Bear primer
Wildlife biologist and outdoor writer Larry Weishuhn discusses bear hunting caibers around the campfire.
I felt a slight nudge against my arm. Looking to my left I glanced at my widely opened cameraman’s eyes. With a pained expression on his face, he cast his eyes quickly left, looked back at me, repeated the same quick look to his left several times, then mouthed the word, “Bear!”
Shifting with a minimum of movement, I eased back ever so slowly where I could see past him, and out our cloth ground blind’s window. A bear, with a gorgeous cinnamon coat, stared at me, less than six-feet away. I picked up my still camera and slowly raised it to shoot photos. As I did the cameraman, on his first ever black bear hunt looked at me as if I were totally crazy!
I took several photos before the color-phase black bear, walked toward the bait barrel and started feeding. “You’re absolutely crazy!” Whispered the cameraman. “I thought we were going to be eaten by that bear!” I smiled. The bear had been curious. The young bear, a boar, weighing about a hundred pounds, can at times be aggressive, but this one had shown no signs of aggression, only curiosity. Had he appeared otherwise, I had my 375 Ruger loaded with Hornady 300gr DGX ready for action.
The afternoon passed without another bear appearing, a beautiful coat, the color phase I had hoped for, but on an older and bigger bear.
Back at camp that evening the cameraman told of our afternoon’s encounter, which lead to a discussion about black bear and caliber/rounds for bear.
In our Manitoba, Canada spring bear camp there were two other hunters. One had hunted black bear before and had taken four bears before this hunt. The other hunter was on his first bear hunt. All of us were hunting with firearms. At that point I had taken a double handful of black bears with a variety of firearms including muzzleloaders, shotguns with slugs, handguns, and rifles; single-shots, lever actions and bolt actions. I personally do not hunt with archery equipment nor crossbows, but appreciate those who do.
Each of us, all hunting from ground blinds, had seen at least one bear during our afternoon sit; young boars or sows with small cubs. Two of the hunters had close encounters, bears at less than 10 yards.
The day before our hunt all hunters shot their rifles, sighted in at 50-yards, as the outfitter had suggested. This was a baited hunt. No baits were farther than 50-yards from the blinds. The hunter who had previously taken four bears was hunting with a scoped bolt-action 300 Win Mag. The first-time bear hunter had brought a bolt action 30–06, topped with a variable scope. As previously mentioned, I was shooting a 375 Ruger, topped with a variable scope. Interestingly, all hunters were shooting appropriate Hornady loads.
Around the late-night campfire, the discussion drifted to what constitutes as a good black bear caliber/round. The guide said, “We usually suggest hunters bringing at least a 7mm and bigger, although we do have hunters who show up with their 270s and do very well with them. Some hunters too, show up with really big magnums, which are fine as far as we’re concerned, as long as they can accurately shoot them without fearing recoil.”
“What do you guys carry as back-up if you need to look for a wounded bear?” I asked the head guide. He and I had met in the past and had told me he had been in on a considerable number of black bear kills, in Alaska, Canada and the lower 48 States.
“For years I have carried two rifles, both lever actions. Initially I carried a Winchester Model 1895 in 405 Winchester. You know Teddy Roosevelt’s Big Stick, shooting Hornady 300gr SP InterLock loads. It was really a thumper! With it, I shot four bears that charged, stopping them at a barrel’s length distance — pretty western!” He continued, “A few years ago I switched to Marlin’s Guide rifle in 45–70. I like the short barrel so it’s easy handling and quick to point even in really tight cover. Using Hornady ammo, that rifle is extremely accurate!” He added, “In the past I’ve used either the peep sights or shot it with the open sights that came on the rifle!”
Allow me to jump forward several years. I recently contacted the same guide. He is still shooting his Marlin Guide rifle in 45–70, but these days it is topped with a Trijicon RMR red-dot sight. And, these days he’s shooting Hornady 325gr FTX LEVERevolution ammo; according to him it is every bit as accurate and deadly as it was with the original Hornady ammo. He also told me when he was personally hunting bear, he used his Model 1895 Winchester, 405 Winchester and shooting 300gr InterLock Hornady Custom ammo. In mentioning the 405 Winchester. I have on in a Ruger №1, which I dearly love. I shoot 300gr Hornady Custom ammo, extremely accurately. I have used that combination on several “sizeable” black bears and other big game species.
Back to the campfire… I was truly interested in the first-time bear hunter and why he chose a 30–06, a Remington Model 700 BDL. Several years ago while on staff with Shooting Times I had used a Winchester Model 70, chambered in 30–06, then shooting Hornady 180gr soft point loads to take several black bears during the same year hunting in Alaska, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Mexico. This was part of an assignment to hunt numerous big game species across North America with a 30–06. The questioned, first-time bear hunter replied, “I always wanted to hunt bear. I bought this hunt at DSC’s annual convention. I’ve hunted whitetails all my life. I started out with a 300 Savage Model 99 Savage lever action and still have it. I switched to the 30–06 for two reasons, well maybe three. My granddad shot a 30–06. He was my hero and mentor. Too, I wanted something that I could reach out a bit farther with than the 300 Savage, and, I wanted to some day hunt elk and possibly moose, as well as bear. With the 30–06 there are a variety of bullets in terms of weights and style that are appropriate for different sized game. I handload using a Hornady press and set up. When Hornady first came out with the SST bullet I played with it in and various loads. I found a load using a 180gr SST that my rifle absolutely loves in terms of accuracy. I’ve used the SST on mule deer and elk, as well as of course whitetails. It’s never let me down and I feel very comfortable shooting it at a black bear, including a really big bodied one!”
I had noticed the 300 Win Mag shooter was anxious to respond as well. No sooner did I look his way, “I’ve been fortunate to have hunted numerous big game species here in North America and also have been on plains game hunts in Africa, one in South Africa and one in Namibia. The same rifle I am hunting black bear with here is the one I have been using now for the past few years. It’s a Remington Model 700. I replaced the stock a few years ago with a synthetic, and if you saw me with it earlier, you’ll notice some of the exterior paint has worn off, and there are some dings in the stock as well. As to bullets, I too handload using a Hornady press, and for years I have loaded their 180gr soft points. My rifle shoots those bullets extremely accurately and I dearly love the terminal performance I get out of them. I shot my previous four black bears with them. The biggest animal I’ve shot with my handloads was a monstrous eland bull in Namibia.”
“The good thing is we don’t have to be in a hurry to get up in the morning. We’ll plan on having a late breakfast, probably do a little fishing before we head out for the evening’s hunt. Or, you can get up early and fish. The lake behind camp is filled with northern pike. The creek running into it usually has pretty good walleye this time of the year…” explained one of the guides, who had earlier told us, he would be cooking breakfast.
“Larry, I know you’re shooting a 375 Ruger in a M77 Guide rifle, short barrel. What are you using for ammo and why?” Asked one of the hunters.
“I’ve been fortunate to have hunted black bear a long time. I shot my first in New Mexico at a waterhole with a Remington Model 700 in 270 Win and used it on several bear hunts with great success. Over the years I’ve shot them with 12-gauge slugs, several 50 caliber muzzleloaders using Hornady 250gr SST bullets, but then also with a wide variety of guns including 257 Roberts, 7x57, 308 Win, 30–06, 300 H&H Mag, 300 Win Mag, 375 H&H Mag, 375 Ruger, 375 JDJ, 405 Win, 44 Mag, 45–70, 450 Marlin, and 450–400 NE. This trip I chose the 375 Ruger using Hornady 300gr DGX (which had only recently been introduced).”
I continued, “I really like the short barreled 375 Ruger Guide rifle. It handles really well, and shoots like a dream. Being ported I can actually see the bullet strike the target. I’ve used the 375 Ruger on several different animals here in North America including a 10ft 6in squared Alaskan brown bear.”
“I chose Hornady 300gr DGX loads because my particular rifle absolutely loves that commercial round in terms of accuracy. I know we’ll likely not be shooting beyond 50 yards, but at the FTW Ranch I’ve shot out to 700 yards with that combination topped with a Trijicon AccuPoint scope, and even at that distance it groups very nicely.”
“Use Enough Gun” was the title of a Robert Ruark book that was published after his death. Those words sum up my thoughts about bear hunting as well. I’ve never seen a bear that was killed too dead.”
“Gentlemen, I’m headed to bed to dream about a 400 pound plus, color-phase bear and will be getting up pretty early to catch a mess of walleye for breakfast….”
Photo credit: Larry Weishuhn Outdoors
