30.06 for Blackies and Grizz

[BigSlapper]

So I know that 30.06 threads run rampant on here BUT ...
would like some feedback on your experience or thoughts on using a (my) Sauer 90 30.06 on bear (both B and G-bears) ...
165 gr., 180 gr. or 200 gr. TSX or? (I'll be using factory loads-currently 165 gr. TSX shoots 1" groups at 100 yds)
Thanks as always ...

BS

[Gateholio]

I'd take your current load and go kill some bears....:wink:

[Scobo]

I talked to a griz guide who's son used a 30-06 with 220 gr as his backup gun in bella coola. and they say over 1/4 the bears they shoot with their backup gun (those guides shoot at the same time as the client) only have one hole in them, obviously the guides holes. He on the other hand was trading his in on a 300RUM which he said dropped them faster then anything he has seen up there. So maybe an 06 with a backup guy with a 300RUM or bigger...as always shot placement and hopefully you aren't too close before it dies.

[Mr. Dean]

I'd be wanting to go get a new rifle.
Not nescessarily needed,,, But what the hell.

[hunter1947]

Don't even think of using anything else ,,my opinion is the 06 will be just fine.http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon12.gif.

[trigger]

i agree with wayne. i wouldnt think twice about using an -06

[calvin L]

Go get it done . The 06 is great for all Canadian game . just place the shot .

[5 spike]

o6 wouldnt shoot anything else.

[Lil Buck]

Use current load..I shoot 165 grain and it hammers anything if put in the right place...Go with it and shoot it..

Lb8-)

[tomahawk]

I have personally taken many blacks with a BSA 30-06 with 180 gr and 1 griz. Like many have stated shot placement is the key and the 06 will take them all no problem.

[BearSniper]

Hi

My 30-06 with Remington core lokt 180 grains has successfuly taken
several Blackies, some as far as 250 meters.

Most all dropped withion a few meters and haven't had to run far to find them after they're hit.

Just my 2 cents

[puppychow]

30-06 for black bear is sufficient, grizzly....? Shot placement is very important if you are shooting a grizzly with any caliber. I would prefer a 30 caliber magnum or larger for grizzly. That is personal preference. Is a 30-06 sufficient stopping power for grizzly up to 250 yards, YES!

[rocksteady]

I have taken numerous blacks and 1 grizzly with my '06.

Advice offered---go with a well constructed, heavy bullet that will hold up on impact. I used the Winchester failsafes (200 or 225 grain) when I got mine and it did the job no problem....

Pick your shot, take them in the boiler room and then give them an hour....Even a not so perfectly placed shot usually messes up a bear to the point where in an hour he is toast....

If you shoot him and he goes down, dump a few more into him, its better to be safe than sorry and it seasy for a taxidermist to sew up 30 cal holes...

I would not recommend the old timers advice to shoot them through the shoulders, too much potential for one to be wounded and either sneek away on you or worse, come at you....Seen bears run so fast on only 2 good legs, its incredible..

[Kechika]

If your cartridge doesnt wear a belt its pants will fall off.:tongue:

[Poguebilt]

I shoot a single shot 30.06 with barnes 168 triple shock...

feel confortable with it and got a black bear last fall.

[pork n beans]

i'd pop a grizz feeding on grass in the ear with my 06 no sweat. never done it mind you. done it with black bears . i work on the coast with lots of grizz and i wouldn't want to go chasing a wounded pissed off grizz through the thick shit with it. nor would i want to try to stop a charging grizz with it. .375 H&H or equivalent big nasty for all condition full time grizz hunting. if i were drawn i'd use the '06, be a bit scared and wait for an ear shot. it's fun when you're scared, i mean that's what it's all about trying to kill something that has decent chance of ****ing you up if you dont do your job right. for work we carry 12gauge with slugs for bear protection.

most bears you see aren't that big '06 would be fine but if you're holding out for a volkswagon that's a different story. if you ever see a real big bear you'll just about shit. when you hunt deer lots the 06 is beaucoup firepower but when you see a huge mother coastal grizz the 06 ain't shit

[todbartell]

30-06 will bounce off bear, a 338-08 is much better, it is basically a 375 ruger in a short action

[wolverine]

I know a guide that will not allow his clients to hunt grizzly with anything under a 300 win mag. He prefers to see a .338 or a .375 as the clients Griz gun. His back up is a .338 win mag. I have shot lots of blackies with my .270 win. and dumped them over right away and wouldn't hesitate to do it again with either the .270 or my 30-06. Right bullet and right placement and it's a breeze. However, no way in hell would I go out and intententionaly hunt either a big Island Blackie or a Griz with it. I have a .338 that I use for that. I don't relish the thought of having to track a big bear with a leak in it. Like someone else said, when you see a big bear you'll know it and be damned glad you're holding the right tool for the job.

[brotherjack]

To quote myself about 30-06 on grizz (vs 30 cal magnums, but also lots of pertinent info about terminal ballistics in general):



Just to set the record straight - a 300 mag shoots the same bullet as a 30-06, just a couple hundred feet per second faster. Either caliber (suitably loaded for dangerous game) would generate a complete pass-through on a grizz - indicating that there is surplus energy in either cartridge to do all the damage that it is possible to do to a bear with a 30 caliber bullet (which should be plenty of damage to kill yee olde bear). If you want to do more damage than that, you need a bigger diameter bullet, loaded to high enough velocity to also generate a complete pass-through. Velocity buys you extended range (ie: it still has sufficient velocity for the bullet to expand properly at longer ranges) - it doesn't buy you much at all at close range, especially not when the difference in velocity is as (relatively) small as that between the 30-06 and the 300 mag.

In short, if you need 'more whop', you need a bigger bullet at the same velocity, not a faster bullet of the same size. The extra energy looks nice on paper - but once you've got enough energy to get the bullet to exit, you can't transfer any more to the critter until you get a larger surface area (ie: bigger bullet) with which to transfer that extra energy with.


To summarize - yeah, a 30-06, suitably loaded (ie: a well constructed, heavy-for-caliber bullet) will kill yee olde bear of any size or species just as dead as a bear can get, and in very short order at that, assuming you can put a bullet through some body part vital to yee olde bear's continued existence. If you want to do as much damage as is remotely possible to do to a bear with a firearm on the idea that you don't want him to get up and hurt you before he dies from your poorly placed shot (which I could see happening if the adrenalin was high, and the yardage was a bit long), I think you should bypass any .300/.338 magnums and skip straight to a 375H&H/Ruger/Taylor/etc. or bigger, depending on how much recoil you (think you) can tolerate. :)

[rocksteady]

[quote=pork n beans;231045]i'd pop a grizz feeding on grass in the ear



Not the best advice if you want to put them into Boone and Crockett...They measure the skull for the book...

[CanuckShooter]

I talked to a griz guide who's son used a 30-06 with 220 gr as his backup gun in bella coola. and they say over 1/4 the bears they shoot with their backup gun (those guides shoot at the same time as the client) only have one hole in them, obviously the guides holes. He on the other hand was trading his in on a 300RUM which he said dropped them faster then anything he has seen up there. So maybe an 06 with a backup guy with a 300RUM or bigger...as always shot placement and hopefully you aren't too close before it dies.


Sounds a little illegal...unless of course that guide has a tag to cut...:shock:

[Will]

Sounds a little illegal...unless of course that guide has a tag to cut...:shock:
I'd kick the Guide right in the sack if I heard him drop the hammer at the same time as me....:-?

[Will]

30-06 will bounce off bear, a 338-08 is much better, it is basically a 375 ruger in a short action
:lol::lol::lol:

[bsa30-06]

I have personally taken many blacks with a BSA 30-06 with 180 gr and 1 griz. Like many have stated shot placement is the key and the 06 will take them all no problem.

I used my BSA30-06 with 180 gr factory winchester ammo on a black bear a few years ago, shot was a straight pass thru, bear didnt go far.

[40incher]

You don't need anything bigger than a 30.06, just the discipline to wait for the right shot (as with any caliber) and know where to place the bullet.

We have taken grizzly quartering away or forward, and the .06 has made clean one-shot kills. Federal Premium High Energy shells with the 180 grain Nosler Partition bullet has worked very well.

A larger caliber can be used of course, but we have seen many over-gunned hunters that flinch at the shot and end up in a mess.

The key with big bear is to make a good stalk and catch them unaware.

[Will]

The key with big bear is to make a good stalk and catch them unaware.
There are many that would agree with this.....none of them used a 30-06 either:wink:





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http://usera.imagecave.com/BCWILL/fredbear4.jpg

[todbartell]

I used my BSA30-06 with 180 gr factory winchester ammo on a black bear a few years ago, shot was a straight pass thru, bear didnt go far.

that bear also weighed 72 lbs :mrgreen: :wink:

[bsa30-06]

that bear also weighed 72 lbs :mrgreen: :wink:

sorry will try and do better next time.

[BigSlapper]

chuckle! ... A lively debate! Well done & thank you.
My original question was designed to elicit feedback on 30.06 TSX factory loads (as I do not hand load) ... 165/180/200/220 ...?
Having hunted the Nahmint Valley for 20+ years, I've taken my fare share of Blackies (& I've come across some big salmon fed bears in the Nahmint) but none with a 30.06 (I just recently purchased my Sauer 90 at the Munich gun auction last year). Pretty comfortable using an .06 on bear, more interested in load, expectations and your experience and knowledge around each - but thanks for the outstanding banter-very enjoyable!

Cheers

BS

[todbartell]

sorry will try and do better next time.

just buggin buddy, I shot a similar size/color one before - with a 7mm MAGNUM! :lol:

[BOOMSTICK]

I'd load up some of those 200 TSX's if your after grizz. 165's will work fine for blacks.

The 06 is a great cartridge and I've seen many a big grizz & a few browns killed by a 30-06 in the hands of a competent shooter. Just remember a few of the basics -

-Dont shoot until you can place your shot.
-Break them down at the shoulders
-Keep shooting until the bear stops twitching.(more so with g-bears, who I've seen play possum more than once) Your taxi can fix any holes in the hide.
-Avoid a gut shot! A bear with a mushroomed bullet in his belly is danger, and he will try to even the score before he dies.