Would you trust a 6.8 on a black bear?

Schneeky

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With proper load and placement, of course. Kris has a hankering to do a guided eastern black bear hunt some time in the future and was curious if her new 6.8 was up to the job. Seems like it takes down some pretty good sized critters.
She has other options if needed, tho'.
Thanks for your help. Jake.. d:^)
 

Brian Shaffer

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With proper load and placement, sure, 6.8 can work. .22 lr can work as well with proper placement, however. You can put down a bison with .22 lr and proper placement. Bear generally range from 100-550 lbs in the US. So your considerations are shot placement and risk to the hunter, regardless of caliber. People have been hurt by bears after shooting them with larger calibers. So a guided hunt would be a foot stalk hunt? How good is Kris with shooting under pressure? How good is Kris with shooting running targets? Will the guide have a gun on the bear as well? More importantly, what does the guide say about using a 6.8?

People do hunt bear with the 6.8 spc. It can work. Preference seems to be for using deep penetrating bullets such as Barnes TTSX.

I think that if I was on the ground, I would want a larger caliber. If I was in a tree/elevated blind, 6.8 would be fine.
 

rgilbert

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Use the biggest gun Kris can shoot well. If it is the 6.8 so be it. Bears have been killed with smaller calibers.
 

Schneeky

LSB Member
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With proper load and placement, sure, 6.8 can work. .22 lr can work as well with proper placement, however. You can put down a bison with .22 lr and proper placement. Bear generally range from 100-550 lbs in the US. So your considerations are shot placement and risk to the hunter, regardless of caliber. People have been hurt by bears after shooting them with larger calibers. So a guided hunt would be a foot stalk hunt? How good is Kris with shooting under pressure? How good is Kris with shooting running targets? Will the guide have a gun on the bear as well? More importantly, what does the guide say about using a 6.8?

People do hunt bear with the 6.8 spc. It can work. Preference seems to be for using deep penetrating bullets such as Barnes TTSX.

I think that if I was on the ground, I would want a larger caliber. If I was in a tree/elevated blind, 6.8 would be fine.
Not sure just yet what kindof hunts the various outfits here offer. Haven't gotten that far with this l'il venture just yet. I'm kindof doubting a foot stalk type gig, tho'. Prolly more like an elevated stand. She was just curious if she could use her 6.8 when this gig actually might happen sometime in the future. I asked here 'cause I don't have much experience with that particular cartridge and it's various loadings. My gut reaction was that it's a little light for that job. She can shoot the SCAR if she's stand hunting. A .308 I have confidence in. She liked shooting it and held her own with it.
This would most likely be a local eastern NC hunt and we've got some pretty big bears with the world record coming from Craven County @ 880#. Best I can gather from the bear hunters in my old hunt club was 250-450ish were pretty common down here in Brunswick County. The doggers at the old hunt club would chase'em up a tree like a coon. But that involved bustin wayyyy back into some serious swamps a good bit of the time. I don't see that happenin.
Thanks for your replies, fellas. d:^) Jake..
 

RattlesnakeDan

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Black bears aren't that hard to kill really, just good shot placement with them quartered away is best. Vitals are pushed pretty far forward and tracking can be a mess because of thick cover and fuzzy wuzzy hair.
 

Chopperdrvr

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If you are a regular on 6.8 forums, a lot of people have claimed to taken black bears with the 6.8. I think I'm too chicken for that, but to each his own.
 

Brian Shaffer

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Black bears aren't that hard to kill really, just good shot placement with them quartered away is best. Vitals are pushed pretty far forward and tracking can be a mess because of thick cover and fuzzy wuzzy hair.

Actually, I think their fuzzy wuzzy hair is likely what does make them hard to kill, or maybe just harder to hit properly, not that the animal is particularly tough. Just about everything on a bear is much smaller than what folks realize. If you have ever seen the difference between a dry bear and one coming out of the water, the one coming out of the water looks puny by comparison. I think this throws off shot placement, especially when it comes to head shots. There are many reports of bullets "bouncing" off bear heads because of their thick or tough skulls. Bear skulls are neither, but a dry fur bear head is probably twice the size of the skull, making the skull easy to miss.
 

dman62

LSB Member
Bone structure is heavier than a deer, at least the ones I've been in on. I'd use a controlled expansion bullet. The ones with a good fat layer tend not to leave good blood trails also in my experience. If it was shooting over bait I'd have no worries with a 6.8 stoked with the Hornady 100gr GMX or one of Barnes offerings in home rolled ammo. Good luck and hope to see the success pictures!
 

Ratdog68

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I know of at least one blackie taken with a 6.8 and a Barnes 110TSX from an AR.
 

Chopperdrvr

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If you watch the tv show "The Bear Wisperer" on the pursuit channel, the last two show were about his Alaskan bear hunting trip where he shot a large black bear with a 6.8. He was using a YHM AR15 in 6.8spc and dropped a nice bear DRT.
 

RattlesnakeDan

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Chopper....too much time to watch t.v. these days huh???
 

Chopperdrvr

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WAY TOO MUCH! It's going to get worse before it gets better. My first surgery is scheduled for the middle of Sept. Won't even be able to do little projects. Maybe I can get some reloading done.
 

RattlesnakeDan

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I feel for you brother!
I lost my contract yesterday (confronted them and got run off) and my 2nd day off, even though I am busy for the most part, it isn't the same.
 

Ratdog68

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I feel for you brother!
I lost my contract yesterday (confronted them and got run off) and my 2nd day off, even though I am busy for the most part, it isn't the same.
Hey Dan... last year, I reminded the good Lord of something I'd heard before. If He takes something from your hand, let it go, to make room for something better He has in store for you.

Last year was a ROUGH year, I ALMOST lost my home, but, He provided a means for me to do what I needed to save it, and I have two (better) jobs than I had before. I also (now) have a means of a back-up line of work if I get hurt, or just can't handle doing construction any more. The second job has the same earning potential as the primary one (IF I were to work it full-time). God is GOOD !!
 

Chopperdrvr

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Sorry about losing your contract Dan. One of my favorite sayings is don't get in a pissing contest with someone who has more piss than you. Especially if your means of support is at stake. Hope something better comes along.
 

Schneeky

LSB Member
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Black bears aren't that hard to kill really, just good shot placement with them quartered away is best. Vitals are pushed pretty far forward and tracking can be a mess because of thick cover and fuzzy wuzzy hair.
Walp, momma saw some show on the Sportsman channel where a bear climbed the tree some cat was in bow hunting and they got footage of the whole thing. :eek:
Now she sez she wants a bigger gun for that l'il venture and use the 6.8 on deer and hogs. :cool: d:^) Jake..
 

RattlesnakeDan

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Walp, momma saw some show on the Sportsman channel where a bear climbed the tree some cat was in bow hunting and they got footage of the whole thing. :eek:
Now she sez she wants a bigger gun for that l'il venture and use the 6.8 on deer and hogs. :cool: d:^) Jake..
My ex saw a show on t.v. where a hunter shot a guy and made it look like an accident. So she thinks hunters are like that. T.V. + Women= trouble. LOL
 

Ratdog68

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LOVE me some bear videos!!
 

Schneeky

LSB Member
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Good stuff there, Mr Brian! I linked her to this thread. ;)
Thanks for the responses, fellas. d:^) Jake..
 
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