Notice how the majority of the heart is directly above the leg â not behind it. The best shot placement is when the animal is broadside to the hunter or slightly facing away. The bear immediately ran straight away and at 90 yards turned sideways whereupon I shot it again very low in the chest. Bears are significantly different in structure than that of other animals. Do not shoot too low. Shot Placement The ultimate big-game rifle and cartridge configuration does nothing for you if you can't shoot it well. Left: When presented with a quartering away shot, aim to place the bullet in line with the offside shoulder in order to penetrate both lungs and, with luck, break that shoulder and put the bear down right there. First Shot Placement Last year I shot a bear at 30 yards. hard cast. I think the main three reasons for poor shot placement are: 1. Knowing where the bears organs is an important part of bear hunting. With plenty of practice, and a solid knowledge of your prey's anatomy, you'll be one step closer to a successful hunt! Installing this XS Sight Systems rail and a SIG Romeo4 red dot optic makes aiming the shotgun for accurate shot placement with slugs fast with proper training and practice. A better way to focus on the elk shot placement comes from a picture that is centered just above the shoulder of the animal: One final picture depicts where you would aim on an animal that is facing you. It's pretty easy to pick up on these differences, but very important nonetheless. Making a clean kill should be the top priority for hunters who decide to shoot a bear. When ⦠I was well aware of the limitations of my 9mm pistol, even with Buffalo Bore ammo. Stories of bears found with.38 bullets under the skin do not make the grade. When bowhunting bears, shot placement is super critical. Email Us, Board of Fisheries and Game: Actions & Activities, Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (ARLIS), About the Division of Commercial Fisheries, Western Alaska Salmon Stock Identification Program (WASSIP), Online General Season & Registration Permits, Subsistence and Personal Use Fishing Permits, CSIS – Community Subsistence Information System, The Technical Papers and Special Publications Series. The shot entered just behind the shoulder on the left side and exited through the right shoulder. Bears, known for not bleeding well, are good to try to anchor which will shorten the tracking job. Shot Placement on Alaska Game. Also, bears have heavier bones and hides than other big game animals. By Layne Simpson. SHOT PLACEMENT of a Black Bear Shot placement on a black bear is extremely important in order to get a quick kill. First you have to know where to aim, then make sure you skills are fine-tuned enough to make the shot under pressure. The best bet to immediately stop an attacking bear is to turn off its central nervous system, which requires a brain shot or a shot which severs the spinal cord. When bowhunting bears, shot placement is super critical. Incorrect shot placement on a black bear can lead to unnecessary suffering, wounding, and failure to retrieve the animal. (Bears, by the way, seem attracted to petroleum products.) âI have killed enough bears to know how important shot placement can be, even with large-bore rifles. But bears have thick, strong skulls shotgun slugs or even rifle bullets may not penetrate. I was using a very hot 45-70 500 gr. At self-defense distances, the shot pattern is very small, not a wide cloud of shot. Hint: Shot placement on a black bear is not the same as on a whitetail most of us grew up hunting. An animal that is harvested humanely shows more character in a hunter than just a lucky shot. For the shoulder/heart shot, which is popular for anchoring bears in their tracks, follow the centreline of the front leg up to the one-third point of the body. Bears are tough and can run a long way on one lung. The shoulder and leg bones are tougher, and configured differently than ungulates (as shown in the video). WUNDED and lost big game animals are part of ⦠BIG BEAR, GREAT SHOT with Traditional Archery . I donât trust mechanicals for bears. Long hair and extra fat can make for a deceptive body size. But where exactly you should place your bullet depends on your quarry, as the following tips reveal. We discuss why bears are tricky on shot placement and give five shot placement tips. The Best Shot Placement for Black Bear 31 Jan. More than one Alaskan guide of my acquaintance suggests aiming for the snoutâa high shot goes into the upper skull or even over the top, into the neck or spine; and if the bear hops or you shoot low, you have a chance at the throat, chest, or even a shoulder or leg, all of which can stop the animal, if only long enough for you to aim and shoot again. Incorrect shot placement on a black bear can lead to unnecessary suffering, wounding, and failure to retrieve the animal. Brian Strickland bear hunted for five days in Manitoba with Baldy Mountain Outfitters when he killed a Boone-and-Crockett-class bear with traditional archery equipment. Here Are 4 Used (and Cheaper) Models to Consider, 7 Tips for Catching Big Cold-Weather Bass, Field Test: The New Straight-Pull Savage Impulse Rifle, Winter Fly Fishing: How to Catch Trout on Streamers this Holiday Season, When Lessons Learned in the Wild Find Their Way into Regular Life, I Survived COVID-19, But it Killed My Hunting Season, The 10 Best Stories of 2020, as Chosen by Our Loud-Mouthed Hunting Buddy, It’s Time to Redefine What it Means to ‘Do Our Part’ as Hunters. Marksmanship: The decision to squeeze the trigger comes with the first step in ensuring accurate ⦠Another factor is black bears have long thick fur ⦠First, one must remember that a bearâs heart/lung area is set a bit lower in the chest than that of a deer, meaning you need to aim a bit lower. Youâll maximize the opportunity for two holes by shooting at a broadside bear with a sharp fixed-blade broadhead. Outdoor Life may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site. Whether you're new to bear hunting or a seasoned vet this is a good podcast to listen to you're likely to enjoy. And thatâs the thing; shot placement is everything on bears. With an increasing number of successful defenses against bears, using pistols, there should eventually be a ⦠Since the spinal cord is so small, it makes sense to aim at the brain. This is mainly due to the black bears having heavier bones and hides compared to other big game animals. How to Call More Coyotes into Shotgun Range, The Ultimate DIY Guide to Making Wild Game Jerky and Snack Sticks, After Being Barred from the Family Deer Camp, Beginner’s Luck with a 215-Inch Iowa Buck, Are Today’s New Hunting Shotguns Really Worth the Price? The biggest challenge with bear shot placement is that their vitals and front shoulder structure is significantly different than that of the deer family. Black bear season here in Alaska, or anywhere for that matter, brings its share of challenges. Show Links. They are tougher than nails, and don't leave much of a blood trail, so putting a quick killing arrow right ⦠(Please refer to the organ legend) Sometimes you only get one chance to bring down a big-game animal. January 04, 2011 By Layne Simpson. Donât aim low. An animal that must be shot several times will have muscles flooded with lactic . Wounded bears are also known for leaving poor blood trails, especially if the arrow didnât pass through. Savage Renegauge; Share on Facebook Tweet Share on LinkedIn Email. 2. I was aiming for a vital area with each shot ; because it all took place between 6 ⦠Bear Bullet Placement. At the shot the bear ran directly at us and came so close I thought my friend would shoot him, but the bear veered away at the last second.â A heart-lung shot from either position will likely puncture both lungs with the following advantages: When an animal is hit in the heart/lung area, a quick death is certain because an animal cannot function with a loss of both lungs and heart. Location: Full Articles: Big Game Hunting Tactics and Strategies: Bear Hunting: Bear Anatomy and Shot Placement Guide. All rights reserved. In many cases, a bow shot in the leg, shoulder, or one lung won't even kill the bear. Bears have a lot of fat on their belly and long hair, unlike a deer, with little fat ⦠SO, youâve opted for a lung shot. Brian is a veteran bowhunter and outdoor writer. The reasons for poor shot placement on a bear can be numerous. Shot placement is especially important for black bear hunters due to the potentially large size of bears (up to 600 pounds) and the fact that bears may attack a hunter if wounded. Taking out both lungs is even more important when hunting black bears though. The diagram below shows the proper shot placement to hit the bearâs heart/lung area. They are tougher than nails, and don't leave much of a blood trail, so putting a quick killing arrow right through the boiler room will help ensure a speedy recovery. Bear Vitals: The ideal double lung vital shot to take is when a bear is broadside with his closest foreleg moved forward so you can follow the back of that leg up and aim between â
and â
of the chest cavity, slightly behind the line of the leg. A Bonnier Corporation Company. However, especially if you are bowhunting, you will get a clearer shot at this vital spot if you wait for the bear to move its nearest foreleg forward. People get nervous and rushed around bears. Be careful not to shoot low or forward, or you'll quickly have a wounded animal on your hands. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. So, Where Do You Aim? Black bear season here in Alaska, or anywhere for that matter, brings its share of challenges. Recoil-induced flinch is a common cause of misplaced shots in field conditions, so it's imperative that you choose a rifle from the list that you can ⦠Dangerous game also requires shot placement that anchors the animal. Honestly, I donât think it has to do as much with a bearâs vital anatomy being different. The ideal shot for big game animals is an arrow that passes through both lungs. Thatâs the first step to proper shot placement. Here are 7 ways to help make sure it truly counts. Don't let a poorly placed shot be one of them. The best shot with a bow and arrow is when the bear is quartering away with it's front shoulder moving forwards so you can sneak an arrow into the kill zone with out any bone obstruction. The objective of every conscientious hunter is to kill an animal as quickly as possible to avoid its suffering and to insure the highest quality meat. The ideal bear defense gun needs to be 100% reliable, shoot accurately out to at least 50 yards (protection from bears does not involve long range shooting) and be capable of a fast repeat shot with loads that have adequate stopping power. 3. Notice how the lungs extend from the belly to the backbone, which is about halfway to two-thirds up the body in the neck region to three-quarters up the body farther back. And for bear defense, a slug is a much better choice than bird or buckshot. 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