Going armed for bear? :confused:

[pdxkevin]

This will be my first spring black bear hunt. Any tips or advice? A nice hide will be a bonus, mostly I am after some good meat.

[Dogfish]

Start with a .308 and go heavier from there. Anything in that category will be enough for bear. Some of the 7mms (7mm Rem Mag, .280, 7mmx57, and a few others) would be suitable as well.

If you're talking about browns or Grizz, start at the .338 Win Mag and go up form there in power level.

These are just basic calibers, and I'm sure I missed many, but if you have a rifle in any of the power categories mentioned, you should be fine. Just leave the .223 at home.

[DAB]

I am so big and mean I go Bear hunting with a switch, haven't run across any Bears yet,luky aint I. Good luck hunting...

[willametteriveroutlaw]

Hunt them with the gun you feel most comfortable with. Anything bigger than a 243 should do the trick.. Having lived in ak for 6 years, the most common advice I heard from bear hunters is to aim dead center on the shoulders and break them down.

[BuKuBass]

I often tease my magnum tottin' buds that they shoot big game like they shoot pool: "If you can't hit'm good, hit'm hard." But a .243 for bear? Seems a little light; you might just **** him off.

[Lured In]

Had a buddy who took a nice one this year during rifle elk season with a .270 shooting 160 grain Winchesters. At 15 yards :shocked: it went clean through both shoulders, the lungs and clipped the heart. After skinning and cleaning it hanging weight was 95lbs. Not a bad little bear.

[MetalHead]

Mathews Solo Cam 72# draw weight 516 gr arrow 100 gr Thunderheads tuck it in behind eiter shoulder toward front of oposite shoulder works every time. Oh ya carry a sharp knife for backup you never want to hunt bear with just one weapon.
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[crabbait]

Love your grit, Metalhead. I also like to flick sticks. Twice I have been in position to arrow a bear with the right tag in my pocket.

Unfortunatly, on both occasions I was on the ground and we were within twenty yards of each other and we both knew where the other one was and what the other one was. Both of these blacks would have dressed well over 200lbs and neither seemed impressed with my stature. I decided to let these prime opportunities pass.

Not enough knife, I recon.

[MetalHead]

Crabbait, keep in mind that when a bear is stuck it will run in the direction its nose is pointed when hit, and will usually run until it drops. The only time I have seen this not be the case is when they are knocked off their feet be large bore rifles then they run in the direction their pointed when they get up.

I saw a very nice bear this past Elk season that I would have loved to harvest and thought about it but I had a small problem. You see I was gutting the Bull that I had shot when he came up behind me. I heard the stick snap and looked over my shoulder to see him standing on his hind legs sniffing the air about 25 yards from me. It would have been a fantastic shot but my partner had my bow and was on his way back to camp for the pack boards. I looked at my available weapons (skinning knife & bone saw) and decided they didnt quite measure up to tooth and nail so an attack on my part was probibly not the best choice of action (even though there was no more than 40 pound difference between us). So I went to plan "B" which was to grab both available weapons spin around and yell and wave my arms above my head. Lucky for me the bear was startled enough to run off because my wife told me she would have kicked my butt if I had let the bear have the Elk. Here she is packing out the horns.

BTW she got a new pack board for Valentines Day, god I love that woman. :grin:

[roundbelly]

find yourself a nice clear cut full of brush that you can see into, like across the canyon or on a hillside. watch if you are in bear country you will see one either eating or digging. once you find one then it is time for the big dance. get close and fill your card. don't go hunting alone.