I got lucky and won a black bear hunt to Maine coming up this fall. I'm as psyched as I can be, since a bear is the only animal that I never killed that I would like to. I also realized I don't know much about this- all my experience is deer, hogs, dove, quail. The hunting will be from a stand over bait. So here's my questions:

1. Do I need camouflage to hunt a bear? Can they see good like a turkey or are they more like a deer? I know that odor is important, but how is their vision?
2. I'll be using a 30-06 Ruger 77 stainless in a laminated stock. Its got a bushnell 3-9x and I can hit small paper plates out to 300 yards with it- maybe further if i had a range over 300 yards to practice at, so accuracy at the shorter ranges won't be a problem. I have several boxes of Win 150 gr power points and several boxes of Win 150 grain ballistic silvertips. They both shoot well thru my gun. Is either of these good, or do I need something else? I understand bears over 300 lb are normal where I'm headed. Also as stated before I shoot this thing pretty good.
3. I'll also have a glock 21 (45 auto) in the event of...whatever. I have lots of different 45 ammo- hydra shocks, gold dots, critical defense, ranger stx, FMJ. Same question- will any one of these be better than the other? please don't tell me to get a 10mm or some kind of dirty harry magnum, I just won't do it.

Thanks!

The heavier bullets the better, I wouldn't use 150 gr. in a 30-06, I go more towards 200 gr. with 180 being the lightest.



You don't need camo, but it won't hurt.  The secret is to remaining motionless when the bear is coming in.



With the handgun, same thing heavier is better.



The idea with bears is to break them down, bullets which shatter bones are your friend.  

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Not gonna get much better than that right there. Follow this advice and you'll do well.

So, I'm thinking I'll bump up to a 180 grain bullet. Is there a particular brand/design? I can buy locally at either Wal Mart or Gander. Also are you saying I should just run 230 grain FMJ in the pistol, or a heavy high performance hollow point?

I've done a couple of bear hunts in Canada & they are fun hunts. We always hunted ducks, geese or fished in the morning & hunted bear in the afternoon. They are crazy quite when they come in. Like said above, be still & quite. You can't neat there nose & they know you are there, just be still. I've always bow hunted them & never had an issue getting my bear.
Good luck your going to have a blast.

I am not much of a hunter and certainly not a bear hunter but I am thinking the Maine blacks are no where the size of bears in other areas .
Am I wrong in my thinking?

You're probably right.  I'm used to bears living in Alaska, You may not find 8-10 ft. squared bears in Maine. However a little 250# bear has the capability to ruin your day nonetheless.
For loaded ammunition I would recommend this:





http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/federal-premium-nosler-partition-30-06-springfield-180-grain-rifle-ammunition/pid-28476





Any good shop should have it.
To the .45 acp question: No hollow points, too much possibility of hitting a bone and the bullet
failing.  For bear, 230gr. fmj, unless you are loading your own, then
230 gr.fp or swc, lead would be the best.
 

180gr should do fine. Id wear camo just because. Ive been 6 times and killed 6 bear. You wont beat his nose, Ive never killed one that didnt know I was there.

Thanks for the advice. So do you think scent precautions (like unscented detergent, bath soap, etc.) are a waste of time?

I just went on a bear hunt in Maine in September. The average bear is under 200 lbs. but there are some big monsters roaming around. I shot a 340lb dressed. If your huntig over bait, you need to be as quiet as possible. Bears can hear everything. As far as sight, you can wear regular camo. I wouldn't worry about scent hiding products. You need to do something about insects . The Mosquitos are so bad in Maine they will force you out. Bring a few thermocells with plenty of reloads. As far as bullet choice, bigger is better . I shot my bear at 35 feet with a .300 win mag and 180gr Nosler partition and the bullet didn't go all the way through the animal. So use that as a guide as how tough these animals are. Which week are you going?

Eta. I wouldn't worry about the pistol. Most guides carry .41 mag or larger. You need big energy to drop the big boys

I'm heading there 20 Sep. for about a week, and I just got me a thermacell. Crazy about the skeeters- I'm from Fl. and spent lots of time in Panama- I would have never thought of Maine as a place with lots of them. As far as the 45- biggest handgun I got and I never leave home without one, plus I get 13 chances to get it right lol.

It is unlawful to hunt with or possess for hunting any auto-loading firearm which has a magazine capacity of more than 5 cartridges (plus 1 in the chamber for a total of 6), unless the magazine has been permanently altered to contain not more than 5 cartridges.

you can carry while hunting for self defense i suppose, but not in a vehicle. so you must unload every time you get in the car.

I checked that reg, pistols with a barrel of less than 8" are exempt.

Don't over think Black Bear.  They are not Grizzly.  Your 150's will do the job nicely if that's what you are comfortable shooting.

A little off topic but I'm convinced in short range situations 300 Win mag is inferior to a lot of other non magnum hunting rounds unless you are using a solid copper bullet.  I've talked with several hunting guides over the last couple of years and they have experienced less than desirable results from clients using non solid copper bullets on game under 150 yards.

Anything past 150 yards plus and non copper solids tend to do preform well.  

I switched over to Barns TSX's for pretty everything in my 300 win mag a few years back after a problem with a deer I shot close.  I have not been disappointed.  

Bears are pretty easy to kill, don't think they are some up armored tank, any 30 cal bullet will do the job within 300 yards. A 150grn out of a 30.06 will be fine. Your going after black bears in maine where 300-350 is a good sized bear

my guide was pushing barns tsx's bad. probably with the same idea you have . I've dropped a lot of big game with all different types of ammo except solid copper.

IMO nosler partitions work for any large game animal.

this is the entrance hole, so ya,, the partition in a .300 mag worked.

Did you recover the bullet?  Interested to know what your weight retention was with a wound that sized.

yes i did. it was stuck between the hide and the body

Yeah, that easily retained 95% of it's weight.

we did find some fragments in the inner shoulder areas but not much. it was a quick kill as he was only alive for about 30-40 seconds

I'm just shocked you had that big of an entrance hole with that much weight retention.

well , i guess thats why i dont buy into the all copper bullet line for bear, or anything at all for that matter. i think its all per animal experience . everything is going to be a little different.

in my case, yes the bullet didn't pass the animal, but it certainly dropped it . it never moved once

heres a really interesting write up on a bullet which didnt penetrate an elks hide  .

link

It's never going to be 100%, there are simply too many variables .  But it doesn't change the fact that there is a threshold in which a fast bullet will break apart.  In a gun like a 300 WM where velocities are pretty high, you stand a better chance of a non copper bullet breaking apart due to velocity.  

Given the choice in catastrophic bullet failure.  A bullet that under penetrates vs. a bullet that loses it's pedals or pushes it's pedals inward but still penetrates, I'll take the latter.

I'm just going to come out and say it, I don't believe that bullet simply stopped right there as the link you gave suggested.  Now weird things happen, bullets hit a rib and follow the rib back around. That can and does happen with any bullet.  I suppose something like the bullet hit a rib and followed a path back around. That could have happened but that bullet didn't stop 1/4 in, unless that animal had some sort of physics defying device.

hard to buy into, but this guy is a well respected hunter on these forums and doesn't make up story's. just makes you think that anything can happen

We use TSX's as well up here, I have shot 7 grizzlies, plus been along for about that many more..noslers work ok, A-frames as well, but overall we see the best results with TSX's....

I would bet that bullet hit a branch on its way to the bear...

It was an elk, and there wasn't a tree in sight of the animal

Well crap, I flubbed on that one.....no chance of a light load? I have seen all sorts of weird stuff up here hunting, but nothing like that...

the conclusion is a mystery still. he fired 3 shots at the elk, 2 passed, one didn't penetrate. he said all 3 recoiled the same so it wasn't undercharged. its definitely weird

An '06 is plenty of gun for any black bear, and the 180 grain Nosler Partition is still the gold standard for bears in this cartridge (other bullets may work as well, in some circumstances, but for all around, first time-every time performance, the Nosler Partition can't be beat...).

Since you'll be hunting over bait, ranges will assumably be quite short, and the action possibly dynamic, so, I'd think about a different optic, one with a much wider field of view, either a lower magnification scope, or even a non-magnifying red dot, or etc.

I've come to worry less and less about camo garb, and more and more about scent/wind direction, and the ability to comfortably sit still. Bears have fairly acute eyesight, but don't seem to rely on it much, but they won't miss movement or something obviously out of place. Camo can't hurt. A comfortable seat pad, and backrest  of some sort are my minimum requirements for sitting still for any length of time --- look at Crazy Creek and similar folding, fabric, stadium-seat type "camp chairs", or etc., depending on what your outfitter has for blinds. As others have already said, if insects will be a factor, equip accordingly --- you  can't sit still while swatting skeeters or batting blackflies.

I have little faith in or use for any of the "magical" "scent-blocking/masking" products, and don't think you can fool any of the bears, any of the time, regarding odors (or, "aromas", for well-washed hunters...). No matter what new miracle product you've washed or laundered with, sprayed on, steeped in, or etc. --- you're still going to smell like something strange that "doesn't belong there" to a bear, and that smell will at least get the bear's attention, if not alarm it. Your outfitter/guide should be savvy about this, and have appropriately situated stands for prevailing downwind breezes,but it can't hurt to ask.

Good luck on your hunt!

An '06 is plenty of gun for any black bear, and the 180 grain Nosler Partition is still the gold standard for bears in this cartridge (other bullets may work as well, in some circumstances, but for all around, first time-every time performance, the Nosler Partition can't be beat...).

Since you'll be hunting over bait, ranges will assumably be quite short, and the action possibly dynamic, so, I'd think about a different optic, one with a much wider field of view, either a lower magnification scope, or even a non-magnifying red dot, or etc.

I've come to worry less and less about camo garb, and more and more about scent/wind direction, and the ability to comfortably sit still. Bears have fairly acute eyesight, but don't seem to rely on it much, but they won't miss movement or something obviously out of place. Camo can't hurt. A comfortable seat pad, and backrest  of some sort are my minimum requirements for sitting still for any length of time --- look at Crazy Creek and similar folding, fabric, stadium-seat type "camp chairs", or etc., depending on what your outfitter has for blinds. As others have already said, if insects will be a factor, equip accordingly --- you  can't sit still while swatting skeeters or batting blackflies.

I have little faith in or use for any of the "magical" "scent-blocking/masking" products, and don't think you can fool any of the bears, any of the time, regarding odors (or, "aromas", for well-washed hunters...). No matter what new miracle product you've washed or laundered with, sprayed on, steeped in, or etc. --- you're still going to smell like something strange that "doesn't belong there" to a bear, and that smell will at least get the bear's attention, if not alarm it. Your outfitter/guide should be savvy about this, and have appropriately situated stands for prevailing downwind breezes,but it can't hurt to ask.

Good luck on your hunt!

very good advice !