.358 Bullets Vs. Bruins

358Goat · 2026-02-07T19:07:47-0800

If you were hunting bear in Alberta in 4months shooting a 35 Whelen and had 200gr Hornady RN, Hornady 200gr SP, Sierra 200gr RN, Sierra 225gr BTSP, Barnes 200gr TTSX, Barnes 225gr TSX, Nosler 225gr AccuBond, or Nosler 225gr Partitions available to you, what would you shoot? The hunt may involve some spot and stalk but the evenings will be over bait. What are your experiences and what would you shoot if you were in my shoes?

Goat

JD338 · 2026-02-07T19:22:34-0800

225 gr PT. I shot a 250 lb black bear with a 35 Whelen and the 225 gr PT off a bait. Hit him through both shoulders, DRT.

JD338

gerry · 2026-02-07T20:30:02-0800

I've used all of those except the Hornady for bear or moose and would say any of the lead core 225's or 200 gr TTSX. No bad choices with any of those.

Blkram · 2026-02-07T21:02:47-0800

While the AccuBond has been my favourite hunting bullet since it first came out, it would be my first choice, with the 225 gr SGK second. My recommendation is to use the one that is the most accurate in your rifle.
As for hunting over, your shot will most likely be close, so you probably do not not need to have sub-MOA accuracy, but the confidence in your rifle/ammo combination is important. This is where those spot and stalk opportunities may push the shot distance and that edge in accuracy will help.
While the bears can get to good size in Alberta, most talken are not overly big. And spring bears typically weigh less having just come out of hibernation. 200-300 lbs being most common.

KevinNC · 2026-02-07T21:44:01-0800

Black bears die easy vs deer and elk. I would skip the 200 grain cup and cores and use the X or the AccuBond, both will reach out if you need to and also work at short range on bait.

DrMike · 2026-02-08T04:06:54-0800

358Goat said:
If you were hunting bear in Alberta in 4months shooting a 35 Whelen and had 200gr Hornady RN, Hornady 200gr SP, Sierra 200gr RN, Sierra 225gr BTSP, Barnes 200gr TTSX, Barnes 225gr TSX, Nosler 225gr AccuBond, or Nosler 225gr Partitions available to you, what would you shoot? The hunt may involve some spot and stalk but the evenings will be over bait. What are your experiences and what would you shoot if you were in my shoes?

Goat

You've had some good advice. I never shot over bait, but I've used all of these at one time or another on black bear from 35 Whelen, 358 Winchester, and 358 Norma Magnum. Blkram and Gerry have considerable experience with black bear, and I have shot a few myself. There are no bad choices in your list, but I tend to prefer the 225 grain SGK, 200 grain TSX, 225 grain TSX, and 225 grain PT just because they give me the best accuracy in my several rifles.