Like everyone else I am just sharing my thoughts which are based on my 54 years of hunting Alaska. I am well aware of the .223 and it's frequent use on Alaska's game animals, especially by rural Alaskan's who live in big game country year around. I don't expect to change anyone's mind just because I don't embrace it for my Alaskan hunting. My wife's cousin used to be married to the dog musher George Attla. She killed several black bears at their Yukon River fish camp and used a .22 rimfire.
When I came to Alaska in 1965 the .270 Win. and 30-06 were the two calibers of choice. There were a few 300 H&H'S and Springfield's converted to .308 Norma and the brown and polar bear hunting guides that I was acquainted with had Mod. 70's in .375 H&H for big bear hunts. I think old Don DeHart had a 7mm Mag. for his interior hunts.
My Dad was the odd man out, as he always used his old Mod. 70 in .264 Win. His load was the 140 grain Partition and a case full of surplus H4831 that he dumped in with and old Lee powder cup. He had used the rifle on his western hunts for 3 years prior and winter fox hunts in Iowa and had complete faith in it, the caliber and load.
Me and three friends went to Montague Island to hunt our little island deer. One friend carried a .35 Whelen, another a .270 and another a .223 Rem. I carried a 30-06 stuffed with 165 grain Partitions. We all killed deer with one shot. We never saw any big bears as it was late November and the salmon runs were over and the berries were mostly gone. As I was hunting I remembered the 9 foot brown bear hide in my friends dad's house that came from Montague. Old Maynard "Perk" Perkins and Duncan Gilchrist killed the bear at about 20 feet and it took several shots before it stayed down. Perk was shooting his nice old Mauser .308 Norma and 200 grain Partitions and I forget what Duncan had. They were deer hunting and it was late November and neither one of these experienced hunters expected to see any bears out.
If it works out I would like to hunt a Coues deer with the Tikka Superlite 6.5 Creed I bought last year. If I was living in an area with abundant white tails and liberal seasons I am sure a .223 would kill them. In the 50's we lived over by Spirit Lake in Washington State and my Dad was doing shop work for a timber company. He said we were almost broke and he took a couple of the small deer from the kitchen window at about 20 feet with a .22 rim fire.
Like the old ivory hunter Bell proved long ago, shot placement and penetration is where killing power starts. Any way, we all get to choose what we use and have faith in. Good hunting guys!
Last edited by 1Akshooter; 08/05/19.
