6.5 LBC finally gets a bear " Warning graphic pictures "

[Warlock]

I'm not sure why judging a bears size is so difficult.

The last bear I killed was with a bow and the bear was in a tree about 20 yards up so I had plenty of time to judge it's size.

Upon confirming the bear was big enough to take, (I was judging by the shape of the head and distance between the ears) I positioned myself for the best shot and sent the arrow.

I saw the arrow pass through the bear and head off into the nastiest hole of hell canyon. Immediately the blood was just pouring out of the bear so I new it was a good shot.

About 20 seconds after the shot, the bear lost consiousness and fell out of the tree and hit the ground dead. I stood there for a minute or two to make sure Winnie didn't get up and run or eat me. Plus, I needed to quit shaking.

I walked up on the bear and realized the bear was about the size of a standard poodle. I really felt bad about shooting a dink. I had to contact a warden to verify the hide and to pull a tooth to help a study with age and health. I told the warden I was enbarrassed about killing a child and he replied that he had seen many smaller bears than mine already that year. (it was a fall season kill)

Anyway, after about six months I got a letter from FWP telling me my bear was very healthy. It also said the bear was 17 years old!

[rickt300]

Cool...I had to ask because the only 'bears' here are Koala bears and they are too cute to shoot (plus protected/endangered). I had an Elk burger at Cabela's in Lacey a couple of years ago and that tasted sort of bland, like beef. There was all sorts of stuffed game in a central diorama. never seen such a huge collection of outdoor gear and guns.

I read the bear population in the US is on the comeback after being hunted to endangered. I've shot my fair share for meat and pest husbandry but shooting a juvenile apex predator for the sake of a personal thrill is not my cup of tea. Each to their own.

Actually the bear population in Washington state is thriving. I took two very near Chehalis several years ago. Black bear in my mind are just about as good as game meat gets.

[Constitutionalist]

Well, I did not mean to shot such a small bear..but things happen. Nonetheless the 6.5 LBC did very good. It dropped on the spot. Shot was high shoulder and blew out the spine complete pass through. I was using a 120 grain PPU BTHP on top of 31.8 grains of Leverevelotion and CCI magnum primer. This load has a velocity of 2,613 fps out of the 20" BHW barrel.

Very interesting color phase! Congratulations!

I have my bear tag for this season. Michigan uses a point system and it takes as least 8 years of applications to get one in my area. Meat, hide, skull, oil- plenty of good things come from black bears. Actually if I get one I'll use more of the bear than most hunters use from a deer or a hog.

John

[EigerWand]

Cool...I had to ask because the only 'bears' here are Koala bears and they are too cute to shoot (plus protected/endangered). I

Hi Klem,
Do you have many of the "Drop Bears" there still ?
Fearsome creature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCGUNpzjD6M

All we have here is the furry tree bear (Trichosurus vulpecula).

Grendel and possum 500px90kbcl.jpg
This one came round my camp sniffing out an empty fish tin but the Grendel had the reach and I despatched it from a range of 4 inches.

[6.5 Grendel]

Very interesting color phase! Congratulations!

I have my bear tag for this season. Michigan uses a point system and it takes as least 8 years of applications to get one in my area. Meat, hide, skull, oil- plenty of good things come from black bears. Actually if I get one I'll use more of the bear than most hunters use from a deer or a hog.

John

Exactly I use everything I can!

[1075 tech]

I'd take a bear if I saw one. I've had various bear meat dishes. A lot of it would depend on how hard it was going to be to get it out, temperature, etc. I have a friend of mine that I use to process my deer. He says if I take a bear, don't drive around with it showing it off. Call him immediately to get the cooler turned on (he has a large walk-in) and get to him as soon as possible.

We have so many black bear where I live in NY, we have a special season in mid-September just for bear. You automatically get a bear tag with your deer tags. Other than the special season in September, bears are open to harvest at anytime during our big game season (Oct 1 - Dec 22)

[Stinky Coyote]

Hi Klem,
Do you have many of the "Drop Bears" there still ?
Fearsome creature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCGUNpzjD6M

All we have here is the furry tree bear (Trichosurus vulpecula).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]16699[/ATTACH]
This one came round my camp sniffing out an empty fish tin but the Grendel had the reach and I despatched it from a range of 4 inches.

um, what is this pretty little rifle? details please...

[Texcl2]

I live close to the border of ND and MN and the Canadian border. We hunt them on the MN side. I can tell you there are tons of bears and yes bears are delicious plus their fat/oil and hides are very useful.

[EigerWand]

um, what is this pretty little rifle? details please...

It's a very BIG possum !
The gun is made from a Sako Vixen action with 16 inches of Shilen #3 barrel and a DPT suppressor with some modules removed.
I've put up a bit more info and a photo of it in the sun here in my intro post.

[Stinky Coyote]

That is an awesome little Grendel!