Hello everyone, I was hopeing that someone here that is wiser than I and who has had actual expeirience could share some thoughts with me about black bear hunting with a 30-30. I have never shot a black bear even though I spent a lot of hours hunting for them. I would definetly use a good 170gr bullet probably the Nosler Partition load. But anyway how does the old 30-30 perform on bear. My self imposed range limit would be 150yds although I am sure the ranges will be much less more like 100yds or shorter. Any thoughts or experiences will be very welcome thank you 336A.

First, I have never shot a bear with any cartridge. Second, I have hunted with several of the popular standard calibers for 40 years. Antelope, deer, elk, and mountain lion have fallen to my rifles: 30-30, 35 Rem, 280 Rem, 30-06, 35 Whelen.

You can hear all sorts of esoteric arguments about how only the latest crash'n'boomer magnum with a $2.00 premium bullet is adequate for bear. Plain truth is that the bullets you mentioned at the ranges you described will do nicely if properly placed in the heart/lung area.

Don't expect a blood trail that a blind man could follow from a 30-30 on bear, or lots of other perfectly adequate calibers, for that matter. Bear hair, skin, muscle and fat all work against you when it comes to a blood trail. But the bruin will be dead and not far away with a good hit from a a 170 grain bullet from the old 30-30.

I think it can be done. I never killed a bear with a 30-30, so I can't speak directly about it. That said, I'd feel better about using something that would ensure complete penetration. Black bears vary a great deal in size, and I wouldn't want to go after the bigger ones with a cartridge of that power level using normal vital organ shots.

If hunting in heavy cover, I'd want a good sized hole all the way through the animal. Dense cover, with a poor blood trail, can be a very frustrating thing.

At the ranges you mention, I would say any of the cartridges in the .260, 7-08, 307, 308, 356, 358 family would serve you well with a proper bullet. There are lots of cartridges that will do it, I just suggested the above as they can be had in compact "woods rifles" and won't punish you severly when shooting. It comes down to shot placement and most shooters will practice more with a rifle if it doesn't punish them.

Hmmm I ponder how many blackbear have been killed by archery? Makes me laugh when some would think the mighty .30-30 wouldn't be sufficient to do the job. Regardless of what you use, place your shot......good to go.

Now if you start trying to take black bear beyond 200yds I would go with something with a bit more oomph.

I have loaded 34 gr. of H4895 and 170 speer for a friend to deer hunt with. He shot a couple of real nice deer with his Marlin and this load.
Well were he hunts, the bears seem to have been moving in and the marlin has been taking a few bears along with the deer.
The 30/30 has been used to take moose here in the estern bush up here in Canada.
The important thing is to know were to hit them.

Hello everyone, I was hopeing that someone here that is wiser than I and who has had actual expeirience could share some thoughts with me about black bear hunting with a 30-30. I have never shot a black bear even though I spent a lot of hours hunting for them. I would definetly use a good 170gr bullet probably the Nosler Partition load. But anyway how does the old 30-30 perform on bear. My self imposed range limit would be 150yds although I am sure the ranges will be much less more like 100yds or shorter. Any thoughts or experiences will be very welcome thank you 336A.

336A,
I've killed a few black bear and seen the results of many 30-30 kills on bear up to over 400 pounds. At the range and with the loads you are talking about, the 30-30 does just fine. The 170 grain Partition penetrates well and you will likely get pass-through hits. You may be surprised how well a 30-30 will perform on a black bear, after some of the "bad press" offered up by some. I'm not sure that I've ever heard that the 30-30 is "not enough gun" from anyone who has actually used one on a bear!
But, my self-imposed limit with an unscoped 30-30 is more like 100 yards with any game. Maybe I can't shoot as good as you though? :)

Thanks for all of the information guys its very informative. It gives me a whole new out look on this grand ol' cartridge. I really need to invite my friend over and show him that yes there are actual accounts of people that are still takeing game as large as moose with this round still. I can forsee that me and the ol' 30-30 and I will be close friends for a long time, the old 7mm mag is going to get jealous :D. I just resized and primed a whole bunch of brass now I need to get some Win 748 and Speer 150gr hot cores and do some load development.
Again thanks for all of the info and keep it comeing I am eating this stuff up. 336A.

P.S. I think I can already hear the 7mm mag screaming for a divorce :D

While the 150 may give the 30/30 a bit more range , most folks in the bush here in Canada stick with the 170 gr. flat point bullet sighted in 2'' high at one hundred yards. 34 gr. of H 4895 @2409 Vel took one cow moose and a calf another year at approximatly 75 yards. Bear were shot under 100 yards while deer hunting , while deer close to 200 Lbs +/- were taken just under 150 yards.
It is not going to be the gun for shooting accross the valley where you still need your 7MM mag, but at under 150 yards the little 30/30 will do it's part if you do yours.

I've killed a few Russian boars with my 30-30 and size wise, they were very similar to a bear. But a boar has a thick shield of cartilage material at the shoulder region which bears do not have.

My advise is to hit 'em right through both lungs with the first bullet. 170 grain bullet would be my first choice. Very few animals on our planet can stand up to a well placed 30-30 bullet!
TR

I shot a small 150lb bear at about 170yds a few years ago with 170gr federal ammo and got full penitration through the back and both hips, exit hole was about1.5inches, another quick follow up shot through the boiler room finished him within 25ft. It wasn't a big bear but I was suprised at the penitration at that distance

444,
That truly is impressive, I have come to the summation that the 30-30 is a lot like the .22. In that it is not respected because of its size, by most hunters and that it's performance must be seen to be truly beleived. I am sure that if more hunters used the 0l' 30-30 it would pleasently surprise them and they would then realize that you do not need a super magnum to take most game. 336A.

I was raised in the Mid- Michigan area, My uncle during the
mid 70's had a small farm with about 30 head of cattle which he was contracted to Kraft to sell them milk for their
products, Don't know if anyone remembers the PCB problem in Michigan (When a farmer accidently mixed PCB in with
the cattle food) but a lot of cattle had to be destroyed. Including my Uncles. well, My dad, Uncle, and 3-4 neighbors
had the task of destroying the cattle, in a large pit. 30-30's
and a .32 WS was used from 50 yards while the cattle were
in the pit. I went to 2 of the get togethers, seen about 50 head go down. One shot kills in all but one. that one didn't go down until after the second shot, first one was low in the shoulder. 170 grn. Remington. I know this cause we had
to record it all on a form we had to turn into the state for
them to pay my uncle . a 30-30 on a black bear at
350 lbs ?? ummm yea. I wouldn't hesitate a heartbeat.
I'm no ballistics expert but I understand a lot of guides use a 44 mag for a back up for archery hunters for bear. unless
I read the ballistics table wrong, the 30-30 has more than twice the "wump" of a 44 mag revolver at 50 yards. Of course now with the 454, and 500 magnums revolvers out, I assume the 44 magnum will be called a "bit too lite" for bears. Go figure. If ya try to keep up with the technology of firearms and want the newest, greatest 500 yard- one inch groups, guys like me will go broke.

336 A
I am also going after a Black Bear this year with my Marlin 336 in 30-30. I settled on the Speer 170 gr with a stiff load of Winchester 748. This may be of help. I have posted this before on the 30-30 article by Mic McPherson. It is a great read with lots of testing on bullets and loads he did. Click on the one hundres years and still going strong.

http://www.sixgunner.com/archive/mcpherson/

If I get Mr. Bear this year, I will post the picture. I may even some day try Beartooth bullets.

Happy Hunting.

336A,

I didn't use nor gain respect for the 30-30 cartridge until I was in my 40's and bought a 14" Contender barrel chambered for the 30-30. That barrel shot better than many bolt guns at 100 yds and made me realize that what I'd been told and what I read about the old 30-30 just wasn't true.

In the late 80's we had a bear hunt planned to Quebec so I bought myself a Contender carbine in 30-30 to use on this hunt since the legalities of taking a pistol frame into Canada, with a shoulder stock and 21" barrel attached were probably illegal. This carbine would sometimes group the 170 Hornady FP/Win 748 powder load under an inch for 5 shots @ 100 yds!! Anyway, when a bear showed itself one shot was all it took, a quartering shot which went almost the entire length of the bear and was found under the skin at the back of a hindquarter. I still have the bullet, perfectly mushroomed.

Since then I have taken deer, 1 turkey (cast bullet), and squirrels (cast) with the old 30-30. And this past season killed my first-ever levergun deer, a doe.

I would say this about your bear hunt - - Take the 30-30, place your shot in the boiler room and you'll be dining on bear roasts.

30-30 man,
Thanks for that link, the article was very informative. I too am useing 748, I just loaded up 3 each 35, 36, & 37gr along with the Speer 150gr FP for accuracy testing. I have been thinking about loading up some Speer 170s' or buying some factory loaded Noslers for bear this year. I would really like to see those pics of the bear you get this year to. And would like to hear how your handloads perform on him as well. Wish you the best of luck and hope that you get a big one.

336A ! You can kill a bear with a 30/30 or a 30/06 or a 22rimfire it depends on what the bear feels like doing at the time you are shooting at it ! Eskimos shoot and kill Polar Bears with a 222 rem. all the time ! JAGG

336A:

Naumann is right on the money. I've killed a few bears, my last one being last fall. Took it with my 336C in .35 Rem. No problem. I've taken bears with a 30-06 and even a .22 Mag. I was just a stupid kid at that time many years ago and I'm not proud of that stunt.

Anyways, a kid who I broke in hunting many years ago took numerous black bears with his 30-30 using 170 grainers. He used Winchester Power Points and Remington Core-lokts. Not only has he taken many black bears with his 30-30 ( at least 11 I believe) but some were really nice size. He never had any problems except with one which he had to hit multiple times. Reason: distance and accuracy was off that day. He'd tell you that himself. He was a fine shot and when that Winchester 94 Canadian Centennial with its long barrel barked, something was down. He was a very good hunter and killed many nice bucks with his 30-30 as well.

Although I have never taken a bear with the 30-30 I've been with those who have and have seen the results of fine marksmanship. With that being said I fully recommend the caliber and bullet that you inquire about. Just keep your range in mind and bullet placement a priority and you'll find that the 30-30 will do the rest.

Don't believe you need ultra-mags and short magnums and short fat magnums because thats all hype. ;)

GOOD SHOOTING 336A! :) Range Finder

The original load for the 30-30 was a 160 gr bullet. Several years ago, in CO, I carred a 30-30 for bear protection. The load I used was 165 NP Spitzer. I filled the pointed tip off and it weighted 160 grs. I do not recall the exact loading data, but it was alittle faster than the hottest 170 and very accurate. I did take a couple of deer with this load with good results, but did not take any bear with it.

Here's another 30-30 article you might enjoy reading... written by Paco Kelley.

7.62X51R REVISITED


http://www.sixgunner.com/backissues/paco/3030Again.htm

Paco has some pet loads listed for the 30-30 Improved that will amaze anyone - like 2550fps with 180gr CAST bullets!

GET CLOSE & SHOOT WELL ;)

GOOD LUCK!

"He was huge...he terrorized the north west Idaho/Canada border country for twenty years. He was a cattle killer, as he grew older and slower he became a man killer...he ravaged and put fear into the hearts of those who lived in his roaming area for those two decades....he was shot over a dozen times with many of the heaviest black powder calibers of the times...but they never stopped him. Even to the point of charging several of the shooters and killing them....

Then in the fall of 1895 armed with a new high velocity rifle and caliber and lots of courage....a young 22 year old man that had grown up during this grizzly’s incredible reign of terror...hunted him down and killed him. John Horton out of Kalispel, hit him three times...twice at 75 yards to put him down, once in the head at point blank range, to make sure he stayed down. What was this fantastic new cartridge and rifle. A Winchester model 94 in 30-30...with 160 grain bullets at approx 1960 fps. And this is not an unusual story...a number of nasty bears that seemed impervious to black powder rounds met their match with the new ‘white powder’ rounds of the turn of the 19th/20th century..........."