Stinkfoot

After spending a few days bear hunting in laurel thickets in East TN I realized that my Remington 700 BDL .30-06 was just not the right gun for hunting bear in these conditions. After mulling over several guns (including the Marlin 1895 in 45-70) I have really began to like the Remington 673 in .350 or .300 Remington SAUM. Does anyone here have this gun or know of any major shortcomings this gun may have? I am looking for something that will knock a bear down at close range and is easy to transport and manuever in the woods.

Thanks.

Stinkfoot

And I am also curious about the .350 round. I have had several bear hunters reccomend that round. But it is very expensive. The gun is also available in .300 Remington SAUM. Would that be a better choice? I have also heard that both of these rounds are on their way out.

HEAD0001

350 Remington magnum has been around a while, and keeps popping up. It is a fantastic short action round. I believe as you do that the SAUM is not going to be around. Of the three, the 45-70 is the best choice. However I prefer the 1894 Marlin in 44 mag. caliber. It is lighter and handles, and shoots very well. Tom.

Stinkfoot

So do you think that a 44 Magnum would have enough knockdown for 300lb+ black bears at fairly close range? Most of the bears you hear about are 100-200 lbs but in the past few years I have seen some pretty big bears. In fact, two 600lb+ bears have been killed in the past couple of years in the area I am hunting. My brother-in-law talked to one of the guys who killed one of the big ones and he swore that when he came back next year he was going to use a gun with much more knockdown than what he had. Now, I don't know what he had, it could have been a .243 for all I know.My brother-in-law's neighbortook some photos of a bear near where I am hunting and it is about 350-400lbs the bestanyone can tell. I know bears look bigger alive than dead but we are comparing photos of different bears in the same area. If a 44 Magnum would be enough, that would be great. They are fun and cheap to shoot (with cowboy rounds). But if it won't stop a 350-400lb bear at relatively short range, I need something bigger.

Thanks for the info, I'm going to surf on over to Gunbroker.com and see what's out there.