I think the guides are just going off their experience. If too many clients show up over-gunned with too little experience, they understandably get concerned by the next one. But, as I said, everyone is different. And it�s not too hard to break the mold. If you get something as moderate as a .338 Win Mag and practice a lot, you probably can get pretty good with it. On my last hunt, the first night, after we had flown in to a small lake on the beaver (so no hunting is allowed until the next day), we had set up camp, and, out of nowhere, my guide asked me to pick up my rifle and chamber a round. I asked if he was serious. He said so. I did. He then asked me to quickly shoot at a reed about 100 yds away on the far bank of the river. I did. After that, he felt I wasn�t kidding about getting good with that rifle. A good test IMO. He picked me out of many potential clients to go back this year because he believes I will be prepared. I honestly spent hundreds of hours before my last hunt preparing, shooting, getting in shape, thinking about gear, etc ...
It might be different if I lived in Alaska. I might just grab whatever rifle I thought might do. But, for me, not when I have so much at stake on a difficult trip to so far away.
To me there is a relationship between �best� and �minimum.� Especially if it�s a rare hunt, you, even more so, might want to get closer to the �best� and expand your minimum. So, if your rifle is a .270, you might just go with that and do fine, but you also might want to work and get good with something a little bigger if you can; and most can, with practice. If have the opportunity to hunt brown bear on a regular basis 50 miles from home, I could see bringing a .308 or whatever. But, if I�m going on a rare trip 2,500 miles away from Arkansas, I might work to beef up a bit--you've got time. Anyone who hasn�t mastered a bigger rifle and can�t shoot it as well, probably should bring the smaller rifle. It depends on the person. My father is getting older. His minimum is less than mine now. I don;t hunt deer with a .243, because I can shoot something bigger just as well. But my 10-yr-old hunts with a .243, which, for him, is like an adult shooting a .338. Depends on the person. But get as close to "best" as you can, especially if it's a big deal hunt.
