Congrats to you both and good luck on your hunt. Sounds like a great way to make some memories to last a lifetime.

There are several Tman Members that drew this year and it will be fun to follow along on those hunts. I'm really happy for you and your son- it will be as much fun planning and baiting as hunting- time to make some memories! I believe the WDNR upped harvest tags by 5% this year but it took me 10 years to draw for this year. - we usually bow hunt and most bears pile up about 10 yards after the shot, a 30-30 is fine or shotgun slug, my first bear was taken with a 30-06 and it's been bow after that.
Congratulations!

Good luck guys, hope to see pictures of your success!

While a 308 or 06 would be a better choice if he was shooting any distance, under a hundred yards (presumably he won't have a bait farther than that, and if he ends up going with hounds it will be much closer) the 30-30 would be my choice. Most 30-30 loads are made with roundnosed or flatnosed bullets and are far superior on bone to the ballistic tips in a lot of the new hyped up loads for other calibers. I wouldn't hesitate a second to take a front shoulder shot with a 150 0r 170 grain flatnosed 30-30.

The 30-30 is the most common bear rifle carried by houndmen out here, followed by the 45-70 and then probably the 32 Special. Close range, and lots of packing of the gun through brush means a short handy rifle is desired. Granted head shots are most common by houndmen, but any of those calibers works great on body shots and are usually chambered in a lever gun for a reliable quick follow up shot if required.

Good info on stopping power guys, thanks. Hope I don't annoy yall with my questions.

The boy is wavering between excitement and nervousness about the hunt. I guess I am too lol

Good luck to you Eagleye

Congrats. Tell Momma it be ok.

Find him a used 270 or new one. Lot of places running sales now. I know i'm bias but a 329 buck savage axis scope included is a deal and it will last him forever.... They had a 100 mail in rebate but I think it stopped Feb 1st

With that said . 30-30 killed ALOT of bear , heck anything that walks I lower 48 .

When is season open up there?

With all the ammo issues recently...the One Bullet choice Available on Every shelf was 10 choices of
.308. If you do step him up , move him into a .308 then you can stock up easily on Ammo for Deer and Bear
That's a bit of my advice- matches Boco

Sept through Oct approximately dogs go first this year I believe

Have a good hunt, Eagleye!!!!

I wish my best to all you guys who drew!

Moosetrot

People with no confidence in a 30-30 never hunted with one. Its similar to muzzle loading. Don't shoot very far. The bullet starts out slow and loses velocity quickly. A bear can live a long time with a hole in only one lung. May even survive. So do a little research on shot placement. According to the chart in my nosler book, a 150 grain flat nose bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2300 is traveling at 1958 at a hundred yards. A 150 grain spitzer at 3000 fps muzzle is at 1912 at 500. and 2300 at 300. So a 30-30 hits (out to 100 yards) about as hard as an ought six does at between 300 and 450 yards. Anybody here think thats to far for an ought six?

https://www.fieldandstream.com/phot...r-old-wisconsin-hunter-bags-record-bear/

A bear this big could soak up ought six ammo. If your hunting over bait a shot to the base of the skull in the spine would be best

When your target ranges from 150 to 700 plus pounds, that can make caliber selection more complicated. I'd opt for something heavier than necessary on the little ones. But, I am a huge fan of 30-30 also.

I think it will depend on how The Boy feels about the gun he is using. If he is confident in the 30-30 knocking a bear down and staying down it's fine. But if he has any doubts I would suggest something larger that he will be more confident in. A bear approaching or in the sights can be a nerve-rattling experience. There's a lot of options out there but everything will depend on what he is confident with in making a killing shot. That will entail a lot of practice in shooting and sighting the gun. The Boy will do just fine.

You are a great Dad and will be able to guide and help him through this and create lifelong memories of the hunt.

Moosetrot

Back when I used to raise bees I had bear hunters begging me for any old honey I couldn't do anything with. They said it was the best bait ever for bears.

When it was legal in CO we baited with the cheapest dog feed we could find. Poured fryer grease from restaurants on it. The oil back then was all rendered from beef fat. I dont know if the vegetable oil used today would be as effective. If you can get some cheap beef fat and render it I know that is a dandy bait. Where we were coons were not a problem. Just were not a lot of them. Coyotes were a bigger problem. A pair of coyotes would eat till stuffed. Go off and bury puke then come back. We didnt have cameras. So far as I know they were not available and developing and buying film would have been to pricey. Would rake up dirt or scatter sand for track reading. Would take a battery powered clock. Tie monofilament to the battery. Run the fishing line around the bait a foot off the ground so a bear would pull the battery out.

That's a thinking man's way to so it Danny Clifton

Meat and animal products taboo in Wi., DNR even frowns on fryer grease from bars used in fish fries. Pastries are good, cookie dough, very good. Shots in Wisconsin for bear tend to be under 70 yds., The .3030 in a 94 is my gun of choice and has performed flawlessly on bears as big as 400 lbs. Also bait needs to be covered, which helps keep the wolves coyotes and coon out, helps, doesnt prevent.

I bow hunted bear in 1996 in Chippewa County. On the 4th night I had a smaller but legal 3-year-old bear come in. At that time nobody used trail cameras but I had what was called a string timer across the Bear Trail to tell me approximately what time they were coming to the bait site. When the bear got to the string he smelled up and down the string timer before proceeding through the string to the bait site 15 yards from my tree stand. I must have got sent from the bait on the string. A minute later I double lunged the bear resulting in a nice bear rug and a good memory. It was another bucket list item off my list. If you are baiting make sure you do not forget the insect repellent!