550 cord, and a tarp. Good day pack with hydration bladder, and some easy to keep snack foods like pop tarts and granola bars. Dress in layers, wool is your friend cotton is bad, get good under ware for your base layer used some stuff called Wickers, way cheaper than Under Armor and it worked very well.
If you are going un-guided make sure you know how to properly skin the bear out. In AK you must have the head outside the hide to be sealed. You don't want to ruin your trophy by screwing up the skinning job. As soon as you get to town make arrangements to find some one to donate your meat to, as bringing it all home will be expensive if you are flying it. Most canneries in AK will freeze and box your hide and skull to fly back on the airline as an extra piece of luggage. They can send it back FedEx or UPS as well depending on the carrier that services that area.
