What caliber for bear

30/30 with a spire point bullet. Assuming you don't want a big hole. You're only shooting 20 or 30 feet. Seen it with a 30-06 and that didn't do much damage either. I'd lean towards low velocity and a soft bullet.
 
50cal Muzzleloader
I was thinking it , i shot it yesterday!! With my new powder i did 110 volume with a barnes 290 tez curious to what velocity it shoots as i have a new cds leupold scope i put on thinking i was going to draw a new mexico early muzzy hunt lol I dont have a chronograph to tell leupold velocity anyone have a clue?
 
30/30 with a spire point bullet. Assuming you don't want a big hole. You're only shooting 20 or 30 feet. Seen it with a 30-06 and that didn't do much damage either. I'd lean towards low velocity and a soft bullet.
thought about that to but like the 35 rem better
 
I have shot quite a few with my 357 titaniun, you will be in close, but there is also a chance the Bear could be high and in pine bows which you would back out so you would have a shot, so you might want to take a rifle. I really hope you get a Big Boar walking Bear that you have to run in close and shoot him from 5 feet with dogs going crazy the Bear swinging at you, that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Good Luck
 
I have shot quite a few with my 357 titaniun, you will be in close, but there is also a chance the Bear could be high and in pine bows which you would back out so you would have a shot, so you might want to take a rifle. I really hope you get a Big Boar walking Bear that you have to run in close and shoot him from 5 feet with dogs going crazy the Bear swinging at you, that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Good Luck
Thank you , im excited never have done it
 
30/30 with a spire point bullet. Assuming you don't want a big hole. You're only shooting 20 or 30 feet. Seen it with a 30-06 and that didn't do much damage either. I'd lean towards low velocity and a soft bullet.
at tree distance....why a spire point?
 
I was thinking it , i shot it yesterday!! With my new powder i did 110 volume with a barnes 290 tez curious to what velocity it shoots as i have a new cds leupold scope i put on thinking i was going to draw a new mexico early muzzy hunt lol I dont have a chronograph to tell leupold velocity anyone have a clue?
Depends on the length of your barrel but probably 1975-2000 fps.
 
at tree distance....why a spire point?
I'm probably wrong in my description because any bullet that's not a flat slug can be considered a spire point I guess. But thin walled lead tipped bullets. I find they don't make exit wounds. Which is what most people want since they're looking for a rug or a mount. I know guys that will use .308win too, with an FMJ bullet, just a pin hole in both sides.
 
I'm probably wrong in my description because any bullet that's not a flat slug can be considered a spire point I guess. But thin walled lead tipped bullets. I find they don't make exit wounds. Which is what most people want since they're looking for a rug or a mount. I know guys that will use .308win too, with an FMJ bullet, just a pin hole in both sides.
FMJ bullets are illegal for hunting in New Mexico
 
I have shot quite a few with my 357 titaniun, you will be in close, but there is also a chance the Bear could be high and in pine bows which you would back out so you would have a shot, so you might want to take a rifle. I really hope you get a Big Boar walking Bear that you have to run in close and shoot him from 5 feet with dogs going crazy the Bear swinging at you, that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Good Luck
A buddy killed a nice boar last year that was a walker. Caught up to him and the dogs had him stretched out on the ground. Thought he was dead. When we pulled the dogs back he decided he wanted to wake up, my buddy shot him real quick right in the back of the neck. I pulled the heart out and one of the ventricles was stretched thin and was floppy, so he'd had a heart attack during the race.
 
I would take the lightest one. You may have to go a few miles following the hounds till the bear trees. That Marlin in 35 remington sound just about perfect IMO

FYI---I used a Marlin 336 in 30/30 for my mtn lion hunt with hounds.
 
I would take the lightest one. You may have to go a few miles following the hounds till the bear trees. That Marlin in 35 remington sound just about perfect IMO

FYI---I used a Marlin 336 in 30/30 for my mtn lion hunt with hounds.
that marlin 336 is a dandy, never had one but i like it
 
CVA Accura PR 28inch barrel, and thank you for your knowlege and response what # would u send to leupold for velocity ?
I think 1975 fps would be really close. Depends on elevation, temp, etc. You’ll still want to verify and maybe adjust your charge to match the dial when you receive it. Personally, I’d spend some time working up the most accurate load, chronograph it and then get the dial cut. But its really not too big a deal. Dials are cheap. Have another cut down the road if you need to.
 
I think 1975 fps would be really close. Depends on elevation, temp, etc. You’ll still want to verify and maybe adjust your charge to match the dial when you receive it. Personally, I’d spend some time working up the most accurate load, chronograph it and then get the dial cut. But its really not too big a deal. Dials are cheap. Have another cut down the road if you need to.
I tell ya i was touching holes at a 100 with that load took me about 10 shots and last 3 were touching so im real comfortable with the zero, ya the BH chart shows 100 volume 1865, 120volume 2066 , so ya u are spot on im thinking telling them 1970 for 110 volume
 
I was thinking it , i shot it yesterday!! With my new powder i did 110 volume with a barnes 290 tez curious to what velocity it shoots as i have a new cds leupold scope i put on thinking i was going to draw a new mexico early muzzy hunt lol I dont have a chronograph to tell leupold velocity anyone have a clue?
1900-2000 Fps, call it 1950 i bet your really close, with that rare as diamonds fancy powder you found
 
A southern utah bear guide I know uses a 4570 with stout loads. Reason is he likes his dogs. He likes the bear dead and down instantly, messing around with smaller calibers is great but the bear may not instantly die and take a dog with him before he does.
Does he not gather his dogs before the shot? Thought that was just s.o.p.
 
I doubt new mexico bears are all that different from bears up here. A book i would recommend, "a shadow in the forest" is a couple guys that did a 10+ year study in several areas of idaho, collaring, weighing, aging, tracking over 700 black bears. Average weight of adult sows was 130 or 140 lbs. Average weight of adult boars was i believe 240. At no age class in any of the study areas did the average weight of boars reach 300. Really, any deer cartridge is fine. People think you need big magnums to kill bears but you dont. Ive killed several bears with .308s, a couple with a .30-30, and one with a .44 mag handgun. Theyre not the invincible critters people think they are. Now to kind of back pedal a bit, my favorite bear gun is a .444 marlin. But thats really just because i think its a cool gun. Not because its strictly necessary.
 
Does he not gather his dogs before the shot? Thought that was just s.o.p.
He said that was for when they won't climb and fight on the ground...said the big ones like to do it and I don't blame him. I can see that as my 180lb cougar fought the dogs on the ground too. Had him pinned up against a cliff...tried to go vertical but the cycle was dog bite cougar in hind cougar swat dog in face...dog all bloody...happened several times till I could get a clear shot...so I can see his point. Shot him at 7ft with my bow.
 
Any caliber works, just aim farther back than you would for an ungulate. We kill a lot of bears and had lost a few and started doing some homework and saw that bears thoracic cavity sits back farther than deer and elk. Haven't had one go more than 30 yards since adjusting where we aim.
 
Funny I would say whatever you use for deer hunting would work on a bear.

I remember reading about a state employee that was hired to kill grizzlies in yellowstone years ago and he used a 22 hornet and claimed he never lost one bear! Guess again it's all shot placement!!
 
Funny I would say whatever you use for deer hunting would work on a bear.

I remember reading about a state employee that was hired to kill grizzlies in yellowstone years ago and he used a 22 hornet and claimed he never lost one bear! Guess again it's all shot placement!!
A guy was hired to kill grizzlies in Jellystone?....I'd like to hear more of this story....
 
Funny I would say whatever you use for deer hunting would work on a bear.

I remember reading about a state employee that was hired to kill grizzlies in yellowstone years ago and he used a 22 hornet and claimed he never lost one bear! Guess again it's all shot placement!!
But the OP specifically stated for a hunt with dogs. And if they're not your dogs(or even if they are) it's not you and the 22 hornet fighting a wounded bear that comes out of a tree. That said a 22 hornet between the eyes will do the trick, a lot of people wouldn't want the hole in the skull.
 
But the OP specifically stated for a hunt with dogs. And if they're not your dogs(or even if they are) it's not you and the 22 hornet fighting a wounded bear that comes out of a tree. That said a 22 hornet between the eyes will do the trick, a lot of people wouldn't want the hole in the skull.


I stand corrected!!

I did not see that it was a hunt with dogs but even then I know a lot of houndsman that hunt cougars and they like a 22 mag for shooting cats out of trees.

Now a Bear is a different animal but a good shot is a good shot but a bad shot is a.dam mess in itself when it go's wrong!!
 

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