I congratulate LB on amending his assertion that anybody hunting elk in grizzly country should carry a "stopping rifle," which Bob defines as some sort of .375. He amended that to anybody hunting in grizzly country, which is the logical extension of his first remark.
However, he still hasn't answered my question about whether he's ever used a .375 on big game. Since we're all here to learn, that might be useful information.
I have some field experience with both the .375 H&H and Ruger in both North America and Africa, totally over 70 big game animals, ranging in size from around 100 pounds to 1500. Around 80% of those animals were taken by me, and the others by companions I was standing next to. One thing that surprises folks who've never used a .375 H&H or Ruper is they they don't automatically crumple animals, even with fatal shots. In fact, have seen a 100-pound African springbok travel 100 yards after taking a .375 bullet right behind both shoulders, which left an exit hole about the size of a softball. Before the ram fell it never even showed any indication of being hit. The range was about 100 yards.
Have also seen plenty of much bigger game do the same thing. In fact, am trying to recollect an animal that wasn't hit in the central nervous system by a .375 dropping at the shot. It may have happened, but not very often. Have seen 500-pound gemsbok shot through the shoulders with .375 bullets that still managed to go quite a ways before falling.
Might also mention that I've taken around 20% of my big game animals in grizzly country, including Alaska, those portions of Idaho and Montana that have grizzlies (which these days basically means the western half of Montana), the Canadian provinces Alberta and British Columbia, and Northwest and Nunavut Territories. The animals included those we might expect in grizzly country, but also more whitetails than any others, because a lot of prime whitetail country in western Montana is also prime grizzly country.
Other animals include over half my caribou, along with mule deer, elk, black bears, moose, musk ox, bighorn sheep and yes, one grizzly bear. Haven't see grizzlies on all those hunts, but have often seen fresh sign, and on several have seen anything from one to over a dozen bears. Have also had close encounters with several, including the British Columbia bear described earlier that tried to horn in on a bull moose I'd just killed, and a sow and cub very interested in a couple of caribou my hunting partner and I had just killed in the Northwest Territories.
Also in the NWT, once packed out a caribou through an area where a sow and two cubs had been seen earlier the same day. Half expected to encounter them, but didn't. On Kodiak Island was charged twice in one morning by sows with cubs, but both times the cubs, after some confusion, skedaddled to mommy, who decided she was only bluffing. Oh, have twice been followed by grizzlies, both younger bears that were probably curious. One of those occasions was the only time any shots were fired--by my companion at the bear's feet, to scare him off. He didn't scare--but eventually grew weary of the noise and wandered away.
The two things I did do were to remain very aware of being in grizzly country, and having my rifle in my hands when there was any possibility of a close encounter, especially when traveling through close cover, or recovering a freshly-killed big game animal even in wide-open country.
