A couple photo's of bears

[JJHACK]

After 20 years of bear hunting for my living I finally killed a B&C bear for myself. I have 6 of my own that are 19-15/16" which must be some kind of record for missing the minimum by a 1/16"! My clients have taken more B&C bears than I can count but I never managed to get one of my own until this two tone bear. Then the next year I nailed another one which was really nice as well.

Anyway I took two B&C bears in two seasons using spot and stalk no bait or hounds. Moosie gave me these address for the photo's hope they load OK.jj

 

[GRUNT]

JJ
congrats on finally getting yourrecord book bears..thanks for the photo's..came through great

 

[VPHUNTER]

Great pictures and a good job getting those bears!!!!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[1_pointer]

Good looking bears JJ!! I hope that I can just see one again. I seen one in the Smokey Mtns, but I would love to see one in the 'wild'. Heck, I got with in 10 yards of that one, so I know it probably wasn't too wild.

 

[riverswild]

What a good looking critter!
Hey, the bears are bad either!...

Nice pics.

 

[californiacoyotes]

HEY YOU SHOT MY BEAR!!!!

nice bears!! i want one like them!!

 

[MTranch]

Great pics thanks JJ!!!!!!!
Chris

 

[cathunt-mt]

Great bears I like the choc. one.
Thanx for the pic.

Cathunt

 

[ru]

JJ, That's about the nicest looking black bear I've seen! That looks like fall, was he big jar of jam - how did he taste?

What were you shooting with - a Rem. 700 - .338 / 3x9? What do you recommend?

Cheers,

 

[JJHACK]

I'm a serious CRF guy I only use Model 70 Winchesters. My mountain hunting rifle is a 30/06. I use lots of scopes leupold or Swarovski I was testing several for a magazine article. The scope on that rifle was a 3-9 VariXII. It is now on a .22 ruger bolt action Rimfire.

I have used a Leupold 6-42 for longer then I can remember. I also used a 2.5-8 and a 3.5-10 on that rifle( all leupolds) since they are all in Warne QD rings Which always remain zero'd when removing and replacing them I can pick and choose my scopes for the game or conditions I am hunting.

For bears with the 30/06 in the mountains I like the 6-42, the 2.5-8, and the 3.5-10 all very well. This year I will be working several Alaska goat hunts and will use the 3.5-10 X40 I wish to have the most precision I can get with longer shots on goats. The 2.5-8 is usually kept as a spare for my 375HH the regular scope for it is the 1.5-6 Swarovski PH model when I work in Africa. the fixed 6 can go either way but for this fall it will be a spare to the 3.5-10 on the goat hunts.

When hunting Africa for plains game with the 30/06 the fixed 6 is better and much faster to use then the 3.5-10 X40mm scope.

I use 165 grain swift A Frames for all my hunting today in the 30/06. It is the best performing bullet I have ever seen in the 30/06 I shoot them just under 2900fps from my shortened 22" barrel.jj

 

[Kraven]

Nice pics JJ those are a couple of great bears

 

[SPOTTED OWL]

JJ,

AWESOME!! Thats one big bruin. Not only
does he have a nice coat, but also a nice
cinnamon color.Congradulations, you got a
dandy.

 

[Left Behind]

Nice Pic's

Thankx for sharing

 

[ru]

JJ, I'm thinking about buying a new 300 win. mag. for my next rifle. I'm planning to shoot 180 gr. Nosler Partitions. Do you think it's a good choice for mulies/elk/bear?

Why do you choose the 30-06 - short barrel? How far out do you feel comfortable with your 30-06 / 165 grains?

Thanx for your help!!

 

[JJHACK]

RU: I used a 300 weatherby for about 10 years. It had, and needed a 26" barrel to burn that bushel basket full of powder per shell!

I find it difficult to judge bears for trophy quality even with a spotting scope beyond 250-350 yards. So even though I had lots of range and was a good shot to 350-400 yards I would never shoot game that far. There are about 1000 things that can go wrong beyond 300 yards and only one is good. I'm not that lucky usually and would never risk the loss of a magnificnet trophy animal through my greed to shoot further then my guaranteed ability to not only kill them, but to find them.

I have never shot and wounded or lost a big game animal in my life. That is due in total to my father beating the responsibility of a killing shot or no shot into my head all my life.

I find it sad to hear of these long shots people claim to make all the time. I just wonder how many were attempted and how much game wounded and not found because they think they missed clean. I have heard and seen these same guys make these claims and then shoot 5 times at a water filled gallon milk jug from a solid rest at 400 yards and miss every time with all the flat shooting cartridges out there. The usual excuses follow, it is just plain unsportsmanlike and irresponsible behaviour in my opinion.

Whats the diference between the 30/06 and the 300 mag? same bullet, same killing power out to 300 yards, same performance on game to 300 yards, 30/06 is cheap, light, no recoil, handy to pack all day with the 22" barrel. The 300 mags give me about 75 yards more practical hunting range beyond the 300-350 the 30/06 has. Since I will not shoot further then that why pack around the additional barrel length and weight? I sold the 300 Weatherby and bought a 30/06 in 1989 and have never regretted a single day afield with it. The 7 pound 30/06 fully loaded with 5 shells and scope with the 22" barrel is a dream to pack and to shoot.

I have taken all the plains game of Africa with it and all the bears but Polar bear. There are certainly better choices for many of those species but it can do the job..... if you can.

If I were buying the perfect rifle for the game you listed the 338 win mag would be difficult to turn down. In my years of guiding experience I have seen bullet diameters under .308 rarely leave a blood trail. Those from .308 to .338 usually bleed good for a while, maybe even 75 yards or more. Those calibers from .338 and over usually bleed plenty and alomost always exit on broadside shots leaving two holes to follow.

The 338 may quite simply be the best all around big game cartridge in the USA today. When I was working in Alaska I always told my brown bear clients the 338 was "just right" and the 375HH was "just in case" we have a problem. With that known you should see that for elk moose and bears the 338 is tough to beat, and nothing from any 300 mag will equal the brute power the 338 has with it's bigger heavier bullets and it's moderate velocity.

The first time you have to search for a wounded bear in the bush with a lost blood trail your going to re-assess your interest in recreational bear hunting. It just does not seem like as much fun anymore! Make two holes when you bear hunt, one in and one out. It's a lot less stressful to find them!

So there you have it some of Jim's philosophy on hunting for the morning.jj

 

[1_pointer]

JJ-

Glad to hear your ringing endorsement for the .338!! I got one for a graduation gift and I was wondering if I was a little 'over gunned' for things like mulies and whitetails. I guess dead is dead, huh?!? Anyhow, I don't find the recoil of the .338 (my only centerfire) too bad, similiar the a 12ga with slugs. But, a day at the range will leave a person a little sore the next day.

 

[Wtail]

Awesome bear pics!!!!