My wife and I may have the chance to hunt black bear in Georgia this coming fall. My wife shoots a Savage .243 with 100 grain Federal ammo. Would this be enough for Georgia black bear. Never killed a bear so I dont know what would work. If not, what would yall recommend? Thanks.

i have only killed one here in maine with a 30-06 this year ii'm using a 7mm08 with barnes all copper bullets, i have heard of people taking bear with a 243 but personally i don't feel it's a good choice....i wouldn't reccommend anything less than a 270 not saying it can't be done but when it's something with teeth and claws i would rather see atleast a 27 caliber round and most guides here reccommend atleast a 308

It'd beVERY marginal... If you must, use quality bullets and practice quick follow ups

I'd say it depends on 1 . the average size of bear you expect to encounter and in Ga. that depends on where you hunt and 2. The capability of the hunter to put it where it counts . Usually any good whitetail cartridge, and the .243 is that, is quite capable of taking a black bear in 150-200lb range .Having said that there are black bears that will need more oomph to put them down quickly and humanely. In Ga ,SC and especially NC the bears seem to be getting more numerous and larger with many reports of bears going over 300lbs and in the coastal areas of NC I have heard reports of bears going over 500lbs and thats a big bear in anyones book .Still I have shot good sized deer with a 100gr .243 Win. premium bullet at something less than 100yds and the bullet did not exit and the deer ran downhill a good 100yds before falling and my shot went right in the boiler room and lodged in the neck on the offside

All are members of the .308 family, but a .308 or 7mm-08 would be a better choice over the .243 because of the better heavier bullet selection.
I have shot a black bear over bait where I had time to make a good shot at about 40 yards. The first was behind the shoulder, the second was at an angle, rear to front as he was running off.
He only went about 50 yards, bedded down, got up and back tracked 10 yards, bedded down again and then crawed up under an uprooted tree.
This was a boar that weighed 210 lbs. field dressed. I was using a .308 with 180 grain remington core loks and got full pass thru with the first shot.
There vitals are a little different then a white tails and they have tough hides and massive strength in their forearms and legs.
Use good bullets as another member said if you use the .243. like 100 grain Nosler partitions, Accubonds, or swift A frame.
Good luck!

With a bullet that light shot placement is super critical. Personally I wouldn't even consider it. I'd go with something in in the 30cal family 30-06 308. Bears have some tough muscle and it could be enough to deflect the course of a lighter bullet.

If it was what I had I would use it. I also would look to shoot 100 gr. Nosler Partitions, 85 gr. Barnes TSX or a good bonded bullet.

Depends on the bear! Back in '50, one of my school mates shot a big ol' boar, up in the Cascades of Southern Oregon, with a .22. One shot, one dead bear,  another time, up in Sitka, one of my co-workers sons, went ptarmigan huntin', with his .22. A big browny decided to check the boys out. The lad shot, the bear went down. We went up after he got off the hill, 'cause we sure didn't want a wounded browny, that close to town. The bear had died, right were the boy had shot him, However, both cases were pure outhouse luck! I have shot several bear, black and brownys, and not all have been that eager to die! I have known folks that have been maimed and killed by bear that had been fataly hit! I had one blacky that went over 100 yds, tore up 1/2 acre of Douglas fir reprod, before he died, with out a brain!! It had been blown out with a 220 gr., Hi-V bullet!
Allen

I would suggest nothing less than a .30 cal for bears (.30-.30, .35 Remington, .308, .30-06, etc) and you want to use as big of bullet as you can with the gun you get.  The bigger the wound channel the better for bears.  Good luck.

my grandfather took a black bear with .243 . if you double lung them they wont go far. but if you wanna be sure used 30.06 ,.308 ,or .300wsm all good rounds and isnt realy overkill.

don't do it!

It can be done as some people have given examples, but you can also find fluke examples of polar bears being killed with .22 shorts too. Buy your wife a larger calibre rifle.

Don't do it? Horsepucky. Plenty of power for bear in the 243. Just choose the right bullet and put it in the right place. Gonna work I have a pard in Alaska that routinely shoots them with a .223 and 53 gr TTSX bullets. A larger bullet does not always make a larger wound channel. While the entrance wound of a .30 caliber is slightly larger than a .243 what that bullet does inside the critter is more important the the entrance size of the hole. The use of standard cup and core bullets would not be my first choice but well constructed bullets are availiable that will work in the .243 just fine on georgia bears,

Recently got back froma blacktail/bear hunt where my kids both shot black bears with thier .243's.  both around 100 yard shots using 100 grain federal ammo. both one shot kills, first one was 250 lbs range good shot placement, made it about 10 yards before collapsing. the other the shot was a little high and further back but still caught the back of the lung, it went right down but did flail around for about 20 seconds before expiring, another 250 lb bear. one bullet went clear through leaving a fairly large exit wound.  If you are going to encounter 400 + lb bears good shot placement would be important, but a 243. would be enough  for them. Friends have shot several large bull moose with a .243, again shot placement is important.

.243 for bear..!!! use it if it suits you....but when that one darn bear decides to turn around and fight..not run......i don't believe a .243 is enough gun..if your up a tree over bait. ...fine.. your safe...if your hunting in a group and there are lots of .243.s around ...great...but when your approaching a wounded bear in deep cover..by yourself...to finish it off...you have to ask yourself....is this .243 enough gun...well ??? is it...i think not ...but hey !! fill your boots...living danderously is what huntings all about. i've watched really p o ' d black bears take several rounds of 165 gr. 30:06 before they calmed down enough to tag. so use what calibre YOU think is enough..good hunting to all

If the 270 is enough for mr griz I think the 243 is up to the task for a lil ole blackie..you sir are talkin out yer azz

For a lil ole blackie, perhaps, but pa and nc have both recorded bears over 800 lbs, with several over 700 taken annually. That's bigger than most grizzly, all but the largest.

I will add that I was on back-up with my 325 WSM when my kids shot, i would not go into brush after a wounded bear with a .243. So as long as you are on stand-by with a larger caliber when your wife is taking the shot you should have no trouble with her using the .243

hey shortgun.no offence.. but you must only see "winnie the pooh sized bears" in your area. and having hunted bear for over 40 years in these foothills. no i ain't "talkin out my azz" but you sure seem to be. i've never killed a black bear over 500 lbs but i have come close. and as gehee says they get bigger than that. so you stick that up your azz.
one of the largest grizz ever taken was by bella twin in slave lake area. she killed it with a .22 rifle and several shots to the head. i wouldn't recommend the cal. myself but it did do the job. so you go ahead and hunt for pooh sized bears with your .243. appaently they grow bigger than "lil ol' blackie" in other places.

and kuliak, that was sound decision making, with a good backup rifle like that. and congrats to your kids for taking thier game. my daughters hunt with me a lot and it sure is fun to see how excited they get.
and you are absolutely right about shot placement being so important. good luck to your kids on future hunts....good hunting to all.

I would suggest .270 or .308