if i wanted to go hunting for polar bear what would be better .50 cal mussleloader or 7mm mag?????

Answer 1

Never use a muzzle loader for dangerous game. You may need follow-up shot and your life may depend on it! The 7 mag would be a better choice than the smoke pole, but for bear as large as a polar bear I would want nothing less than a .45-70.

Answer 2

If it's between the 7mm and the muzzleloader, I'd definitely go with the 7mm. When hunting dangerous game you don't want a gun that takes 2 minutes to reload. If I were you I'd buy a new a gun for this hunt. The 7mm will work with good shot placement, but polar bears are big, dangerous animals. It's not worth gambling your life on. I'd get something at least as big as a .338 mag, maybe even as big as a .460 weatherby. If you're uncertain if you're using enough gun, that's a sign you need to upgrade.

Answer 3

7mm mag is way better in your situation! A .50 cal muzzle loader is only one shot. There is always the possibility the animals will charge. I would opt for some .30 caliber rifle (like .300/.338 mag) for a bear since the wind may throw a 7mm projectile off a bit. From personal experience, the
.30-06 is generally more of a deer cartridge, but it worked perfectly for a black bear since the shot placement at his shoulders dropped it immediately using only a 150 grain bullet.

Answer 4

I suspect this is a theoretical question.
While the .50 muzzle loader seems like a big, bad gun, it only has one shot.
With an animal like a polar bear you may not have time for a second shot. If you only wound it, you will be polar bear lunch.
Then again you would not be hunting alone with big game like that, surely you would have a backup rifleman. I would hope he would have one of the modern repeating rifles of at least .300 bore or larger magnum.
That is the sort of rifle the zoos keep on hand for emergencies. If an animal gets loose or a person gets in a cage sometimes there isn't sufficient time to tranquilize and they have to use the lethal weapons.
Hopefully you just wanted to know if the .50 could stop the big, white furry bear in a pinch. They are now becoming threatened with so much of the polar ice melting that maybe we really should start taking care of them rather than making them into rugs.

Milwaukee zoo has one and he is a blast to watch when he dives and swims around.

Answer 5

I'd go with the 7mm. A muzzleloader might not have enough speed to reliably penetrate through a polar bear's thick hide and fat layers and still be able to damage it's organs enough to bring it down. Personal preference, if I was polar bear hunting, I'd use a Marlin 1895 in .45-70, as the durable Marlin action would allow me to use high powered Buffalo Bore and other high pressure ammunition that would do serious damage on either end of the rifle. A really good recoil pad is going to help a great deal, as well.

Answer 6

Neither if you want to have a quick, clean kill. Of your two choices, the 7mm mag is the better choice, but it is still lacking in muzzle energy for an animal that size. A .375 would be a better choice.

Answer 7

I'll go with the 7mm for two reason because if its a repeater or some sort you can quickly fire a second round secondly in freezing conditions a drop of water may enter your powder charge with the muzzle loader and also if it really wet and cold the spark in the flash pan may not ignite the initial charge.

Answer 8

Been from the uk i was amazed to see such question, i was not aware they could be still hunted.
After a little research i was proven wrong, though they are an endangerd spicies.
Dont get me wrong your way of life and hunting is totaly different to our way.
To call your self a a true hunter over hear in the uk you have to be a conservationest at hart as well,, i can not see that in hunting somthing that is already fighting for its veary existance .
I know alot of you may not see it from my point of view but thats our differences from oposit sides of the world.

Best wishes to all

Answer 9

I would use the 7mm at least. I definitely would not use the muzzle-loader because it only has one shot and then you will need to reload. And I sure wouldn't want a mad bear coming at me while I was trying to load a muzzle-loader.

Answer 10

If I had a trusted back-up rifleman, I might consider trying with a .54 Caliber Muzzle-loader.

I mean if Major Doug Wesson could kill one with a .357 Magnum, and Fred Bear could kill one with a bow, I believe I could take one with my .54 Caliber T/C Renegade.

Doc