“big bears”

Bryce Towsley breaks down the gear he used on his Alaskan brown bear hunt.

The all-around 27 Nosler is good for anything in North America short of big bears or bison.

Word to the wise: Sizing bears is tough. But big bears have distinctive traits. Here's what to look for if you're ever in bear country with a tag in your pocket and a black bear in your sights.

Pushing a 180-grain AccuBond bullet at 3200 fps and a 210-grain AccuBond Long Range with an extremely high ballistic coefficient at 3000 fps, the new 30 Nosler is clearly aimed at elk, moose, big bears, large African antelope and any big game at extreme range.

In Alberta, hunters like to hold out for big bears. It’s another thing entirely to hold out for a color-phase bear when coal-black, record-book bruins climb into your lap.

While you can access the heart of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, a bastion for big bears, on horseback, success could leave you wishing for a canoe upon your return.

When most hunters think of Saskatchewan, visions of big-bodied, heavy-racked whitetails go prancing through their heads. While the No. 1 typical whitetail of all time, the 213 5/8-inch Milo Hanson buck, indeed hails from Saskatchewan, this province to the north of Montana and North Dakota more than holds its own when it comes to producing record-book-quality black bears.

Bob Robb shares six outfitters with comfortable camps, good equipment and high success rates for black bear hunting this spring.

Buffalo Bore Ammunition offers a line of ammunition aimed at bear defense.