West Coast hunters are truly blessed when it comes to hunting black bears.

Author Mike Dickerson brought down this black bear using Ruger's new Model 77 Hawkeye .338 Compact Magnum and Hornady's 225-grain SST bullet. Photo courtesy of Mike Dickerson.

But these are tough animals.

Experienced bear-hunting guides could tell you about bears they've taken that had been previously shot in the shoulder with no long-term effect. They'll also tell you about bears that were hit solidly behind the shoulder, in the heart-lung area, only to run off and not be recovered.

What's going on here?

Black bears can be tough animals, to be certain, but they're far from invincible. That's backed by the fact that over the last century, more black bears probably have been killed by the lowly .30/30 Winchester than with any other caliber. It was, in fact, a lever-action .30/30 that accounted for my very first bear from the Sierra Nevada a couple of decades ago.

Most failed shots can be explained by poor decisions in one of three areas: caliber selection, bullet selection or shot placement.

This may come as a surprise to some hunters, but caliber selection is probably the least critical factor. Although most cartridges from .270 Win. on up will do the job if you use properly constructed bullets, knowledgeable bear hunters tend to prefer .30 caliber or heavier pushing heavy-for-caliber bullets out of the barrel.

When choosing your own bear-hunting medicine, don't be tempted to rely solely on charts specifying fpe, the Taylor Knockout formula and similar guides. The last time I checked, bears don't read those charts and aren't particularly impressed with theoretical energy levels or computed amounts of hydrostatic shock.

As a general guide, however, I'd be less likely to use a typical deer caliber and far more likely to use one of the heavier elk calibers with 2,000 foot-pounds of downrange energy as a minimum for bears.

An important consideration is the distance at which you expect to shoot bears. A lot of bear hunting occurs in thick cover and shots can be at halitosis range, where you'll be better off with large, medium-velocity rounds rather than some hotshot cartridge that may come unglued upon contact with bone.

In other areas, your best opportunity may arrive in the form of a 300-yard cross-canyon shot, dictating the need for a relatively fast-stepping round to achieve downrange accuracy. The important thing is to know what types of shot opportunities are normal for the area you will hunt and the style of hunting you'll employ, and to choose your firearm and ammunition accordingly.

On a recent bear hunt, I used Ruger's new Model 77 Hawkeye Compact Magnum in a new caliber, the .338 RCM (Ruger Compact Magnum). I also used new ammo in the form of Hornady's 225-grain SST (Super Shock Tipped) bullet, which combines the internal jacket belt of the Hornady Interlock with a heavier-than-usual jacket. Such offerings, accompanied by new developments in propellants, are fueling the current trend toward lighter, handier rifles.

Hornady's new .338 RCM loads, for example, use advanced proprietary powders to achieve .338 Win. Mag. performance out of the Ruger Compact Magnum's 20-inch barrel.

It's hard to think of a handier combination for black bears under a wide range of conditions. My guide and I encountered big bears at dis­tances ranging from practically tripping over them to the nearly 7-foot bear I eventually shot at 180 yards. The RCM delivered perform­ance at that range on a through-and-through, double-lung shot. At the impact, the bear whirled, leaped over an embankment and rolled to a dead stop 30 yards down a steep slope.