The Partition is an excellent choice.  It always is.....  Its my favorite bullet.  Period.  Short story:  the Federal 180 Partition Load is a ideal bear load in 308 Win.  End of story..

Long story, if you want the background:

The partition tends to be a bit "softer" that other "premium" bullets like the Barnes TSx or TTSX or some of the newer monolithic lead-free bullets, so it will reliably open and expand well at speeds that are somewhat too low for these other bullets.  And the rear half will always stay intact, and not over expand.

Absolutely worse case scenario, you push a partition too hard or too fast.  You will loose the front core, and it will completely wipe off.  However, the rear core will stay in tact and keep penetrating.  This won't happen in a 308 Win, but its a testament to the versatility of the bullet...  The partition will perform acceptably at speeds so high that many other bullets fail, and yet will also operate and speeds so low that some bullets won't expand.  Its perhaps the most forgiving premium bullet on the market.For what its worth, the go to bullet in my 280AI is a 160 Nosler Partition.  Mine are loaded to just a shade over 3000 fps....  I've got a few hundred of them loaded....  And on Moose hunts, my bullet has ALWAYS been a partition, regardless of caliber (308 Win, 7mm Rem Mag, 30-06, and 350 Rem Mag)

Take your pic.   you cannot go wrong with a 180 Partition out of the 308win on bears.  For that matter, its a really decent combination on moose too....   For my uses, I tend to use the 308 as a deer gun more than a moose or bear gun.  Deer aren't as heavily constructed, so I prefer a bit more rapid expansion and dont need three feet of penetration. Simply moving to a 165 gives me more velocity, somewhat faster and more dramatic expansion, and a bit less theoretical penetration (that I dont need anyhow.  how much of the hillside beyond the deer do I need to kill?).  Ive got several boxes of 165's loaded for my 308 (my regular dedicated deer bullet is the Ballistic Tip in a 165.  Having partitions in the same weight means less variation if I switch loads and move to the partition).  My particular rifle (Rem Model Seven , 20" barrel) tends to be a bit slow too. The 150, 200 fps I gain from a 165 gives me a somewhat wider, more violent expansion so I'm damaging more tissue , while the partition construction method means I get a rear core that keeps on going.  I can't show you  one that I've pulled out of game, because they have alway completely exited.

A 165 or 180 Partition in the 308 Win is a fantastic choice.  Take your pic. Unless you do a complete frontal shot (bear heading to you) or a full on running away, I seriously doubt you'll ever recover one.  the 165 will move a little faster, and give you a bit more dramatic expansion.  The 180 will move slower, and as a result, expansion will be somewhat less explosive, but give you more penetration.  No black bear will ever know the difference.  Move into animals weighing 500, 600+ lbs and the added penetration of the 180 might be an advantage, but I doubt its a material difference on a black bear...  

The only time there will be a difference between the 165 and the 180 out of a 308 Win will be at long range.  At some point, waaaayyyy out at long range, the bullet will drop to about 1800 - 1900 fps.  At that point the Partition will stop opening well.

Here is an example:

Stick a 165 Partition in a 308 and launch it at 2800.   At 500 yards it drops to 1800 fps.  At that point, even if you hit your game animal, the bullet will not reliably expand.  Its going to act like a non-fragmenting FMJ.   Now take a 180 Partition, and fire it out of the same gun.  Initial velocity is probably more like 2600 fps.  Because the 180 started slower, the 180 will drop to that same minimum 1800 FPS limit at about 450 yards...  In other words, the 180 stops being effective about 50 yards closer.   I dont shoot game at 400, 500 yards, so this is largely irrelevant...

I like having a margin of error, or a little insurance.  I'd much rather have a 2000 fps impact speed than a 1800.  now it gets interesting....

My carbine is short barreled, and its "slow".  I'm lucky to get 2450 with a 180 in my carbine.  Now I have a problem:  If I shoot 180s at 2450, I hit the 2000 fps self imposed "floor" at a mere 260 yards..... Thats not 'far'.   Thats a realistic shot I've taken, and made, a number of times.    I'd be somewhat second guessing that 280 yard shot on a nice animal, hoping the bullet would perform well.

If I use the 165 Partition, I can get about 2650, 2660 muzzle velocity, which is significantly higher.    I hit the self imposed 2000 fps minimum impact speed "floor" at about 325 yards.   Its not "long range", but its long enough.  I prefer having a 325 yard "limit" over a 260 yard limit.  I'd purely self imposed, and its a limit that has a building in margin or error, and little insurance if you will.  And for me, and my purposes, the extra range afforded by the 165 makes this lighter bullet a better choice.   Its the only reason why I like the 165 more than the 180.  

If I had a 24" barrel on my 308 Win, the above would be irrelevant.  The longer barrel would give me the muzzle velocity to stay above 2000 fps all the way to 300 yards.  However, if you've got a little 16, 18, 20" barrel, and your muzzle velocities are correspondingly low, you can potentially find yourself putting bullets on game at 250, 275, 300 yards and not getting quite the sort of performance you expected...  I hope this sort of gives you a little to ponder...

Most black bears are shot over bait, and at ranges that usually seem to be well under 100 yards.  Under these conditions, there would be no functional difference between a 165 and a 180...  

The only issue with Partitions right now is availability.  In any caliber, and any grain weight, its almost impossible to find a Nosler bullet in stock as a reload component just about anywhere.

@frozenny

Thank you!  Excellent, clear write-up!  The bait will be at 90 yards or less, and may be as close as 26 yards, but I can have shots up to 180 yards as it’s a field surrounded by forest.  The gun will be my Ruger M77 Mark II in .308 which has a 22” barrel.  I think given what you’ve posted, I can go with the 180gr Nosler Partition.  In fact, I can’t find any loaded ammo in stock except for the 180gr.  No loaded 165gr anywhere.  So I’ll have to jump on it soon!

c-4:

22" barrel will give you the velocity you need.  At your anticipated ranges (with a comfortable margin), you'll get excellent expansion, will never over stress this bullet, and it will work well...

Do it.  This load would be appropriate for anything up thru moose under the conditions you describe.  I'd hunt that combination in that situation with 100% confidence.

Fro

Thank you!

My first choice would be heaviest monometal bullet your rifle can stabilize. I prefer the Barnes TSX or TTSX.

If I were to use a normal bullet it would again be the heaviest bullet I could stabilize in the following order.

Trophy Bonded whatever Federal calls it now
Swift A Frame
Nosler Partition.


I would suspect you could stabilize a 180 gr and weight and shank length are what get you penetration.

@Hasher1

Thank you.

The monometal is getting a lot of votes.  I think I will end up sticking with the Nosler 180gr, though I also bought Rem core-lokt 180gr as well.

But now you’ve tempted me, especially since it’s in stock and not too expensive

https://www.targetsportsusa.com/federal-premium-308-winchester-ammo-165-grain-barnes-tsx-hollow-point-p308h-p-109572.aspx

Remington Core Lokt 180 grain round nose soft point. It seems to be what lots of the old timers use up here.

It's all I use in my 308. Shots in the north country of NH aren't long.

This one if you can find it

Attached File

I like bonded and copper bullets for game any bigger and tougher than a deer. Anything 165-180gr should do the trick pretty nicely. .308 is a great choice for black bear.

Black bear hide, muscle and bone can be pretty tough. Sure shot placement is more important, but it helps to have the right gun and ammo. Some animals just seem to be very resistant to death.

I have used that exact bullet multiple times in Africa and it’s my go to on EK as well. I just shoot it our of an 06 instead.

My friend that owns the property I will be hunting also shoots 06.  I’ve thought about it but at the distances I am shooting I am satisfied with .308.  

This was my choice too. Nosler Partitions are fantastic big game loads. I bought a 338 Remington Ultra Mag a few years back. The 200gr Partition out of that was somewhere in the 2975 FPS range. I’d be fine with that cartridge on the largest grizzly out there.

@C-4

Your inbox is full.  Trying to send you something related to this thread.  

@exponentialpi

OK I’ll empty some!

I have firearm bear starting next weekend, and I'm still undecided on what I'm going to use.
My zero-doubt dead-nuts bolt gun is a 270 and I have some solid copper 130gr for that.  That's not under-gunned for a Michigan black bear is it?

I have a .44mag single shot Henry that is quite accurate and I've killed deer with it, though it's only irons, and being single shot it is nice and short which would be helpful where I'm hunting.
Another alternative is my my 30-06 bolt gun, but it is much bigger and heavier.
I have Ruger Americans in 350 Legend and 450 BM, but they are relatively new and I'm not sure I want to do my bear hunt with a new rifle, I'll save those for deer season.

Thoughts?

I’ve shot zero bears but I’d use 180 grain for extra penetration. I have a box of Remington 308 180 grain round nose corelokts in case I ever go on a bear hunt.

Best of luck and update us when you get one.

Update:  09/30/2023  Bear down!

First, I want to thank everyone for their advice.  I greatly appreciate it and it was extremely helpful for this hunt!

Well, it was down on 09/15/2023, but I have been swamped with work/family so I didn’t have time to update properly.

To set the stage:

1) Bear season in the various wildlife management areas usually goes from September 1 until early to mid-November, but if there is no food on the ground, they will usually hibernate starting as early as late October.

2) There is a baiting season and you can also hunt with dogs.  I do not have dogs.  

3) My friend has 70 acres he manages for deer, and while has shot 3 bears, he does not eat bear meat and gives it away.  

4) He owns the land and therefore, as a landowner, he can bait without a permit, though he has to do so only during the bear baiting season from 9/1 to 9/28, much shorter than the overall season.  The land is on his way home from work so easy to bait.  

5) We had multiple bears that were coming through the area. While the baiting season doesn’t start until opening day of 9/1, there are two neighbors’ corn fields next to the property and game cameras would capture them on their way in and out.  Once he started baiting, it took only a few days for them to start coming to the feeder.  There was a sow with this year’s cubs, a couple of juveniles from last year, and then some more mature males.  One of these males we named “Goliath”.  From the pictures, my friend estimated he weighed 300+ lbs live weight.  

6) I had originally planned to hunt for 9 days at the end of the month only, maybe some weekends as well, but in the end, I hunted each weekend, Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon.  It’s a 1 1/2 hour drive each way, but worth it given the set-up.  

7) Of course, we went through a wet, cool, rainy summer, only to be hit by a September heat wave like no other!  It hit the 80’s and 90’s.  While the 8X16’ blind is set right next to the wood line with some overhanging trees, it was brutally hot inside.  I ended up bringing frozen towels in ziplock bags to cool off!  We had a fan but that created some noise.  We also couldn’t keep the door partially open to help manage scent.  My younger son came with me twice on Saturdays but could not come on Friday afternoons due to school.  

8) I ended up hunting 2 days the first weekend (9/1 was a Friday this year), 2 days the second weekend, and then shot my bear on the Friday of the third weekend.

View from the blind in the blazing Sun!





Frozen towel to cool off:



Camera set-up attached to a wall mount:



I saw some beautiful sunsets as I hunted until 1/2 hour after sunset:





On September 15th, it happened.  I had just looked up around 5:40pm and spotted who I thought was Goliath emerge from the woods directly across the field, a distance of about 160 yards (Sig rangefinder).  He turned to my left and was making his way around the left side of the field.  He walked slowly and made it around some “islands” of trees/bushes where I would lose sight of his.  

I had examined the field carefully and, given my skills with a rifle, decided that I would only shoot if:

1) The range was < 100 yards.

2) There was a complete broadside presentation.  I planned on only taking a double-lung shot.  This was based on the advice given here, though I have read a lot of bear hunters shoot through the shoulders to immobilize the bear, then double lung to kill it.

3) The bear was not moving.  

The last thing I wanted to do was rush the shot and then have to go looking for a wounded bear.  Other hunters may have been completely comfortable taking a broadside shot at 160 yards on a moving target.  That wasn’t me!

As he circled around, he appeared between two of the islands and was at about 120 yards.  At that location, never did present a good broadside shot as you’ll see in the video.  

Typically, from the game cameras, the bears would enter the far end, circle around, then come to the feeder in the middle of the field.  Before baiting began, they would still emerge from the same location and head to their right to the corn fields on the neighboring property.  The exception was Goliath who would come out the far end and go straight to the feeder which was 90 yards from the blind.  He didn’t seem to bother circling around.

The bear left again and kept circling to my left behind an island, then reappeared directly to my left and made his way towards me.  There are some apple trees and he headed to them.



That apple tree is at 88 yards and he was a little closer than those trees when I shot, so I estimated about 80 yards.  He went full broadside, and he stopped moving.  He met all the criteria to take a shot, so I did!  

He was only 5 yards from the wood line to the left and he bolted right into it.  I said “Sh*t!” after the shot because I thought it was a bad shot or even completely missed.  

I ended up buying several different commercial loads including solid copper, Remington 180gr Core Lokt, and settled on using commercial Federal .308 180gr Nosler Partition bullets.  

The video appears to show the impact higher up and behind the shoulder.  The bear itself had what appeared to be an entrance wound that was lower and to the right.  The exit would was lower.  The bullet appears to have gone cleanly through both lungs.  

I went down to where I thought he entered the woods, then looked further to see if there was a clearer area I could enter as where he went in was a solid wall of trees and bushes!

I paralleled the likely path and saw he had collapsed about 15 yards into the woods, so he had only gone about 20 yards from where he was shot.

This is when I first found him:



Entrance wound:





Hanging with ice:



He weighed 217 lbs gutted:







We looked at the cameras, and compared photos of Goliath to this bear, and the conclusion was that it was a different bear.  Although Goliath did come in the morning of 9/15, the day I shot my bear.  

This is a picture of Goliath on 9/4 and 9/15.  



I’m extremely happy with the hunt and the bear I got.  If Goliath is still out there, and he makes it through the season, we will hunt him next year.  There is also a possibility that I did shoot what we named Goliath.

This is a short video of the hunt.  Yes, I was excited and hyperventilating!  I have no idea what that zipper sound was.  You end up making a lot more noise than you think you do trying to stay quiet.

Good job.

Awesome to see!  Congrats!

Thanks, guys!

Congratulations C-4, quite the memorable experience!

Thanks, guys!

I learned a lot.  But there is still a lot of black bear behavior that is a mystery to me.  One day in early September, it was 93F and a large male came in to the feeder at 6:40pm.  Then the same bear became mostly nocturnal.  It’s difficult to pattern what they will do.

Congrats. Great video. I think you got Goliath or at least his twin brother.

Thank you!  The game cameras are still up though baiting had stopped 9/28 as that was the last day for legal baiting.  No more sighting of any bears on camera since I shot mine on 9/15.

Nice bear and video! Congratulations! Which NH ZONE are you hunting in? I’m in I1 (west central) and although I didn’t bait this year (recovering from surgery) I did have some nice bears on cam locally. I also have a “Goliath” that appears now and then. It sure seems like they are bigger than we think though…I would have estimated yiur bear to be at least 300 dressed.

Thanks for a great write up, hunt, and thread.

Congratulations  C-4

@Hillcountry

Zone H1 in Plainfield, so directly west from you.  There is a lot of corn grown along the river so it’s really good apparently for the bear.  As you know, hunting NH is tough!  I live in J2 but I don’t have property big enough to bait myself.  There is some nice land in conservation very close which is where I deer hunt, and I have permission for deer stands.  Good luck with your recovery and definitely get out next year for bear!

@TxLewis

Thank you.  I just noticed I started the thread a year ago!  I had hunted for bear last fall but vowed to go all in this year.

Hi
I just figured out the “mentioned” area where you can see someone’s answer yto your question. I am
Familiar with Plainfield as a friend of my late father lived there. Last time I was there was many years ago maybe In the 1960’s?
Anyway, we had a camp in Norwich VT where we hunted for years but sold it many years ago as well. I m feeling well enough that I am going to put some cams out where I hunt on my land and my neighbors land.  Muzzleloader is right around the corner! Good luck!

@Hillcountry

J2 has a ton of acorns and so does H1.  My guess is you have a ton as well.  I hunt a 3-acre “oak forest” surrounded by beach, birch and hemlock.  There are 2 game trails that come through there.  I’m trying to hold out for something big this year!

There are some acorns but not loaded in my little area. 10 miles away they’re loaded!

Nice bear OP.  Thanks for sharing!

I have made some chili several times (I apologize for the beans but more of a filler to feed the son who eats meat).  The meat is great!  I am ecstatic since some bears, especially if they get into garbage, taste awful and you don’t know until you get your first bite.  This was shot at ~ 6:05pm, gutted and put on ice, then to the butcher the next morning so we were careful about handling the meat.  My friend whose property I hunted won’t eat bear because of the fear of trichinosis.  Drives me crazy with it.  IIRC, there are 5 species of trichinosis in the U.S.  Of those, 3 are killed by deep freeze, but the other 2 are not so you must either pasteurize the meat at 137F for at least 90 minutes, or bring all parts up to 160F, similar to pork.  But if you make a chili, you’re cooking to the boiling point of water 221F so it’s perfectly safe.





I’d like to make some meatballs, and I also have some of the bear that was made into corned bear meat.

I followed a YouTube video on how to make bear lard.  Cut the partially frozen fat into small pieces.  Heat it to 225F to 300F.  Try to keep on the lower end.  I was between 225F and 260F.  I was careful because I didn’t want to burn it.









*****I was very careful with the hot lard.*****  I let the jars cool for a bit before trying to handle them.

Once I cooked it down, I used a small ladle/spoon to pour the fat through a metal funnel that has a removable screen + 4 layers of cheese cloth.  





The liquid lard is light amber in color and then becomes a white opaque color as it cools.  You can see one jar getting opaque as it cools.  It will stay solid at room temperature, but I froze it.  It will last indefinitely frozen, months in the refrigerator, and ? weeks on the counter.







I have a label maker so labeled them.  My huge pet peeve is when people put stuff in the freezer but don’t label the package with what it is and when it was put in!  I had it on the deck since we have had freezing weather, then moved it to the freezer.  The YouTube video I found recommends using 1/2 pint jars, and move them from the freezer to the refrigerator when using it.  I got a total of 7 full jars and a half one that I will use up.





I have quite a bit more to cook down but I got the hang of it!

Nice.

Never sweated trichinosis as we cook bear well. Also paid attention to who was cooking.

Black bear breakfast sausage is really good.


Seal oil is much easier.
Stores for a long time in the freezer.
Just have to watch for blood in it. The blood will make the oil go rancid.

Got it! @akcaribouhunter

Do you render the seal fat to make oil/lard, or just freeze it as is?  

My wife renders the fat for the oil.
It is jarred and put in the freezer.

Most of the fat after rendering is put back in the seal oil jars.
It is eaten.


All done in a 5gal bucket in the back room.
Old way was to use seal skin or stomach to render.

Wow, that’s awesome!

I got the skull back and had it done professionally and it came out very nice!

Nice