Hey Guys,
Posting this for a friend. He posted the same question on Accuratereloading but for some reason has a problem logging in here these days. I figured I would post it for him and see if I could drum up some responses from the 'fire crowd.
He has a hunt booked in 2009 for a boat based brown bear hunt with his dad. Right now he's looking at using his 300RUM and is looking for the best option for bullet combo.
Any suggestions, comments, etc on the 300RUM as a brown bear gun and the best bullet choice for the task? Obviously something in the A-frame, TSX, North Forks, Woodleigh, etc crowd.....but any suggestions/etc would be great. He is not a reloader but is thinking of having his ammo loaded especially for the hunt.
Comments?

Yes.

Proficiency with the rifle will be far more important than which one among good bullets he selects. Tell him to practice shooting from awkward positions in the rain. And shooting at short range and very short range. I'm just guessing here about your friend, but most people with 300 magnums of any description tend to mostly shoot them at longer ranges. Knowing bullet trajectory at 30 feet may be more important than knowing it at 300 yards.

And he needs to make sure everything will still work after a week of sideways rain and dragging it in and out of skiffs and through alders and along rocky beaches and all the other joys of hunting bears on the beach.

Just some thoughts beyond bullets... .

DN

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/1921721/page/1/fpart/1

300 RUM was used on this fall Kodiak brown bear.

A wise man that used to post here used to say something to the effect of...

Placement, boolit, caliber.

Wise words, them.

YMMV! Hint there!

Seems like a 200 Swift or 240 Woodleigh might be well suited.

bullet placement is all that counts.

Exactly what I have told him in his decision...

Kinda started a bit of a 'debate' over on Accuratereloading on whether the 300RUM was enough, but he is confident and I've assured him with a good bullet in the right spot, it will do its job well...

If anything, I think the RUM in the light version (30 cal) is a bit too much 30 cal, consequently my thought in using 200 grains on the light end of things. Bears are less impressed by speedy penetrations than are some other animals. As others have said though, in the right place counts for lots as well as does the hole that is "dug."

He is strongly considering the A-frame...

Curious what you guys think of the 200 gr TSX in the 300RUM? My thoughts are it would be a hell of a choice.....

Rack=personally I feel that either a 200 Nozler or a 180 TSX would be a great plenty.

Dober

Those were the first that came to mind....

He's a factory ammo shooter, but he's going to have a specific load worked up for him....right now he's lookin at options for what will work...

I have a buddy who killed a big brown bear with his 300 Weatherby using 200 grain Swift A frames, Can't see why it would be as good in the 300 Ultra.

Britt

Did y'all read the quotes at the end of the newspaper story?

I was "on the scene" when a brownie was killed with a 300 Weatherby and 180 partition. Since we took photo's afterward, the bear seemed pretty dead to me.

I didn't like my experience in taking a nine-footer with a .30 S.A.U.M. and 180 Partitions. I have since gone bigger; .375 and .45-70.

But of course that doesn't make it wrong. Many a bear is taken with a .30.

Taylor

Marc,
What about your experience didnt you like? Just curious....

Marc: When I went I took a 375H&H and a 338... I was happy I had them.

If the bear isn't in a bad mood (rare) and if you hit him just right, the 300 RUM will work fine with heavy, deep penetrating, bullets. However, that sort of critter is why they developed the 375 H&H and the like.

Wayne

He kept absorbing those itty bitty rounds.

Marc

I use the 180gr tsx in my own 300ultramags for elk and moose.Even after destroying a large section of elk spine,the bullet retained all of it's petals and all of it's weight.The maximum diameter of the recovered bullet was .800".That was the only tsx that I have recovered out of the 300 ultramag.Penetration was on average,significantly greater than with heavier partitions that a hunting partner used in his 300wm.

If the first one lacks what it takes for whatever reason - even if it's from a 375 or whatever- then things can get real interesting...........

As Phil says over on the "bear stopper" thread, getting close and placing the shot(s) well are key. I would only add that it is not uncommon even for fellows who seem to have ice in their veins when it comes to killing deer, sheep or goats can get a good case of jitterbugs when it comes time to squeeze or jerk the trigger. It happens. A good reason to get so close you can't miss.

I woudn't hesitate to use my 300RUM on a brownie. Ruraldoc mentioned the 200 A-Frame, also add the 200 Partition, 200 TBBC and the TSX.

Tony

Personally I wouldn't use a 300. Yes it will do the job. But if you get buck fever and your shot isn't perfect you could have a hairy situation on your hands.

I am with Taylor on this one.

To me yes it's shot placement but knockdown power on big bears is critical. IF your near any alders or brush you want to break them down with your first shot. From the Brown Bear guides I know most wouldn't be thrilled with you showing up to hunt with a 300. Not saying all wouldn't but the majority of the guys I know would tell you .338 minimum.

Here is a chart direct from Remingtons sight with factory ammo of a 300 Ultra vs 375 Ultra and remember this is 100 grain more lead.

http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics/printable_version.aspx?data=RS300UM2*PR375UM3


I shot a mountain griz 2 years ago on a moose hunt. I was by myself and it was getting dark. I had hiked in about a 1/2 mile from my 4 wheeler and was watching over a meadow we had seen 5 legal bulls 2 nights prior and my buddies son had shot his first moose. I was wearing the same clothes I had worn when we packed that animal out. I sat there watching until dark and didn't see moose number one which was weird as we always see moose in this spot. ALWAYS. As it is getting dark I put away my spotting scope and load up my pack. Put my headlamp on to walk out in the dark and I see some brown spot moving about 200 yards in front of me. The wind is blowing downhill from me right toward the brown spot. I put my binoculars up and see it's a decent griz coming right toward me. I find a little tree to rest on and squeeze off a round. The bear does a flip and drops in to some brush that is about waist high. I analyze my situation as I am losing daylight fast. I have 2 little ravines with a creek in the bottom of each one I have to cross and at the top of the next ravine should be my bear. I hike down the hill and cross the first one and go up and come down toward the bottom of the next ravine. I stand there with my headlight on analyzing jus where above me this bear should be laying. The brush is thick and over my waist. As I am sitting there looking in my light I see a little twig move in front of my by the creek. I think it is a bird maybe as it was just a flicker of a twig moving.

I am pretty nervous at this point to go the last 25 yards alone in the dark and about that time I see the bears head lift up from the same spot the twig was. I pulled up and squeezed off another round and see him fall again.

Remember I am alone and it is so dark I could barely see the bear in my scope at 3 power at 25 yards . Now the bear is down. I waited about 10 minutes and it got totally dark so I decided to walk out to the 4 wheeler and ride the 4 miles back to the truck and drive out to get a friend for help.

We rode back in the dark and at first light we walked over to the bear. I found that my first shot was perfect. I took out the back half of his front shouldar and lungs were destroyed. I put a whole the size of an orange in this thing. The 375 Ultra did serious damage like it should at 200 yards. But he was still kicking 15 minutes later. He didn't go more than 10 yards but was still kicking. Since I hunt alone alot I decided from that point on I now have my smallest bear gun I will hunt with.

If I had not hit him perfect I could have been in a bad situation.

Just my story and my reason I won't hunt with a 300 anymore.

I have taken a couple moose with a 300 but even on them I noticed a remarkable difference on knockdown on a moose with a 375 versus a 300.

I see this thing is still going....

It's a man's opinion however, that brown bears and grizzly have gotten tougher in recent years. They weren't quite so tuff in the 20's through the 70's. Must be the feed? Aurora? Writer's penchant to proffer hyperbole? Perhaps...

At the least, this thread is far more civil than the BS permeating the common sense on another board chatting about the same topic. Better "quality" and form here, no doubt!

Time to move on, bhtr...it's been fun (and a distraction.) You've a trapline to run...

bhtr

I had a Brown Bear hunter call yesterday and booked a hunt with me. He asked what rifle to bring and I answered as I always do with the question of what rifle he already owns and how much he shoots it. He said his largest rifle was a 300 Win and he had used it on elk and moose and really likes it. I told him that with today's bullets it was all he needed and to just buy a few extra boxes of ammo and to practice shooting with it before he comes up and he would have no problem killing any bear with it.

What will his guide be backing him up with?

Taylor

If my new rifle is done I will be backing him up with a 30-06 and 220 Nosler Partitions.

I am with Phil on this. The advent of the premium bullets that we have today makes the 30 Calibers much more effective...

The bears today are no larger or tougher than the bears of 50 years ago when the 30-06 was by far the most popular rifle carried by Alaskan guides. Andy Simms and Hosea Sarber and a hundred others found nothing wanting with the 30-06 then, and now, with the bullets we have today, the 30-06 is even better.

Contrary to some opinions, guides who recommend 30 calibers for bears do so to insure that they do not have to shoot their client's bears.

ANYONE WHO CLAIMS THE 30-06 IS INNEFFECTIVE HAS EITHER NOT TRIED ONE - OR IS UNINTENTIALLY COMMENTING ON THEIR MARKSMANSHIP.

Phil - I always appreciate good advice from those who have the credentials to know. Thanks, John

The 200 gr. Noslers work just fine in most magnums...Have not used them on bear but did shoot a cape buffalo with one in a 300 H&H, and it worked about like I expected.

Phil

Interested in what kind of new rifle! What kind of a load were you thinking for the 220's?

Who said that the 30-06 was not effective today or 50 years ago.