45 LC for black bear??

[treefarmer87]

was doing a deer drive in a thick, 10 yr old, 29 acre cut over today and came up on a fresh bear bed, so i moved my stand this afternoon, cut my shooting lanes,etc. would my 92' win in 45LC enough gun? or would i be better off using my sharps 45-70, or 308 browning shorttrac? the farthest shot might be 50 yds? i saw HSM ammo make a 45 LC bear load and hornady makes the leverevolution ammo?

[beenthere]

Are ya gonna shoot the bed?

Or expecting the bear to come back and shoot the bear?  ;)

For the gun, hit 'em in the right spot then 45 LC should be fine. What are the ballistics?

[treefarmer87]

the bear :D he seems to be roaming all over leaving alot of sign, lots of droppings and beds. the cutover is really thick and has 2 creeks, so i dont think hes going far. im not sure about the ft/lbs, but the bullet travels in the 800-1000 fps range i think. i think for adequatly take deer size game with pistol cartridges they need to produce at lease  800 ft/lbs

[mooleycow]

male bears have a 20 mile roaming range.  females have 10 mile range, still good luck.  put out sterno burner and fill pot with honey and bacon. 

[Cypressstump]

Of the three calibers you mention, I'd opt for the 308 hands down. The 45LC does not have nearly the accuracy, range and down range energy for a ethical shot in my opinion. The 308 would be great with a partition type round and would excel if that longer than 50 yd opportunity came around.

[Al_Smith]

At close range like 50 yards that 45-70 would pack quite a punch .You're talking 405 grains of soft lead bullet that would likely knock down an elephant at that range .If nothing else else the pacaderm would have a dandy headache .

The first one of those old hand cannons I ever saw was in the mountains of Colorado and I thought the guy had a 410 shotgun by the size of the barrel bore .

[Cypressstump]

Agree, the 45-70 at short range is a man. A friend up in Idaho had some old Sharps rolling blocks rifles, 45-70, 45-100 and a 45-125 i think it was and the bad boy 50-110. My shoulder hurt for days after that weekend........ :
Those things are worth medium sized fortunes these days.

[clww]

Any of those calibers will work fine for black bear. Take lots of time on the shot, any shot. "Aim small, miss small". Both bears I've taken were non-traditional means. One each with a bow and a handgun in .44 Magnum.

[jdonovan]

Would my 92' win in 45LC enough gun? or would i be better off using my sharps 45-70, or 308 browning shorttrac? the farthest shot might be 50 yds? i saw HSM ammo make a 45 LC bear load and hornady makes the leverevolution ammo?

The standard pressure 45LC rounds _MIGHT_ be enough for a smaler bear, if placed well. But there is limited energy to help compensate for a less ideal placement.

The +P loadings that are available from known higher performance ammo companies, buffalo bore, double tap etc.. would give you nearly 2x the energy, and you could select projectile designs that would be more likely to penetrate the heavier body of a bear.

BTW in Virginia you need to have 350 ft-lbs to be legal for deer with a pistol, some of the 45LC loadings are just over 450. So if that 45LC is just above 'enough' for a whitetail, that should give you a hint that its going to marginal for bigger/heavier animals.

I'd feel a lot more comfortable with the 45-70, or 308 under my arm. 

[Al_Smith]

I'm such a lousey pistol shot I'd get eaten by the bear because it's unlikely I could hit lake Erie from a row boat .I'd stand a better chance if I just threw the thing at him and hope I bop him in the snozzola .

[Texas Ranger]

I had an old six stripper tell me to use as much gun as  you can carry.  Use the .45 as back up, when the bear has chew the end of your boot off.