7mag vs 30-30

[Bowhunter46]

What would be a better choice for black bear over bait?

 

[EdP]

I have shot bears over bait in northern Idaho where the bait was 150 yds away. In that case I would choose the 7 mag for the flatter trajectory. I have also hunted bear in Maine over bait. The bait was about 30 yds away in the dark timber and a 30-30 would work great IF it was scoped. Seeing a black reticle on a black bear at last light is very difficult. Seeing irons is impossible. Bears tend to come in at last light and a scope is a big help, especially one with an illuminated reticle. A 30-30 is typically a shorter and lighter rifle and I would choose it for the ease of handling for the close shot.

 

[Bowhunter46]

I have shot bears over bait in northern Idaho where the bait was 150 yds away. In that case I would choose the 7 mag for the flatter trajectory. I have also hunted bear in Maine over bait. The bait was about 30 yds away in the dark timber and a 30-30 would work great IF it was scoped. Seeing a black reticle on a black bear at last light is very difficult. Seeing irons is impossible. Bears tend to come in at last light and a scope is a big help, especially one with an illuminated reticle. A 30-30 is typically a shorter and lighter rifle and I would choose it for the ease of handling for the close shot.

I shot a bear up near Quebec with a 7mag on a 50 yard bait, I guess I’m just wondering if I’m over gunned with my 7mm or if I’d be under gunned with my 30-30 maybe I’m looking for an excuse to buy a 308

 

[CJ19]

Oodles of bears have been killed with 30 30s over the years so it would work but the 7 rem mag would just be a better and more versatile choice. Will do every thing the 30 30 does and way more.

 

[ReddingArcher]

I guess it would be situational for me. How far is the bait? I killed my first bear with a 30-30 running dogs. It worked completely fine and that’s what I wanted to kill it with.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

I shot a bear up near Quebec with a 7mag on a 50 yard bait, I guess I’m just wondering if I’m over gunned with my 7mm or if I’d be under gunned with my 30-30 maybe I’m looking for an excuse to buy a 308

I’m here to help. The 30-30 is good in some situations, the 7mm is best in others. For your particular application, you need a .308. It’s pretty simple and clear cut. Do the right thing and get the gun you need and family deserves.

 

[NorthernRed]

7mm hands down.

Adjust your load and projectile to suit your distance depending on distance to bait. Also run an optic that works both out to 300yards and in to 30-40. When I hunt with my 7mm I carry a few different types of rounds depending on the situation.

Learn your animal and learn to shoot at the right spots. Not just center of mass/behind the shoulder. Up close you can choose better locations. Spine shots and shots in or behind the head are very quick and affective kills.

It’s an all round great calibre. Could be used on multiple species.

If you got deep pockets and broad shoulder then buy and carry both

 

[Ron.C]

7mm. A do it all rifle with allot of reach.

over bait, so I'm assuming close shots. Shoot em through both lungs and both 7mm and 30-30 will work just fine.

FWIW, I do a pile of Vancouver Island spot and stalk bear hunting and would have no issue hunting with a 30-30. Used my grandpas old .303 savage open sights on the ground with 150gr handloads that is ballistically very similar to the 30-30 and the old savage kills em just fine

 

[cueva]

I shot a bear up near Quebec with a 7mag on a 50 yard bait, I guess I’m just wondering if I’m over gunned with my 7mm or if I’d be under gunned with my 30-30 maybe I’m looking for an excuse to buy a 308

curious about this too haha, just picked up a 308

 

[JJCascade]

if the distance is short i would look at the sub-x bullet to be loaded in the 30-30 but the one i can shoot is a single shot so i'm also not limited to round nose bullets. i saw that nosler has a round nose ballistic tip i believe.

 

[KenLee]

Buy a BLR 308 and you can still play cowboy!

 

[backstrap billy]

At typical bear bait distances a bears lungs isn’t gunna notice the difference.

 

[Thegman]

As others have said, either will work and I doubt one will kill appreciably better than the other with correct shot placement; you're not over or under gunned with either choice.

I think the range at which you will be shooting and how well you can shoot each rifle dictates your choice more than which is "better". I've been on some baits where the 30-30 is perfectly fine, others where I'd want the 7mm due to distance from the bait.

 

[TheGDog]

What would be a better choice for black bear over bait?

I got a .30-30 because this one trail of there's I followed... when I first started getting into Hunting in 2014... this steep trail I was checking out... the vegetation kept getting closer and closer in... so I started becoming keenly aware of how I wouldn't be able to effectively whip that bolt-action in such a tight place.

Also used it on a sit on a cliff overlooking a waterway with a trail beside it that led to a spot where the water widened out and made a nice bathing spot. Iron sights are more challenging these days since I have to wear glasses now to see anything. And my hunting glasses are skewed more towards looking at things farther out.

So I have 1-3x20mm Weaver Classic on it. And with that WIDE exit pupil on it... you can go deep into dusk and still see just fine. And it's a true 1x on the low end, so if it's tight going, drop it down to 1x and teach yourself to raise your weapon aiming with both eyes open, and you can get on target uber fast in a big hurry!

So kinda just depends on the habitat to some degree. More open? Chance of cross-ridge shot? More like a Bolt action. Might have to travel thru some thicker denser vegetation? Lever-Action, with either a LPVO or a Red Dot.

And that Federal Trophy Copper .30-30 loading has a polymer roundnose tip in it, so no chance of the lip, like on a TSX-FN, catching inside the action. AND... this one time in a rapid shot aquisition on a Muley of something like 180-190Lbs on the ground (my best guess since I'm like 220Lbs, so was comparing him to my size)... Quartering away... it penetrated 24"!!!

 

[BowtechStew]

The 30-30 is a time tested round for a lot of game animals over the decades. It has proven it's worth more times than we can count.
The 7MM is also a fantastic round and it too has proven it's merits out in the field and mountains however, the two are VERY different in performance characteristics.
I've taken 2 bears...one with my beloved .358 Winchester in a 1989 BLR ( Christmas gift to myself back then!) and a Remington 700 .35 Whelen semi custom rifle I had redone by a gunsmith friend. Both rounds did an amazing job and both shots were 50 yards approx. and the bears never went beyond the spot they were hit at. Hard hitters for sure.
The 7MM will be much faster and as a reloader, I would say choose your bullet carefully for such close work if you are over bait and at 50 yds or less. The reason I say this is that the speed at which the 7MM is moving is quite fast especially so close to the muzzle. Depending on your bullet choices, you might not get the premium expansion but rather the bullet breaking up because it hasn't had time to slow down a bit, especially a lighter weight head.
I shot a big mule deer buck in Montana years back with a 7MM at about 50-60 yards after sneaking up through a drainage cut and some knolls in the flats. I was using a 150 grain bullet and I hit just behind the right shoulder, slightly quartering away and it blew the left shoulder to smitherines! Not much to salvage after we skinned and butchered him and quartered him. Left shoulder was destroyed...light bullet up close moving super fast! No bueno.

If you choose the 7MM, use a bit of a heavier bullet with a thicker jacket or bonded core for close work. Barnes Vortex, Nosler Partition or a Swift A-Frame. They're more solid in makeup and not like the poly tipped lighter long range heads. If you choose the 30-30 ( my choice of the two) a 150-175 grain head will drop a bear over bait easily, has less recoil and is a light rifle to carry.

The one guy stated getting a BLR in .308...great choice and has multiple uses besides bear over bait. The .308 is a great round, well established, accurate as can be and very easy to reload, creating the perfect round for what you want it to do.
Good luck!!

 

[Rich M]

30-30 is better for bear over bait.

 

[Tx270WT]

Can do classic/nostalgic, get a savage 99 in 308

 

[BowtechStew]

Can do classic/nostalgic, get a savage 99 in 308

OR BETTER YET...THE RARE AND HARD HITTING .358 WINCHESTER! IF YOU CAN FIND ONE, THIS ROUND IS A BEAST!