Durby
Member
Last deer season I had a bear tag as well, there have been a lot around in northern CA since the logging company closed all the dirt roads and now hunters cant get in. I saw more bears than I saw deer last season. I was shooting a 25/06 with 120 grain Nosler Partition handloads, but after seeing a 400 pound plus bear, I felt under gunned. And then a couple days after that I got caught about 40 yards from an adult with a juvenile and a very small cub. These are black bears, and I've heard people say that we don't get big bears up there, but they do get to about 450 lbs tops. I recently acquired a couple a 7mm Rem Mags, one a fairly nice Model 700, and I could always use a .308 or my dad's 30/06.
My question is, the deer we have are small blacktail. The big one I shot a couple of years ago field dressed at 145 lbs. So I need a good round that will work primarily for deer, but that I can be confident with if I see that 400 pound bear again. Is the 7 Mag the ticket? Or do I stick with the larger diameter of a 30 cal? Shots are all close, I think the longest shot I have is 120 yards. The bears we saw were all inside 50 yards, the closest being inside 20.
My question is, the deer we have are small blacktail. The big one I shot a couple of years ago field dressed at 145 lbs. So I need a good round that will work primarily for deer, but that I can be confident with if I see that 400 pound bear again. Is the 7 Mag the ticket? Or do I stick with the larger diameter of a 30 cal? Shots are all close, I think the longest shot I have is 120 yards. The bears we saw were all inside 50 yards, the closest being inside 20.
