Asked For Advice Then Tells You Your Wrong?

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
have you ever given your opinion and know you're most likely correct,
and been told by someone with ZERO experience your completely wrong?

now I will instantly admit going into this discussion that my personal experience in this area is rather limited.
that being stated, I do feel I have a firm basis for my suggestions.
I was asked for advice, concerning a rifles use on an up coming black bear hunt
from a guy thats hunted elk for decades with a 308 win and even done it successfully,
who when I assured him his 308 win rifles going to be fine!
as always shot placements the critical factor!
... he tells me I'm wrong?
my late uncle lived in Maine and used to hunt there rather extensively when I was a kid.
he used a 35 rem caliber marlin to hunt local Maine black bear, very successfully for decades.
one of the guys Ive hunted with for decades has booked a bear hunt in Ontario for next year,
hes worried because his only centerfire rifle is a savage bolt action in caliber 308 win,
I assured him its going to be an excellent choice.(if he gets decent 165-180 grain ammo)
I offered to loan him a BLR in caliber 358 win, and a couple boxes of 250 grain handloads ,
but hes rather hesitant as he thinks he needs something with more clout .. than either of those options
I have no idea why he thinks a bear that probably weights under 250-300 lbs requires more power than the listed options
anyone with experience in this area please post your thoughts, as to the choice in rifle caliber/power required
 
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I never hunted for bear but I/m positive the 308 is fine, even excellent choice maybe a little better than the 356 for long shots but either one will work fine what does he want to use? Killed dead is killed dead. If I do go bear hunting I would use my Ruger American compact 308 and I own a few more powerful calibers but the 308 would be my choice
 
I have quit giving advice--everyone knows more than I do even if they have never done the things I have. Especially family.
 
"everyone knows more than I do even if they have never done the things I have. Especially family."


we must have the same people advising all our inlaws, family etc. when we are not around
 
theres no real advantage in significant power increases over what a 308 win with proper ammo potentially provides,
other than, it might provide the shooter with a bit more confidence
,but in most cases that Ive seen videotaped ,black bear are shot at well under 100 yards,
and if a 308 win can drop an elk at twice the distance and one that is easily twice as heavy as your average black bear it certainly does not lack lethality in skilled hands
btw I got one guy who asked me , after reading this thread,
what I would have suggested to take on that same black bear hunt if I was doing the hunting?
well to me thats a perfect match to using,
my BLR in caliber 358 win with those 250 grain speer bullets,
over a 44 grain charge of IMR 4064 with a 215 federal primer,

and id certainly select a scope with a 30mm tube and large lenses to make making shots in dim light easier.
I really doubt you could significantly improve on that combo,
as it certainly, and consistently works on larger and heavier elk.

It will be interesting to see what he decides to use!

a scope like this would be helpful
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/102227146


for those few that don,t know what a browning BLR carbine looks like,
heres a picture someone posted
Browning_BLR.jpg
 
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.308 Winchester, or just about any 7mm or up, well constructed projectile is fine for Ursus americanus. As Grumpy points out, bullet placement is key. I have been fortunate enough to have been on many bear hunts for Black and Brown bears and have seen calibers from .223 up to .45 used with great success. I used to carry my Sako .338 Win for most eveything up here until I had it re-barreled to .375 Improved for an African hunt. The 7mm/08 and the 6.5/06’s get most of the action these days. Yes, even for Alces alces.
 
My choice --Old school- .45-70
As for your friend .308 is plenty for black bear.
Brown bear, not so much.....lol
 
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