.357mag, buffalo bore and bears

[JT7771]

In reference to your question, if you are hunting from a tree stand over bait, I would'nt have any problems with heavy constructed bullets at short distances. Black bears are not as formidable under most circumstances as their larger cousins. I'm in Alaska and where there are black bears, there are usually Browns close by, thus up here I wouldn't carry anything smaller than a 44 Mag with heat treated cast bullets such as those offered by Cast Performance. You may feel as though it is wasteful to use such a bullet/round on black bears, but when a brown walks into your area and "winds" you, you will feel undergunned very quickly.

Jerry