Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Appropriate calibres for Grizzlies and/or Coastal Brown Bears

I was wondering if anyone had some advice on appropriate rifle calibres for grizzlies and/or coastal brown bears? I know that these animals range in size quite a bit - up to the salmon gorged monsters, and that it is placement and not energy that is important, but what are good calibres. I have read about guys using .338 win mags, various .375's, .416's etc. but what is a practical minimum? Would a .300 winnie or weatherby with premium bullets be a bit light? I don't want to prove something (like the guys who use .44mags for polar bears..), but I also don't want to a buy a huge cannon just to feel macho.

A study by the US Forest Service on firearms for self defense at close range found only a few suitable in practice for large bears:

.458 Win Mag with with 22-inch barrel
.375 H&H with 300-gr bullets in barrels down to 20 inches.
.375 H&H with 270-gr bullets at 2,500 fps
.444 Marlin with 270-gr bullet at 2,300 fps
.338 Win Mag with 250+ grain bullet.
.30-06 with 220-gr bullets down to 2250 fps
.30-06 with 180-gr bullets - this was the bottom end.

They tested common hunting rifles found in Alaska up to .460 Weatherby Magnum, with commercial ammunition found in stores, fired into a 50/50 mix of wet silt and sawdust, and evalutated for recoil control, followup shots, bullet penetration, retained weight, and actual incidents.

Geeman,

The outfit I worked for always suggested .30 caliber and it makes sense when you have seen the ability to soak up lead some bears possess. Since you are a non resident for the state of AK you will be required to have a guide with you in your pursuit of a brown bear. He will have an adequate "stopper" caliber so your choice of a .300 win. or a .300 Wby. seems like a very good choice, both good general purpose rounds with lots of useful apps due to the great availability of various weight .30 caliber bullets. Have a great hunt practice with your .300 whatever flavor and you and your guide will prolly both be very happy with your choice. 1ak

I used a 300WM for backing up bear shooters for years... would not hesitate on anything 30-06 or better with good bullets.
art

I think good bear guns start with the .30 06 and up through the various .30mags. Bigger guns like the .338 & .375 work great if you can shoot them. With todays premium bullets its no trick to get good penetration and performance. I have shot two moutain grizzlys..one with a .338/210 noslers and one with a .300 win./200grX. The .338 killed quicker than the the .300 but the Barnes bullet went through the chest and opened little and the bear took a while to die. (in hindsight if I busted that bear through the shoulders I believe he would have died and been anchored sooner) I have seen two coastal browns killed with .300s Weatherby and Win. and both got dead pretty fast. Both were killed with 200gr Noslers.

The main thing is bring what you are the most comfortable with and have the confidence to reallly place your shot. I think the worst thing to do would buy a new rifle for the hunt and go right to it. I would have a rifle/scope for at least two years before taking it on a brown bear hunt. As for black bears I have killed them with both the .338 and .300. They got dead pretty quick. My wife killed a large BC black bear at close range with her 7X57 mauser and 160 noslers. One shot and it ran about 30 yards. If you hit them good with any of the above you should have your bear with no problems.

have fun,

Lefty

Geeman, I know a man who lives near me who is retired from the U.S. Park Service, Law Enforcement end, who worked in Alaska for many years. He told me that he had killed 33 Grizzly bears, designated as "problem bears" over the years he was in Alaska... working mainly in Denali Nat'l Park.

I asked him what rifles he used? He said either a .350 Rem. Magnum, or a .338 Win. Mag. He said he also killed "a few" with a .30-06. Plus, he said he killed one Griz that charged him, using his S&W .44 Magnum revolver, when he didn't know the Griz was there. He said the revolver was all he had at that moment. Said it scared the Hell out of him!

All ammo was factory ammo.

FWIW. L.W.

LW
I smell some seriously sensational stretching of reality... Guy I was speaking with recently that was a bear biologist working in Denali commented on how extraordinarily rare it is for them to be forced into shooting bears in Denali. We were discussing Herrero's edits in his bear book which caused it to come up in conversation. His number was way less than your neighbor's claim and that would be assuming he shot 'em all...

Not to be a butthead, but I would be suspicious...
art

Also, the 375 was the whacker of choice in the department...

Well, FWIW, when the time comes that I hunt a brownie or griz, I will be toting my SUCKS SS in 338RUM.

I bought it specifically for that purpose in mind.

Load/bullet selection is easy......250 Nosler Partition loaded to over 2900 should do the trick. Mine shoots RL25 and the 250 NP REAL well.

Tony

Tony
Just got watch a Kodiak bear getting two Partitions delivered last week. Was taking photos the whole time, catching hot brass on the tube of my new telephoto lens... While they were 300gr, .375 bullets I suspect yours will do about the same thing these did, including a complete passthrough on a THS.
art

Sitka,

That must have been a blast to watch.

Good sized ?

Tony

Tony
Yeah, the holes were good-sized! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Bear was full-grown, sow, gorgeous hide... but probably just under 8'. Did not get a real tape on it, but it was exactly what we thought it was at almost every step.

couple of pictures here

art

Sitka, perhaps you're right, as I had no way to check it out... but he seemed mighty genuine to me. I know he was there for a long time, and I believe he was working there when it was still McKinley Park, then became Denali ... but am not sure.

Over these many years, I've got to be fairly good at cutting through b.s. hunting stories, but I could still be fooled. As I said, he sounds genuine. I'll see if I can get some more info.

L.W.

Anyone use a 35 Whelen?


Okie John

John

The Whelen, with heavy for caliber bullets, 270gr North Fork,275gr Hawk,280gr Swift A-frame, or 310gr Woodleigh, would be an excellent choice for bears.The only caveat would be to have a quicker twist rate, say a one in 14" or one in 12", but most factory Whelens have a one in 16" rate.

I find this odd, since my Browning BLR in .358 win has a one in 12" rate, but thats how the maufacturers do it. I have a Whelen barrel for my savage 110 and it has a one in 14" rate and i want to try the 270gr North Fork.

An even better cartridge would be the 358 Norma mag(338win mag necked up to 35 cal) or for real horsepower the 358 STA.

I know that Phil Shoemaker(premier bear guide) has a 35 whelen but i dont know if he uses it for back up or for hunting.

If it was me id go with a 300 win or bigger. Your weatherby in 300 is great. A friend guided for yrs and loved his 300 h&h.
Personnally ive opted for the 8mm Remington magnum. A friend got charged by a Kodiak bear and one shot was all he had, it dropped at about 5 ft from him, he had a 8mm mag. Plenty of stories like that with almost all calibers.
338 is great and ammo is always handy, same with most 30 caliber. If you have a guide with a backup rifle a 30-06 will do but id consider it the mininum.Good luck. Also if a scoped rifle i wont go for high power,but assume u know that.

FWIW:

Everything I have ever read indicates that a 300 Mag with good bullets is fine for hunting grizzlies. The guide will have a "stopping" gun.

If left to my own devices, I would choose the 350 remmington mag. Not becuase it is "better" than another caliber, but because it would be a great excuse to build a "Lion Scout."

BMT

Thankyou everyone for your replies. My planned bear hunt is still a year or two away but for me the planning is half the fun - asked this question as am planning a 'bigger' calibre addition to my gunsafe (than my 7mm-08 anyway) but since we have just bought a house I wanted to make sure it will do for my hunts in the foreseeable future - I reckon that with my 7mm-08 Kimber and a .300 or .338 I should be quite well covered - I'd like to hunt Gemsbok in Namibia and sheep and Bear in Alaska.
With similar rifles (weight and fit), what do you think the perceived recoil comparison would be between a .338 Win and .300 win or .300 weatherby? I'm reasonably slight of build but not overly recoil sensitive.

recoil is as follows: (Assuming all guns have similar stock and fit for you)

300 Win mag least

300 Wby, middle

338 Winnie, most.

If you go to Africa and AK, get the 300 Winnie. I hear that it will be just fine and will be most available.

BMT

Geeman
I have shot oryx, brown bear and sheep with the 300Wm and would never feel undergunned with it in North America.
art