Does anyone have any experience shooting a Black Bear with a 357 mag handgun?
I know a 44 would be better but that's not what I will be using.
I will be hunting in N.Y. where both of my hunting buddies shot bears while deer hunting. Both bears were under 200 lbs. I will be only carrying my Ruger Blackhawk (6.5" barrel) with factory 158gr JSP. I will be hunting from the ground. If I see a black bear within 50 yards should I take the shot or let it walk?
The handgun/ammo combination has served me well with whitetails but I have no experience with bears.

Warren,

You say that 158gr JSP has served you well for whitetails?
I believe you of course, and I'm certain that bullet could kill a whitetail alright, but that combo would not be my first choice in drilling big whitetails or black bears.
How big were the deer? How far were you from them? Where did you hit them? Consider these things while thinking about using the .357 to hunt bears.
If you simply must drill a New York bruin with a .357, I would seriously consider a heavy bullet designed expressly for medium /large game such as Federal's 180 grain Castcore. That is the very cartridge that I load my GP-100 with "whenever" I carry it afield (I don't hunt with it). I have hunted big whitetails with a .44 magnum for - well - a long time, and load it very heavy (270 gr Speer Gold Dot jacketed softpoints). I've killed exactly 1 black bear with it as well, that weighed just shy of 300lbs(I used a Federal 300gr castcore on that big boy!). Considering that, I believe in loading the .357 just as heavy as is practical, and would not hesitate to drill a black bear with that 180 castcore as long as it was "close".
.357 and .44 magnum cartridges pale in power as compared to the most common deer and bear rifles cartridges. There is no such thing as loading them too heavy for hunting medium and large game, but it is common for fellas to load them too light.
Keep your shots close, consider a better bullet than the 158 jsp, and put it in the boiler room. You should be ok.

Renster

JMO I use to hound hunt bears,and I have seen them shot with more different guns than I care to remember and at ranges from point blank to 300yards.I have trailed and tracked,with and without hounds,more than my fare share of wounded bears.I am with Renster,IF you are die hard set on using a 357,up your load.180gr cast cores,200gr hardcast handloads,180 nosler partitions just to name a few.IMO your absolute max range should be 40yards with closer being better.And put as many as you can in the boiler room as you can.Bears like other animals vary in how they die.I have seen a single bullet from a 30-30 pile one up,and I have also seen one absorb 3-12guage slugs from 12ft,and 4-45acp slugs from point blank 2hours after the slugs before being down for good.And yes all 3 slugs should have done the job they were in the right place.Again JMO

I agree with cottonstalk, I've seen bears drop dead at the shot with modest calibers and I've seen them pack lead. The point I keep trying to make on here is you may be in an area where the biggest bears coming out are a couple hundred pounds but your talking about an animal that can go upwards of 600lbs. It depends on the area your in on how likely that is but it's a possibility anywhere they live so I take the approach of having enough gun not only for the average but for what I might run into. I don't want to have to pass on a trophy because I didn't have enough gun and after seeing the damage done by a bear that went rogue after being wounded I'd never take a shot except in self defense with a smaller caliber. Here where I'm at I pack my 475 Linebaughs and my 375JDJ and I think they are just right. I personally am not even a fan of the 44 for bears even though I know they are capable and there have been alot of bears killed with them. I start my minimum with a 45 colt loaded past book data on the heels of the 454 and then of course the 454 on up and I don't believe in too much gun with animals that bite and are capable of eating me.

Renster: The suggestions about using heavier bullets is helpful. I will check into that.

Cottonstalk: Thanks for the 40yd max limit suggestion. The whitetails I've taken haven't been much further than that. That's my self imposed shooting ability.

wapitirod: I gather from your comments that if you were whitetail hunting with a .357mag and had a black bear walk within 40yds that you would let him walk. I'm leaning that way too. I already did it once while bow hunting. I did not have the confidence to make a killing shot so I just enjoyed watching him walk away.
I enjoy hunting deer with the .357mag and I have too much respect for the black bear to possibly injure it.
Unless someone else chims in with some convincing experience, I won't be taking the shot.

Warren, at 40yds it would be a tough call for me although I know there are guys here that wouldn't hesitate. If I had a premium bullet which in the 357 I actually prefer the 180 Partition but maybe a hard cast but it's not the biggest bullet to try and break shoulders with and I was 110% sure of my shot which would have to be broadside leg forward to totally expose the vitals I might. I do believe s4s4u said he has taken a bear with the 357 but other than that I haven't heard anyone say anything. One of the other guys is looking at trying it with a 357 Max but even that I wouldn't be comfortable with. Pick yourself up a 44 or 45 Blackhawk and have at it. Like I said I prefer the 45 and if you don't reload there are companies like Cor-bon and Buffalo bore that have factory ammo loaded to the true potential of the 45. Good Luck!

If you do decide on picking up another 44 or 45, may I suggest the Bisley grip. I find it gives better control using the heavy loads. Best of luck with whatever you decide. Oh, and think of the 300 Grn XTP by Hornady.

That I did, but it wasn't my intention going in. I wanted to take one with the bow. I always carry my GP100 when in the woods, unless I know I need something bigger. Last day, getting late, having seen nothing for 3 days, I heard something coming from behind my position in a tree. I turned my head and out of the corner of my right eye I saw him. He wasn't going to present a shot for the Mathews so I went to plan XTP 180. He was just 15 yards off, quartering away. I held halfway back on the body and let fly. He went down on the shot and then rose and ran about 50 yards and dropped dead. Bullet went through the ribs and into the boiler room.

He was a nice cinnamon, damn taxidermist lost the hide. The stew was fantastic.

If my intent were to hunt bear with a handgun from the ground I would have had my 45LC or 480 Ruger. The GP just makes for nice carry.

first of welcome .. there is a few of us New Yorkers. Where specifically in this tragic state are you located/hunting.. there is an excellent article that I have in pdf that I will try to find and send your way if you are interested written by Bob Milek regarding his experiences with black bears and the 357 I believe in a redhawk... he wasn't impressed with the results, but I would say if that's what you got then that's what you got to use. . use hard cast and pick your shot, and let us know how it works for you. best of luck to you

Everyone has suggested using heavier bullets. That sounds like good advice, however, I can't find any. I don't reload anymore and no dealers anywhere near me have factory loads over 158gr and some don't even have that. Very frustrating!
Local Gander Mtn. only had one size and that was 145gr.
I tried to get them online and nothing. As an example Midway USA is out of stock for just about all it's 357mag.
Just venting.

Try Cabelas


http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templa...asJS=true#chart

Try going to Double Tap ammo -- you can buy directly from them. They have 180 and 200 grain loads. http://www.doubletapammo.com

I have used a number of different loads in a number of different calibers on game with great results.

I think Grizzly and Buffalo Bore make 357 as well, with an attitude.

Since a number of folks have already recommended a heavier caliber, I will add my vote to that recommendation. However, since you do plan to use your .357, and are not a reloader, I suggest you try to find some of the WW Partition Gold .357 Mag. ammunition, which I believe is loaded with the 180 gr bullet. That should do the job for you.

I agree with Sawfish The Winchester Supreme Partition Gold is hard to beat for factory ammo.

The above advise has been well stated. It would be prudent to note that the heaviest bear in NY was in the 750 pound range. Thats a lotta bear to kill w/a 357. I've never gotten a shot at one so I don't know.

Hey its been awhile, but back in 1987 Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Warden did just that with a S&W mod 66, he lived but wore the marks of the beast for a while.

They were relocating a griz and the bear trap was not secured down in the bed of the pickup. As you can see in the sequence of pictures what happened, when the driver called out to the warden, and that got the bears attention.

The warden lived, but the bear ate 6 rounds of 158-gr loads. As suggested buy from Double Tap ammo, as their availability on the new 200-gr WFNGC bullet loads at 1350 fps are great. I carry a 200-gr WFNGC load that is 1300 fps in my Glock 20SF.

Great photos! He's a lucky man! Double Tap is a great suggestion -- I have used a number of different loads in a number of different calibers with great success on game. Thanks for posting this sequence of photos!

Whitworth -- thanks for the link to Double Tab. I was able to order some and hope to get them next week.

Montanan -- thanks for the photos, I remember that story. If I remember correctly, it was in Outdoor Life magazine back then.

Bingo -- A 750 lb bear will not be shot by me with a .357mag, I don't want to injure the bear or myself.

Those photos give me the willys. LOL! Well said Warren. Saturday was opening day for northern zone. I hope you were out. We got rain. Lots of rain. Going again the 6th-9th. Hope to see you in the big park.

To BINGO and Warren:

We usually hunt Northern Zone until southern opens in a couple of weeks but I bought a new bow early this fall so I haven't been out with the gun In the ADKs yet.

Whats the bear population looking like up there this year? I know where we have a camp in the Catskills, and have been hunting the past three weekends, the bear population has exploded. Last year we (10 guys in our party) saw one bear (buddy ended up shooting it, 175lb sow), and a good amount (not a lot) of sign. This year we have seen while hunting and on camera, over 15 different bears, one being a 300+ pound sow with 4 cubs. A guy in our party had quite an experience last firday night when he was walking through a stand of tamaracks when he ran into mama and two cubs. The bad thing was the cubs went up two trees to the right of the trail and the mom was on the left of the trail, my hunting buddy was in between on the trail. He made it OK (after some shouting and stick beating).

But anyway, just curious to see what the bear population is like up North this year. Also how have your seasons been going? Any success?

750 lbs a big one.............come south where they get up to 880!...............i wouldnt use a .357......use min 41 mag,45 colt or 44...........