Originally Posted by 458Win
Besides the issues of no wolves on Kodiak �


Okay, but they have elk and deer there, so it�s the same concept.

Originally Posted by 458Win
� folks with little to no experience with killing bears have to wade in to tout their favorite caliber and tell of how they are immune to it's recoil. I have heard those claims for 35 years and they usually are my first clue that I need to pack my 458.

I have known Kodiak guides who chose to carry a 270 as a backup rifle and a number of others who chose the 30-06. In fact the world record Kodiak bear was taken in 1952 with a 30-06.

Now if our big bore experts want to hunt "Kodiak" bears in some local where there might be wolves a 340 Wby would be one of the last calibers I would choose if I wanted the hide. I can also vouch from experience that the 30-06 ( with 200 gr partitions) works out well past 500 yards.


First, I don�t see the reason for the superiority complex and never called myself an "expert." What I said are my experiences. I�ve hunted since around 1979. I experienced shooting at enemy combatants in the USMC with all types of weapons in the 1990s. I learned to shoot medium bores well. I�m sad that your clients are such dishonest blowhards. But I am just stating some unremarkable things about my experiences on a forum that is designed to solicit such experiences. Can anyone shoot a medium bore well? It�s not that hard with practice. Sure. If someone accurately, and unremarkably, says that they can, are they �claiming� or �saying�? You call it �claiming� to suggest that they can�t. You apparently can shoot a .458 well. Are you �claiming� that or just stating your experience like I have? It�s not really that hard with practice. Why would you �need to pack my 458� if someone said (i.e., �claimed�) that they could shoot a medium bore well? Obviously, if someone says that, they are �claiming� and a poser, but why the .458? A 30-06 is the record breaker. Why don�t you carry a 30-06 if someone says (�claims�) that they can shoot something well? I can�t see the need since a .458 will only occasionally stop a bear a fraction of a second faster than a .270. Why do you need to go big with the .458 to back up the idiotic �claimers�? Maybe it's better at stopping a bear? Maybe sometimes by more than a fraction of a second?

It can�t be that someone works hard to get good with a medium bore, and says so (it�s not that hard), and actually can do so, rather than just �claiming� so. I�m not exactly saying I jumped to the moon or wrestled a 25-ft crocodile into submission. I�m just saying I practice a lot with my .375 and .340 and can shoot them reasonably well. What!? Such a �claim�! You better whip out your .458 Win. Why? Is it better than backing a �claimer� client than with a .270? Sorry you have had so many pathetic "claimer" clients. My guide hasn't.

And I�m trying hard, but I don�t understand one other thing: �a 340 Wby would be one of the last calibers I would choose if I wanted the hide.�

I put two fairly-big holes through each side of my bear last time with the .375 Wby, which probably makes as big of hole as a .340.

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But you can�t see it now.

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It�s called T-A-X-I-D-E-R-M-Y.