Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Second rifle choice

Main hunting rifle is 356win, 200gr factory ammo when hunting where no bears 350 kodiaks for hunting where bears are. When hunting alpine or other area's where range may be longer, 30.06 180 trophy bonded federal ammo, occasionally 220's. Plus a 348 with 250 woodleiaghs when in the mood.

Ray Quote, {"The .375 H&H is more popular in the coastal areas, by Anchorage and Kodiak for example, but not so much toward the interior with moose and caribou hunters. In fact, the .30-06, .300WM, and .338WM outnumber all other hunting cartridges in Alaska." [/quote]

True this, as far as power/weight ratio 30-06 with a heavy bullet will do it for you. But the 375 H&H is such a fine rifle. Mine is a Sako but it's blue, so I used it maybe 1/3 of the time. My 338 WM is a stainless Ruger and I used it the other 2/3 due to being stainless. I read an article by Phil Shoemaker years ago where he talked about converting a Ruger stainless 338WM to 375 H&H by removing the bolt stop, maybe setting it back I think that would be just about perfect, after you rebore the barrel. I would still love to do that. My Sako was popular with me because they aren't real heavy like the Stainless Winchester mod 70 classic. I've had several of them but they are heavier than I want to carry. Even cut them down to 20" but the didn't ballance well that way. Pick one or two and use them. If it's stainless you will probably use it more. If you want to be a one rifle guy 338 or 375 for the majority. Goat, sheep, Caribou 30-06 works just fine and a proper weight. Again a Ruger Stainless Mk II. Maybe Phil will jump in here.

Maybe 40 years ago and back that meant something ......

Still does. The man that shoots one gun all the time is very proficient with it.

Its one reason I'm so good with my old 308 bolt... I shot it a LOT, know it inside and out etc..

Right now I"m getting awful good with a 300/221 wiht a can to its max distance....

The folks that swap around a lot, well I can and they can, but you are never quite as good typically

I can't say this is absolutely untrue, but having known a lot of "one gun guys" I've never seen one that was more than a passable shot. In my experience, guys that can really shoot have inevitably been guys that enjoy shooting and that means that they've invested in the shooting sports--primarily their time, but also arms, ammo and accessories.

I've never witnessed an exception to this, though I hear/read about their proficiency all the time......

I only have and use one big game rifle (Ruger .338WM), but all I have hunted in Alaska is moose. Maybe I have been lucky, since I have never missed a shot with it, except for this moose season. But then, a friend of mine missed a shot with his one-gun battery 7mm Magnum

Maybe I am wrong, of course, but I figure that if one has only one hunting rifle, one has a good chance to become more proficient with that rifle. Regardless of being good or bad with it, nothing guarantees that one is going to have a moose standing out there, broadside and waiting to be shot, so maybe it's just good luck (?).

Then there is the possibility that one or more rifles makes no difference. Not everyone is a good shot, regardless of how many rifles one has. Besides, how good of a shot a moose hunter should be when most shots are taken within 100-150 yards? I know a guy who calls his moose around 30-50 yards, sometimes closer. He uses a .45-70 with iron sights.

The 338 is a fantastic medium bore.

I really like mine. It's a Ruger 77 MK-II, but I replaced the stock and trigger when I bought it in the early '90s. back then I paid $250.00 for a new Leupold vary-X III 2.5-8x scope, and have hunted moose with it each season. It does very well with 250-grain NOS and Swift A-Frame, but I have settled on the 225-grain TTSX (very accurate with this bullet). Have killed moose with NOS, the old 230-grain FS, the A-Frame above, and 225-grain TSX, but not with the TTSX since I started using it this year.

Have been looking at the Ruger Hawkeye Safari version, except that I don't like wood stocks. The rifle is just about right in length and weight, but if I buy it a friend of mine will re-finished with a layer of CeraCoat, and I will replace the stock with a synthetic one.

Get a good Hoyt Charger and learn how to shoot it. It will open up opportunities in a lot of areas.

I have seen a couple of the Africans here locally. You can get a Ultimate Shadow and make some mods on it like, get rid of the lame stock and cut the barrel down to 24 inches. 338s are great. Even a 340 wby or 338 can be housed comfortably in a 24" gun. I'd like to put togeather another 340 in a 24" M70. I absolutely prefer a 338 win mag or 340 over a 300 When choosing a medium bore, especially if a someone already owns a 308 or 30-06.

If you own a 30/06, you do not need a second rifle..... unless you want a 350 Mag!

...........Your 1st choice in cartridge should depend on what game you are hunting at the time.

Imo, and since you already own a 30-06, I see little benefit in acquiring a 300 Win.

Simple solution if it were me given the rounds you mention;

For big bears and moose, either the 375 Ruger or H&H as the 1st choice.

Sheep and goats, the 30-06 as the 1st choice.

I agree. Again, for the life of me I don't know why whenever a guy wants a medium bore and owns a 30-06, people try to talk him out of getting a 338 and into a 300. You will always want and be curious about the 375 so why not fuel the hunger and get a 338 or 340.

I am kinda partial to the 375 wby now.

30-06
338 win mag
375 H&H

I don't see the 300 mag of any sort in that list.....

It would be real easy to 'do it all' with a 223 and a 300 Win Mag. But with a 30-06 already, there really is no need for the 300. But again, I'd consider carefully factors other than what the chamber digests before I worried about what kind of ammo I needed to feed it. A big rifle (338/358/375) is generally an extra unless you're specifically involved the the habitual taking of big bears - or you're just plain looney. (If the latter, you probably need to own at least one 308, 30-06, 300 H&H, 300 Win Mag, and a couple 30-30 levers - in different makes, of course; and that's just the 30 cal stuff! )

I too started with a 30-06 for my first riffle.
Then I moved up to a BBR 338 mag in 1984 for larger big game
Shot many loads from 225 -275grains and settled on the 250 grain

If I could pick again it I would go bigger ..... 375 H&H mag. using 270 grain

Maybe I am loony, its just that this last moose season, every road or cut line I was on had a Grizz tracks on it and he was Big !

Rifles used last five seasons? 260, two different .30-06s, and a .338 (carried but not killed with, unlike the other 3.)

One nice thing about the .30-06/.375 combo is 180 gr and the 270 bullets, Respectively, have, the same exact trajectories. With a 200 yard zero, both are very close to 8, 24, 48 inches low at 300,400,500 yards. Easy to remember!

Here's an option, and on a Model 70 action. What more could you ask for . . . . .


https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/10556276/Re:_375_&_416_Ruger_Cu#Post10556276

That is entirely understandable. I'd want to be packing a 375 as well...