So I’m looking to hunt a bear and I’ve got a question. Is a 30-06 enough of a gun? You look at hunter forums and invariably it becomes a pissing contest between people’s favorite callibur and your left with the impression that anything less than a 50 callibur sniper rifle will just bounce off regardless of placement.
I wonder does anyone have any practical experience bear hunting with a 30-06 or have any hard data on what a bear vs bullet will accomplish with various calliburs?
I won’t judge hunters of carnivores (much), but when I packed an anti-bear weapon while salmon fishing in Alaska, it was either a 12 gauge loaded with slugs or a Marlin 1895 in .45-70. Anything less is just pissing them off.
Yes. One thing to keep in mind about the .45-70 is that loads vary wildly in power. Most of what you find at places like Wally World is loaded very mildly in deference to all the old rifles out there. Big Green doesn’t want to get sued when you decide to see if great-great-grandpa’s trapdoor Springfield still works. OTOH, there are boutique ammo companies like Buffalo Bore who produce some very potent loads, typically featuring hardcast flatpoint bullets, that are capable of taking all but the largest game.
Apropos of thing else I would get a scope. Unless you are a dead eye you may need to be some distance from the bear if you miss or just wing it and have to make the bear an extemporaneous proposal.
Yep, .45-70 dates back to the black powder days; the designation simply means “.45 caliber, 70 grains of blackpowder.” IIRC 70 grains was meant to fill the case. Smokeless powder is a lot more potent. a lot of the ammo commercially available is meant for “cowboy action” shooting competitions, and is loaded to roughly the same pressures as the old blackpowder loadings.
They’re just animals. They bleed and die just like everything else. Black bears are routinely taken with archery tackle and with firearms like .30-30 rifles that are considered pretty lackluster.
