type of bullet for bear

[Jacob31232]

have anyone used the federal 175 grain terminal ascent on a black bear? I was thinking about buying some for my spring bear hunt. Ammo is becoming really rare here and this ammunation is available. I can't find any quality 180 grain bullets for a 30-06.

 

[roosiebull]

i have used TA in my creed, and they seem to be a great bullet, don't think you can go wrong with that choice, but in general, anything that works well on deer will work well on bear

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

Have been using 190 gr Bergers with great success for both grizzly and black bear.

But… did pick up some TA for a couple of other rifles (308 Win and 30-06) to see how they’ll do on black bear. Season doesn’t open up for 5-6 weeks so it’s a waiting game.

 

[EdP]

I agree with rosiebull. Black bears are not griz and don't require a special bullet. Any quality bullet designed for hunting and of the appropriate caliber should do fine. This certainly included the 175 gr TA from a .30-06. I have taken 2 with 180 gr Gamekings from my .30-06, and one with a .62 cal lead roundball from a flintlock rifle.

 

[Dust1n]

I used the 165g federal fusion out of a .300wsm and anchored them where they stood

 

[Lukeetreatz]

.308 168gr works great for coastal black bears.

 

[sneaky]

have anyone used the federal 175 grain terminal ascent on a black bear? I was thinking about buying some for my spring bear hunt. Ammo is becoming really rare here and this ammunation is available. I can't find any quality 180 grain bullets for a 30-06.

Where did you find 175gr TA ammo or bullets?

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[blackdirtdiaries]

check out the underwood ammo controlled chaos bullets...taken many a bear with those

 

[Jtenkink]

the last black bear I saw killed was taken with a super basic 140gr soft point federal out of a 270 win. 175 TA should have no problem doing the trick.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Black bears - think big coyote and not small grizzly. They are easy to kill and we have used several different bullets, none of them particularly known for their toughness…Berger, SST, ELDX, ELDM, TMK.

I’ll be hunting this spring with a 6mm CM shooting a 108gr ELDM and won’t hesitate to take 800+ yard shots if the wind is right.

 

[URE_G]

I use 168s for Bear, Elk and everything else out to 375 yard (so far)

 

[Honyock]

180 gr Nosler Partition has worked well with me.

 

[Hschweers]

Where did you find 175gr TA ammo or bullets?

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Federal loads .308 and 30-06 in 175gr ammo. Just check their website relatively regularly and you'll find em in no time. They have .308 in stock at the time of me writing this.

 

[sneaky]

Federal loads .308 and 30-06 in 175gr ammo. Just check their website relatively regularly and you'll find em in no time. They have .308 in stock at the time of me writing this.

I'm far more interested in when they'll have their 175gr 7mm bullets available. No need or interest in anything 30-06 or 308. Only TA ammo I have seen lately was a box of 300WSM, and it was overpriced.

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[BigCam47]

Curious if anyone has used a .450BM over bait? I just found some Barnes 250gr TSX. Has anyone used it with success? Figured a solid copper bullet would maximize weight retention.

 

[DDD_1]

Black bears - think big coyote and not small grizzly. They are easy to kill and we have used several different bullets, none of them particularly known for their toughness…Berger, SST, ELDX, ELDM, TMK.

I’ll be hunting this spring with a 6mm CM shooting a 108gr ELDM and won’t hesitate to take 800+ yard shots if the wind is right.

Have you tried taking longer shots than 800yds with the 6MM? Planning to go out this year also with a HOWA 6MM.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Longest was on a coyote at 767 yards. It performed well. My 6mm is my primary coyote gun. I am in the process of swapping most of my stuff out to nightforce and I am not sure my NX8 will be here in time for my bear hunt. My 6mm is a tank - I just weighed it at 14lbs with a bipod and NXS 5.5-22x56, but its a tack driver and I have a ton of confidence in it.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Even a basic nosler ballistic top will dump black bears. Like others have said, you don’t need anything special. Personally I like accubonds.

 

[jhm2023]

Black bears are not very difficult to kill by any means. I'm guessing people hear or see the word bear and assume large bullets from big cases are needed. My very first bear was a 21 year old well fed large body Adirondack bear with a 19 14/16 skull. 2nd oldest bear in New York state that year. I used a simple 165gr Hornady SST from a $400 30-06. I've since lost count on the number of bears I've killed with a surprising amount of them being with archery gear and nearly a dozen with a suppressed 300 blackout pistol using both subsonic and supersonic ammo. All this to say, don't over think it. Use what you can shoot well and take reasonable shots. If that's your average deer rifle/ammo setup then that's just fine.

I will say however, that black bears can be especially unforgiving to poor shot placement so make your shot go where it needs to go. A larger cartridge or bullet won't help with a poor shot. The vitals are slightly further back than ungulates and because of that I find the best point of aim for a broadside bear to be center from top to bottom and ~4 inches behind the shoulder. This accounts for the vitals being further back and the several inches of hair that hangs below the brisket and gives a little room for error.

 

[littlebigtine]

Black bears - think big coyote and not small grizzly. They are easy to kill and we have used several different bullets, none of them particularly known for their toughness…Berger, SST, ELDX, ELDM, TMK.

I’ll be hunting this spring with a 6mm CM shooting a 108gr ELDM and won’t hesitate to take 800+ yard shots if the wind is right.

how many ft lbs at impact at the 800 yard mark with that 108 gr eldm?