The outfit I hunted brown bears with recommended nothing smaller than a 375, with 416 being preferable. I used my 33 G&A and did just fine but they were skeptical about it, being as they had seen poor results with the 338. They also preferred soft bullets, namely Hornady round nosed type.
"Guide" and "Knowledgeable about guns" are far from synonymous...
I think he and his family are a bit more experienced in Alaskan hunting than most on this forum, been in business since 1974 and is a master guide. Also hunts world wide and was IPHA in 2005. He knows what works in his area and for his clients.
Sorry, but gotta agree to disagree... too many every bit as knowledgeable have found it quite different. There is no magic in anything, especially big rifles handled by guys that have not shot them much.
I guided a couple Texans with 340Wbys many years ago when we stumbled into a grizzly of ordinary proportions and they both shot extremely well with their rifles and if that was the only marker in the trail you might assume it would be needed. Virtually all others with big rifles I saw screwed things up...
I have seen more brown/grizzly bears shot with smaller cartridges and none have gotten away... I used a 300WM for back-up for years. I have shot several with 375H&H and AI and will continue to... but not because it is any minimum.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
