I'm going on a last minute trip for black bear on Vancouver Island, BC in April. I'm planning on carrying a 8mm remington magnum that my dad has had for years. I have reloaded 200gr nosler partitions in the past, but I don't have enough loaded up and the ammo I have reloaded is probably 15 years old. I can reload, but don't have a lot of time to do it. The only factory ammo I can find is nosler custom with 200gr accubonds with a muzzle velocity of 3000fps. My concern is will the accubond hold up with close shots inside of 100 yards at those velocities? Would a barnes tsx be a better choice, and just load them myself? I've never loaded the barnes bullets, but have heard that a little lighter weight than normal will perform beter. Would you recommend going with the 180gr or staying with the 200gr?
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Accubonds will hold up just fine. Black bear aren't overly tough animals. -
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I think you'll be fine. Happy hunting.Comment
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I'd load a 180 partition, personally.Comment
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an 8mm ?
wow
I used a 6.8 110gr TTX w/no problems...Comment
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It may be more than needed, but the outfitter wants 30 cal or larger. My 300 win mag sendero is a little heavy to carry around, so my other option is the 8 mag. My dad killed a bull elk with it when I was in high school, but other than that I don't think it has been shot at an animal in 20 years. Time to dig it out of the safe and see what it will do.Comment
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You are certainly on the "more than needed" side of things. Just take the gun/load you have shot the most... getting lead in the pumphouse is all that matters. Those overgrown raccoons are not as tough as you would think.Comment
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With anything that has teeth bigger than mine, I recommend the 700 nitro express. That's all I got.
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Overgrown coonsOriginally posted by TexasAggieB View Post
. Funny and true. Never shot a black but this makes sense to me
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A 200gr may leave too much of a big hole and ruin your hide. 170gr or less should do the trick.Comment
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The TYPE of bullet determines the size of the hole more so than the weight.Originally posted by locknload View Post
Bears really are giant coons and are very thin skinned.
As Randy stated, it doesn't take much gun to bring them down, IF your shot placement is good ... but that goes for any animal.
When we went to New Mexico, last year, the outfitters eyes got pretty big when I told him I was using a 45-70. It did the job, though.
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