Can a bullet bounce off a bears head?

I'm doing some research on the different forums I visit regarding if a bullet can bounce off of a bears skull.

Anyone have actual experience and or stories to tell?

I don't think bear (especially griz/brown) are good candidates for head shots.  So I think any head shot is probably a bad placement by a poor shooter a or a miss  of a chest shot.  The reason I say this is that a skull CAN bounce a bullet, but the angle to the skull must be very acute, sharp.  Poor shots or missed shoots can indeed result in such bullet behavior.  A 90 degree to the skull will never bounce off.  A 5 degree may bounce off.

Think of this.  When you skip a stone on water, the water is really very soft.  But the stone does skip?  You need a flat stone of course and as we all know, you need a shallow angle or the stone penetrates.  Same with a bullet on water or a bears head.

If you really want to see this I think you could get a cows head from a slaughter house, and try a 30 cal at a shallow angle.

Most skulls are really very flexible and elastic when living.  After death they dry out and get brittle.  Bear are the same.  Also the skull grows in plates and in bears, even large bears the skull is 'softer' than in older bears.  Sort of like old folks bones getting brittle.  An angle of shot that might 'bounce off' a 600 pound 4 year old bear might penetrate a 10 year old 600 pounder?

I've got two grizzly bear skulls in my office, and I'd say that they compare to a wild boar skull except for a shorter nose.  So a test on a 200 pound boar (aka pig) skull would be a reasonable test. 

I also think (opinion) that the bullet size doesn't matter.  A 416 mag with 400 grain FMJ would bounce (skip) off as easy as a 150 gr.  30 cal.  a larger bullet has more side surface to support the heavier weight.

If you mean can a bullet shot at a bears skull  generally at a perpendicular direction bounce off, never.  To much sectional density and energy for a bears skull to support and deflect.  Even a 223 FMJ will penetrate a bears skull if fired at a 90 degree angle.

The photo of the bears head shown, seems to indicate a shot between 30-55 degrees.  It is difficult to tell the angle, with the meat still on the skull.

Just my thoughts.  I never shot a bear in the head, heart lungs work fine for me.

I've hear a lot of talk about bouncing off the boss of a cape buffalo.  Again with a shallow angle it certainly could happen.  I also have a very large cape buffalo in my office (yes, it is crowded in there).  the boss is much thicker and harder  than a great bears skull. 

Also a buffalo usually has his head on a level with a shouldered gun so the angle you depict on the bear skull is always present.  "THE" frontal shot on a buff is a base of the neck (to the hear) shot not a head shot.  I'd beat the a lot more shots bounce off buffalo skulls than bear.

As always, I prefer a heart shot on a buffalo, either side or head on.

AS elephants are big, from my perspective, it is interesting that one often preferred shot it the brain shot.  Unfortunately I don't have an elephant's skull in my office.  but I've seen them and examined them.  A dense honeycomb-like bone structure.  The side brainier shot is slightly below the ear canal.  I've seen it made and the elephant spins itself down into a pile.

BEAR