.308 Enough gun for Meese, Brown Bear, Polar Bear

.308 Enough gun for big ol critters?

  • Yes

    Votes: 167 54.2%

  • No

    Votes: 141 45.8%
  • Total voters
    308
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I've never hunted grizzly bears, so take it for what it's worth. I'd want something that would stop a charging bear, just in case.
on the largest North Am. game, if you take care to place an accurate shot and get within 200 yards? Maybe it's not ideal, but is it going to make the kill 99 times out of a 100 with good quality 180-190 gr bullets and a good shot to the vitals? Up or down, yes or no vote
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At 200 yards? I wouldn't want to shoot a big bear with one at 200 yards.

I actually wouldn't want to shoot a big bear with even a .30-06. Before the "shot placement" crowd jumps in, it's because a bear is dangerous, and a wounded bear might start stalking humans.

To deliver this whopping 8% more energy it only takes 40% more powder and twice the recoil. What an easy choice!
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The round should at a minimum be able to go through the skull and hit the brain. Better yet would be if it can go through the shoulder and hit the heart and lung, since I'm not sure if I could hit the brain when it was charging me. (Although I don't know if either would do that.)

if you can't kill it with a 30-06 you should hide"
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If one charges me, and I hit it, a .30-06 might not reach a lung when something more powerful would. (I'm not sure if it would or not, I'm unfamiliar with grizzly bears.)
 
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.308 Enough gun for Meese, Brown Bear, Polar Bear..... on the largest North Am. game, if you take care to place an accurate shot and get within 200 yards? Maybe it's not ideal, but is it going to make the kill 99 times out of a 100 with good quality 180-190 gr bullets and a good shot to the vitals? Up or down, yes or no vote.


Of course it will work under these conditions. And so will a lot of other NON-magnum calibers, such as 6.5x55, 7x57, 8x57, .308, .260, 7/08, .270, .280, and 30-06.
 
With any dangerous game, it's a sort of risk/reward deal. Sure, a .308 will kill a brown bear or polar bear. No doubt about it. But that's a tad less important than the real question: Will it STOP Mr. Bear if he gets up close, personal and POed?
 
Art, I agree that .308 is not a stopping rifle and would not be my first choice for large bears.
When I went I took a 9.3x62 and it worked well on a charging bear that had been hit twice with a 180 Partition from a .300 WSM.
The 9.3x62 worked my on my bear at a 168 yards with a .286 gr Partition through both shoulders.
 
My personal obsevation of my fellow hunters and my storys, Skinning/gutting/postmortems and trigger pulling on Bears is this;

The .308 IS a "stopping round".:D Damn good one too.

A charging Bear is best shot between the eyes, and a bit higher still gets you the spine.Moving tward you, they present a centerd target.
Even a 12 foot Polar bear with a busted spine will stop.They dont keep charging when they are dragging their back legs.


A 50 Browning wont stop it with noise, you MUST hit it in a vital. Remember the bullet is NOT a wall of sort, it it moving thorugh its target as it moves to you. You want "instant death"??? then you must hit the Nervous system.

A close second to stopping a charge it to gut shoot them. They sit like a dog and nip at their wound. Might not work for you, but you can save a buddie whos getting the sharp end.

Bullets do NOT bounce off of Bear skulls either, they plow right on through.

Theres some serious B.S. out there about stopping Bears, but most basics of anatomy and riflemanship will place the bullet right and get the job done.

Most Bear attacks occure from behind,in dense brush/cover or while they find you in your sleeping bag.....at least here, in the Arctic.
 
A 50 Browning wont stop it with noise, you MUST hit it in a vital. Remember the bullet is NOT a wall of sort, it it moving thorugh its target as it moves to you. You want "instant death"??? then you must hit the Nervous system.
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Amen to that...
 
did someone say MEESE? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH>... gasp... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH gasp HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA... wow.. alright.. headache..
 
A charging Bear is best shot between the eyes, and a bit higher still gets you the spine.
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I still want a safegaurd in case I can't shoot that precisely under stress. Will a .308 with heavy FMJ bullets reach the lungs if I hit the shoulder?
 
Shot placement is EVERYTHING!!!

A miss with any gun is worthless.

Ive seen a 9foot Brown go 50 yards uphill, with a huge hole in his heart, and both lungs popped, and a busted shoulder.....They dont stop Bears fast either.

Use an FMJ if you think your gonna need DEEEEEP penatration.You can put an FMJ in his neck and most will plow completly through to the guts, easily. Ive seen that with an 8mmMauser, turk ammo.

A shoulder to lungs shot with a good soft point isnt hard, Ive seen that, but you still wont stop 'em if it wants to chew you up.

Then you know what your made of and "If" you can make the shot.


Theres not much you can do inthat situation except keep your cool and aim.
Practise , practise , practise shouldering ,aiming, proper trigger squeeze and a fast reload over and over untill you dont even think about it anymore. This is where dryfiring at teh TV gets to be fun.......Could be at every celebreaty or man inna suit, or everybody in the camera view.....just be ready, and have fun.....then get out and shoot the real stuff, and STILL hope you never meet a Bear.

Avoid Bears with your good habits and good luck!
 
I hunt moose in Alaska with an AR-10 chambering the .308 Winchester. They walk around for a second, maybe 10 feet, then drop.
 
I was talking to my barber while sitting there getting my hair cut and he was telling me about hitting a deer solid with a 308 and it ran off and he could not find it. His solution was that he now carries a 300 Win. instead. I had to bite my lip and just listen to this one. A 30 caliber hole is a 30 caliber hole but it helps if it's at least in the right place. I have seen guys squint there eyes up so bad shooting a magnum its a wonder they could shoot in the right direction let alone hit a target.
 
I Love these threads

They all can be summarized this way.

Q: Can large game animals be taken with my pet small-ish caliber?

A: Anything can be taken with any caliber, but I'd prefer something heavier, since the hunt is expensive, I have limited time, I don't want to wound or to pass up too many shots and I'd prefer to come back with both my buttcheeks still in one piece (or is it two pieces?).

Retort: But Bell did it. But the natives do it. But my uncle Gruff who lives in a hut in Denali's shadow says that anything bigger than a walking stick is being overgunned.

Furious discussion on semantics, anecdotes and geographically-based side-swipes ensues. And the thread goes on for pages, since it's too hard to resist.

Ah, the joys of off-season. :rolleyes:
 
Big bears are dangerous game and should be hunted with a dangerous game rifle.

A 308 can kill one with a well placed shot and no doubt several people will chime in with stories to prove it. However, when dealing with dangerous game you need a rifle that can stop a charge, and a 308 is a bit out of its league then.
 
WOW...maybe we need a governor on bear threads... hehehe

If the gentlemen want to hunt bear(big, mean ones, not the cute blackies) with the rip snortin' .308, by all means... please.

.... which pocket do you guys carry your wallets......and what kind of beer is in the fridge...:evil:

:D
 
Sure it will make a kill, probably 100% of the time.

If you shoot one of the above large animals with a .308 at 200 yards or less, somewhere near center-mass, it will die of the wound. It might take weeks, but it will die unless it knows how to get to a veterinarian.

Infections will eventually kill if not treated.:D
 
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What is it with this .308 thing? A blah,boring caliber. Is it because it's military? So does that mean you can get cases of free ammo? Gee I could get a .300 mag, but I prefer the 400 fps slower .308. I just don't get it. By the way,the brown bear regulations in the unit I hunt moose in in where relaxed this year[1 a year,instead of 1 every 4] so I will swap my 30-06 for a .300 WBY. I see no reason to use a popgun when real rifles are available.
 
think Caribou put this thread to rest LONG time ago.....
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There are no trees were Caribou hunts. No cover for a wounded bear to hide in. If you wish to pop a .223 at a tundra bear,fine. Don't do it in the cottonwood and birch forests I hunt in.
 
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