trapperman7
New member
Whats a good grain for a .308 for bear hunting?
Good bullet grain for bear with .308?
- Thread starter trapperman7
- Start date
gary paugh
New member
180gr
Gary
Gary
ButcherBoy
New member
How are you going to hunt? Hounds, bait or spot and stalk. If your rifle likes them, the 150gr blue bullets from barnes should be getting about 2900-3100 out of a 24" barrel. I haven't shot a bear yet with the barnes bullets, but I have taken a fair number of deer and have allways had the bullet go out the other side. It's nice to have an exit wound on bears.
Hope this helps
Hope this helps
Karl in Phoenix
New member
Trapperman7,
I did a little bit of internet research for you:
PMC:
165 grain Barnes XLC
Black Hills:
Gold 168 Barnes X bullet (2,650fps/2,620 Ft. Lbs energy)
Winchester:
150grn Supreme Fail Safe
Federal:
180 grain Nosler Partition
165grain Trophy Bonded
All of the above are loaded factory ammo. Saves alot of time doing the reloading research. Any of the above ammunition will likely do the job for you. There are others but this is what I found in my ten minute search.
Best of luck to you.
Cheers,
P.S.: By the way, it is not just the weight of the bullet (the "grain") that is of concern, it is also the construction of the bullet you seek. When hunting bears, you should use a bullet of sturdy construction, as all the above selections are of this type. Other premium bullets are also available but this list is a good subset of all strongly constructed bullets available as factory loaded ammunition. (edited to add this P.S. comment) By the way, what is the weight of the bears you seek to hunt? If the bears are big, use 180-200 grain bullets of sturdy construction.
I did a little bit of internet research for you:
PMC:
165 grain Barnes XLC
Black Hills:
Gold 168 Barnes X bullet (2,650fps/2,620 Ft. Lbs energy)
Winchester:
150grn Supreme Fail Safe
Federal:
180 grain Nosler Partition
165grain Trophy Bonded
All of the above are loaded factory ammo. Saves alot of time doing the reloading research. Any of the above ammunition will likely do the job for you. There are others but this is what I found in my ten minute search.
Best of luck to you.
Cheers,
P.S.: By the way, it is not just the weight of the bullet (the "grain") that is of concern, it is also the construction of the bullet you seek. When hunting bears, you should use a bullet of sturdy construction, as all the above selections are of this type. Other premium bullets are also available but this list is a good subset of all strongly constructed bullets available as factory loaded ammunition. (edited to add this P.S. comment) By the way, what is the weight of the bears you seek to hunt? If the bears are big, use 180-200 grain bullets of sturdy construction.
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ballistic_trep
New member
I prefer the Winchester Failsafe 150gr, although any premium grade bullet will work well. Above all else though, accuracy is most important and the factory Failsafes provide this out of most good rifles.
Regards and good hunting.
Regards and good hunting.
Shot a few bear, seen alot shot.
I'd use what ever your rifle shoots well. Bear are not hard to kill, I dont think they are any tougher than a deer. I call alot where there are loads of bear and I am sure my 22/250 would kill one if I had to.
In several years of bear hunting, seeing many kills and having to follow up on 5 wounded, I go back to shot placement. Two of the bears that went the furthest were shot with 338 mags. I have seen bears killed with a 38 special revolver(with dogs) a 9mm Glock, a 357, and a 44 mag. Ralph Flowers killed his first with a 22 LR single shot. Ralph averaged about 400 bear a year for many years, they were not a game animal then they were a pest. His favorite was a 270 w 130 gr.
Your 308 with any standard load will knock the crap out of any Black bear.
my experience.
Carl
I'd use what ever your rifle shoots well. Bear are not hard to kill, I dont think they are any tougher than a deer. I call alot where there are loads of bear and I am sure my 22/250 would kill one if I had to.
In several years of bear hunting, seeing many kills and having to follow up on 5 wounded, I go back to shot placement. Two of the bears that went the furthest were shot with 338 mags. I have seen bears killed with a 38 special revolver(with dogs) a 9mm Glock, a 357, and a 44 mag. Ralph Flowers killed his first with a 22 LR single shot. Ralph averaged about 400 bear a year for many years, they were not a game animal then they were a pest. His favorite was a 270 w 130 gr.
Your 308 with any standard load will knock the crap out of any Black bear.
my experience.
Carl
Bloodhound
New member
One that is left out and is my favorite is the Speer Grand Slam in 180 gr...Its what I use for Elk in my .308 Elk are tough, and this puts them down. I am careful and make the "Right" shot, but the "Behind the shoulder" double lung shot with the Speer Grand Slam is tough to beat...I have also used the 165 gr Sierra "GameMaster" with great success on big mule deer.
pomoxis
New member
If you have a rifle that puts a bullet weight into a tight pattern use it. You can test some high quality bullets like Barnes, Failsafe. I would go for the Barnes X because if you are calling bear and they are coming in full tilt you want to break bone and keep on going to the vital. The Barnes act like a solid and is recommend for Africa's dangerous game. If it will work on a elephant brain shot a bear skull would be a walk in the park.
CoyoteWolf 27
New member
180 Gr. NOSLER Partition..Like Bofire said, A .308 will do it to 'em with 150's, or 165's..I like a Heavier Bullet (180's) for Bear or Elk..2 cent's/ Coyote Wolf/ Colo..