Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Minimum 'caliber' for Kodiak Brown Bear?

Interesting thread. I'm no expert on brown bear shooting.......at all.

However........I get sooooo tired of know-it-all outfitters assuming that every client is a derelict dude who can't shoot. This schitty, selfish, arrogant attitude ain't limited to grizzzz guides.....and is also VERY prevalent among elk guides as well since elk are hard-to-kill animules as well. While elk guides are optional..........grizzzz hunting for non-residents ain't. You outfitters have that market cornered with your BS legal lobbying. Consequently.......you WILL BOOK some competent, experienced hunters along with your dude ones. We competent ones have no choice but to use you if we want a griz. This doesn't mean that you have to treat us like idiots!

I own a .375 as well as a .338 RUM that I posted here a while back along with my ability to whack big bull elk with it same as I can with my .22-250 for 'yotes. I practice a lot and would not take a rifle on a hunt that I cannot shoot accurately.

You outfitters should somehow find the intelligence to size up your clients before recommending a cartridge instead of assuming the worst. Assuming some of us can't shoot a big rifle accurately is the same as us assuming you that you can't supply us a decent camp and chow and even show us a bear after many $$$ paid you for our experience.

As an experienced western trophy big game hunter (and I've posted the pics here many times) for pronghorn, muleys, bull elk, Shiras moose, eastern whitetails, and Coues' deer........I know a few things about doing it successfully.

For high dollar landowner tags hunts, or Utah conservation tag hunts............or once-in-a-lifetime hard to draw tags..............or high dollar outfitted hunts.....you need to shoot the biggest cartridge that you can shoot accurately. Cuz if you get the chance to get some lead into a great animal......you don't want him to get away. Period.

Here's my brown bear taken on Chichagof in May 2012 with my .338 RUM. Cuz it's an average sized bear....it didn't require my RUM. A big one might have. But I was sooooo thrilled and comfortable to have it in case I needed it. I was equally happy knowing that I can use it and that it was at my side in the tent camp right there on the beach every night.