What is tougher to kill - black bear or moose?

[Jager]

I was just re-reading the hunting synopsis and got to wondering if moose are tougher than black bears. The reason I began to wonder was the synopsis states that shotguns are legal to hunt black bear but not moose. (I guess the same could be said for elk, sheep, goats, etc.) The 12 gauge is commonly used as a bear defense firearm (even in grizz country) but the "powers that be" have decided that it is unlawful to hunt many big game species with it. Am I missing something as to the capability of the shotgun or is this just another goofy law we have to live with.

[Will]

Put a slug in it and it's no longer by definition a shotgun:wink:

[Gateholio]

A slug would be effective on moose, but I dont' know if it's legal. As for "tougher?" Moose are alot bigger than black bears.

[sparkes3]

many moose are ethically killed with slugs just gotta put em in the right spot

[BimmerBob]

In my experience bears are harder to kill than moose. Their life force seems to be a lot stronger than the animals they prey upon...

[Everett]

Moose in my exsperiance.

[srupp]

hmmmm black bears are tougher to kill....

Moose if hit in the lungs..will tip over in 1 minute and 29 seconds. :mrgreen: ..it just takes that long for those BIG lungs to fill up with blood...

black bears seem to want to hang onto life...


steven

[troutseeker]

I too have am on the side of the bear being tougher to kill. Not hard to kill, but they do just seem to want to hang on longer, and run deeper in the bush...

[todbartell]

black bears seem to want to hang onto life...



my experiences too. Glass jaws, but they like to get up (Ive shot 14 now I think)

Ive never had a moose go more than 20 yards

[hunter1947]

Moose is harder to kill look at the size difference but if the bullet placement is in the right place on ether animal they will both go down like a rock....

[CanadanHirvi]

with 375 H&H I've had both drop dead without even getting their feet moving.
besides that, bear are tougher.
Bigger doesn't necessarily equal tougher, or tougher to kill.
In case of a moose, bigger=easier to kill, as long as you have enough gun. look the vitals zone you have room to hit.

[325 wsm]

the big difference is that a wounded bear will keep moving much farther than a wounded moose. Once wounded, moose only seem to go a short distance and then hold their ground. The bear on the other hand will use every ounce of strength to cover ground and get away.

[bigshooter]

Black bears get my vote.

[Blainer]

In my mind,the black bear is the tougher of the two to kill.
I have seen bears do amazing things after being shot,including climb tree's.
They are a tough animal to anchor on the spot.

[longleader]

[quote=todbartell;592397]my experiences too. Glass jaws, but they like to get up (Ive shot 14 now I think)]


Glass jaws. lol, I never thought of it in those words, but it's sure on the money. In my experience, and I've shot quite a few, with any decent hit they almost always hit the deck immediately, but if possible they're back on their feet trying to get going.

Moose seem to accept dying more graciously. If black bears weighed the same as moose I think they would be able to soak up a lot more punishment before exiting.

[tomahawk]

If the shot is exactly the same on each animal, lets say its in the lungs, then it comes down to which animal will lose enough blood that it can't sustain body/brain control.
All animals will bang flop, or they all can run for 100's of yards, shot placement makes the difference.
However in my experience bears will likely go farther on average as they usually react differently to the shot and run like a bugger where as the moose seems to take its time figuring out what to do. But I don't see that as one being tougher to kill, just different reaction.

[Bowtime]

I have to agree with Tomahawk 100 percent.
All of the blacks I've harvested bolt, then pile up when they run out of blood. Not leaving much time for a follow up shot. So I make sure the first is a good one.
I find moose on the other hand, hunch to a well placed lung shot. Leaving you plenty of time for a follow up shot. Ofter its only a matter of seconds until the bulls tip over. Dead on their feet is the term I often use.

[bsa30-06]

I dont think size has anything to do with it.I would definately say bears are tougher to kill, they just seem to have determination to want to hang on to life.

[Sitkaspruce]

Both die the same to me. Shoot them in the right place and they will die. Moose can soke up more punishment that bears, imo. Shoot a bear through the front shoulders and they go down very fast. Never had one go past 20 yards. Moose just seem to not know what is going on and will stand there looking around, then just fall over, especially bulls in the rut. There is exceptions to evey rule, so both can be harder than the other, but if you hit them in the right place, neither is that hard to kill.

Now take Mt Goats and it is a different story:mrgreen::wink:

Cheers

SS

[The Hermit]

I'd rather be in a knife fight with the moose! If I didn't get the first few stabs in the vitals for a quick kill then I could maybe hide behind or climb a tree whereas the bear would be harder to evade. Yup bears are tougher!

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_138/1176166669I6ayH7.jpg

[Will]

Shot a few bears.....perhaps several dozen ? Been in on many many more.
If shot placement is good they go down fast and hard...when shot placement is not good they aren't much fun to go looking for:wink:

Pop the lungs and both are done no doubt....but my moneys on the bear for soaking up lead :-D

[coach]

In hand to hoof or hand to paw combat, I think I'd prefer the bear

[BearStump]

I think that bears are just more stupid than moose.:)Seems like a bear thinks that he just got stung by a really big hornet, and runs like hell to get away from that nest.
A moose seems to know he's been shot and walks to a nice comfy spot to die.:mrgreen:

[alecvg]

I have never had the oppertunity to hunt moose, but I can tell you black bears are tough animals. They can run a half mile with a hole in their heart, that is why I always advise to shoot for the shoulder.

[Caveman]

Which is tougher is a loaded question of sorts. If hit well both will go down as mentioned, but if not, the bear will get up and bolt with all it has, different than the moose that will generally get back up and almost always present a second shot. The bear will make you work harder in tracking and finishing the job, but will die as easily, if hit right. They seem to take more lead due to the thick layer of fat they tend to carry around.

[srupp]

I like CAVEMANS view...different type of shooting..I always shoot bears in the front "shoulder" both blacks and grizzlies..I try and break down their locomotion..and drive bone bits through their lungs..and IF enough rifle..(and one should always use Robert Roraks advice "use enough gun"..one can sometimes take out both front shoulders..

On moose I never ever shoot for the shoulder..it ruins too much delicious meat..:mrgreen:..so its always a lung shot AVOIDING the shoulder...and once they lung acvity fills up he tips over..

Beras on the other hand ALWAYS react to the shot and run like a politition from a lie detector machine...fast and furious..because of thick coats and heavy fat the blood trail can sometimes be scant..and they just seem to hold onto life more...


cheers
Srupp

[Jager]

So it seems that most responses lean towards bears being harder to put down yet they are legal to hunt with a shotgun. Therefore common sense would indicate that the laws of the land could be changed to make it legal to hunt moose, etc. with a shotgun....or would it backfire and the decision makers make it illegal to hunt bears with said shotgun. Where is the common sense?

[Gateholio]

So it seems that most responses lean towards bears being harder to put down yet they are legal to hunt with a shotgun. Therefore common sense would indicate that the laws of the land could be changed to make it legal to hunt moose, etc. with a shotgun....or would it backfire and the decision makers make it illegal to hunt bears with said shotgun. Where is the common sense?

You'd actually have to compare what people thought about shooting bears and moose with a shotgun. The information you got on this thread is mostly rifle experience, and would not be a good source of knowledge about shotguns and moose...

[Ron.C]

You'd actually have to compare what people thought about shooting bears and moose with a shotgun. The information you got on this thread is mostly rifle experience, and would not be a good source of knowledge about shotguns and moose...

Agree, I think there are tons of examples of both animal being tough to put down with rifles, and just as many examples of Bang Flops.
I'm sure a 12 guage shotgun slug shot from a reasonable range and placed in the right spot would kill any Bear/Moose in BC. as far as which is tougher, ???????

[mikek blacktail]

moose are much harder to kill black bears a re wimps

[Pioneerman]

I have had a lot more Bear run after being shot than moose and all with placed shots.I shot a black bear once had a 3" hole out the far side after taking out bone and he ran for at least 60 yards before piling up. He had virtually nothing left of his heart when I cleaned him , maybe 1/3, but he kept going, but I have had both drop dead in that spot many times. I have wondered if maybe bears hearts pump slower and thus not bleeding into lungs as fast or using up all their blood as fast, does anyone know about that ?

[bforce750]

I've only shot about seven black bears and about eight moose and found that black bears run about fifty yards and die or they just drop.Moose on the other hand..are very tough,they can take a few shots in the lungs,head,front shoulder and still sometimes manage to run off and go the distance.So I would say moose for sure.

[6616]

I was just re-reading the hunting synopsis and got to wondering if moose are tougher than black bears. The reason I began to wonder was the synopsis states that shotguns are legal to hunt black bear but not moose. (I guess the same could be said for elk, sheep, goats, etc.) The 12 gauge is commonly used as a bear defense firearm (even in grizz country) but the "powers that be" have decided that it is unlawful to hunt many big game species with it. Am I missing something as to the capability of the shotgun or is this just another goofy law we have to live with.

Moose are tougher to kill by a long shot. I think the regulation pretains to having the ability to kill black bear at close range, for example when tracking a wounded bear in dense cover in which case a shotgun is often the best weapons choice. Sorry if this has already been pointed out, I didn't read the entire thread.

[mpotzold]

I don't hunt bears but my guess is that if the bear has seen you first then the bear would be more difficult-otherwise the moose.The bears are predators and once they are adrenaline charged they can take a lot more lead as attested by bear guides.

[KB90]

I heard something about bears having a much lower heart rate (in relation to hibernating) This then allows them to go a lot further before they bleed out as their heart does not pump blood as fast. Not sure how much truth is in that though.

[Brett]

when trains hit bears, THEY RUN AWAY!! sometimes. Moose don"t.

I was actually told that bears have adrenal glands (adrenalin producer) 5 times the size of a moose and if you factor in the weight difference, that's WAY more adrenalin, which would explain the fight/flight ability or "life force" bears seem to have.

[deerstocker]

all animals r easy to put down its all about shot placement

[wlbc]

First, to set context:

1. The shot is placed correctly.

2. The animal is not spooked previous to the shot.

From my experience the moose will go down easier.

As per srupp I always double lung moose, don't want to ruin good meat. They generally run a few few feet or just stand there and slowly keel over.

Most black bears, hit properly, will go down reasonably well. However, seems like about 1 in 10, even though he's got no heart or lungs left, will go. Maybe 90 seconds? (Which can seem like a long time if he is moving in your direction.)