I agree with Greg. Depending one where you are going to hunt, average size of bear in the area, and time of year they can have a pretty hefty layer of Fat too. My first one had a layer of fat that was 6" thick on each side. Also if you are going with a guide he may want you to bust the front legs. On a hunt I went on the guide specifically asked me to make sure I broke the front shoulders because my stand was on the edge of a swamp and tracking could have been a little tough. In the 50 caliber, The Bear in my avatar was 430lbs and was taken with my MK-95 .50 cal using 100 grains of Pyrodex and a .452dia 300gn Swift A-Frame. The Bullet I would use now is the same Speer 300gn Deep Curl Greg mentioned. Most Whitetail loads would work ok but I would recommend sticking to a heavier bullet from 275gn and up. The extra weight will be a plus on penetration.GregK said:For bear, I would personally choose a bullet with a better reputation for being tough & not coming apart. A Barnes T-EZ 290 grain, a Knight Bloodline, 250, 275, or 300 grain, or a Speer 454/300 HP. Sierra also make a 44/300 flat point that is a great choice. Any of these will stay together, break bones, & do the job very well.
Thebear_78 said:I’m going to be going with 300gr Barnes MZ Xpander this year with blackthorn 209. I have no doubt that the 250 would work every bit as well on blackbear after seeing their performance on moose but since where I bait there are as many or more brown bears as blacks I stepped up to the 300gr. This is the first year they are letting us hunt brown bear over bait so my main goal is tasty black bear but if a good brownie comes in and gives me a good shot I’m planning on taking it. My buddy just scored on a nice brownie this weekend and we still have several more good brownies hitting the bait.
This is the bear my buddy shot saturday. He used his 458 LOTT and had an unusual bang-flop.
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