44 mag for black bear

[RVT 23]

Im thinking about using my marlin 1894 44 for black bear this year, I hunt in nc and was planning on using a speer gold dot jacketed soft point 270 gr. shots will be under 50 yds. would like some of opinions from some bear hunters. thanx!

[J.T.]

240 grain barnes at 1300 fps drops them dead at 40 ft out of a pistol, good shot placement equals bang flop. im sure the 270 will do well

[outlaw13]

I use a Taurus 44 revolver with Hornady 300 gr. and it packs a pretty good punch.

[Mike Leonard]

You would be hard pressed to find a better combination than the one you have chosen. The gold dots will perform very well. The 44 Magnum out of a revolver is very good for bear but out of a carbine with that extra barrel length it rocks em and socks them!

[Tbblue]

http://www.dakotaammo.net/CORBON-Hun...20/300/Product

COR®BON began as a custom bullet-making company; we made bullets for hunters going to Africa to hunt the Big 5 with a handgun. COR®BON's Bonded Core Soft Points are designed to retain their weight and stay together while crushing through heavy bone and tissue in large game. COR®BON's Penetrator and Hard Cast loads are designed for very large, tough-skinned and heavy-boned animals. The Penetrator loads use a heavy, full jacket with a hard linotype core. The Hard Cast load is made from a hard linotype lead with a proven LBT nose design. These two loads cause a through-and-through hole, breaking even the heaviest bones. Our customers have taken large game such as Moose, Brown Bear and Cape Buffalo with our Hard Cast and Penetrator loads.

Caliber: 44 Rem Mag
Bullet Wt.: 305gr COR®BON Hunter FPPN
Velocity: 1250fps
Energy: 1058ftlbs
Test Barrel Length: 8.375 Inches
American Made.
American Owned.

These r the best bullets I've found. I have a 44 mag. But hands down a 12 ga. Slug is my preference on bear. The 44 just goes on the side for back up n easier to carry in the thick stuff n lead dogs out at the same time

[coastrangecathunting]

first off to each there own but my question is why use a 44 . u are putting u and your dogs at risk. if your going to get in there and kill bears on the ground i think a 444 or 45-70 are perfect. i know any gun will and has killed bear but when the shit hits the fan after a bad shot i want a gun that puts the hurt to them . my dogs safety mean alot to me i owe them the best chance i can give them to be safe. like i said to each there own .

jc

[Fitz]

RVT- Use that thing and post some pics up! A .44 is plenty big and will put a big bear down nicely! Even a BIG bear! you won't have any regrets as long as you're shot is well placed. Under 50 yards will be as easy as pie!

[jcathunter]

I'm with JC. I proudly showed a new .44 to my mentor years ago and his reply was, "thats gonna get ya bit". That came very close to being true. As amazing as I claim to be with a gun , sometimes my shot placement is left wanting.

[bearhunter611]

I've seen a few pissed off bears with a .44 that have a little kick left in em to tear some shit up before they expire unless shot in the dome. As for a rifle I own a .450 marlin, might be a little on the heavy side, but shot two bears with it this fall and it really knocks their dick in the dirt.

[kickemall]

I copied this off a shooting board -

"You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong."

[Trueblue]

I remember a conversation I had years ago with my uncle and a co-worker of mine.My co-worker was telling my uncle that he packed a 44 mag revolver for self defense against bears and that he thought it was plenty sufficient to get the job done.My uncle then offered him some advice,"you should file the sight off the end of your barrel","what for" replied my co-worker,"so it doesn't hurt so bad when that bear shoves it up your ass". I have killed bears before with a 44mag one of which was in the 400 lb range and it dropped him in a hurry.With proper shot placement they do the job very well.But when the shit hits the fan I will take a 45/70.They are absolutely devastating form any angle.

[pegleg]

This is my take on it even a bear that is gut shot with a 50 cal could possibly chew you up however you stick a gun to his head its pretty much over ive dropped big hogs with a 44 mag that i wouldprobably neverbeen able to get a rifle or shotgun on target in time. That said i love a 12 gauge . But typically carry a 35 bear hunting i even have a little remington 35 I've used on bear and lion with no issues.

[not color blind]

I once had a 44 (revolver) bullet skip/ricochet/bounce off a (unwounded) bears head from 5 feet away. Luckily no dogs or humans were hurt to badly in that fiasco.

Take kickemall's advice.

[Fitz]

As long as you take ethical shots a .22 will do the job. People keep sayin a .44 is too small.

I'm a licensed guide. I've seen bull elk taken with a .25-06 to a .30-378. Guess what caliber was the most effective!

There wasn't one that was more effective than the other. But I have seen more elk lost with a .300 than anything. You know why? Because the shooter was afraid of the damn gun. Shoot what you're comfortable with and you will be a better hunter then any one of the size queens that recommend the retarded ass large calibers.
If you shoot the gun well then hunt with it. Don't listen to anybody else's opinion.

[chilcotin hillbilly]

Fitz, your bang on with your advice, that is exactly what I tell my clients. As far as handguns go most guys can't shoot well even at 5 yards let alone 25 yards when the going gets tough. In a way i am glad we don't hunt with them in Canada.
I myself pack a 12 gauge when rinning the dogs.