Shot Placement and Bear Vitals
Shot placement on a bear is so critical I think it requires a few thoughts. First of all, remember the personality of a black bear. It seems they walk around paranoid and ready to run or fight. They are definitely efficient predators. But they won’t wait around for you to find them once they are aware of you.
This diagram is used from the Alaska Fish & Game site. It includes, heart, lungs, liver, shoulder blade, and spine.
Any black bear is built pretty square but our big blacks are 400-600 lbs and very square and tough. They have a dense bone structure with relatively small forward placed lungs and a smallish heart that lives on the chest floor.
For most of the bear hunting season, spring and fall, the hide is long and thick and creates some deception for the bullet placement.
Most of us will hunt bears in three ways, hounds, bait, or spot and stock. The spot and stock method usually provides the longer shots but I think there is danger in even thinking one should shoot at a bear at long range. For example, a 250 yard shot on an elk may sound okay but for a big black bruiser that’s a long way.
With baiting and hounds the shot will be close enough to effectively place the shot.
We’ve talked about calibers before. For the bait and hound hunting I think the big slow calibers are fun. An old fashion .45-70 or .444 Marlin would do a job on a close bruin.
Spot and stalk is different. Out past 100 yards get those heavy, longer range guns like the .300 magnums, the .338 Winchester Magnum and my friend the .375 H&H, as well as many others.
Back to the placement of the shot. A heart shot or a double lung shot will kill the bears. When I’m confident I have the gun and adequate bullet I love to include the onside shoulder in the shot if possible. Next best are the vitals plus the off side shoulder. That way I’ve killed the bear and broken his shoulder. With the bear quartering toward or away, at good range, this is a great shot.
I shot straight down on a bear once with a 350gr 50 caliber muzzle loader. This shot broke his back then heart shot him. I was close.
Here are some views of a bear in different positions and shows the vital in relationship to the position. You cannot shoot a bear in any old position. Picture in your mind what you need for a good shot and do not take a bad shot.
I don’t shoot bears in the head unless I feel threatened. The skull is a good trophy. It’s how we measure a bear and it makes a small target.
