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I am looking for a 357 magnum round that will work for black bear. Found a round by buffalo bore that is supposed to fit the bill. It' a 180gr hard cast bullet @1400fps 783ft/lbs. Any thought's?
PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE........Listen- I have shot a black bear at 7 yards in maine with a .357, 158 gr shocker point in the center of the shoulder. He jumped up, screamed and took off. I found a little hair, no blood. We then had five guys looking (local guides) half way through the search they asked me what the caliber I shot him with. After telling them they stopped looking telling me the a .357 will not penitrate the shoulder and they have "seen countless slugs in bear shoulder from .357". I then did some more reserch when I came home, and read a study with .357 to a bear skull. The artical went on to say they could not get a ,357 to go through the skull. Long story I would never use a .357 on bears because there is no effective area to to shoot to kill a bear. Joe.
Some of the Black bears I saw in Alaska required a heck of a lot more than a .357 to stop.
But; to answer your question. I would use hard cast or TMJ bullets around 180 grains; loaded so hot you have to hammer the empties out with a mallet. But even then you are undergunned IMO.
Bears have been killed with .22s. You could get lucky and hit him in the eye socket, or shoot down his throat, or into his belly when he rears up, or something- and I would think that if you had 20, 30 guys all blasting at 1 bear in an arena he'd fall pretty quickly to a .357.
You can also slide a piece of paper up and down his paws until which time he gets a NASTY paper cut. with time and without neosporin, will surely get infected, left untreated, death is sure to come. Or I understand spitballs to the eye will do the same. But the spitballs must be at least 45 grains in weight.
Good thing you were hunting the bear and not defending yourself from a bear that got aggressive. With a .357 you are going to have to shoot for the face or get a frontal shot on the chest (heart shot). Hardcast bullets are not a good choice as they tend to fragment and slightly softer bullets actually have greater penetration of course an FMJ would be better but poking small holes in a bear is not a good idea. Have you chronographed the Buffalo Bore ammo and what is your barrel length.
When I load up hot ammo for my .357 I can't get 1400 fps with a 158 gr. bullet even from an 8 inch barrel. If the Buffalo Bore stuff really does 1400 with an 180 gr. bullet it would scare me some. What are you shooting it in. I hope it is not a S&W model 19 :-)
I'm shooting a Dan Wesson model 15 4". I don't expect to get 1400 fps from the 4" those are mfrs ballistics. I plan to have it for a back up in the tree while bow hunting. If I put an arrow into the bear any follow up on the ground will be done with a 12 gauge and 3" slugs.
The ammo you listed will probably be your best bet. I can understand the loss of the bear shot with the "shocker" bullet as these are designed to expand quickly and a very poor choice for this use. The hard cast 180 will punch a hole through the bear but not as big as a 44. Are the guides good trackers? If they run bowhunters too they are used to following trails. If you're shooting from a treestand, try to get the exit low enough to bleed him out quick.
I have a customer who pumped 6 well placed shots into a large (450 lb) black bear this year with a .44 Mag. It took all 6 shots to stop the bear and even then, one of his dogs had it's throat ripped open. This was an attacking bear. He came into my shop right after this and purchased a .460 S&W. He said that he had always belived his .44 Mag would be more than enough...he thinks differently now.
The .41 Mag is the BARE MINIMUM for black bear in my book. I feel much safer with my .460...2100 foot lbs of energy is hard to argue with.
A 450 lb black bear is big. And I agree, if you can handle a .460 or a .500 go for it...just remember, one well placed shot with a 44 mag is better than 6 misses or badly placed .460s or .500s. Personally if I was facing an attacking 450 lb black bear I would prefer a 3006 with 220 grain bullets in a pump or semiauto rifle.
Comments
But; to answer your question. I would use hard cast or TMJ bullets around 180 grains; loaded so hot you have to hammer the empties out with a mallet. But even then you are undergunned IMO.
But one shot for a sure kill? I wouldn't try it.
Good thing you were hunting the bear and not defending yourself from a bear that got aggressive. With a .357 you are going to have to shoot for the face or get a frontal shot on the chest (heart shot). Hardcast bullets are not a good choice as they tend to fragment and slightly softer bullets actually have greater penetration of course an FMJ would be better but poking small holes in a bear is not a good idea. Have you chronographed the Buffalo Bore ammo and what is your barrel length.
When I load up hot ammo for my .357 I can't get 1400 fps with a 158 gr. bullet even from an 8 inch barrel. If the Buffalo Bore stuff really does 1400 with an 180 gr. bullet it would scare me some. What are you shooting it in. I hope it is not a S&W model 19 :-)
After you emppty it in his hide throw the pistol to the side as you run away and maybe he'll go after the bacon smell!
JUST KIDDING. Look at some of the articles on the Buffalo Bore and they do indicate the 357 is capable of kills on bear.
I don't believe that ANY animal on the CONUS would enjoy a hot chunk of lead at 1400fps in their face.
FACT is you'll probably never know unless you try.
The .41 Mag is the BARE MINIMUM for black bear in my book. I feel much safer with my .460...2100 foot lbs of energy is hard to argue with.