Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Opinions on .243 as a grizzly cartridge

I've shot my 700 fast at elk escaping in fog. It was more of an excited mistake than skill, but the rifle ran like a Singer. The trigger froze up once in freezing rain, but it was fixed in the field. I think I read the extractors rarely fail if kept clean.

I killed the grizzly in the photo posted earlier with a Remington 700, and had to shoot rapidly a couple more times even though the first shot was fatal--going through both lungs and the top of the heart. But had used that action (a stainless "short-action magnum") for close to 1000 rounds, and it had already proven itself on a couple dozen big game animals, from above the Artic Circle to dusty Texas. Oh, and I always made sure it was well-maintained.

Might also mention that Ross Seyfried, who I got to know pretty well when he was still in the gun-writing business, used a 700 .416 Remington Magnum as PH in Africa....

Yep…that was my first thought when watching the video and I’m glad they discussed it at the end. Probably the worst situation for that hunt that could happen.

Whatever.

There are easy fixes to prevent a 700 bolt handle from breaking off--though I've fired over 20,000 rounds from various 700s and never had it happen.

Have also been with other shooters who fired around 80,000 rounds. Now, most of those were smaller cartridges, often 223s and similar stuff. But perhaps amazingly, have never seen a bolt come off or an extractor break. On the other hand, have seen "controlled-feed" extractors jump over the rim of fired cases and leave 'em in the chamber.

Almost anything can happen with ANY bolt-action, but have found well-maintained (and tested) push-feed actions to be very reliable. As did Ross.

The biggie is to thoroughly test 'em beforehand, and keep 'em clean.

I know a guy who deliberately took a .260 Remington to Alaska to hunt grizzly, and got a big boar with one chest shot. Can't remember the bullet, but know it wasn't a monolithic, and might even have been some sort of target bullet. But he's a professional hunter and very fine shot.

I seem to remember an Outdoor Life writeup 10-20 years ago of an impressively tough female hunting guide in Alaska named Heidi Gutfrucht (sp?).

I vaguely remember her favoring a 25-06 as a Grizzly cartridge although she switched to a 45-70 lever gun when she was backing up clients later in her career.

The upshot of her experience, which was wide and decades long, was that most common deer cartridges could kill a Grizzly, but stopping one that was intent on killing you was an entirely different matter.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...-had-a-bolt-handle-break-off#Post8557447

Help yourself. I'll pass.

Then he shoots one with a 9m/m pistol!

I seem to remember an Outdoor Life writeup 10-20 years ago of an impressively tough female hunting guide in Alaska named Heidi Gutfrucht (sp?).

I vaguely remember her favoring a 25-06 as a Grizzly cartridge although she switched to a 45-70 lever gun when she was backing up clients later in her career.

The upshot of her experience, which was wide and decades long, was that most common deer cartridges could kill a Grizzly, but stopping one that was intent on killing you was an entirely different matter.

I met Heidi and got to talk to her quite a bit when I spent time in rifle maker D'Arcy Echols' booth at the Federation of North American Wild Sheep convention over 20 years ago. She used her .25-06 as her personal hunting rifle for everything, including grizzlies and bull moose. But she was thinking about getting a bigger rifle for grizzly back-up even then, after a couple of clients proved they couldn't shoot very well in the field, though they did OK when check-shooting their rifles before the hunt.

Lmao Better to be lucky than smart. Just like duffus in the video.

I know a guy who deliberately took a .260 Remington to Alaska to hunt grizzly, and got a big boar with one chest shot. Can't remember the bullet, but know it wasn't a monolithic, and might even have been some sort of target bullet. But he's a professional hunter and very fine shot.

I'm surprised that nobody's mentioned that Bella Twin, a Canadian woman, shot what was then the B&C record grizzly in 1953 with a .22 rimfire rifle, and she used .22 Longs, not even Long Rifles.

Twenty years ago I hunted musk ox with an Inuit guide in the Northwest Territories named David Ameganik, and he regularly killed polar bears with a .22 rimfire--though he stepped it up a notch and used a .22 Magnum (which he pronounced mag-a-num). He would sneak up within 50 yards amid jumbled ice-pack, and shoot them behind the shoulder once. He said after 10-15 minutes they'd "go to sleep." He didn't want to shoot them with his "big" rifle, a .30-30 Winchester Model 94, because the holes it made were too big, which lowered the value of the pelts.

BC.

Only know that because I remember her name from when I was looking at stone outfitters.

WTF I had done that one when I first started looking 15 years ago. 😬