What Is A Proper Rifle and Round For Fall Black Bear

I freely and openly state, hunting black bear is one of my passions. Over the years, starting in 1978 I have pursued their kind from the coastal and inland areas of Alaska down to the arid deserts of Arizona and from there angling up toward Maine over to Newfoundland and then across Canada toward Alaska. I have hunted them with a variety of rifles, calibers and rounds; muzzleloaders; 12-gauge shotguns shooting slugs; handguns, both single-shots and revolvers; and with a crossbow but not with a bow and arrows.

I have hunted bears sitting watching bait or waterholes, spot and stalk; with well-trained hounds; calling them with predator calls; and shot them incidental to hunting deer and other big game species. Regardless of how, when, where and with whatever, hunting black bear is, for me, extremely exciting, sometimes challenging and even a bit scary, but, always great fun!

Spring bear seasons are in most places currently coming to a close, or already have. Based on emails and texts I received several friends and acquaintances they have done well this year taking numerous monstrous-bodied bears that were near or exceeded 7-feet squared with large skulls, including several color phase bears.

Not all black bears are black. Their coat’s color can vary from near polar bear white to blonde, to cinnamon, to light brown, to nearly red, to dark chocolate, to even a bluish color. The latter rare color phase, often called “glacier bears” are mostly found along the coastal areas of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada.

My first black bear was taken near Ruidoso, New Mexico while watching a late afternoon waterhole where I had seen numerous bear tracks. It was a dark brown colored female. Since that first bear I have taken two other non-black colored bears, one a light colored cinnamon in northern New Mexico taken with hounds and dark chocolate bear in the interior of British Columbia. That first bear was taken with a Remington Model 700 chambered in .270 Winchester, topped with a Weaver K4 scope, shooting Hornady 130-grain Pointed Soft Point ammo. My second bear, asolid black, was taken in northern Saskatchewan was shot with the same rifle and ammo, but now topped with a 3-9x Leupold. The light=cinnamon was taken while hunting behind hounds belonging to Bridger Petrini (www.tristateoutfittersusa.com). I shot it with a .450 Marlin T/C Encore handgun.

My last two black bears were taken in Alberta, Canada one with a Mossberg Patriot Predator chambered in 7mm PRC topped with a Stealth Vision SVT 3-18x44, with it’s operational optional lighted reticle, shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 175-grain ELD-X. My last black bear was taken with a Mossberg Patriot Predator Tactical .308 Win, again topped with a Stealth Vision SVT 3-18x44 scope and Hornady’s 178=grain ELD-X Precision Hunter. In both instances my scope’s lighted reticle played heavily in my taking those two bears. Black scope reticles against a black bear’s black hair coat are difficult to see, especially at times of poor light conditions, which was the case with both my last bears. A lighted reticle can and often does make the difference between taking or not taking a bear.

The second to last bear was shot a a grand distance of 12-steps. Even at that close range the ELD-X bullet performed perfectly, dropping the bear nearly in his tracks. At the shot he turned to run. My second shot hit him in the right ham and range forward. I found the spent bullet just below his left ear. After going through about 6-feet of tough bear, the recovered bullet was perfectly mushroomed.

Between those first two and last two, there have been a pretty nice pile of bear hides and delicious meals. Some of the other rounds I have used include .257 Roberts, .30-30 Win, .30-06, .308 Win, .300 Win Mag, .280 Rem, 7x57, .375 H&H, .375 Ruger,.44 Mag, .454 Casull, .450 Marlin, .45-70, .405 Win, .450-400 NE 3-in, 12-gauge slugs among others.

This coming fall, I am doing a black bear hunt with Randy Flannery in Maine at his Wilderness Escape Lodge (www.wildernessescape.com). ’ll also be there hunting but also hosting a hunt which Randy has graciously donated to the DSC Foundation Summer Gala (www.biggame.org or www.dscf.org ), July 19th at the Gaylord Texan Resort In Grapevine, Texas. The auction will be available for anyone to bid on through www.onlinehuntingauctions.com (DSC Foundation Gala). The hunt is for specific dates in September, during what Randy considers his prime bear hunting time. Randy stays fully booked each fall, but graciously has saved a hunt for the top bidder and me to enjoy this September. Part of the auction package is a Rossi R95 .45-70, a box of appropriate Hornady ammo, and a bear rug mount from Double Nickle Taxidermy (www.doublenickletaxidermy.com). Included are delicious home-cooked meals and very comfortable lodging, was well as a guides and care of the taken bear. The lake next to the lodge has some of the finest smallmouth bass fishing in the world!

I have just started gearing up for that hunt, making certain I pack a Thermacell or two, sans fuel which I’ll purchase upon arriving in Maine. I’ll also be checking temperatures and rain expectations a bit later, but making certain I have proper clothing and footwear for the hunt.

My biggest quandary at the moment is do I take a .30-30 Win or .45-70 Gov Rossi R95 lever-action rifle and do I top my choice it with either a red-dot sight or one of my Stealth Vision SVT 3-18x44 scopes with its operational lighted reticle? Or, do I take my Mossberg Patriot .450 Bushmaster bolt action rifle topped with a Stealth Vision SVT 3-18x44. Regardless, I’ll be shooting appropriate Hornady ammo.

If I take my .30-30 Win it will be loaded with Hornady’s FTX LEVERevolution 160-grain ammo. If it’s my .45-70, it will be loaded with Hornady’s 325-grain FTX LEVERevolution ammo. Then if it’s my .450 Bushmaster Mossberg bolt-action I will be shooting Hornady’s Custom 250-grain FTX ammo.

Linda Powell, who may love hunting black bear even more than I do, is a huge fan of her 16.25-inch barrel Mossberg Patriot Predator .450 Bushmaster rifle shooting Hornady 250-grain FTX Custom ammo. This, her favorite combination has helped her take some truly big northern bears, including a recent a monster cinnamon-colored boar.

It’s going to be really difficult leaving my .450 Bushmaster in Texas, should I decide to do so. Randy Flannery is a huge fan of lever-action rifles, so….I am currently leaning toward my Rossi R95 .45-70 topped with my Stealth Vision SVT scope because of the operational lighted reticle. Knowing light conditions could be less than ideal when a bigger mature boar bear shows up I really like the idea of a lighted reticle. I also like the idea of using a larger caliber round on what should be a fall-fat bear.

Bears weighing 300-pounds and more are quite common in Randy’s hunting areas. Fall bears put on as much “fat” as possible preparing for their snooze throughout the winter months. The biggest bodied black bear I have ever seen I saw just to the south of Randy’s hunting area. I truly believe the bear would have weighed in excess of 600 pounds, based on my heaviest weighed bear to date stretching the scale to over 500-pounds. Such sized bears can require a bit of putting down. I hunting with bigger bore rifles when it comes to bear, and strongly believe in being prepared for the biggest possible bear.

I also plan on taking either my .44 Mag or .454 Casull Taurus Raging Hunter double-action revolver loaded with either 240-grain or 300-grain XTP Hornady Custom loads. I have long hunted with handguns and love doing so. Should the situation be “right” when a big boar appears, I will consider shooting it with my handgun. Years ago I shot my first Alaskan brown bear with a .454 Casull.

I would dearly love to have you join me on that upcoming black bear hunt. Remember you can bid on it in person at the DSC Foundation Gala or by going to onlinehuntingauctions.com. Not only will it be a fabulous fall black bear hunt complete with your own.45-70 R95 rifle and a bear rug, you’ll be supporting the finest and best wildlife conservation organization (a 501 3c organization) in the world while knowing the money you spend will truly go to supporting wildlife conservation projects, rather than in some administrator’s personal pocket.