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hey everyone. im 16. this will be the first year i bear hunt with hounds. the only 2 guns i can use no questions asked. is a 30-30. or a 12gage. do you think eaither of those is enough to kill a bear. oh and i dont know if this matters but the averge bears around here are a littlee over 200lbs. not to many monsters. so thanks for the help

either one of those aimed correctly is more then effective on about anything your going to run into in northamerica. if I could absolutely only own one hunting arm it would be a 12 gauge with out hesitation the selection of ammo is so varied it can be made to perform most task, minus long range. As a houndsman that's not a large issue. the 30-30 has been cussed and praised and the center of conversation for so long for a reason. it's effective and does the job with minimal fuss and fanfare. I would steer away from any type of shot in the 12 gauge and stick with a slug or sabot. for penetration,shock,wound channel and hound safety. take your selection out and shoot it as much as possible and as many positions as you can includeing up it ALWAYS HELPS. good luck hope you have a great year. Take plenty of nice clean photo's for the memories

30/30.
Will prove much more useful for all species, much better accuracy at longer ranges and more importantly the projectile will not deflect as easy as a slug.

I would not try to kill a Jack Rabbit with a 30-30. If you have a nice 30-30, sell it and by a good side arm, a 44 mag or better will do. Bears are tough, and if you like wounding bear a 30-30 is a good choice. If you run out of bullets throw the gun at him, you might get better results. Get some slugs or sabot for the 12 GA. When you can feel the heat from the bear breath give him a oz. of hot lead. That sob will be dead before it hits the ground.

JMO

Im in agreement on the 30/30 they r junk. The shotgun works wonders with slugs. I personally like a 45/70

Use the 30-30. If your dogs are not tied back or are baying the bear tite on the ground you should shoot the bear in the head anyway. Skull will rattle like a bag of rocks every time.A body shot on a bayed up bear with any gun and your risking your dogs unless there not close to the bear.

As you can see opinions vary greatly.
Never seen anything hit the ground from a tree or standing on it other than stone dead with my 30-30 but give me a .22mag and the results wouldnt be any different.
Its a 100 year old debate, lots of guys will say you cant kill an elk with a .243 but lots do, I've watched guys put 5 rounds into a treed bear with a .300 RUM and its still hanging on trying to scramble up the tree.

The best answer to your question is "correct shot placement" with either.

i agree with blacktail shot placement with either of the guns you have is key when hunting with hounds on bear if you wound him on a bayup or have to run him again wounded out of a tree mr bear turns into a hornets nest and the dogs adrenaline shoots thru the roof after the shot causing hounds to really get tore up and it happens in the blink of an eye head shot on bayup especially .dogs should be tied back from tree when shooting i still prefer headshot some guys are worried about skull measurements im more worried about my dogs . if they get tore up naturally thats fine by me i know i got beardogs but i dont want it to be my fault because i rushed the shot .

Just something else to consider. As for those against the use of the 30-30, how many of you use or know someone that uses a 357 magnum? In my opinion, the 30-30 is a much safer caliber than a 357. If you use something other than a weak, cheap load with a silver tip bullet, you can kill a bear with one shot. Shot placement is key to any successful kill. The old timers killed as much game with a 22 as anything else. A 22 mag is leathal on just about anything also. If you compare muzzle velocity with distance and accuracy, it would be hard to hate the 30-30 as much as some people do. Granted, it's not comparable to some of the other calibers out there, but the original question was between the 12 gage and the 30-30.

The gun does not matter. Use what you have, that is legal for where you hunt. After all, who has the money for fancy guns when your feeding dogs and spending money on everything else that goes with them. From 22 short- .338 lapua, it's all about shot placement. Later Kiel

I like .44s and .357s.

My dad killed both his bear and his lion with a .357.

I personally think the coolest gun to pull out under a bear tree to shoot is a 500 LOL. It's like half pistol half bazooka >.<

30-30 would be my choice, between the two. Todays bullets are much better, try the new Hornady Evalution. A 30-30 will out perform a 357 or a 44mag every day of the week for versatility and killing power. Just look how well that 44 mag killed that cougar in the mine shaft.

30-30 to me is the best way to go for everything. Unless u run into a bobcat. I have a trappers model that fits in my pack and i love it.

The 30-30 would be my choice out of the 2 also. I have killed alot of bear with the 30-30 but I have killed alot more with the 45-70 and it does a very good job.

Shot placement is everthing. Gun caliber shouldn't be an issue, 50' shots would probably be about max anyway.

One thing I think is more important is always tieing your hounds uphill from the tree as you don't want a 200+ lb. bear roll over or fall on one of your hounds. I never under any circumstances shoot anything out of a tree until my hounds are tied uphill from the tree. I find it amazing how many people shoot out bears and lions over loose dogs.