There are about a 1000 things that can happen shooting beyond several hundred yards and only one is good.
Your outlook on recreational hunting also changes with significant impact when you begin looking for a missing or wounded bear in chest high bush and minimal blood from the fat and hair plugging an entry hole. Sub 30 caliber bullets just don't offer the kind of blood loss that inspires confidence in tracking
There is a moment when you ask yourself, WTF was I thinking to shoot that far! Bears have big soft feet, leave tracks very rarely, and do not bleed heavily for very long. Especially Fall bears with the amount of fat and thick fur they have.
I have seen my share of very long shots on big game including bears. One important tip, is staying focused at the moment of the shot, and carefully looking at where the bear or other animal was standing. Identify very accurately what the spot looks like, whats near it and any other characteristic of the location. Also range the spot with your range finder. Then tie a ribbon, surveyors tape or something at the exact spot you are standing.
One of the more complicated parts of a longer shot are being able to identify the exact location the animal was at when you get there. Nothing looks the same when your standing there, as it looked from where you shot it from. In many cases you cannot be 100% certain looking back from where you shot where it was exactly. Especially when dropping down into a canyon and having to climb up the other side.
Having that ribbon tied gives you the exact location from where you shot, knowing the range puts you at the right distance, then is just a matter of back and forth until you find the spot. When you are standing where the animal or bear was at, you can look for blood. This is where the heartbreak often begins! no blood, then you are searching for blood and have no idea if it was a hit or what happened.
As an example, bears are quite dramatic, or animated when wounded. Much like a dog will scream and bawl getting it's toes pinched, a bear will exhibit crazy wild gymnastics when hit even slightly. This leaves you with the impression it's a solid hit. As a guide for bears, I have shot more then one escaping bear that was hit by a client and rolled around on the ground, only to get up and take off running. My follow up shot knocked it flat. When we arrived to see the trophy, the first shot was through the front foot. Another nearly exact reaction from a bear that was recovered, but had only one bullet hole,.... mine. Upon skinning we found rock shrapnel in the belly. The clients shot was low and exploded a rock below it. Yet this bear was rolling on the ground and bawling for 20-30 seconds before getting back up and quickly departing.
Hunting is not golf. don't put the rifle down and take enjoyment of the ball headed to the green. Keep looking through the scope and be ready to shoot again. I can't count the amount of " golfers syndrome" I have experienced from clients in my career.
Had I not shot either of those bears as they were departing, there is no chance either would have been recovered. However, the tracking and searching would have gone one for hours and maybe a couple days to find them. During the years I was guiding bear hunters myself and the other guides came to a very consistent conclusion. The bullet diameters under .308 rarely ever left a functional blood trail with bears. Those .308 and bigger worked far better. Those .338 and bigger were almost always good and consistent.
Just remember that looking for a bear is a long shot different then looking for a deer, especially far from help, in a remote area when you're alone!
