Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Anyone hunting brown/Griz bears with a push feed?

The OP had a Remington Model 700 in .375 H&H with a Sako extractor. Well maintained, there really is nothing wrong with this.

Despite my current problems with a M700, I have others that are completely reliable. A M700 in .270 Win not only feeds well, but it will also feed loaded cartridges reliably when upside down, and it will do the same with empty brass cases. Push feed works.

But as my problems show, there is more to it than just push feed versus CRF. The M70s that I favor when hunting in dangerous game country are built differently than the M700s that I tend to use in tamer country. I like them both.

But when the rifle just absolutely has to work, M70s have certain features that make them more attractive to me than my M700.

I have little experience hunting in Alaska, and none hunting bears. But when I hunted in SE Alaska for Sitka blacktails with only my wife as my hunting partner, I carried my M70. She carried a push feed Ruger! They both worked!

If a gun has shown that it is reliable through a lengthy period of shooting and carrying it in real world hunting environments, then it is probably OK for hunting browns and grizzlies too.

If the rifle gives you confidence when in your hands, then it is probably a good rifle to take. There is no gun that I would rather have in my hands than my M70. YMMV.

Here are some photos to illustrate the bolt handle failure from my recent M700 XCR II. Things happen, but I would still trust a well used push feed M700.