Factory 7x57 ammo for black bear

[Hunter-Habib]

I’m very fond of the RWS 177 Gr Brenneke TIG soft point factory load in my 7x57mm Mauser. I’ve successfully used it against Asian sloth bears with good results.

 

[Red Leg]

All of my black bear have been taken in British Columbia with a 9.3. It works perfectly. It is a comfort because the area abounds with Grizzlies. However, for an area that does not abound with Arctos, I would use my .275 with a 170 gr bullet in a heartbeat.

 

[Deleted member 74105]

The Federal 175 Gr. Roundnose is a mean long nose factory round. I have killed many large feral hogs with that load out of Ruger M77. With proper shot placement, that round should work well for you. I don't recall if the bullet itself is Hornady Interlock or Speer HotCor, but it works. Not the fastest factory load, but it's an old school round that takes care of business.

 

[ChrisG]

I recently purchased a Ruger m77 in 7x57 and I have a black bear hunt planned in the fall that I was going to use my .30-06 for, but would like to use the new 7x57. I am not set up to reload for it yet, so factory ammunition will probably be the way I go this time. All I can find available is Remington, federal, and seller & bellot all in 140grain and federal in 175 grain. The bear here are probably about 250lbs on average. Which would be my best choice?

Either will work fine on 250 lb bear. Black bear are fairly lightly boned and break down pretty easily if you break a shoulder or two. I often hunt them with a 6.5x55 with 120 grain TTSXs, although I have taken them with .375s and .416s as well. They all seem to be pretty effective. However, given the choice, I would opt for a 175 grain bullet as it is more likely to pass through. In my opinion, the best thing you can do when hunting them is get an entry and an exit. Tracking black bear is notoriously more difficult than deer depending on the terrain as their hide and fat soak up the blood. You may not get enough to trail them unless there is snow or heavy leaf cover to follow the spoor without blood.

Entry and exit. Break a shoulder. Hit the vitals... you will have your bear down stat.

 

[ChrisG]

I am in a similar conundrum for my own black bear hunt, scheduled for late May in central Idaho.

Mine isn't so much a choice of bullets, it's a choice of caliber.
6.5x55 shooting Woodleigh PPSN 160 gr
45-70 shooting Beartooth Bullets 425 gr
9.3x62 shooting Oryx 285

If you are paying for the hunt... 9.3 all the way. You never know, you might get a real bruiser in front of you with that 6.5x55. I use the 6.5 swede here in the Adirondacks, but the likelihood of seeing a black bear over 400lbs isn't all that great. 9.3 gives you a better trajectory and more knockdown at range than either of the other rifles, plus bullet expansion. Its really the only choice for a guided black bear hunt out of the three.

 

[MISportsman]

I am in a similar conundrum for my own black bear hunt, scheduled for late May in central Idaho.

Mine isn't so much a choice of bullets, it's a choice of caliber.
6.5x55 shooting Woodleigh PPSN 160 gr
45-70 shooting Beartooth Bullets 425 gr
9.3x62 shooting Oryx 285

When I first started planning this hunt I was thinking of using my 9.3x62. I haven't gotten a chance to take any game with it so it needs to be broke in I decided to go by with a lighter rifle thinking that the 9.3x62 would be overkill On the small black bear we have here in Michigan

 

[sgt_zim]

I think they aren't very big in Idaho, either. But I probably should have enough gun to deal with overly curious mountain grizzlies.

 

[MISportsman]

I can definitely see that being a concern! I think that's the choice I'd make if I was in your shoes.

 

[ChrisG]

When I first started planning this hunt I was thinking of using my 9.3x62. I haven't gotten a chance to take any game with it so it needs to be broke in I decided to go by with a lighter rifle thinking that the 9.3x62 would be overkill On the small black bear we have here in Michigan

Overkill? There is no such thing. I have taken black bear with both the .375H&H and a .416 Ruger. They both seemed adequate for the job. The smallish bear in my avatar was hit with the .416. By the time I recovered from the recoil, he was a lump of black fur with a cloud of dust hanging over him. The bigger medium bores arent as picky about the animals orientation when you shoot them. Side to side or stem to stern... they work great.

 

[Randy F]

When I first started planning this hunt I was thinking of using my 9.3x62. I haven't gotten a chance to take any game with it so it needs to be broke in I decided to go by with a lighter rifle thinking that the 9.3x62 would be overkill On the small black bear we have here in Michigan

I guess it depends on your definition of "small bear", but it's not uncommon to see a 400lb+ bear in MI. Particularly in the U.P. but also in lower MI.
Go get 'em! Best of luck with whatever you choose!

 

[Boyd Brooks]

I have taken my black bears in Ontario with 50 cal muzzle loader, 358 Norma Mag and 416 Taylor. Never felt over gunned. Using premium expanding bullets, I have seen all of them tip over, no guessing, no searching in the dark, no problems.

 

[Dukeisok]

My bear experience is limited to one 350 pound black bear shot over dogs in a tree at 15 feet. My son used a 45-70. North Carolina bears get quite large (world record black bear was shot in NC at 880 lbs) due to a combination of winters too warm for hibernating and fields of corn and soybeans. The guides where we hunt recommend a 30 caliber 180 bullet as a minimum. That said, rumor has it that Donald Trump jr used a 6.5 creedmoor on his NC black bear (presumably also treed over dogs). 180 grain 30 caliber has a sectional density of 0.271. Similar to a 154 grain 7mm bullet (0.273). I would lean towards either heavier bullets for caliber or monometal bullets as the weight retention of a monometal maintains sectional density better and thus penetration, allowing lighter bullets to perform like a heavier class bullet.

For a 250 pound black bear, the heavy bullets in 7x57 should be great. The 30-06 is of course an excellent choice as well. I bet you won't recover a bullet from either in the animal. At 15 feet, my 45-70 with barnes 300 tsx sheared all 4 petals off and came to rest on the off side neck of our 350 pound bear (heavy handloads similar to Buffalo bore that were probably too fast at that distance and 45-70 300 grain has a pretty low sectional density at 0.204 but a dead bear is a dead bear)

Take what you want (7x57 sounds awesome) and kill a bear.

 

[7x57Joe]

MISportsman, I would be inclined to hunt down either Norma or RWS ammo for the bear hunt. They are loaded to full CIP specs instead of underloaded SAAMI specs. Barring that, I would probably use the Remington 140 which produces 2620 fps by my chrono. I haven't chronoed the others you mentioned.
By far the best solution is to handload for it or to have a custom loader like Hindershots make some up for you or just do as originally planned and go with the '06 or 9.3.

 

[MISportsman]

MISportsman, I would be inclined to hunt down either Norma or RWS ammo for the bear hunt. They are loaded to full CIP specs instead of underloaded SAAMI specs. Barring that, I would probably use the Remington 140 which produces 2620 fps by my chrono. I haven't chronoed the others you mentioned.
By far the best solution is to handload for it or to have a custom loader like Hindershots make some up for you or just do as originally planned and go with the '06 or 9.3.

If I do go on the side of caution and go with the 9.3, which load would be best for this situation? I will he hunting over bait for shot distance will be between 75 and 150 yards in a 250-400 bear. I have 250 gr accubonds, 286 grain Remington core lokt, and 286 grain nosler partitions.

 

[Deleted member 74105]

If I do go on the side of caution and go with the 9.3, which load would be best for this situation? I will he hunting over bait for shot distance will be between 75 and 150 yards in a 250-400 bear. I have 250 gr accubonds, 286 grain Remington core lokt, and 286 grain nosler partitions.

All the above bullets should work wonderfully. Which one shoots the best out of your rifle is the one I would take into the field. We all know Nosler makes great stuff, but those Core-Lokts are some damn good factory loads.

 

[7x57Joe]

Since all 3 bullets you listed will work perfectly, I would probably do as I did when I was working up an elk load for my 7x57 and use the bullet that I had the most of. In my case it was a 150 grain Nosler Partition, which works to perfection.

 

[Dirtdart]

I don't want to hi jack this thread but since there seems to a lot of 7x57 users here I am curious if any of you have experience with this particular loading on black bear, or anything else for that matter? They shoot well from my rifle and are supposed to be bonded. I haven't seen any of these in any caliber for sale in the US for several years now.

 

[MISportsman]

I don't want to hi jack this thread but since there seems to a lot of 7x57 users here I am curious if any of you have experience with this particular loading on black bear, or anything else for that matter? They shoot well from my rifle and are supposed to be bonded. I haven't seen any of these in any caliber for sale in the US for several years now.

View attachment 445424

I haven't seen any of it before, but I wish it was available. Looking at it I'd like to give it a try!

 

[F. Vaccaro]

Welcome to the 7X57 club great ctg. You are going to love the 7X57 (also known as the .275 Rigby). Of the ammo available to you I suggest the Federal 175gr. I'm a huge fan of heavier bullets & a fan of Federal ammo too. I think you'll be well served with the 175gr bullet. Enjoy your 7X57!

 

[Tanks]

I recently purchased a Ruger m77 in 7x57 and I have a black bear hunt planned in the fall that I was going to use my .30-06 for, but would like to use the new 7x57. I am not set up to reload for it yet, so factory ammunition will probably be the way I go this time. All I can find available is Remington, federal, and seller & bellot all in 140grain and federal in 175 grain. The bear here are probably about 250lbs on average. Which would be my best choice?

Anything that would be good for deer would be good for a 250 pound bear.

Though I have been known to go for an overkill. 325 grain CEB raptor at 2,950 fps.