Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Heimo vs. Remington Bob

Today, I decided to throw out a long term battle that happens up in Squarebanks that has existed as long as people have hunted with small bows and arrows vs. large spears. We have two older fellers that have developed very deep levels of experience and both are almost reticent to get going but once they getting going they really go. Both individuals never go online. Both individuals are not into chassis rifles or the 6.5 creedmoor. I believe that I know both of them and that they would let this discussion play out. Why I am writing it here is to see what people think and to understand some of the different notions held by two extremely reasonable individuals.

Heimo Korth is very famous. Not so much amongst a lot of readers of gun magazines but he makes enough money from being a reality television star to continue to fly out to his trapline on the Coleen river. He is able to fly back and forth much more often because his producers and film crew need to get their groceries. He comes through SW and gets his 22-250, 44Rem mag, 22lr and 12 gauge ammo and maybe socks. He has everything else that he could need so he doesn't buy much for stuff. He does buy fishing lures and fishing combos which seem to need replacing faster than other things.
Heimo does make it a point to go to the guncounter and discuss with the young guys who arguably don't know much about guns other than mbrs(black rifles-ar15clones) which they know some things about that all you need for the backcountry is a 22-250 with a reasonable scope. Heimo and his wife Edna take caribou, moose and bear with their rifles. They live in country where there are opportunities for good open shots and unless its a bear DLP situation where they use 12 gauge and 44 mag they really don't see the need for bigger rifles. They place the bullets right in the right spot from a pretty close range and will do a quick followup shot if necessary. They really are never trophy hunting but hunt for meat. Living in the high Arctic many times animals seem to go down quickly from hydrostatic shock. Much more than in more temperate areas. However, sometimes if the animal doesn't go down quickly its a real S*&^^Show. Heimo's experience seems to provide info for him that bullet placement is key and he uses almost force of violence putting as much lead into problem bears that might pose a threat.

Bob Bowman is an old retired bear guide/gunsmith who lives on an old homestead outside of Fairbanks. He is not very famous now but he used to be a decent gunsmith and worked as an advisor to Kimber of Oregon. He loves Pre-64 Winchesters and hates Remingtons of all sorts. He even will push out mossberg shotguns just in general principle. Because it bothers him many call Bob Remington Bob behind his back. Bob comes in daily and spends probably two to three hours looking at the same guns reading all of the magazines in the store without purchasing a thing. We once had a celebration when we convinced Bob to buy a Mora Companion knife for 12.00 because it was the only thing we ever saw him buy in 5 years of working part time at the store.

Bob is a very agreeable guy. He has bad eyes and very strongly believes that rust bluing rifles contributed to his loss of vision. Bob likes big 1886 Winchesters as well as Pre-64 Model 70s. His mantra is always functionality. A rifle has to be able to function in any situation. The Pre-64s had coned breeching that he felt made them accurate and a bolt that could be fixed in the fly. He believes that the 338 Win Mag and the 375 HH in Pre64 Model 70s were the best guns ever made and completely necessary for work in the backcountry. A strong proponent of Elmer Keith, Bob believes that good placement and functionality are pivotal. Bob hunted in more riparian environments where a moose or bear could be easily lost if its not dead right there. He doesn't use that language but talks of animals taking a "dirt nap" In Bob's environment its often very much a snap shot taken quickly and Bob believes that scopes bigger than 4X are worthless. Bob believes that if you don't develop the shooting ability to handle one of the bigger calibers that you probably shouldn't go out into the backcountry.

Bob has shot many Grizzly's at his old homestead, shot a lot of moose up different sloughs and figures that he guided north of 100 grizzly hunts. Bob likes old double rifles and Belgian shotguns. Bob supposedly has an incredible collection of Pre64 Winchesters and has deep insight into the different Model 70 dealers and the collectors from various areas. Bob also knows a tremendous amount about mauser rifles and european drillings. One of the funniest things to see is when you hand bob a Tikka Chassis rifle. He looks it over closely and visibly is nauseated. Bob is generally always in the store when Heimo comes in. They acknowledge each other for about 5 minutes and then go to war.

Bob tells Heimo that he will eventually get whats coming to him. Heimo tells Bob that he is a dimestore cowboy. They really like their adversarial relationship and I believe that Heimo comes in to the store not to really buy anything but to look for Bob to argue with. Bob I believe hangs around the store with hopes that Heimo will be coming through.

So in looking at this discussion, I really am looking for more of these types of campfire chatter. These are the debates that I feel were interesting growing up and they aren't as common now. I know I am throwing bombs. But realistically, I miss this type of discussion. I figure that it might be interesting to Gunwriters. I miss Phil's articles. He was always into these discussions. Of course, Phil pops up into this conversation. Probably more on the side of Heimo than on Bob. Just wondering if other folks have stories of long winded disagreements that never devolve into swearing, or name calling but can occupy more useful study than a lot of junk that goes into magazines today.

Sincerely,
Thomas

Very interesting! I've known of Heimo for years and always watch "The Last Alaskans". I think Heimo is the last of a dying breed. I've heard one of Heimo's daughters say he just uses plain old Federal 55's in that .22-250 for all big game in the Wildlife Refuge!

Thanks for this snap shot. If you hadn’t written this down, it might have been lost and forgotten.

Most of that low hanging fruit has been hashed out on the interweb in the first 10 years of the Hunting/Guns websites. Apparently you missed out on some great Savage vs Remington threads over on Accurate Reloading years ago.

You could bring up the subject of measuring Case Head Expansion, there might be some life left in that discussion..........

68, great read, I enjoyed it very much...

Good stuff. I try to watch The Last Alaskans whenever I can.

Kabok -

Thanks for the synopsis. I’m familiar with Heimo & Edna. Don’t remember hearing about Bob.
I’ve read enuff JOC—-E K. I prefer Heimo, catch my drift ?

IYAM (if u ask me) we have plenty of that type of, umm discussion I guess U can say, here on the fire.
I like fast & flat. Can’t tolerate SOFTBALL trajectory.

If I lived or hunted in dangerous game territory I’d have 338 WM at least. I already have a 300 WM & 8 RM. I’m old enuff it’s too late to change my mind. You said, “ these conversations WERE interesting...”. Nothing has developed to change either premise.

If/When you see Heimo, please tell him THEY have admirers in the South and we are SADDENED at the LOSS of Mr Bob Harte !!

Thank You Very Much

Jerry

We know where the OP’s allegiances lie.

I’m just the opposite. If you think you need a .338 Win Mag or .375 H&H to make chit die, I’d say you can’t shoot.

Being able to take a good punch doesn’t mean someone is a good boxer. Being able to land punches at will is a different story.

I know them both, appreciate hearing their experiences and opinions. But Thomas knows me pretty well

IDK I think I straddle the fence. I have many larger caliber rifles but I have been hunting with my smaller to medium bore rifles quite a bit. I shot probably more than 150 caribou and 2 or three moose when I was teaching in Ambler with a Remington 788 22-250. They had quite liberal caribou limits and I was invited to go along a lot. I had the first big bearcat out in that village. It was the last time I was able to take my entire middle school class hunting and we needed to get enough caribou so that several of the older ladies could teach the students how to cut up caribou the traditional way. I started with many bigger 300 Winnies and 338s when I was younger. I went through a 30/06 stage and now I am shooting my Nosler 26 and 28 more and more. I just find the old conversations and arguments interesting. I don't think that many hunters would aim right at the head but you do that alot if you don't care about horn size.

I really enjoy the last Alaskan series have seen every episode made more than once. yes there in a place for larger cartridges used in a rifle sometimes ,I too like pre64 model 70 Winchester and own few including a 338 Alaskan model 70,also a model 71 348.my favorite rifles will always be Ruger no.1`s to hunt with in the lower 48, my favorite caliber is a 257 Weartherby mag. >Now back to Alaska I wished I could afford to go moose hunting with either Heimo or Ray on last Alaskan or maybe the new young man who has been on it lately ? and yes I would use either a300 win.mag or a 338 win. mag for moose even caribou just because I would bring only one type of cartridges for 2 rifles of the same caliber.>> I also enjoyed the read in this post too,thanks for taking the time to write and post it. Pete53

The Last Alaskans is one of my favorites of the reality shows, along with Mountain Men. I'd love to meet some of those people and talk to them about their experiences. I know Heimo knows that he's doing, and has been doing it long enough that he doesn't need someone like me commenting on his choice of a rifle. Though I'm a fan of rifles that shoot flat and don't kick much, I'd want something more than a 22-250 if I was traipsing around in bear country.

Thomas - I don't know either of those folks, but I enjoyed the heck out of your post.

Thanks! Guy

x2

For those that like the last Alaskans...before the realty TV show there was a National Geographic special. I watched one as a kid called “Braving Alaska” which featured Heimo and Edna, as well as others. A must see for Last Alaskan fan, inspired me so much as kid, it led to me calling AK home for 10 yrs when I flew the nest. Uncle Sam helped me out as well.

There was also a semi-biography about Heimo and his family called “The Final Frontiersman” which is a good read.

I used to have "Braving Alaska" on VHS. That was my first exposure to Heimo.

My wife and I are huge fans of Heimo and Edna. The Last Alaskan's show is one of the very few shows we even watch.

As TomM1 stated, Braving Alaska and The Last Frontiersman are must have's.

I enjoyed reading "The Final Frontiersman" if I remember correctly the writer was a distance cousin of Heimo and had a hard time convincing him to have his story told. Now years later he is a natural on TV.

Enjoyed the OP's account! As we all know, (well most of us) there is more than one way to skin a cat. Thanks for posting.

.22-250 vs. .375 H&H Magnum? I come out somewhere in the middle.I'd be out there with a .30-06. How boring I know!

Would not argue caliber choice with any of them. They know what works. I watch the Last Alaskans but find it sad that the lifestyle is on the way out.