Black Bear Hunting

[Dave R]

Anyone have any practical recommendations in round ball caliber and load necessary for hunting Black Bear?

[bob in the woods]

I have taken 4 with my flintlocks.  The first was with a  20 bore trade type gun.  The bear was a 2 year old male who had taken a liking to my dog in a " breakfast " way.  I shot that bear beside my shop at a distance of 24 feet.
The length of the shop.  The bear was dead in 3 seconds.
The other 3 bears were all taken with my Chambers 10 bore New England fowling gun.
It works admirably      Having seen how fast a bear can move, even after being shot, I would go with at least a .54 cal      Having said that , if all I had was a .50 I would not hesitate to use it. 

[Hungry Horse]

O.K. here we go again. How about a little more information? Where are you hunting? Are the bears generally large, or relatively small? Will you hunt using a tree stand, and bait? or will you run them with dogs? Or, maybe even stalk them? Range, likely size of the bear, and how jacked up the bear is when you shoot him makes a bunch of difference. You can probably kill your average little hundred pound bear, eating stale donuts from a bait station, at thirty yards, with your favorite Whitetail, or Mulie load. But, if you're going after a four hundred pounder, that just ran six mile, whipped for dog twice, and is now forty feet up an oak tree, popping his teeth at you, you're gonna need a bunch more killing power, and good shot placement.

                   Hungry Horse

[ken]

I would choose the 54 if I had the choose . The 5o will do it But bears have a lot of mass. Shot placement is the most importent. I killed a black at about 45 pasess and it was dead wit in seconds , 54 cal 80grains of 2ff 530 rb

[bob in the woods]

My last bear was over 300 # dressed out.  I hunt from the ground, and my 10 bore is my weapon of choice.
All of my bears were taken close, usually measured in feet .  The farthest was 30 yds.  Practice your shooting, and make sure you know where to shoot for from all angles. Of the 4 bears , 2 were in no good mood, one had no idea I was there, and one was curious.  My final bit of advice is that bigger is better when talking calibre.
As mentioned previously, the circumstances of the hunt mean a lot.  Hunting over bait from a tree stand , the bear probably won't know you are there. Big difference.  A big bear is a sight to see from up close.  If it is looking right at you, you won't regret having a larger bore gun in your hand.  

[Habu]

A Brown Bess did fine for me.  The only recommendation I can make about using one is to let the bear get at least 12'-15' away, else the muzzle blast will damage the pelt. 

[Dave R]

Thanks everyone! I am asking for a friend that is considering a bear hunt! I will ask him if hunting out of a tree stand or on the ground etc and will re post!!

[buffalo]

shot a 300 pounder, thru the neck from a tree stand at 25 yds with a 58 cal. yeager(flinter),the only static i got was from a taxidermist asking why i made such a big hole, big is good, bigger is better

[doug.brayman]

Anyone have any practical recommendations in round ball caliber and load necessary for hunting Black Bear?

The bigger the better but, If i saw one while hunting with my .45, I would not hesitate to take the shot. I am impressed with the damage that a 45 is capable of.

[Jeff Peters]

I shot a nice bear a few years back with my 54 flint in the pouring rain from a ground blind at over 80 yards
Patched round ball with 80 grains of 2F
When the smoke cleared he was laying on the ground with four paws spread to the four corners
Best advise is to practice, practice, practice.
Get to know your gun well and where it will hit
Shot placement is everything

Have fun Bear hunting

Jeff

[Mike R]

Around here a big bear will run about 250 lbs, but back in PA where I used to live 500 lb bear are not rare and the record is over 800 if I remember right.  Around here I have little doubt a .45 or .50 would do fine [heck, folks shoot'm with arrows].  Up in PA I think I would use a .54 or .58 just in case a really BIG ol' bear walked up...bigger holes generally get better results [meaning faster kills]--but you still have to hit them right. 

[t.caster]

I did well with my .62 cal. Jaeger rifle on a 450 pounder, way up in Quebec. You don't need that big a caliber, but man it's lethal! I shot him in the back of the neck from a treestand 20 yds away. When the guide said, "how far did it run?" I said "3 feet, straight down!" I reloaded, but he never moved!
Of course I prefer that rifle for deer as well, because of the good, short blood trail.

[bob in the woods]

If you hit then right, they will go down. But, Slight movement , and the shot is off a tiny bit....bigger is always better when talking bear muzzleloading  calibers . I have seen a bear shot, and he was 10 feet up a tree in less than two seconds.  What if it's YOUR tree  ?    

[bob in the woods]

I am getting really excited !  Bear season opens here on Sept 1 st.   My 10 bore and I are ready 

[blackbruin]

Just remember their vital zone is different than deer type species, visualize a triangle upside down from base of skull to end of shoulder blade connecting down to mid femur above knee, back to base of skull. Alot of guys here in pa hit them back too far, figuring like a deer, big no no.

[David R. Pennington]

I've got a .62 I'd love to try out on bear.