Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Brown Bear with a 7 Rem Mag questions

Because Phil is a rifle loony....

Since you quoted my statement about stepping up to the 375 and 375AI let me explain again...

I had a bear shot in the heel and in the guts once. Shooter was new to his rifle. I followed and killed it a couple miles away in an alder patch at staplegun range with my 300WM... it was mighty sick and did not charge, just tried to hunker down and let me go by, I think.

For a follow-up gun I would have preferred the 375, so I got one.

I have no issue with someone shooting them with just about anything, but if the odds of things getting sporty are elevated by a new shooter I will bring the bigger rifle. But that obviously is not about hunting them, just stopping someone else's.

And, BTW, to those feeling like you do that your bear will not be shot by the guide unless absolutely needed you should be very careful about talking to your guide about that. Many guides will shoot IMMEDIATELY after you do. There was even a thread here a while back by a guy bitching because he missed the bear but the guide did not...

Of course. I knew that.

Lots of fellers have people at home whom they are rather fond of too, and having been spooked a time or two by the mutual stalking process that a wounded bear sometimes becomes part of, I can hardly blame the guys that do that. Nor do I blame them when there is a second client who also expects to be provided a decent opportunity, but get short-shrift due to the first hunter's wounded animal that wasn't hit well and gets sighted again day after day; (and the first hunter's tag is legally filled whether the wounded animal is ever recovered.) A smart guide sometimes knows more about the holes in an animal than they ever reveal to the wallet bearer.

What a bunch of hypothetical bullshit,, this thread has turned a fairly simple question into another, I'd Do This, or I'd Do That,,,,,,When in fact very few here had done business with a brown bear, much less wounded in the brush!

I'd feel comfortable hunting and tracking brown bear with a .223 AI. The regular .223 wouldn't be enough though. That is where I'd draw the line.

Shot one 50 yards out twice with my 375 KS and he plum flipped over heels to the sky.

Well....actually, he ran off.

If'n I ever show up for a guided Brown Bear hunt with a .338win mag or a .375 hopefull the guide will slap the fu ck outta me give me his spare 30-06..

So I was wondering is a 7mm REM mag enough for brown bear?

It's enough for sure and a lot better than a graphite fly rod for self defense in thick alders. I carried a 7 RM as it was the only rifle I owned at the time. Also carried a heavily loaded Colt 45. Never shot a brownie with that but it put the hurt to a 350lb black bear alright.

Given my druthers it would have been a .375 as the carry rifle.

Some would qualify the 7 as a beach rifle or Mt. rifle which is good. In the thick stuff nothing is too big.

Wow.

No. You need at least a 7 RUM.

Well, I gave him credit for being 'sarcastic' w/o the emoticon.

IF he is serious THEN he mustn't have read much of this thread.

I think we should start WOW upside down, = MOM -

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I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread and have a different perspective for Big Bear hunting.

I sincerely appreciate all the input from 'experienced' big bear hunters/guides.

Jerry

Since the key phrase seems to be "a rifle he/she is comfortable with", then what does it take to get "comfortable" with a rifle?

In my experience it is just getting it sighted in and shooting (and carrying it) enough so that you can aim, mount, and shoot it with field accuracy (based upon the ranges you will most likely shoot at the animal hunted).

You should be able to take the safety off or on without conscious thought. It also means to me, knowing the ballistic limitations of your rifle as far as range.

For my .416 Rem Mag it took me about 2 months and 2 boxes of rounds to be able to shoot it effectively out to 200 yds (that includes sight in rounds). In actual hunting conditions, I never feel recoil or even think about recoil.

If a person doesn't handle moderate to heavy recoil very well, than I would suggest they have no business hunting large DG. JMO.

However, I can certainly see where a guide would rather have a client use a minimally adequate caliber that he has a lot of confidence in, rather than deal with a nervous nelly who is scared of his rifle and can't shoot it for sh*t.

People draw confidence when faced with a potentially dangerous situation from different things. Some from external things like a rifle they have killed a lot of game with, some from religion, and some draw confidence from within.


BH63

I was wondering how long it would take before this thread turned to schitt!

Yes I was being sarcastic.....

Don't know if it's already been mentioned so lets just say someone was convinced they needed a new rifle of a larger caliber for a brown bear hunt because they feel their(fill in the blank)chambered rifle isn't enough no matter what they've read or been told. Couldn't they just step up in caliber size to rifle that produces the same or near the same recoil as the one they have? As an example I feel my 9.3x62 w/270's recoils very similar to my .30-06 w/180's. Granted the 9.3x62 is a bit over one pound heavier. 8lbs compared to a little over 6.5lbs. Not enough difference for a hunter who should be in good shape for the hunt though.

EZEARL: That's an option and the reason cartridges like the 35 Whelen, 9.3x62 and 338/06 are useful, too.

I did load workup for an older guy who was headed for a brown bear hunt in Alaska. The 375 and the 300 Weatherby were too much for him but the 35 Whelen was just right.

I think the Alaska game department recommends using 200 or 220 gr bullets with the 30-06 for brownies.

BH63

This thread has now reached the stage where, like history, it tends to repeat itself, because it's grown too long for anybody to read the whole thing.

Of course, some people never read threads even if there are only 3-4 posts, because they're too eager to post their own answer.