.308 vs Black Bear Skull (nope, I don't reccomend this)
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OzzyDave
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Nice easy track job 
Gunner46
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If you've got the shot...take it. Don't regret afterwards.
SD_Prairie_Goat
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Do you have a photo with the bear? I'd love to compare scull size with the whole bear
Sask hunter
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Big bear congrats!
Brian in Montana
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Well at least there's no bullet holes in the rug. 
runningmt
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Zero meat waste!
OntarioHunter
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Just adds some story to the trophy.
RG_Adult_Onset_Hunter
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The only pic I took that really showed how big he was happened to be when we were packing him out. He was in an IMPOSSIBLE spot to photograph when I dropped him. Also, I should note he was pretty lean as he was JUST starting to get into the berries, but that said here you go.
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Glad it worked out for you. I never trust my own marksmanship to attempt a head shot, though my shots tend to be more than accurate enough, I always fear the one time it isn't.
What kind of bullet did you use?
Nice to see that you're using hearing protection. Too many hunters don't. Last week at camp, I even offered a spare pair to the other hunter, but he refused and told me to "man up".
What kind of bullet did you use?
Nice to see that you're using hearing protection. Too many hunters don't. Last week at camp, I even offered a spare pair to the other hunter, but he refused and told me to "man up".
Sasquatchewan
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Beauty!
I'd rather have a messed up trophy than none!
I'd rather have a messed up trophy than none!
RG_Adult_Onset_Hunter
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I used a 165 grain Nosler Accubond. I am pleased with the setup both from a trajectory and terminal ballistics standpoint.
I'll admit that part of the story is me not using hearing protection for this one shot. I am normally pretty strict about it because you don't get lost hearing back. The way I explain it in my shop when I have visitors is that eye damage is a chance occurrence, hearing loss is accumulated guaranteed damage, so why is it so much easier to convince people to put on safety glasses than ear muffs? I cannot wait to suppress this rifle.
Head shots are something I feel comfortable doing in the correct circumstance but as I mentioned in the title I don't recommend them as a go to placement for two reasons.
First: I always want the target that gives me the most margin for error; generally that is the lungs and heart, but for this bear I had a much clearer path to his brain. This bear was about 13 yards closer than my near zero, so I knew it was not possible for me to be more than 1.5" lower than point of aim and in all reality it'd be closer to .75" lower. I aimed slightly high within the area I wanted to hit and planted that round exactly where I wanted it. Had that bear been 50 yards as opposed to 15, I'd have passed on the shot because I would not have known my exact point of impact as clearly at the time. Perhaps that's very conservative, but I feel obligated to handle things that way.
Second: I darn near shorted myself on a trophy. Any more of that cheekbone disapears and it won't measure up for B&C. Now, that is not something that really enters my thinking when I am trying to place a shot, I'm running too much math for that, but it definitely crossed my mind after. I kill for food, so that is where my head is at when I pull the trigger, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good specimen when I can get my hands on one.
In any case, like you said, it all worked out.
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matechakeric
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i will never trust myself to attempt a head shot on any game. I haven't built that same accuracy faith yet - -probably never will
OntarioHunter
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I have shot two bucks and two bull elk in the head both bulls were trophy animals. The real nice one, my first elk, I'd hit twice, once in the neck followed by a Texas heart shot. I ran after him and put the final shot in his brain bucket offhand as he was going away. That animal needed to die right there or I might never have got it out, even with horses. Fortunately the horns didn't split. Cut some flesh away and lifted the skull cap off. A very good shot.
The other bull, shot nine years later, I was actually trying to hit in the back as he was going away uphill and bullet hit him where neck joins the skull. Lucky shot.
Both bucks were shot in the head because that's all I could see. Both were bedded down about fifty yards away. Both were hit just below the left eye. Both were two year-olds, one whitetail and one muley. Wait ... there was another forked horn muley shot in the head, 1984. Knocked him down and he got back up. Heart shot finished him. Bullet from head shot deflected and struck his twin in the lungs. I aimed for the head because I really didn't care if I missed the little buck on top of that gawd forsaken mountain. Wound up having to pull two of them down .. with a bum knee. Serves me right.
The other bull, shot nine years later, I was actually trying to hit in the back as he was going away uphill and bullet hit him where neck joins the skull. Lucky shot.
Both bucks were shot in the head because that's all I could see. Both were bedded down about fifty yards away. Both were hit just below the left eye. Both were two year-olds, one whitetail and one muley. Wait ... there was another forked horn muley shot in the head, 1984. Knocked him down and he got back up. Heart shot finished him. Bullet from head shot deflected and struck his twin in the lungs. I aimed for the head because I really didn't care if I missed the little buck on top of that gawd forsaken mountain. Wound up having to pull two of them down .. with a bum knee. Serves me right.
matechakeric
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this is one of my biggest concerns with head shots. moreso, I don't want a maimed deer stumbling around the woods for 2 months before dying. with my luck, I'd have this happen
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OntarioHunter
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Well, I think the probability of wounding a deer with a head shot is relatively slim. This buck would not have lived very long ... as in minutes maybe. I was actually stunned that it could get back up. A surprising number of deer are lost every year after being shot "in the boiler room" with a rifle (many more similarly hit with an arrow). But very few deer or elk shot in the head go anywhere but on the ground instantly. They are either dead on the spot or missed altogether. Not bad choices, especially if your a deer.
matechakeric
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i hear you. I had a bad experience when I was a teenager. I took a rushed shot on a deer and blew out its leg. Tracked it for 500 yards and I had to finish it off in the middle of a field from very close range. I thought the cleanest kill would be bullet between the eyes. not like the movies -- that deer flopped around for over a minute before I put one in his heart and it was over. I almost gave up hunting after seeing that.
obviously my placement was not perfect.
obviously my placement was not perfect.
MTLabrador
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You’ve never seen deer or elk with their jaws shot off? I certainly have.
matechakeric
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OntarioHunter
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The first elk I tracked at age 12 was one a logging truck driver had shot in the jaw. Another logger got it a few days later. The first guy would have got it if he hadn't left his gun in the truck when he approached it laying in the road. Never personally saw it or any other animal shot in the jaw.
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