My co-worker wants to take me hunting?

Question

What's a good rifle to hunt bear with? I can shoot but I'm only 5'2" and 122 lbs (that's like 7 stone 10 I think)

Answer 1

Just go buy a lever action Marlin model 1895 chambered in .450 Marlin caliber and you wont have to worry about all the other junk. The rifle is cheaper than most and better quality. The .450 caliber is heavy enough for anything in North America and along with Hornady's new lever action rounds is quite accurate out to 150 yards which you wont be making shots past that anyway. The gun kicks alittle more than a 45-70 but is easily handled if you purchase a $25.00 limbsaver butt pad while your at the gun shop. This pad took about 50% of my recoil out on mine. Basicly the gun kicks like a .243 now.

My suggestion is to not scramble your brain at all the options and go for something you can use anywhere for anything in the woods. I say woods mainly because hunting bear your not going to be hunting the open plains where a shot of 300 yards will be active. Buy a cheap scope for the top of the Marlin and you have yourself one of the most respected firearms in the wild.

Hope this helps, heres a link to the gun I am speaking of. Anywhere you want to go to find out how good it is I encourage you to do so. You will hear nothing but excellent remarks I assure you !

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/bigbore/1895M.aspx

Good Luck & Happy Shooting !

Answer 2

First of all, there is no such cartridge as the ".40-40 Winchester" some one mentioned. The closest cartridge to fitting that name is the .38-40 Winchester (which has an actual bore diameter of .403") but it is a pistol cartridge and unsuited for bear hunting.

I am going to assume you mean black bear hunting since brown bear hunts are ruinously expensive.

Considering your height and weight, I'd say go with either a Marlin Model 336 in .35 Remington, or .30-30 Winchester, or a Winchester Model 70 Youth Model in .308 Winchester.

Both rifles have advantages. the M-70 can use pointed bullets and is better for longer range shooting. the Marlin will give you faster second shot capability.

Whatever rifle you choose, shoot it a lot at paper targets before you go hunting. It is highly unethical, and on a bear hunt dangerous, to attempt to shoot an animal if you do not have the skill to make a killing shot. So get the rifle soon, and spend lots of time on the range this summer. Then make a post this Fall bragging you the big bear you shot.

FWIW, in addition to making a fine trophy, bear is good eating.

Doc Hudson

Come on Guys! This young lady is only 5'2" and 122 lbs! A Marlin .45-70 will kick the snot out of here with proper loads. And I hate to think how bad a .338 WinMag would knock her around. Let's face it, though a .30-30 WCF might not be ideal, it will get the job done, same can be said for the .35 Rem, or .308 Win. Let's not try to get the lady overgunned to the point she will flinch too bad to hit the broadside of a barn from the inside. Doc Hudson

Answer 3

It will depend on the size of the bear. Generally speaking, black bear are smaller than brown bear. The different subspecies of brown bear, such as the grizzly, alaskan brown, and kodiak, are even bigger. Of course a Polar Bear is even larger. Can you still even hunt polar bears?

Anyways, for a black bear, most folk will tell you that a standard larger caliber deer rifle will do the trick. This would be your .308 Winchester, .30-30 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, and other similar cartridges. A small black bear will also go down with even a .270 Remington, or maybe even a .243 Winchester if it is small enough or you make a lucky enough shot. I'm a big fan of risking having too much firepower rather than having too little, so I'd go with a .338 Winchester Magnum or a .338-378 Weatherby Magnum. Maybe even as big as .375 H&H Magnum if you wanted to.

Now, if you are going for brown bear, pack heavy. I don't care what anyone tells you about how the right shot will bring a bear down. In a pinch, you want to drop a brown bear in one shot. .40-40 Winchester, .416 Weatherby Magnum, .44 Remington Magnum, .444 Marlin, or .45-70 Govt. are all great bets. Of course, if you really want to step it up, you could go for the .460 Weatherby Magnum. Of course, the problem with all of these is that a person your size probably will have trouble with the recoil. Of course, it IS considered an elephant gun, lol. I'm just saying is all. Probably overkill though.

In all seriousness, if you are hunting brown bear, it doesn't hurt to be overprepared. If you can't handle a larger caliber rifle, a brown bear might not be the target for you. You could consider something smaller and allow your partner to carry something larger, and double-team the bear. I'd say though that if you carry a .338 Winchester Magnum and your partner carries a .444 Marlin, you'll be fairly set.

I'd say though if you aren't an experienced hunter, a dangerous game animal might not be the place to start.

***UPDATE***
My apologies, it seems there is indeed no such thing as a .40-40 Winchester. I was actually trying to think of some cartridges you could look at other than just your basics like the .45-70 Govt. and .444 Marlin, and I was looking off a list of rifle cartridges I found for reference. After I clicked the link provided, it actually had no information, but rather listed cartridges in 10mm. It did then list .44-40 WCF, which I believe I've heard of before.

My mistake.

Also, to MS below, while shot placement is very important, if you misjudge your shot, or the bear moves at the last instant, how much are you willing to rely on making a quick, dead-on follow-up shot with a .243 Winchester to the heart? As this person seems to never have been bear-hunting, I'll also assume their shot placement won't be as exacting as your own might be as well. A bigger caliber can be just as accurate, but also is more forgiving if something goes wrong.

Answer 4

Oh boy... Well, I wouldn't want to start out hunting bear. Bear is dangerous game for more experienced hunters. You won't want to use any thing smaller than a .308 Winchester and a .30-06 or the new .338 Federal would be even better. Be sure and take a gun safety course, or have an experienced gun person coach you first.

Good luck.

H

Answer 5

What type of bear? Black bear, Kodiak bear, grizzly bear? If its for black bear a common 30-06 or 270 deer rifle will work fine. But if its for the larger species pick up at least a 338 WinMag.

Answer 6

Go with a .30-30. Have your co-worker carry a larger rifle for back up.

Answer 7

I use a .243 rifle. .270 is the biggest you should use. Anything above that is overkill and unnecessary. When you shoot a bear in the heart with a .243 it dies real fast. Shot placement is the key.

Answer 8

Did BOTH OF YOU take a Hunter Safety course?

Don't go ANYWHERE with a fellow-hunter unles you BOTH know how to SAFELY handle a firearm.

PS -- unless your first shot is a "kill" shot, if that bear is wounded and is close enough to charge you, you could end up being the Bear's trophy.

Answer 9

Glad to see your starting here............hmmmm....... maybe you would want to go DEER hunting this year and see how it works out................a good rifle would be a Thompson center contender, you can have different barrels for different calibers........so go with a .223 for all around plinking and get something like a .308 or a 30:06 to stop your bear .......NEXT year..........

Answer 10

do you have other hunting experience? if you don't, start with something else, deer hunting and target practice. if you are an experienced hunter, then use a .308 cal. or above for bear. i personally use a 7mm mag. do yourself a favor, and use enough gun.