140 Berger for black bear?

[walding1989]

I have a black bear hunt planned for August this year and was planning on shooting my .264 win mag. Currently I am running the 140 grain Berger @ 3230 FPS with less than .5 groups at 100 yds. My question is will this bullet hold up for black bear? This is my first experience hunting them and not sure what to expect. I have read on several forums and other places that a good deer size cartridge is good for blackies. Will somebody with " bear hunting knowledge and Berger bullet knowledge" give me a little direction here. Thanks!

 

[bigngreen]

I haven't shot a lot of bears with them but I have shot a lot of elk at that velocity and even shooting the through the heaviest shoulder bones they penetration deep and crush elk, each bullet needs evaluated on its own merit, I don't trust a brand over one bullet but based on individual bullet function the Berger 140 is awesome, my buddy shoots Alaskan moose with them and penetration is always impressive.

 

[PNW EOD]

I'm sure others will chime in, but not having experience on the 140 Berger for bear, (Deer is another story) Someone will most likely chime in saying that the layer of fat on a bear will cause some early expansion, and not a fully desired effect. That being said, PLENTY of bears have been harvested with the Berger VLD's from the 6mm all the way to the 338's. I plan on using mine for bear next summer, and will have no problem doing so. I would check out some other recent threads that say what I am talking about. I believe it is brought up during the "Berger close to medium range" thread.

 

[scottishkat]

There are 62 reviews of this bullet at Midwayusa.

Good luck and shoot straight

Bob

 

[walding1989]

There are 62 reviews of this bullet at Midwayusa.

Good luck and shoot straight

Bob

lol thanks for the heads up....

 

[BallisticsGuy]

Black bear aren't nearly as tough as too many people think. Get it in the boiler room and it's game over. They're massively easier to kill (from the point of view of the bullet) than a pig and no harder to kill than a deer. The hard part about killing a black bear is it's hard to figure out where the vitals actually are under their built in ghillie suit. That's why they have a reputation for toughness. Poor anatomical knowledge and nebulous body borders makes a crappy shot out of the best of us.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Not all bears are created equally. We took a bear that weighed less than 300lbs but had 5" of fat laying all over him. Literally the most fat laden Canadian bear I have ever seen. That might make a difference when using a light, fragmenting bullet.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[walding1989]

TTT

 

[Plinker147]

Ive used them on elk with no issues, they will work fine on bear.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Not a Berger vld but I did shoot a 312 lb boar with the 140 A max and he didn't run even 20 yards. Snuck it behind the front shoulder and what was left of the bullet was lodged in the opposite shoulder. Thing is bears don't bleed worth a crap so an exit helps with the blood trail if you have to track. Chances are a 140 lbs in the boiler room will fold him like a lawn chair out of a 264 win mag

 

[walding1989]

TTT, I know there is more people on this forum that have used 140 grain 6.5 Bergers to kill bears!

 

[thork91]

Shot a 280 lb dressed ,gun)black bear in Quebec this June. I used a 6.5 creed moor , 135 grn Berger hunting vld . Bear went 20 yards and dropped. Shot was at 30 yards.

 

[JohnRP]

Used 185 gr Berger on my Alaskan grizzly and it preformed perfect. Bear ran 40 yds and dropped dead. Now would i recommend it on a grizzly for most people probably not. I waited for the right angle for perfect shot placement. I was hunting sheep when I ran across the bear. Heart and lungs were completely gone. Bits of the bullet were against the opposite side under the hide. Now I'm not sure how the bullet would proformed if I would have taken a shoulder shot. I wasn't taking that chance.

 

[Sykes]

I shot a 250 pound black bear at 90 yards with a 168 vld in my 308. Worked very well. Killed two cow elk with a 140 vld out of a 6.5 creedmoor, one at 150 yards and the other at 300. No complaints