Just to answer some questions that some of the posters to this thread have asked I'll try to address them. First off, I have made up my mind that if there is one hunt that I want to make, this type of bear hunt is it! I'm in the pre-planning stages such as asking these types of questions, going over web sites of outfitters that offer this type of hunt, trying to create a network of people with first hand experience that are willing to share information, getting a solid idea of the cost so that I can make adjustments in my lifestyle if need be to up my "personal mad money" funds. What prompted this question is a result of a couple of web site outfitter pages that recommended rifle calibers. These outfitters recommended 338WinMag. As others on this thread have stated, even large black bears are taken with firearms with much less power than the 338WinMag. I'm not trying to get people on here to side against the outfitter recommendations, just trying to hear from folks on what they would consider ample firepower for this hunt. My personal arsenal right now consists of three 30-06's (two bolt, one semi-auto), a custom 8mm mauser, a bolt 7mmWSM, and a bolt 243. Myself, I think that with suitable ammo, all of these rifles would be up to the task with the exception of the 243. The 30-06 semi-auto is out for me if the range wasn't within 100 yards because the thing is just not very accurate. Of the four rifles left, the slight edge in accuracy goes to the 7mmWSM. Tied for second are the 8x57 mauser and the 22inch barrel 30-06. My 24" barrel 30-06 I just haven't shot enough to determine its ability to perform. Obviously if the outfitter that I end up choosing wants me to get a bigger rifle then I will reluctantly go along with it but I'm not really keen on spending the money or shooting a rifle with more recoil. I got rid of a 300WinMag because of recoil when I was a young buck but had little experience with high power rifles back then. None of my present rifles bother me but I don't care for my 3" 2oz turkey shotgun loads! This is not a life or death decision at this point. I was just throwing it out there for some information and see if anything would strike home to me. Information is valuable and important so that's why I'm putting this out there in cyber space. Thanks for the input so far. It is appreciated.
