Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rebuild or Replace? Mossberg 4x4 30.06

Fluffy +1

Great pictures. I'm going to have to break down and sign up for a photobucket acct. or something so I can post some. That sow is a toad. How is your deer hunting up there?

from what I have heard the deer hunting is more like deer harvesting down south but never did get a chance to go there and give it a try. one of my plans for when I get back

Are you kidding? Come hunt California Blacktail. If you can find a good one before the lions eat it you're doing well.
That's an invitation, but I'll be bugging you to hunt an Alaskan bear! Be safe and get back to the happy hunting grounds ASAP

Big Iron Tell you what. You plan a nice black tail hunt and I will set you up on a black bear hunt in AK. I will supply the hunting site (its a active bait site and had great results this year). Plan on staying in AK for 3-4 Days in the field (tops). How does 2013 spring sound to you?

Sounds great to me. I'll take you up on it.. I've got a great Blacktail place for you. A week long hunt and you'll have a nice buck. I didn't pull the trigger on one there this year because a bear got in the way :), but my buddy doubled on 5x5's there this year.

BearKiller thank you for serving or country! Kawi. If I may add deal with what you have ( some good thoughts given) it is a good rifle.

Sounds like a plan I have a few 6FT+ bears that were on and around my site last year and they should be getting bigger by the time you make it to AK

As kawi said, thank you for your service. As manyhave said, look at the Rugers which can also be had in a lh riffle and should fit your budget just fine. Not a lightweight but a smaller scope can shave a few ounces

I'm not a real big time bear hunter.. but as I use to listen to guys argue all the time back in the Mid West of what was best as a short range brush rig, this caliber, or this type of rifle etc... I came to the conclusion, while they are arguing all of these different aspects... that a good old 12 gauge was hard to beat, loaded with good old slugs..

for bear hunting in Alaska, I always hear that is a short range affair also..I am sure I am missing something, so could you boys please "edjamacate" me on what I am missing?

Seafire, the thing with shot guns are a lot of the shots we take on black bears are usually sub 80 yd shots (most of us hunt over a bait site from a stand) and with running a slug you tend to have a TON of hydroshock to the meat (black bear is delicious meat). Brown bears on average are taken between 80+ yards and have very hard bone matter so shot placement is key. I myself love the my .06 due to the fact that I can minimize hide damage (for mounts), minimize meat damage and ensure pin point precision when pulling the trigger. Same goes for brown bears as I just wouldn't feel comfortable taking a shot with a slug @ 80+ yards (we cant hunt brown bears over bait so 99% of the time its spot and stalk hunts for them in the areas I hunt). Many people say a .06 is too small for brown bears but I beg to differ (as do many of my counterparts who have dropped them with a smaller caliber round). Shot placement is key (go read the book The Alaskan Wolfman about Frank Glasser where several times he dropped browns with .220 swift plus the book is amazing to read either way.)

BearKiller. I was thinking about your new bear gun today. You know, if I were up there and looking for the perfect rifle for what you do, it would probably wind up a stainless Ruger or Winchester. I'm left handed too. I haven't hunted with right hand bolts but a couple times and I can tell you, once you get used to a left hand bolt you'll never go back.

I love my Winchesters, problem is they're really hard to come by in a LH bolt because they only made them about 8 or 10 years I think.

I'd keep the Mossberg, but I was thinking. When you get back you can probably pick up a Stainless LH Ruger pretty cheap. I agree with you about the 30-06, if you're good enough, its probably good enough and the guns are a little more handy than the .300's. I can't remember if I've seen .338 Winchester Mags in the 77 lefties.

Find a used stainless 77 or Hawkeye up in 30-06, a $200 B&C stock with some open sights. I'd throw on a 2.5x8 VX3 and I think you'd have yourself and great all around gun and be somewhere around $1000 into it total.

I'm gonna keep my eye out on GB for a great deal on a used lefty, stainless Ruger. If I find one I'll stash it in the safe in case you want it when you get back.

Mike PM sent

BK,

I am a real big fan of an 06 with a 220 grain RN or a 220 grain SMP Partition...running in the 2500 to 2600 fps MV range...

I also run a mean load with that bullet out of a 300 Mag with an MV of 2950 plus.... yeah, it is probably over factory specs..but it does a stout job on what it hits...

at 80 yds or less, I am pretty much a round nose fan for max performance out of a non premium bullet..

BK

check out page 49 of this ad...

it is for left handed Stainless Rugers...

thought you might like to peruse it at your convenience if a leftie Ruger is in your thoughts..

Seafire you should check out the winchester XP3's they are spot on for performance and penetration both my bears were clean through kills with very minimal hydroshock. I had less than 3lbs of hydroshock meat

BK,

I am strictly a handloader unless it is rimfire ammo.... and only because ya can't reload that...

plus I always seem to fall into the 'old school' philosophy crowd....

Sounds about like me, though I usually go through a box or two of factory fodder before the handloads, just to free up some brass. The only exception to that so far is my Marlin 30-06. For that one I started with new brass and it's only ever been fed handloads.

I go with the old school too. Not quite cup and core old school, I have loaded and shot many variations of bullets but for hunting I always come back to the tried and true Nosler Partitions. They give accuracy plenty good enough for hunting purposes and they kill effectively. Good enough for me.

Well AlaskanMatt picked me up a Tikka T3 Stainless LH 30-06 now time to hand the moss 30-06 down to my step son.

Well Bk, that is great news and kudos to Matt....