Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Caliber question

Probably been argued a 100 times. I will still ask.
When I lived up,there I used a 300mag. And a 308. Both served well on caribou and black bear.

300 is a BAR and somewhat heavy. 308 is a light wood stocked bolt. Also debating a 270 which stock and scope wise is the best set up. 180 grain for the 308 and 150+ for the 270.

Adfg site says a 270 would be sufficient as I am mainly targeting moose. I shoot it a lot better than the others.

Anyway, thought I would stir the pot. I appreciate any feed back

300WSM would also be a good choice for that big Alaska country.

No reason a good 270 with good 150's wouldn't work... Especially if the OP shoots it a lot better than his other rifles. Also sounds like it's scoped and stocked better as well.

My bride shoots a 270 and giggles at anyone who implies it might not be enough. She hasn't need to shoot anything twice yet.
Load it with good bullets and go kill a moose.

Evah damn body know that F&G is gay.

I like a big 300 best.

A good shooting 270 with today's premium bullets will be plenty. I would use a monolithic like a Barnes TSX or TTSX as they seem to perform tougher and heavier than their weight suggests.

For years I hunted moose with 30-30 and was not undergunned.

Folks kill em with bows, and MZ all the time.

My buddy has killed I dunno how many with an MZ and round balls in a smoothbore....

Take what you can shoot best.

The things IMHO that matter, well constructed bullet that will penetrate at least to the off side rib cage and preferably exit.

And the ability to place the shot correctly and know when to pull the trigger and when not to.

Even though I despise the 270, It will work just perfectly fine.

And all that being said, if you can shoot larger/heavier and have em and do just as well, well you can't ever have too much gun IMHO.

A winchester 270 with 150gr Nosler Partions is a force to be reckoned with! A good shooter and Alaska is covered!

Jim

The number of dumb looks you'd get from any number of Alaskans if you suggested there was actually something wrong with a good bullet In a 270 vs most of what you can hunt ...... Well, the scathing would be plenty....

bingo


I've killed two moose with a 7mm-08 and Barnes bullets

DRT on both course one was a spike and the other a 50 incher

bullet construction has changed the game


the one thing that hasn't changed is shot placement, shot placement, shot placement


if you have a rifle you shoot well, load it with good bullets and go hunting

For the .270 inclined, there is or was, a new Vanguard SS MOA in .270 marked down to $380 at the Hammond Cabelas. Been there a month or so I know of.

Go out to any bush village and you'll find that folks out here tend to use .30-06s and smaller.

You'll only see magnums in common use when you get into low orbit of skAnchorage and Fairbanks.


Your .270 will work just fine.

LOL, I saw a LOT of 7.62x39 on the shelves in Aniak some years ago.

Isn't anything much I would not feel bad with a 270, though I"d feel a bit light for big bears or big bear self defense.

Odds of that are extremely slim though...

300 WSM

^^This*^

Probably shooting the .270win "better" with 130gr bullets...

How's a .270win with 150s any "better" than a .30-06 with 150s? Oh, there is that sectional density thing... Used to have some 180gr Barnes Origs for my .270; also had silvertips of same weight in .30-06...

Got a .300win mag? Maybe just load it to .270/150gr velocities with 165s and call it a day... See how much better you shoot "light loads" from your magnum.

Don't handload? Buy a Lee Loader and a scale instead of another rifle and call it good; or sell your magnum and your .308win, if both are hunting rifles; .30-06 Ackley Improved will do all you might ever want.

In the years I hunted in Alaska (early 70's to late 90's) I've used 300WM, 375HH 35 Whelan and 3006.
As the years went by it seemed that the only rifle I used was the 3006. 700 Remington, Brown Precision stock, 20" barrel. Scope and open sights (had a scope fail once on a bear hunt). Weight with scope around 6 1/2 pounds. My load was 180 Nosler Partition and 48gn IMR 4064.
A major factor was weight but also never lost an animal. Can't be specific but with the 3006 probably 8 to 10 moose, a number of caribou, 2 sheep, grizzly bear.
I would reiterate what's been said before--shot placement.

As I am not taking any rifle to Alaska for next months moose hunt, due to the "hassle factor", the guide has a few to choose from. He is recommending the 300RUM but I might go with something smaller. We'll see how things shake out.

.270? Nah, gotta have a .458 as this is Alaska!