Allright experts....357 loads??

longhunter

I hunt bear,all the guys at general disc.seem to think the 357 is not enough for bear.(i carry it while baiting)If placed where it needs to be do you all agree or what?How about opinions on loads better suited for the purpose?

William81

.44 Mag minimum IMHO...I have seen several whitetail deer taken with .357, but then again they don't usually do not want to hurt you when you shoot at them....No doubt the .357 will kill one, but I would perfer more gun.

Guns only have two enemies: Rust and Liberals....

longhunter

Well,Ok It is just hard to believe that a 30 cal. anything wouldn't do the job.If not the most all the bears in Maine and New Hampshire must have been confused,most died of 30-30,32 poisening or the like.I have had the same disagreement on bear rifles,I have an odd-six but prefer at close range to use the 30 Rem. It seems to me it is more about bullet placement than anything...but I am listening.

He Dog

The other side Longhunter, is that is frankly hard to believe that if a rasty bear is coming your way like a freight train, you can be dead certain that bullet will go exactly where it must be for a one shot kill. You cannot afford to be wrong even once. Again: 44 magnum, 12 gauge slugs.

My heros have always killed cowboys.

dheffley

Nothing less than a .44 Mag. In fact, I would buy one of the new S&W 500's. They make the claim that it will stop a charging bear, and with it's balistics, it should.

Measure twice, cut once.

Empty the clip!

warcrob

only if it's a fully load double action, and emptied in the bears open mouth as he's about to eat ya!
I have heard of a few people taking black bear with the 357 mag., usually problem bears around cabins up north. But it generally took 4-6 rounds to drop the bear.
Generally the black bear is shy and affraid of humans a will turn and run on sight. Sometimes there is the agressive bear which is the exeption to the rule.
I'd perfer to carry a 12 gauge loaded with slugs.

If you ain't got a sesne of humor you got no business bein here!

longhunter

Sigh...Well I am listening,and learning...I've only ever ben false charged just once.That time we surprised a female bring in more bait.Once I jacked a shell in ye ole 1911 colt she left,after a few more woofs and such...Kinda thought it was the act of setting down the bait bucket and slowly backing away that made her happy....after all I was holding dinner.They all thought I was crazy carryin the 45 also.All the 44 mags I have held are so dang Heavy.A lot to carry round all day....but i guess i'd rather have it and not need than the reverse.

Iconoclast

hey neighbor, I'm sure the NH bears ain't any tougher than their cousins in Maine, and from the two times I've seen bear hereabouts shot with .357, I can tell you I wouldn't want to have to rely on it. One of these was a scrawny yearling of maybe 100 pounds or so, and he ate up all six of my buddy's .357 rounds and kept coming. Fortunately, another in the party had a safe shot with an '06 and hit him in the shoulder, else I suspect we would have had a severely injured hunter to carry out; that was one mighty upset bear. Listen to Saxon, he knows his stuff! If the .44 wears on you, consider a shoulder holster. Back before I gave up hunting large game, I used one most of the time and found it much less wearing.

longhunter

Thanks for the advice...I used to hunt New Hampshire,* huntin,deer huntin years ago.Lived on the border.N.H. Game wardens don't have a sense of humor I found!