what bullet for bear

[56 kodiak shooter]

what bullet to use in a tc hawken for bear hunting, round ball, sabot or conical, I be bear hunting in pa. shots should be from 50-100 yards- thanks

 

[Buck Conner1]

I have shot (5) black bears, (2) in Pennsylvania, (1) in Wyoming and (2) in Colorado. Have used round ball and conical rounds, the (2) shot with round ball just seemed to me to be right (historically and I felt it did what it was intended for) personal opinion only.

 

[Muley Hunter]

PA has some huge bears. I'd use a big conical.

 

[Buck Conner1]

PA has some huge bears. I'd use a big conical.

Don't know what the average is now but 20 years ago it was in 420-450 lb. range. I used a conical on a 412 lb. animal (field dressed).

 

[NWTF Lobo]

.50 or .54?

 

[56 kodiak shooter]

54

 

[BrownBear]

Without regard for the size hole in the barrel, I'm betting that efforts to keep the range short and make great shots are more important than choosing between ball and bullet.  Get out to 100 yards and increase the odds of a bum shot, and choosing bullet over ball isn't likely to make a whit of difference.

Saw it several times on our place in the Rockies where guys shooting conicals for elk stretched the range and got stuck with long tracking jobs, as the guys shooting round balls concentrated on getting closer. I don't recall a single time when a follow-up shot was needed with round balls, yet about half the animals hit with conicals needed a tracker simply because long shots turned out to be bum shots. 

BTW- The round ball of choice for elk has been 54 cal. If it's good enough for elk, it oughta be just fine for black bear if you don't try to go Annie Oakley and stretch your shots.

 

[Roaddog]

I took a 520 lb black bear with my 50 cal hachen clone 490 pached roundball 90 gr, 2ff at 30 yards one shot.Shot through the hart and out the far side. He ran 40 feet and was down and out.Like BrownBear said keep you shooting at a resonable range.

   Roaddog

 

[Buck Conner1]

Have shot bears with .50 caliber to .62 caliber, its all about bullet placement, not the "Wing & Prayer" shooting you see some do. Gut shots only make the hunt harder on you and your game, needs to end as fast as possible.

 

[Muley Hunter]

It depends on how your hunting too. If you're in a tree stand over bait you can pick your shots better and take that double lung shot.

If you're on the ground stalking and an aggressive big boar is coming straight at you it's a different story. If the only shot you have is to bust through a front shoulder i'm not happy with a soft lead PRB.

Yes, a PRB will kill an elk with a lung shot. A big boar with lots of fall fat on it and a sturdy shoulder is another story.

If the load you use depends on always having the perfect shot. Someday it will get you in trouble with a predator.

 

[JLBSparks]

Isn't the "loaded for bear" load a double charge and double ball?

   -Joe

 

[NWTF Lobo]

I've killed bear, moose and bison all with prb out of 54's and .62's. Somehow people think black bears are tough and hard to kill. A bear's skin, fat and ribs are no harder to penetrate than the same on a whitetail buck. A bear shot through the lights will actually go down quicker than a deer.

80 or 90 grains of 2ff behind a 530 prb is good medicine for the biggest black bear.As has been stated, keep your shots close and aim behind the shoulder.

 

[Muley Hunter]

Good luck with your PRB in PA. 60 bears were killed last year over 500lbs. One was 760lbs. They've been known to reach 800lbs. I'd feel better with a close shot with a big conical.


PA Bear.

 

[NWTF Lobo]

:lol:  that's an impressive bear, a man could hunt for a lifetime and never see one like that...but it's still no match for a .54cal round ball.

I killed this bull moose in 79 with a round ball. it traveled full length through him from stern to stem. Never underestimate the killing power of a round ball, it's been killing big critters for a long time.

A Bison that fell to a round ball, inside one side and out the other pushed by 80gr's of 2ff

 

[Muley Hunter]

I've used a PRB since 1980. They work, but I haven't been overly impressed.

What do you use for a load?

 

[Buck Conner1]

A .54 or .62 caliber patched round ball with a behind the ear or even a lung shot will put a 1,400 lb. buffalo on the ground with one or possibly a second shot with no problem. Like said its about placing your shot and know your animal. I have never been in a tree stand or hunted from one, have always hunted on the ground and have always tried to get as close as possible.

I have only had one bear stand up and look at me, a well placed heart shot and it was over. Not the Grizzly Adams experience.....

 

[Muley Hunter]

Me too Buck. I take nothing but double lung shots. My dad taught me how to hunt and if I took any other kind of shot he would knock me out. As a pro boxer he did it too. So, that kind of stuck with me all my life. Get close and double lung shots or I don't pull the trigger.

The problem is I have to pass up a lot of shots. That doesn't bother me with elk and muley's, because I can find another one easy enough. Bear is a different story. This is not the best bear hunting area. The 250-300 hunters who bear hunt it only one bear a year is taken. So, when I finally get on a bear it's hard to pass it up because I only have a shoulder shot. I'm thinking a heavy conical will bust through it. Not sure a PRB will and never tried it. It would be hard for me to take a shoulder shot to begin with. I've never done it in honor of my dad, but even dad might say SHOOT if it's all I ever get.

 I try to still hunt into bears feeding on natural food. It has limited success and towards the end of the hunt i'll resort to calling. Every bear i've called in has come straight at me or quartering away a bit. Shoulder shot. I'm tired of passing up those shots.

 

[Buck Conner1]

Get close and double lung shots or I don't pull the trigger.

HAVE DONE THE SAME

I'm thinking a heavy conical will bust through it. Not sure a PRB will and never tried it. It would be hard for me to take a shoulder shot to begin with. 

THINK YOUR RIGHT WITH THE CONICAL POWER PETE

Every bear i've called in has come straight at me or quartering away a bit. Shoulder shot. I'm tired of passing up those shots.

MAYBE YOUR USING A MATING CALL ...   :geek:

 

[Marty1]

I grew-up hunting in Clinton County, PA.  I've seen many, many black bear in my excursions down there.  One bear freaked-me-out by getting a little too close once during archery season.   Another time my archery buddy was forced to remain in his tree stand after dark until a black bear finally left the bottom of his tree! :affraid:

Yes, PA has some bruins that don't play Hockey :lol:

 

[NWTF Lobo]

There's nothing wrong with using a conical if it makes you feel more confident. I tried a Maxi-ball way back when but when I went to flintlocks in the early 70's I shot round balls out of em.

I've killed a bunch of big critters  with RB in the last 40 years and they've never let me down. I've got .54 rifles, .62 rifles and 62 smoothbores. A young up and coming gun maker is building me a Bucks County flinter for my 82nd birthday next month. .62 cal, 42" swamped rice barrel. I'll post pictures when It's done.

I'll keep killin stuff with flintlocks and round balls till they throw dirt in my face.  :lol!: