Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles If you could hunt every NA big game animal...........

At this point in my life, if I had to choose just one, I would choose MM's option above: .270 Winchester and a 130 gr Nosler Partition. Via the LH Stiller / Lilja #2 combination being assembled by my gunsmith right now...

6.5 Jap. 156 grain Norma ORYX.

Japanese, you racist bastard.

.308 or 30-06 with a mid-weight T/TSX would work for me.

I can't help myself, since there have been several misconceptions already posted here.

First, moosemike, Grancel Fitz did not shoot everything in North American with 180 Silvertips from his .30-06. He used lighter bullets for some of the deer hunting, and 220 Core-Lokts on heavier stuff.

Somebody also posted that he was a "school teacher." No, he was an advertising executive in New York City.

If you want to read about his adventures (and know what he used) buy a copy of his book, NORTH AMERICAN HEAD HUNTING.

Well I stand corrected on a few points but that doesn't change the basis of the thread. I should have freshened up my memory on Fitz first. It's been several years.

Well I believe Basil Bradbury did it with one load.

Years ago, in prick cop school, I made an A in "Racist Bastid Comments".

J.Y.Jones did it with a .30/06 and wrote a book about his hunts called "One Man,One Rifle,One Land."

That is probably first choice for me, but I do like the 338 WM with 250's NP

Easy to point out the "one" for everything, hard to determine why we bother with everything else.

Conundrum wrapped in a mystery......

Either a 308, or most likely a 30-06, with 168TTSX.

My .30-06Spr.Loaded with the toughest bullet it shot best...The next on my list would be the .270Win w/good Handloads...ScottyO.

What kind of accuracy do you see with the 200 grain accubonds?

How do they do a little ways out? 4-600?

A .338 WM would probably make more sense but I would do it with my .300 Weatherby Accumark and 180 grain Partitions.

I have a great deal of confidence with the 270 and would use it if I didn't have anything else. Has anybody here heard of Hoseah Sarber, the expert bear guide and hunter who ended up getting killed when he went into the brush with his 270 Win? Better bullets now but a lot of mental play from behind keyboards.

Unimak is not like other places. Think of it as the island in King Kong. They are really big bears. Sure it is open ground and you can shoot from 200 yards. But that bear will see you too.

Afognak or SE Alaska also has some really tight brush.

Heavy 30/06 has worked forever. However, has anybody read Elmer Keith's Rifles for Big Game. The 338 came into being because of failures on Brown Bears with 06.

You owe it to the animal to use rifles with enough knockdown power. Somebody is going to say yeah I can do it like Fred Bear, Charles Sheldon or Karamojo Bell. I have gone hunting with a 30/30 or with a 22-250 or a 26 nosler but I wasn't looking to take a very large bear with any of those rifles. Out of the three I would probably pick the 30/30 with 190 grain round nose bullets.
Staged or not this picture gets you thinking....

300 Weatherby, 180gr TTSXs and one would not be under gunned, even for the big bruins.

338 Fed Kimber 84M with 160gn TTSX (3060 fps)

That is a giant of a bear! Is that Mr Sarber in that first picture? BTW I wouldn't stay home either only having a 270 Win especially with great bullets like the 160 gr Partition (I just love those semi spitzer bullets).