workable plan,243 for a bear ?

would that be a picture weeks later when you found the animal rotted?

if you are so heart set on shooting a bear in the head, why did you ask the question to begin with? sounds like you want someone to agree with you, looks like that is not going to happen.

if you are so good of a shot, putting it right in the heart should not be a problem!
 
I just love the internet...


Anything less than 300 gr bullet will likley bounce back from the bear & hit you. Be very careful!!!
 
Black bear is cxp2 game. That means it runs in the same class as deer. Please don't shoot it In the head. Take the heart lung shot.
 
Personally I just don't care if any one agrees or not I was just asking if anyone had some input, AND they did. Any and all input is good. I have never shot a bear with a 243, AND it sounds like one WILL kill a bear by shooting it in the heart I should be able to do that easer then in the head for sure. I didn't have my sights set on a head shot ,in my mind it sounded like what I would have to do, but you all changed my mind, just didn't know, Thanks. The odds of tripping across a bear when we are deer hunting is small but I'm not going to pass it up. Some of the people here take any question as a personal attack. What's up whit that ? Conversations are a give and take of information what and how it is used is a personal matter , Like I said I view all information as input, and will use part and trash the rest, just how decisions are made I guess, thank for the help. All thing work out I'll have deer AND bear pics to put up later.
 
Originally Posted By: jetman All thing work out I'll have deer AND bear pics to put up later.

THAT would be wonderful! Best wishes to you and I sincerely hope you put one down. Look forward to hearing about it and seeing the pics.
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Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnotgrab a handful of those big old letters and throw at it. should kill a bear easy.
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Best post of the thread
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Congrats, you win the internet
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You can kill them with most any 100 grain bullets. I have seen 2 killed by a 243 the same day 225 and 275 lbs gutted (father and son). I killed one with my 30-30 211 lbs dressed a year earlier. One thing to remember the heart lungs on a bear is a bit more forward in the animal than in a deer. If the bear is standing still broad side and the leg is straight up and down you shoot even with the leg not behind it like you do on a deer. If you shoot behind the leg you will hit behind the lungs near the diaphragm. That is the mistake I made and had to track the bear about 175 yards and finish with another shot. The first shot went all the way through tearing a nice hole but did not get into the heart lungs.

The shoulder bone is far forward of the leg so you don't need to worry about hitting it. Shoot into the body even with the center of the leg to get into the heart lung area.

I was the first person in over 30 years to shoot a bear in my hunt club. The next year we shot 3 bears on the same day. On the east coast the bear population has increased significantly.
 
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The majority of the folks here have suggested using a heavier bullet bullet than the OP is willing to use.

Could it be that the OP does not want to bother with buying or re-sighting in with said load?

I put more value in getting the right slug and even more value in a heavier cartridge. Call me extreme but personally, my .338-06 would look good with the .338 WM looking even better due to the fact that the farther north one hunts .......... and the OP is in Canada after all ........ you can ask for one kind of bear and end up with a different one.

Three 44s
 
A 100 grain bullet in a 243 is a waste.
A 25 caliber yes but unless your shooting paper or a gong at 800 yards your not using the full potential of your cartridge. JUST because your father/ Grandfather used 100 grain bullets does not make it the better bullet...
Modern rifles and bullet technology has made an 85/90 grain out of a 6mm a far better choice.
In my 45/70 I run a 300 grain hornady jacked bullet at 2490 fps or a Barnes 250 all copper at a bit over 2600 fps., Not your "Normal" 400 lead slow poke. They make an old timer cartridge a modern shooting machine. You got to go out side of "Normal" sometimes, Try It.
 
a 243 for blacks is fine as long as your sure your shot placement will be good. I have seen many bear taken with a 243 and im not really sure what the issue is with people thinking they are insufficient.
 
Originally Posted By: jetman
In my 45/70 I run a 300 grain hornady jacked bullet at 2490 fps or a Barnes 250 all copper at a bit over 2600 fps., Not your "Normal" 400 lead slow poke. They make an old timer cartridge a modern shooting machine. You got to go out side of "Normal" sometimes, Try It.


In my 45/70 I run 405 cast @ 1511fps, shoots great out to 600yds, doesn't beat me up and kills stuff just as dead as a 300 @ 2500fps. Sometimes it's hard to improve on the original.
 
Originally Posted By: reaper4a 243 for blacks is fine as long as your sure your shot placement will be good. I have seen many bear taken with a 243 and im not really sure what the issue is with people thinking they are insufficient.

First deer i ever shot was with one, only time ive seem a bullet fail so spectacularly. Pretty much anything should be able to blow through a deer rib, and yet it didnt. Ive carried a bias against the caliber ever since. Its also the last time i used a 243.

Personal experience.
 
Originally Posted By: NdIndy
First deer i ever shot was with one, only time ive seem a bullet fail so spectacularly. Pretty much anything should be able to blow through a deer rib, and yet it didnt. Ive carried a bias against the caliber ever since. Its also the last time i used a 243.

Personal experience.

Can you reflect a little more detail about this? Were did the bullet hit? Was the deer recovered? Additional shots? Possible debris between you & animal? Any other pertinent information would give a better backbone to your post.

"Once upon a time a 243 failed me" doesn't help much. Just curious as to what happened...
 
Originally Posted By: NdIndy Pretty much anything should be able to blow through a deer rib, and yet it didnt.

you saying you hit a deer rib bone with a .243 and it did not go through the rib bone?
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