Bullets for Black Bear

[jasonprox700]

I have a couple of rifles I may use for an upcoming bear hunt out west.  I will be using either my .308, .280, or .338 WM.  So far I am leaning towards the .308 because I am hunting over bait, so shots will be close.  I just picked up a box of 165gr GMX's for load testing out of the .308.  I thought about using 180's, but figured with the monolithic design I could drop a couple of grains and pick up a few fps and still have 100% weight retention.  Another I thought about was the Barnes, but I've been partial to Hornady. 

For each cartridge, what bullets and weights would you use?  I know premium bullets aren't needed, but this is my first bear hunt and I don't want to take any chances.  I figure my ammo is the cheapest part of the trip, so premium is preferred. 

[RWK]

308 should work just fine, if not that bullet go with a barnes they will do the trick. Rich

[dpe.ahoy]

Pick the one you shoot the best.  308 is a great little cartridge and will work perfect.  165 is also the right choice.  Over bait, you don't need reach or alot of speed.  I use alot of Hornady's products, but haven't tried the GMX yet.  It's been tested pretty heavy by most of the Hornady people, they hunt with their products before you ever hear of them.  Other good choices would be the Accubonds, Interbonds, Partitions or swift products.  I think ya got a good plan goin.  I'm partial to 7mm's so I would pick the 280, I love that one and the 7mm-08 as much.  Have a great hunt and let us know how it works out for ya.  DPDP

[Thebear_78]

I have used the 168gr TSX for the last few years.  It has proven to be an excellent bullet.  I took a moose last fall and got over 5 foot of penetration, from rump right out the chest.   Three bears fell to the same load this spring, two over bait and one spot and stalk at over 300 yards.  All three where one shot stops.   I don't know what you have to shoot to stop one of these bullets but I havne't found anything big enough to stop one yet.  I'm shooting them out of a 300 RUM. 

[Happy]

I would say a decent bullet , be it a cup and core bullet in 30 cal would fit the task.
It would be more important to know where to place the shot from a tree stand for a one shot kill. The vitals might be a bit more forward than you think- if this is your first black bear .Without some research on where to hit the bear , and some practice with the rifle and load in this your taking your chance's , not with any of your rifles and loads .Then ther is "Buck Fever" so seeing a few bears in the bush might help before the hunt .
If you were to hunt  one of the bigger bears like the brown or Griz , you might ask an outfitter , what they would suggest , as they would have more expertise  than some one here .
There are a few members ( Country boy) to name one, who has shot a few bears over time , that you could draw from their experiance . Look up some of his posts .
As I only have harvested a few .
Happy

[jasonprox700]

Any suggestions for the .280 and the .338?  I was thinking about something in the 160 to 175 grain range for the .280 and 225 to 250 grain for the .338.

[Happy]

Personly I would use the heavier bullets in both calipier .A fall bear could have a very good layer of fat. So think the heavy weights would have a better chance,for- a good solid hit and a pass through, leaving a good blood trail. In heavy cover I take an exit hole-to make sure their is a good blood trail anyday.
I will be using a 200gr Nosler interbond in my338 F this year over bait .In the 3006& 300Wn I would load the 180 Speer grand slam. Have had good results with the 'o6 and this bullet mainly on one shot moose kills.
Black bear weigh in from 250-450 lbs here in the central Ont. Canada district.
Happy

[454Puma]

Get some Rem 180 gr Corloks and your golden! No need for very expensive bonded bullets especially over bait -it's a freaking bear not Godzila! 

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Jason, my bear hunting is limited to 4 bear...one with an 06, onewith a 7mm mag. and two with a .300...ALL WERE SPRING BEAR SO FAT WAS NOT AN ISSUE.
30-06 165 grain Serria HPBT shot was maybe 125 yards, the bear ran 125 yards. lucky: he went across an open field instead of into the swamp...
7mm Mag. 175 grain Speer Nitrex Fact. load :  shot was maybe 125 yards, bear took two jumps and piled up...
.300 both 150 grain one Serria and one Nosler BTBT . Serria maybe 125 yards, instant kill ..
Nosler 150 75 yards on 7 ft. 3 " bear instant kill....the cup and core bullets worked well....
If and when I go again, I would go with heavier bullets except in the 7mm....with fall bear, I might also consider a part. Nosler ...I sometimes hunt bears in Pa. and they hunt late and kill some huge, fat bear...I think there I would want something to besure and create an exit wound.....

[kenscot]

Get some Rem 180 gr Corloks and your golden! No need for very expensive bonded bullets especially over bait -it's a freaking bear not Godzila! 

could not argee more

[Happy]

Get some Rem 180 gr Corloks and your golden! No need for very expensive bonded bullets especially over bait -it's a freaking bear not Godzila! 

could not argee more

So there is the final answer !! We might just only need  cup and core bullets towards the heavy side.You may use something that cost a bit more if you like , but not really needed , unless it is Godzila instead of an average black. Just take time with the shot.

[AlbanyCO]

Like the other guys said, a 180 grain conventional bullet should do just fine. Speer hot-cor, sierra gameking, remington core-lokt or winchester power point should do the trick. I wouldn't bother with the 165's personally. The extra FPS is gained by using a 165 is pointless over bait. A big heavy bullet will do just fine., provided your .308 shoots them well. Good luck!

[T.R.]

For shots on any North American big game less than 225 yards or so:  180 grain round nose bullet.

It opens on impact to make a big hole.  Weight will drive it through heavy hide and tissue.

Beyond 225 yards:  spitzer bullet is recommended for flatter trajectory advantage.  In my opinion, spitzer bullets have no genuine trajectory advantage less than 225 yards.  I'm talking about shooting large animals, not Dixie cups at the range.

TR

[mcwoodduck]

Any suggestions for the .280 and the .338?  I was thinking about something in the 160 to 175 grain range for the .280 and 225 to 250 grain for the .338.

I too have a 338Win mag.
Have not used it on bear yet but the standard Remington 225 grain soft points I use are great.
They worked well on a boar.  hole in about 35 cal and a thumb hole size out.  Very little meat damage.
Your 308 will work well.  I don't think it matters as long as you use a big game bullet.  It does not need to be a premium bullet.  Standard bullets work well.  Just poke a hole in the boiler room.
I think premium bullets should be used for game larger than what the claiber/ ctg was designed for.
All three are more than up to the task for bear.

[Lloyd Smale]

black bear arent that hard to kill. Ive used standard 150s in the 308 and o6 with great results and 140s and 145s  in the 280. A 338 is a major overkill for black bear. Sorry to all the premium bullet fans but ive never found them to be an advantage on game up to 500 lbs or so. If your wallet is deep and you dont mind throwing away money have at it but you dont need a partition or bonded core bullet to kill a 300 lb black bear.

[nomosendero]

black bear arent that hard to kill. Ive used standard 150s in the 308 and o6 with great results and 140s and 145s  in the 280. A 338 is a major overkill for black bear. Sorry to all the premium bullet fans but ive never found them to be an advantage on game up to 500 lbs or so. If your wallet is deep and you dont mind throwing away money have at it but you dont need a partition or bonded core bullet to kill a 300 lb black bear.

I agree that you don't have to use a premium bullet to take 300# animals. But I also know from experience that sometimes certain premium bullets can give me other features I want & quite often a cup & coore bullet will give me the performance I want. For example, in my 270 NO bullet that I have tested has given me the combination of accuracy, terminal performance & Bal. Coe./long range results of the 140 gr. Accubond. My 270 (sporter wt. ADL) will shoot sub 1/2 MOA with that bullet, the terminal damage & penetration is great & the BC is even better than a 140 Berger & no other bullet has combined these factors
in this rifle. So clearly this removes this bullet from the throwing away money catagory for that rifle. In some of my rifles, I never use a prem. bullet because I found a good combination of factors witout doing so & am not a devoted fan of any one style. I just like to use the best for the Goals of that particular rifle.

 

[Lloyd Smale]

Glad those accubonds are working for you. There more of a mid level bullet then a premium one and the price isnt to bad on them. Ive tried them in the 25-o6 and 280 and the 300 win so far and just cant seem to get them to shoot like the sierra spitzers and ballistic tips (another mid priced not cheap bullet) I thought theyd be a good compromise as the sierras and bts tend to tear up alot of meat, especially at 300 mag velocitys. Problem is ive yet to find a moa load for any of my guns with them. For the most part i can say that generaly hornady bullets have been the toughest bullets to get guilt edged accuracy out for me with the exception of vmax and amax bullets. They just shoot!

[Swampman]

The Remington Core-Lokt is a great bullet for black bear and frequently the most accurate in any rifle.

[nomosendero]

The Remington Core-Lokt is a great bullet for black bear and frequently the most accurate in any rifle.

The Core-Lokt with proper wt & cal. will work for Black Bear, sure.

The second part of the statement is just silly. "frequently" the most accurate in ANY rifle". there is no factual basis in that statement, nor would I say that about ANY bullet period. Every gun is a law unto itself. Only a few of mine like the Rem bullet well, a couple do. The same for Nosler BT's, Match Kings, Berger's, etc. No one can say in truth that ANY particular bullet is the most accurate in any rifle.

I wounder if you are a Rem. puppet or you just lack experience, but it doesn't matter.

[nomosendero]

Glad those accubonds are working for you. There more of a mid level bullet then a premium one and the price isnt to bad on them. Ive tried them in the 25-o6 and 280 and the 300 win so far and just cant seem to get them to shoot like the sierra spitzers and ballistic tips (another mid priced not cheap bullet) I thought theyd be a good compromise as the sierras and bts tend to tear up alot of meat, especially at 300 mag velocitys. Problem is ive yet to find a moa load for any of my guns with them. For the most part i can say that generaly hornady bullets have been the toughest bullets to get guilt edged accuracy out for me with the exception of vmax and amax bullets. They just shoot!

I would say that the Accubond is a Premium bullet at a mid-level price, a good bang for the Buck. My 300WM will shoot a TSX better than a BT, you just never know.

My Hornady experience for the most part mirrors your results. The 60 V-Max in my RRA is great & the 168A-Max would outdo everything I tried in my 308, while in factory ammo the 165 Fed. Fushion was amazing, the Rem was no prize winner.

[Swampman]

In over 35 years of shooting I've never seen a rifle that shot better with another bullet.  That's why I use Core-Lokts.  Of course I've only owned 2 rifles that wouldn't shoot MOA or better right out of the box with Remington factory ammo.

[jls]

The last bear I took was the only one I used a .338 on. handload with a 160gr original barnes x-bullet. hit him a little higher than I intended but the end result was the same. Took out two in. of spine and very tops of lungs. DRT. all others have been c+c out of my 30-06. IMHO, no premium slugs needed. If I hunted where they scaled out at 400+ I might reconsider but everything I've used so far works for me.

[nomosendero]

Yes, their ammo is more accurate than the most accurate match ammo ever assembled, & we all know of no match ammo loaded with corelokts! If only F-class & Bench rest shooters knew this, new records could be broken.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

nomosendero,  when I worked in public schools, I realized, some folks are incapable of learning....that is my attitude now  toward some of these silly posts....Unlike great gunmen like Elmer Keith, who stated he had been shooting for over 70 years and was still learning, some folk feel they know it all...so why argue...You have good experience, and are still learning...while others as Dirty Harry said, "are a legend in their own minds.""

[nomosendero]

nomosendero,  when I worked in public schools, I realized, some folks are incapable of learning....that is my attitude now  toward some of these silly posts....Unlike great gunmen like Elmer Keith, who stated he had been shooting for over 70 years and was still learning, some folk feel they know it all...so why argue...You have good experience, and are still learning...while others as Dirty Harry said, "are a legend in their own minds.""

Thank you & you are correct, such things are a waste of time.

[Swampman]

nomosendero,  when I worked in public schools, I realized, some folks are incapable of learning....that is my attitude now  toward some of these silly posts....Unlike great gunmen like Elmer Keith, who stated he had been shooting for over 70 years and was still learning, some folk feel they know it all...so why argue...You have good experience, and are still learning...while others as Dirty Harry said, "are a legend in their own minds.""

I couldn't agree more.

[Lloyd Smale]

now i dont know about the blanket statement that they will be the most accuate bullet in any gun. Ive actually had a bit better luck with nos ballistic tips and sierra spitzers but i will say that corelocks are accurate bullets and most guns will at least shoot them well. I do have a 6mm rem classic that shoots under 3/4s of an inch with factory corelock ammo. It wont shoot any better with any handload ive tried and corelock ammo is cheap enough that its about silly to handload for it so I guess i have to admitt that i do own a gun that gets fed factory ammo. Nice thing about the corelocks is they tend to hold together and penetrate and do a bit less meat damage then the noslers or sierras.

[Swampman]

The Nosler BT is accurate enough but they performed so pooerly for me on deer sized game that I gave up on them.

[nomosendero]

The Nosler BT is accurate enough but they performed so pooerly for me on deer sized game that I gave up on them.

Remember, you were talking about accuracy, not terminal performance. We are not going to start a BT tread
with the same 30 year old thinking.

Let's drop the 1 brand bullet is frequently the most accurante in ANY rifle kick (not true of any bullet) & get back to Black Bear bullets please.

[Swampman]

Ok the Remington Core-Lokt is an outstanding bullet for anything up to 500lbs.  It's the most accurate bullet I've been able to find in 35 years of testing.