Well, if I was to go to Alaska I wouldn't necessarily be hunting bear but wouldn't rule it out. That was part of my dilemma, a second shot. Which is why I was thinking of a 375 H&H bolt, which is becoming hard to find. If I were to use a single shot on bear I would do some serious shooting to make the re-load a natural motion and make sure it would be a muscle memory action. I have it somewhat down with my 45-70 using dummy shells. Definitely need the tang safety trimmed as this hangs up the shells even with an 06'
The muscle memory thing is important even with a bolt gun. Let the rifle fling the brass away in practice, just as it will in hunting. And learn to give the #1 a helpful tip when you eject if it wants to rebound the brass for you. (Those bears cost me some lost brass,
but brass of any flavor can be cheap relative to the situation.
)
FWIW, all three animals pictured above got more (but didn't necessarily need more) than a single shot. In two of them, a faster reload wouldn't have helped at all in making number two; in the other, the second shot could not have immediately been placed in the animal even with an autoloader, it was "spin and gone" at the slightly misplaced shot.
(I had two rifles along on the second bear, both purchased from Campfire members
. I left the heavier bolt action 358 Norma close to a mile away across deep, heavy tundra, choosing the more svelte #1-S instead for the trek.)
The cartridge is certainly up to the task (and its shape helps to point the correct end into the chamber even under stress.)
The rifles seem more than capable of reliable functioning.
If anything, it seems that the #1 / cartridge combo can help one stay focused on what can easily be the weak link: the "flesh and blood" part of the equation. Know your part and do it well.