bear hunting experts

[blacktailchaser]

i think some people might say this weight is too light BUT i still want to find out..SO at the right distance...do you think a 45# bow with a 525 grain arrow will take down a bear.black bear that is...thanks...

[ESP]

Yes,  if it is legal in your state.  Bears are fairly soft with exception of shoulder blades.  Keep it off the shoulder and you will get plenty of penetration.

[Orion]

Not a problem. 

[Dave Pagel]

With appropriate shot placement you would have no issue.

D.P.

[fisherick]

After a passthru, how much of the arrow do you want sticking in the ground?

[MnFn]

My last bear was shot with a 48# recurve. Made Pope and Young book. Complete pass through.

[David Mitchell]

Yep, I have done it.

[Gun]

Yup. I killed a Bull Moose w 40# last year. It wasn't a pass thru but took out both lungs. Moose hide is thicker than Bear

[Tim Finley]

My wife shot a bear with a 40 longbow and got a pass through she was shooting a Razorhead with the bleeder . Bear ribs are soft and not as close together as some animals  We always used multi blade heads for better blood trails bears can be hard to find and even hit good some can make it a long way but most go down in about 30 yards if double lunged.

[BigJim]

I may not be a bear expert, but have taken 4 with a bow.. I do shoot heavier equipment than necessary but only because I like it that way...having said that, the 45 lb will kill two bears side by side if you aren't careful!

I would reccomend shooting the biggest cut broadhead that you can sharpen and get to fly well. Not one of my bears went 50 yards and only one left much of a blood trail.
BigJim

[Pine]

I would recommend a string tracker.
It's amazing how a bear can be hit good and hardly leave blood.

[Dave Pagel]

I am not sure about a string tracker.  It has been so thick where I have done most of my hunting that I am not sure the string could have survived for long.  Also of the 5 bears I have taken, 2 went down in under 25 yards, 2 in 40 yards and one went 80.  If you double lung them it is a short track.

D.P.

[Etter]

I got 273 yards on a string tracker bear two seasons back. In the nastiest laurel/gooseberry hell that North Ga has to offer.

[Phillip Fields]

I took mine with a 44lb Black Widow longbow using the 205 grains Simmons Safari broadhead. Total arrow weight was 448 grains. Went 35 yards.

[BWlongbow]

Yep, a 40# plus bow with heavy arrows and sharp broadheads works great on bears.

[mnbwhtr]

I've hunted bears since 1973 and still am not an expert but after the first one I have used a string tracker. Sometimes the string breaks, sometimes it doesn't. As long as it doesn't effect your arrow flight I'd use one. It started raining after I shot the first one and the combination of super thick  brush and the rain it took 4 hrs to find it.  With a string tracker it would have been minutes. That's the only bear I've lost the meat on. The combination of the heat(85 deg) and the time recovering and getting it skinned was less than 7 hrs but it started to spoil. Most of my bears have gone down in less than 40 yds.