Bear Shot placement

[JNewman]

So spring bear season is just around the corner, and since this is my first time going for bear just had some questions about shot placement.  I have been looking at the photo's that members of tradgang have provided and it seems to me that midline straight up from the back edge of the front leg gives the highest margin for success?  Am I right? or should I focus more tight to the shoulder, above the front leg? I will be on the ground spot and stalk

[wingnut]

You are looking at a football between the elbows.  so come up a couple of inches from the elbow and let the air out.  It's the same as a hog.

Mike

[JNewman]

Thanks Mike

I focus on that pocket abouve the elbow on deer and elk, Just needed to know it was the same for bears

Jesse

[D.Ellis]

You have quite a bit of leeway to shoot further back on a black bear. The lungs go back quite a way. Do not crowd the shoulder knuckle, and keep the shots reasonably close. They are not very deep top to bottom, so errors in elevation can cost you.
I double lunged a nice boar with a shot that looked to be too far back. He went 60 yards maybe and was dead in seconds. Another was quartering towards me(from 6 yards), arrow went in behind the shoulder and out behind the last rib........he made it a whole 25 yards. I also lost one that I hit in the shoulder knuckle from trying to put it tight in the pocket. Helped a friend track one that was hit too high on an uphill shot............never found it, I think he got one lung.
In my opinion, the best shot on a blackie is quartering away slightly, put the arrow a few inches back of the shoulder crease and not quite halfway up the chest. Broadside is good too.......just be wary of that tight low shot too near the shoulder knuckle. If you feel the need to crowd the pocket, keep it halfway up.
My .02 Have fun stalking bears.
Darcy  

[Guru]

I have agree with D. Ellis....

My findings are that you definitely don't have to shoot right on the shoulder....The lungs extend quite a bit further back than hogs.

 I believe the lungs go even further back than a deer.

Shoot them like a deer and you'll be fine....

[Dave Pagel]

Agree on the shoot them like a deer.  That is the first thing Ryan Derlago tells you when he does his hunter orientation.  It sure simplifies the thought process.  Both of the bears I have taken went down nicely with one in the "pocket".

D.P.

[Whip]

I agree with being back just a little more on a bear.  A bears rib cage reminds me of a cone shape and tapers down quite a bit toward where it jobs the neck.  Shots low and tight to the shoulder run the risk of slipping just below the rib cage, especially from a quartering away angle.

I've been on a number of bear trails where the hunter swore the shot was right in the pocket yet was never found.  I'm convinced that they were simply a little too far forward and slipped it under the ribs or between the ribs and the shoulder.

[D. Key]

Here is an anatomy pic for reference.

 

Best of luck to ya.

[Whip]

Personally,  I think that picture is a bit misleading as far as the rib cage placement.  If you follow the lower line of the ribs in that picture it would seem like the Bear would have a very square brisket ending almost in front of the legs.  

In my experience it seems that the bottom of the ribs angles up more in a straight line from just behind the legs up to the base of the neck. And remember that the bottom couple of inches are nothing but hair.

[Jerry Russell]

Don't over think the shot on a bear. Like has been said here, shoot em like a deer and don't play around with the shoulder. I don't believe there is an animal that will go down any quicker with a decent shot than a black bear.
Stay away from quartering shots as they simply cause you to think too much. What I mean is, it is easy on your first few bears to get lost in that mass of black. A single lung shot will teach you this lesson in a big way.
I tell my hunters to shoot for the center of the lung on a broadside shot, sit dead quiet for 5 minutes and 95% of the time that bear will be very dead and very close.

[Pete McMiller]

I agree with Whip.  That picture is misleading.  A bears chest slopes up and is not squared off like a deer.  Heart and lungs have a tendency to slip back further than a deer.  I was told "half way back, half way down, and 4" forward".  

Biggest bear I ever had in front of me I lost due to a shot low and tight to the shoulder.  Arrow went in within 1/2" of where I was looking - pass thru.  Took him a long ways and never found him.

IMO there isn't a problem moving back a bit.  If you get back to the liver the bear is still dead.  A bear that is liver hit won't travel more than 140-150 yds., if that.

[JNewman]

Thanks everyone

I was curious about how far back the lungs go.  I know that I wanted to stay away from the shoulder blade, but it sounds like I have a comfortable space to move back a bit and focus on the center of the ribs.

Jesse