Fella's;
It's not magnum hating, it's simply good advice given the parameters the O.P. has laid out. The recoil and expense are totally unnecessary for the tasks he says he wants to perform. Besides, he has access to his father's rifle, the .300 Ultra Mag, if he truly needs it in the future.
As a side note, when I took an antelope in to get the head mounted, a young man was just ahead of me with a black bear hide. He'd also been antelope hunting, but had the bear tag and used it when he ran across one. He told me he'd made the approximate 150 yard shot on the walking bear, and used his .220 Swift. He placed the bullet through the lungs, and you could see where it left a semi-circle in the entry rib & broke three ribs on the far side. He told me that the bullet fragments were under the far side hide & the lungs were mush. I told him not to tell his insurance agent & give the poor person a heart attack. I wouldn't use that caliber, but it is anecdotal proof you don't need a magnum to hunt black bear. A .30-06 will do just fine.
900F
It's not magnum hating, it's simply good advice given the parameters the O.P. has laid out. The recoil and expense are totally unnecessary for the tasks he says he wants to perform. Besides, he has access to his father's rifle, the .300 Ultra Mag, if he truly needs it in the future.
As a side note, when I took an antelope in to get the head mounted, a young man was just ahead of me with a black bear hide. He'd also been antelope hunting, but had the bear tag and used it when he ran across one. He told me he'd made the approximate 150 yard shot on the walking bear, and used his .220 Swift. He placed the bullet through the lungs, and you could see where it left a semi-circle in the entry rib & broke three ribs on the far side. He told me that the bullet fragments were under the far side hide & the lungs were mush. I told him not to tell his insurance agent & give the poor person a heart attack. I wouldn't use that caliber, but it is anecdotal proof you don't need a magnum to hunt black bear. A .30-06 will do just fine.
900F