Any off the shelf 150 or 165 grain Hornady, Remington Core-Lokt®, Federal or Winchester is plenty sufficient. You don’t need no Fancy Smancy , “Nuclear Tipped" bullet for a Black Bear as some may believe!

Learn where the shoulder and lungs are and remember, alot of shots are low because the hunter was unaware to place the shot. The reason for it the hair makes the bear larger hiding the smaller body mass.

Clay is right, as usual. Aside from the long hair there is often a few inches(or more) of fat just inside the hide as well. Use 165gr, aim mid height just above foreleg if broadside.

i agree with clay as usual, the 150-165gr will work fine. if you not comfortable with that weight you could use a 180gr but you wont need it. as far as brands i like Remington, Federal is my second pick, but just use whatever shoots best in your rifle.

If you handload, you can't beat Hornaday interlocks. Assuming your rifle shoots them well, 150 to 180 grain bullets. Shoot them and see what your rifle prefers. Don't know if they're available in factory ammo as we roll our own. Good luck and good hunting.

AMEN BROTHER 007 on the Hornaday interlocks!

For the 4 years in Alaska, there is not a single person I know of ever had a problem with Hornady interlocks. I always hunted with my 338 Win Mag with 225 grain Hornady interlocks and shot a lot of game and all of them bang flop. Friend Mike was carrying a 270 on Taylor Mountain near chicken Alaska and wanted to take a Monster Grizz so I let him barrow my 338 Win Mag. Dropped that bruin in its tracks blowing both sides of the shoulders clean out at 250 yards. I carried 250 grain Nosler Partitions and never used them on any game because the 225 were doing such a devastating job. At 700 yards on Caribou, the 225’s still blew thru leaving bloodshot (grease) between the hide and ribs 2/3 of the rib area. Due to hydrostatic shock.

I used Sierra 250 grain one time and the bullet core separated from its jacket and later found out this was the norm. Sierra is not on my list!

O'Brother

If you need a 220 out of a 30-06 for a Black Bear, what do you think you need for a Brown Bear?

A 700 NITRO EXPRESS!

I’ve backed up a many hunters in Alaska shooting Black Bears and a 150 out of a 30-30 works fantastic too!

Dead is dead!

Brother ken.mcloud said it best!

“So, I think that the superior killing power of larger rounds is largely in our heads.(likely testosterone induced) A flat-shooting round that you can accurately place will produce as many if not more "bang-flop" kills as a heavy caliber round.”

.180 will do fine with a well-placed shot.

i agree with mr. cooper, 165-180 [30-06] and bullet placement will kill anything

Agreed with Del in KS and + 1 for you sir!!!