So, are we talking about hunting bears at distance, or stopping charging bears?
Longer ranges favor longer barrels and bottlenecked cartridges with lighter projectiles and higher velocities, especially if the hunter has the time to take a good, clean shot.
Stopping charging bears favor shorter, handier guns, capable of quickly firing several heavy rounds at more moderate velocities.
A good question. For the latter I would be quite happy with a Pedersoli double rifle. Those are 45-70 . Plenty of horsepower. Expensive, but almost affordable. Can be rechambered to accept the 3 1/4 inch case and loaded to Elephant rifle power without high pressures.So, are we talking about hunting bears at distance, or stopping charging bears?
I have fired one of those. I will never do THAT again! I think I still have the bruise. There is no doubt that that caliber would be adequate for the largest bear. And I liked the fact that the Remington ballistics posted were from the actual barrel length on the gun!Well Square-pants said if you were hunting bear in heavy brush with a bolt action rifle. So that would be what we be talking about. And I say again, .350 Remington Magnum! Mine has a 20" barrel, but heavy brush or not, I'd go with a 22" if there was some way I could add two inches to mine. On the other hand, if I had such an opportunity I'd take it like it is.
I was drooling over the Sako bears series of rifles and got to thinking about the available barrel lengths vs caliber options.
The question that came to mind is, what do y'all think are some of the most powerful short barreled hunting rifle cartridge options?
For example, the handy .308 Winchester options in 20'' looked nice, but the .300 and .338 Win Mag require longer barrels to achieve optimum utility from the cartridge.
If you were bear hunting in heavy brush and wanted to use a bolt action rifle, what would some of "heavier" options be that don't sacrifice a tremendous amount of function from short barrels?
458 Socom would drive 300s at 1850 from a 16", and 405s at 1600. This from my AR
Give me a full size bolt gun and id bet I could get another 200fps +/- out of it....just ran the numbers in QL and theoretically, you could get a 500gr to 1750 from a 20"
.Ran the number on the 450 bushmaster and Id expect to be able to get 2000-2100 with a 300gr XTP from a 16" barrel.
I want one too, sent a gun to a place in Michigan and never got it back or id have one lol.One that I’d like to try in a bolt action is 375 raptor.
I want one too, sent a gun to a place in Michigan and never got it back or id have one lol.
I was drooling over the Sako bears series of rifles and got to thinking about the available barrel lengths vs caliber options.
The question that came to mind is, what do y'all think are some of the most powerful short barreled hunting rifle cartridge options?
For example, the handy .308 Winchester options in 20'' looked nice, but the .300 and .338 Win Mag require longer barrels to achieve optimum utility from the cartridge.
If you were bear hunting in heavy brush and wanted to use a bolt action rifle, what would some of "heavier" options be that don't sacrifice a tremendous amount of function from short barrels?