Which Of These Two Rifle Calibers.....

[PA Reb]

...do you consider the best for black bear out to 100 yards - a .30-06 or a .300 magnum? By best I mean - which would generally pin a bear to the ground quicker taking into account that both bullets are well placed and in the same spot? I'm sure there are many other good calibers out there to do the job but I'd like to hear forum opinions on these two. Thanks!

 

[Coldshooter]

At 100 yds with premium ammunition at 175-225 grains I don't think you will ever see the difference. Also 30-06 is almost universally available.

 

[35Rem]

I think the 30-06 with 180 or the 220 Core Loct Remington ammo will be more than adequate.

 

[wbraswell]

The bear would never know the difference.

 

[BigBill]

I've used the 30-06 with 180 psp bullets for many years in the more open areas. In the tighter woods/brush i use a marlin 444s with 265gr sp bullets plus its a great brush gun. Back in 94 i wanted to bump up from the '06 so i could do a fly in special hunt someday and i picked up a remington 700 in 338win mag. with 225gr psp bullets after looking at all the ballastics at that time. The 338win mag has 4,000ft lbs @ muzzle and 2,700ft lbs @ 200yds thats the muzzle energy of an '06 @ 200yds. Its kind of big for blackbears but it does kill them dead on the spot.

My next move is to reload my 444 marlin with 270gr & 300gr bullets to teat them out.

My only close call that we ever had was in the thick pines were i probably shouldn't of been that very thick stuff anyway. What ever we jumped was going the other way when we spooked it. I been tracking bears with 13" paws in a few different places in the mountains. They say that bears don't get that big. I like having enough gun to handle any shot/game now. We hunted bears since '73 and the hunt is the most fun. More fun than the kill.

 

[rburg]

Kind of shocking to me. Ya know, about 15 years ago (it'll be 15 come January) I was of the warped and distorted opinion that every one should have a .300 maggie. Just in case. And I still have no idea why, but then I owned a .458 for a while, just in case the fat chick that lived next to us back then went rogue and started rampaging through our garden. Anyway, it was fun to shoot, just like the .300. I went all the way and bought the Weatherby version in .30-378 caliber. If you're going to go big, might as well do it right. I bought it for myself for my 50th Bday. Figured no one else was ever going to buy me a righteous gun in a suitable caliber.

But for critters around here, I can't think of any reason to use a .300 of any flavor. I am aware of a guy who goes deer hunting with his .375 H&H. I have no idea why, guess he wants to make sure he'll get adequate penetration on Bambi. Bears may be bigger and tougher, but I've not seen a black bear that a .30-06 would do for nicely. At least if you do your job, and if you don't, caliber won't make a difference.

 

[BearBio]

I use 300 mag for everything..

At 100 yards, I don't think there would be any difference between a 30-06, 30-30, 308, 30-40, or 300 mag.

 

[rojodiablo]

The best energy to trajectory values for the 30-06 are 165/ 168gr. bullets.

And yes, a 400lb black bear will DRT when he meets a well built 165gr bullet.
At 100 yds, the 180 gr does have more hit power, but it's not much better. By 200 yds, the difference is negligible. By 300, the 165 is taking over because it is not losing speed as badly, and is dropping less.
A 200 gr. bullet in 30-06 lobs about like a football beyond 100 yds. While it is good at 50-100 without changing the scope up, to take a 100yd zero rifle and then attempt a 250 will need some hold over as you are looking at a lot of drop.
The 300 magnum? Which one??!! (They are all very agressive bullets) I had a Weatherby 300 magnum. I'd imagine that it would not even break a sweat punching clean thru a 400 lb bear with a 180gr bullet. It dropped an elk with a thru and thru- BOTH shoulders at 150 yds with a 185 gr nosler partition. I will also say, it nearly hit just as hard on the buttpad side of the rifle, as well.
Not a really pleasurable rifle to shoot. Nice, good shooting, and beautiful. But not a fun rifle.

 

[feralmerril]

Dead`s dead!

 

[Hillbilly77]

Thirty-aught-six.
Case closed.


But that's just my opinion.

 

[Kanewpadle]

I've used the 30-06 with 180 psp bullets for many years in the more open areas. In the tighter woods/brush i use a marlin 444s with 265gr sp bullets plus its a great brush gun. Back in 94 i wanted to bump up from the '06 so i could do a fly in special hunt someday and i picked up a remington 700 in 338win mag. with 225gr psp bullets after looking at all the ballastics at that time. The 338win mag has 4,000ft lbs @ muzzle and 2,700ft lbs @ 200yds thats the muzzle energy of an '06 @ 200yds. Its kind of big for blackbears but it does kill them dead on the spot.

My next move is to reload my 444 marlin with 270gr & 300gr bullets to teat them out.

My only close call that we ever had was in the thick pines were i probably shouldn't of been that very thick stuff anyway. What ever we jumped was going the other way when we spooked it. I been tracking bears with 13" paws in a few different places in the mountains. They say that bears don't get that big. I like having enough gun to handle any shot/game now. We hunted bears since '73 and the hunt is the most fun. More fun than the kill.

+1 on the 338. I know he said two calibers. But the 338 is known as the best caliber for North America.

Of the two, I'd stick with 30-06.

 

[handejector]

"The 30/06 works. Period."
------ Finn Aagaard

 

[PA Reb]

Thanks for the response guys - very much appreciated!

 

[Sebago Son]

I shoot a .300 H&H but mostly for it's range. I can reach out another 150 yards when shooting from hollar-to-hollar in West Virginia where we hunt. But for Black Bear at 100 yards I'd use a .30-06.

 

[Sprefix]

I have a 1949 .30 Gov't 06 Winchester that would do the job perfectly.

 

[David LaPell]

I had an uncle that killed moose every year in Canada with a .30-06. If it can do that, I think it will do ok on bears.

 

[wraco]

The 300 WM was Winchester's design to replicate the 300 H&H magnum in a 30-06 length receiver. . The 4 original cartridges, from the parent case, were the first generation of Winchester short magnums. . The advancement in powder now allows the current 30-06 loadings, in 180 gr. bullet, to near replicate the original 300 H&H loading of some 80 plus years ago. . A well placed premium 180gr. 30-06 bullet, at 100 yds, should drop a black bear with relative ease. . The 300 WM will be at an advantage with heavier bullets, 200 gr, 220 gr.

Rod

 

[gregintenn]

They'll both work. I'd sure rather pay for 30-06 ammo!

 

[LazyKB]

Can't say. The only bear I ever killed was with a .50 caliber muzzle loader. But when I decided to go to Africa for plains game I wanted to step up from my .280 Rem. I checked the ballistics on the .300 Win and 06 and decided that they were very close and were not a big enough step from the .280 so I went with a .338 Win. I know the .300 and 06 would have taken anything I wanted to shoot but it seemed like duplication of each other and of what I already had. I don't think you'll regret the 30-06. Its killed everything on this continent.

 

[Sebago Son]

The 300 WM was Winchester's design to replicate the 300 H&H magnum in a 30-06 length receiver. . The 4 original cartridges, from the parent case, were the first generation of Winchester short magnums. . The advancement in powder now allows the current 30-06 loadings, in 180 gr. bullet, to near replicate the original 300 H&H loading of some 80 plus years ago. . A well placed premium 180gr. 30-06 bullet, at 100 yds, should drop a black bear with relative ease. . The 300 WM will be at an advantage with heavier bullets, 200 gr, 220 gr.

Rod

I can pull an honest 3,000 fps out of my 26" .300 H&H with 180 grain bullets with ease. My chrono has verified that. Still a little tough to do that with a .30-'06. But I admit the gap between the two cartridges is not much more than 10-15%.