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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Big Bore Rifles
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Trex
.224 member


Reged: 20/01/04
Posts: 32
Loc: North Texas, USA
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load
      #19426 - 25/09/04 06:36 AM

Fellows - Trex here again.

I am looking for a good bear load for my 338 win mag. I realize that this is a bit off topic here but if it helps I will have my 416 Rigby along as well. I just want to take a bear with the 338 win mag. I am open to loads or factory ammo - such as fed premiums or win supreme. Thanks for the help.

Trex

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Gibbs505
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Reged: 09/08/03
Posts: 442
Loc: BC, Canada
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load [Re: Trex]
      #19450 - 27/09/04 09:53 AM

How are you hunting, spot and stalk, baiting or hounds?

Also what bears? Black, girz, brown or polar?

--------------------
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Those who beat their swords into ploughshares, will plough for those who don't!

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M82A1Barret50Cal
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Reged: 12/04/04
Posts: 96
Loc: ACT, Australia
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load [Re: Gibbs505]
      #19461 - 27/09/04 01:37 PM

if you want to take a bear with a 338 winchester, unless you are very experienced with handloads you should probably stick to factory i would say, and go for the heaviest factory load you can. the other thing to consider is what type of bear it is, for example a black bear wouldnt require as heavy a load as a grizzly would. depending on the laws of where you live, i would also carry a large handgun backup and/or have someone else with that 416 rigby encase something goes wrong. then again you could just completely ignore everything i just said if you are a very good marksman and have a good knowledge of the bear anatomy...

M82A1

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Geronimo
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Reged: 14/04/04
Posts: 83
Loc: Michigan,USA
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load [Re: Trex]
      #19478 - 28/09/04 03:44 AM

My response hinges on what type of bear you are hunting:
1)Black bear can easily be taken with a 200-225gr load with any premium bullet(Barnes-X,Trophy Bonded, Swift AF, etc.)
2)Inland grizzly, I would lean more towards a premium 250-275gr load.
3)For the big boys, polar and coastal grizzly(Brown if you prefer) I personally would use the .416. However if I were to use a .338 I would use those mentioned in #2 above.

Six years ago I took a Brown in Kamchatka, Russia. These bears are genetically identical to Alaskan Kodiacs. I took a .416 Rigby as my primary gun and a .338 as a spare. I'd just like to say that for these bears a .375 or .416 is about ideal. Craig Boddington had just hunted with the same outfitter a few weeks earlier than I, and took his bear with a .338 Win Mag. I saw him at the SCI convention a few months later and he confided that he would have felt a tad more comfortable with a .375. These bears average 850-1100 lbs!

Geronimo

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Trex
.224 member


Reged: 20/01/04
Posts: 32
Loc: North Texas, USA
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load [Re: Geronimo]
      #19511 - 28/09/04 11:43 PM

Fellows,

I neglected to state for the record that the bear would be a black bear. The bears are over bait and not hunted with hounds (although I would really like to do this sometime). The bears being killed are around 300-lower 400 pound variety. Thanks for all your information - after extensive testing I have decided on the 225 Hornady interlock bullet. It gives excellent accurcacy and should hold togeter at a close range. My second best load was the TBBC 250gr from Federal.

Cheers
Trex

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Karl
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Reged: 28/05/03
Posts: 83
Loc: South Pacific
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load [Re: Geronimo]
      #19512 - 28/09/04 11:44 PM

How quikcly does a 375 or 416 drop a bear like that or any bear.
That is do they drop to the shot from a vitals shot or take off like african game can for a while?

Thanks,
Karl.

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Geronimo
.275 member


Reged: 14/04/04
Posts: 83
Loc: Michigan,USA
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load [Re: Karl]
      #19515 - 29/09/04 04:00 AM

They can drop to the shot. But it seems that most times they can go a bit before finally going down. Thats why most hunters want something to sort of knock the wind out of them with the first shot. Mine went down with the first shot angling through the chest, but was up again in 2 or 3 seconds. I could see he was buggered, but he was looking around to see who pushed him. Thats when I sent another 400grs to close the matter for good. As always shot placement is paramount.

Geronimo

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atkinson6
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Reged: 26/01/04
Posts: 678
Loc: Idaho
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load [Re: Geronimo]
      #19516 - 29/09/04 04:49 AM

In the 338 Win, load up some 300 gr. Woodleigh RN soft points and it won't make much difference what kind of a bear you shoot, it will hammer him..I have shot elk, eland, Cape Buffalo,Bison Lion and Kudu with this load, not to mention an abundance of smaller plainsgame....

Another good load for most plainsgame and black bear is the 210 gr. Nosler at 3000 FPS, it is an absolute killer.

After years of using the 338 Win. on game of all sorts this is the two loads I settled on, see no need to try anything else, they just work. But the Nosler 250 gr. and the Northforks are also excellent bullets and you will not go wrong using them either.

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shrike
.224 member


Reged: 16/07/04
Posts: 29
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load [Re: Trex]
      #25203 - 26/01/05 04:00 PM

Black bears even in the 300-400 pound class are easily killed. For my .338 I standardized on a 225 Nosler partition @ around 2850 fps, imr4831 powder, cci250 primer and WW brass. You will get total penetration @ any angle you will shoot from in your particular situation.Your Hornady interlock is also a very fine choice.
A 250 grain bullet is totally unnecessary for this size- class black bears. Neither is a .338 required, but it will certainly do the job.
I do not like shooting heavy recoilers from a treestand.
A light handy 30-06, .308Win. with decent 180 grain bullets flattens any of those bears.
Having observed lots of customer mistakes in bearcamp,may I recommend the following ?
If you are an old hand at this, then please ignore my un-asked for advice.
1.- Have a scope with heavy cross hairs to find black bears in a dark forest just at dark.
2.- have a scope with 2 or 3x powersetting as an option.
You need clarity and field of view not enlargement.
3.- Unless it is raining, no gortex in the stand, it is too noisy and will easily spook a bear on the bait.
4.- make sure your rifle is smack on at bait barrel distance. At dusk you may have enough trouble making head out from tail on your black bear at dusk in the trees. This is not the time and place to hold low or high,one of the main reasons of flubbed shots in this type of hunting.
5.- Visualize the lungs, spine and heart in the bear from the angle you will be shooting. Scope one of the frequent non-shooter bears like yearlings and mammas with cubs, visiting the bait. Great exercise and confidence booster.
6.- Urinate in a wide necked pop bottle while in the stand. Empty well away from the stand.A good reason to drink warm water instead of coffee just before going in the stand. Coffee/tea is a diuretic.
7.- No un-wrapping candy bars, sandwiches etc. while waiting for game in the tree stand. Bears easily hear that. Ditto un-screwing noisy thermos bottles,or pop bottles.You can unwrap some immediatly after you get into your stand for later consumption.
8.- Shoot a trophy not a puppy. Do not shoot the first bear you see unless the body is as big or bigger then the bait barrel.
Enjoy your hunt.

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DeishuAK
.224 member


Reged: 01/01/05
Posts: 28
Loc: Chilkat Peninsula, Alaska
Re: Need Help with a Bear Load [Re: Trex]
      #25238 - 27/01/05 09:03 AM

Here in Alaska I hunt blackies with 454 Casull Super Redhawk using Winchester Nosler Partitions. At close range this is a devastating combo. Rifle choice for spot & stalk hunting, either 338 Win Mag with 225 gr bear claws, or 375 H&H with 300 gr bear claws - always the potential for unexpected brown bear encounters here.

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