So you want to bag your first black bear (Part one)
You’ve decided its time to take down your first black bear. I happen to live in oregon which has some high producing areas for nice bruins and sows.I hunted hard for my first bear which turned out to be a stout bruin measuring just over 6 ft from tip of nose to tail. The shot rocked him at 411 yards just behind the front left shoulder. He immediately retreated up the hill putting more distance between me and himself as the second 180 grain nosler accubond entered his upper middle back dead center.As he slowly gathered himself for what would be his final retreat i touched off one more round hitting him in the the left rear leg sending him up and over backwards crawling down the hill to his final resting place. What amazed me about the black bear was his toughness. The blood trail after the initial impact was huge. He still retreated like he hadnt even absorbed the lead. It took us just a touch over 8 hours to retrieve him. Once you get a black bear down the real work begins, but we will touch on that more later.
Gearing up for black bear requires good optics as well as a higher caliber rifle. At least a 7mm mag is sufficient. I shoot a 30 06 with a 180 grain nosler accubond bullet. The bigger the better or be prepared to climb through the thickest brush in the area to retrieve your kill. A must for your rifle is a good scope 3-9 or larger. A good bi-pod is great for long distance shots and very easy and quick to deploy in the field.This is a great bipod and what I currently use on my ruger.
A good set of binoculars is 10×42. Here is a great pair of binoculars that i currently use. They present a good field of view as well as being able to hold them steady while scouting. We naturally shake when holding binoculars so any power larger than that generally requires a stand or mount of some kind. A handy accessory which is almost a must for hiking or spot and stalk is a harness for your binoculars. It holds them right on your chest for easy access but still does not require you to handle them while hiking.A great harness with a quick release. The final piece to help with a successful hunt is a good rangefinder. Leupold makes some of the best rangefinders on the market. The Leupold RX-1200I is a great rangefinder and is reasonably priced as well.
Buying one good set up will pay huge dividends when it comes time to pull the trigger. Knowing your rifle inside and out not only provides confidence but gives you an advantage with your ballistics as well. The aforementioned bear I had taken a shot at the spring before and missed at an almost exact distance. I later sighted the rifle and realized i had shot well under him. My bullet drops 28 inches at 400 yards , therefore i was a couple feet under him. The next year I had learned this valuable information and was successful. I would rather have one rifle I have full confidence in then several rifles I am decently accurate with. GET TO KNOW YOUR RIFLE!
