30-06 bullet for bear

[roosterslayer]

Okay so the bait i was planning to hunt got flooded out last weekend. and i have a good bear coming into a bait on an edge of a food plot. this was a back up plan but the rear pads are almost five inches across. no trees in the are that are big enough for a stand. i have a built stand almost 45 yards with a clear line of sight to the bait. will the 180 grain remington green box work or should i go with a bonded bullet?

any advise would be great i only have five days before its go time!

[paul pachowicz]

at 45 yards that 180 Core-Lokt is gonna be coming out around 2600 FPS with a BC around 500. In my opinion that's plenty. Unless, of course you fall for the exotic high priced stuff they wanna sell ya.

[charliepete]

More than plenty. Aim for the boiler room. Don't try breaking a shoulder or something silly like that.

[bogwalker]

I have used Core-Lokt for years but it is not the best bear bullet. It is adequate for average size bear but if you get a shot at a trophy you might regret it. They are made to break apart not carry through heavy muscle and bone. My son uses a 180 or 225 grain Core-Lokt for bear but he only takes spinal shots ( and never misses ). Just my opinion.

[Bowfin]

Seems like Core Lokts many times do not have an exit wound which is crucial especially in bear hunting when the bear runs off and you need to follow a blood trail. They are powerful enough but not my first choice in bear hunting. I've always used the standard Federal 180 grain without problems. However, with just a few days to go you need to use the round you have sighted in with.

[roosterslayer]

i have a range right down the road and i was thinking of switching to the winchester 180 XP3 or the barnes tsx also in 180. anybody use any of these on bears?

[tweedlap]

I have shot many of them with a 12 ga 3" slug. No tracking necessary.

I shot one with 180 g 30-06 and he only went about 25 yards,

Good luck to all.

tweed

[Boar]

Lasr year I droped my bear on the pile with a 150 gr silver tip by winchester, perfect mushroom, this year I gonna try the 180 hornady. Their new 180 30-06 has an added 448 ft lbs of energy taking it close to a 300 mag from what I read. I want to anchor a bear for good an this sounds like the ticket. Boar

[roosterslayer]

boar, are you talking about the 180 sst? or the interbond?

[Boar]

interbond, In cabelas today an they did'y have 180 interbond so had to settle for 150 interbond, should do just fine. Boar

[Boar]

sorry rooster for not getting back to ya sooner, but with the green box ya get what ya pay for, for deer their just fine, but with the size of bear your talking on the pile the 180 or 150 hornady interbond would be my choice, this has been presented to me by someone I trust, that has extensive expereince in ballistics. You hit the shoulder with either one an it's still a dead bear. Boar

[motley man]

180 grain in any brand will do the job.

[roosterslayer]

just back fro trhe range and shot the 180 winchester supreme xp3. My gun really seems to like these rounds. shot a cloverleaf at 50 about 1"-1 1/2" inches high. dead on at 100 yards. only shot two rounds at 100 and they were abot a half inch apart. looking good now. only three and a half days to go:)

[imhooked]

My second bear was shot with a 30-30.

The average sized bear in Minnesota or Wisconsin is around 200lbs, I believe.

In my opinion and observation, a well hit bear seems to go down faster than a well hit deer

[Black Bear]

The 180 grain Core-lokts will be more than enough for any black bear......just remember to ALWAYS stay away from the front shoulders. A double front shoulder shot rarly gives an exit wound but for certin makes skinning a MESS. About every 4 years I hunt Caribou in Nunavut---the natives only use .338s on beluga whales. They use a .223 or a .243 on Polar bear (neck shots I guess) and a .22 mag for Caribou.

[TRZ II]

where is the best place to hit a bear?