243 for Bear????

Joined
Oct 8, 2012
Messages
2,122
I wouldn’t hesitate to use a 243 on black bear at all. The 95gr Berger VLD is a great choice as is the 105VLD if your rifle is twisted right.
 

SwiftShot

WKR
Joined
Nov 16, 2019
Messages
461
While cartridges plays a role, the most important thing is bullet selection. Pick the right bullet. I made a point blank shot with a 50 cal muzzleloader. Hit the bear in the front shoulder. Lets just say the bullet was a thin skinned bullet designed for deer. I got lucky and bone fragments got the liver and one lung. The bullet disintegrated on the humorous and separated. Bear went 300 yards, which in the PNW rain forest is not fun tracking job. Very disappointed in that bullet.

A year later different bullets designed to pen my oldest boy with same rifle dropped one at 60 yards. This bullet punched through a front shoulder broke the humorous and a complete pass through.

My point is same rifle same powder charge, even the same bullet weight. Just different bullet design, the one made for thin skined game did not do well with heavy bone, lots of fat and muscle. Oh both boars weighed from 320 to 355.
 
H

HappyHuntr

Guest
Two days ago this kid was asking if he could wear jeans on a deer hunt. Now he's got the scoop on bullet choice for everything up to grizz.

🤔
I shoot things. alot of things. My real experience is processing animals. I cleaned my first animal, a cougar, when I was 4. My pa skinned and treated the hide and I cut all of it up with brother. My experience with match bullets was shooting coyotes at 9yo with an Ar and ruined 120$ of pelts. Thats alot of money for a 9yo
 
H

HappyHuntr

Guest
We have a depredation permit on the farm. The deer ate 150,000$ worth of doug fir and cedar saplings, and the bears will kill the hogs. The cougar I skinned killed on of our prize rams. We can shoot 8 deer a year. All private depredation tags from WDFW.
 
Top