Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada What rifles and shotguns for the Yukon?

Very real possibility that I may be moving to the Yukon, Whitehorse to be precise, for a few years and I am naturally more than a little bit excited about the hunting and fishing opportunities. I have been planning to reduce my firearms collection to fewer better guns anyway so here's what I suspect I will be bringing with me and looking for a little input on anything I may be missing or overlooking.
12 gauge remington 870 28" vent ribbed barrel and 18.5" smooth bore slug barrel
.223 Remington 700 bdl Varmint, back and forth if I should swap this for a model 7 predator that I may hunt with more but how much would I really hunt with a .223 remington up there anyway?
7mm rem mag ruger m77 tang safety, 2.5-10x40 Bushnell elite 4500 series and a B&C stock that feels good in my hands.
Some sort of rimfire and perhaps a 20 gauge of some sort.
Should I bother with a medium bore of some sort? I am sure someone will be along to recommend a .30-06 or .300 magnum with a 200 grain partition or accubonds as a do it all North American big game rifle. Part of me wonders if a .338 win mag really offers anything other than higher cost over a .300 win mag and a premium 200-220 grain bullet? Should I bring my .243?
What is the wing shooting like up there, my favorite hunting is probably waterfowl and roughed grouse a very close second sometimes beating it when I have a dog that knows the game.

Your 7mm Rem mag ruger will serve for all the large critters in the Yukon. You may want to consider adding a dedicated mountain rifle, a couple pounds lighter makes a difference if chasing sheep and goats. You don't need anything larger than your 7mm for moose or bears, but I have a personal preference for the .35 Whelen / 250 gr. and the 9.3x62 / 286 grain for the big stuff. Big wood bison bulls can make a 7mm look small even though a 7mm / 175gr. load is considered by most to be adequate and is legal for bison.
Your 12 ga would be good when you need bear repellent but are not hunting them. That 18" barrel is also serviceable for grouse, but the longer barrel would be better for wingshooting. To hunt geese and ducks, your 28" barrel and interchangeable chokes is good choice. A 20 ga. double is made for grouse and pointing dogs, and you will get plenty of grouse hunting opportunities. Your .223 varmint rifle would be OK for calling winter coyotes and wolves, but a .243 is a better wolf cartridge and a heavy barrel rifle won't get shot enough to justify carrying all that weight.
I find a .22 rimfire magnum is more versatile for small game than either a .22 LR or .17HMR. A rimfire of some sort is a good addition to your battery.

I've Yukon twice moose hunting. I took a 375Magnum both times. My host carried a 375H&H and a 9.3x62.

They seem to shoot anything and everything and have a much higher per capita incidence of gun loonyism than what you would see here in NB except they really like larger cartridges which makes a lot of sense given the possibility of bears. Wildcats seem to be more common there, esp the med and big bores.

I would keep all your guns and take them. if you are going to Whitehorse, you will find there one of the nicest gun ranges in Canada and a very active range as well.

If i was living in the bush of Alaska or Canada I would have three weapons for sure, SS Lever 45-70, 12 ga Rem 870 full choke , and 22 pistol 617 Smith&Wesson

I've seen some of the photos from your trips with Ted on cgn and the caribou you took was exceptional. I also envied your 375 Chatfield-Taylor.
I still plan to liquidate a few of the firearms I don't use. I'll likely convert the funds tied up in them in to a medium bore of some sort and a steel shot suitable SxS along the lines of a CZ bobwhite.
I am going to give careful consideration to the medium bore, not a whole lot of experience with guns with that much recoil.
I am sure you'll get a little joy out of the fact I will likely lug a Remington 7600 out with me and may even try to let some daylight into a sheep or two with it if things work out.

bea175 , there is no legal way to hunt with a .22 handgun in Canada so your recommendation, however practical for Alaska is a no-go in the Yukon.

Anyone familiar with the zastava offerings in 9.3x62 and 375 H&H they aren't stainless but they seem like a reasonably priced way into a medium bore and I could look to a stainless 338 as they seem easier to find in that configuration.

James;
Happy Canada Day to you sir, I trust the day's been as fair and mild on the east coast as it is out west here.

We've got a good friend who moved with his wife to Dawson City from BC and then transferred down to Whitehorse where they still live. He used to guide for black bears, grizzly and goats in northern BC and now hunts sheep, moose, bison, caribou and is trying to find an elk too last time we talked.

Since he's a rifle guy like me, we pretty much always talk cartridges and bullets whenever we connect, so based on that I'd toss out the following.

His kids have used a .243 for caribou if memory serves. Also an older .308 carbine that I modified for his wife has worked well on sheep. They've used a number of cartridge/bullet combinations for moose and caribou - I want to say the .300 Win Mag and .375 H&H would get the most use, but he's also a fan of the .270 with good bullets, so there you go.

As far as the .338 goes, I used to have a Ruger 77 tang model in that chambering and he had a .375 H&H Sako. The rifles were roughly the same weight and we both agreed his was much nicer to shoot even with 270gr bullets. The .338 was pretty jumpy with anything more than 225gr bullets and that was too bad because it positively doted on 250gr Partitions, but my goodness they'd give me a headache after a few.

I've handled the older Mark X Mausers which I believe are turned out now as Zastava and have read positive reports on Zastava products. If I were to get one in .375 H&H though I'd want to see that it fed okay, because its a pretty long case for a 98 action and yes I know they've made them feed the .375 for over a century - but I've also seen some not feed a .300 Win Mag for spit too....

If I was to move north tomorrow I'd try a 9.3 x 62 in a Mauser length action or a .375 H&H in a longer action without any second thoughts. Actually I've got a P14 action that's been percolating in the safe for too long and it'd likely become a .375 since I don't mind the cock on closing actions and am rather fond of the beefy Enfields.

Anyway that's just the view of one short guy with no hair here in the Okanagan and worth only what it cost you sir. Good luck with the move if it happens, have a great summer and again Happy Canada Day.

Dwayne

I would consider bringing your 223 and 243, the 7mm Rem Mag can handle anything else big. A 20 gauge single shot is nice to have along for grouse and your 12 gauge can handle waterfowl and bear protection by swapping barrels. I don't know if you handload but a 35 Whelen or 9.3x62 would make a nice heavier gun, Tradeex in Ontario has some nice 9.3x62's for sale that are pretty inexpensive.

You may consider a light fiberglass stainless gun for goat, sheep and caribou like a Tikka T 3 in something like a 270, 270 WSM or 30-06. The Barrett Fieldcraft looks awfully good too but is more expensive. A short powerful lever gun like a Marlin Guide gun in 444, 450 Marlin or 45-70 might be nice to carry for bears and moose, I don't like how the Marlin's fit me so my choice would be a Browning BLR in 358 Win or 450 Marlin for that purpose. If you need to sell a gun to fund a purchase then move either of the 223 or 243 and keep the one you like best.

I figure for guns I move a couple will be my skeet and trap guns they're under used since I stepped back how serious I take the clay games and I'm having more fun shooting field guns. I have a few other safe queens that I'll likely part with as well. I only listed the guns I'd likely bring with me although I figure a Remington 7600 will tag along just as a salute to my eastern whitetail hunting roots, currently its a .308 but I saw one in .280 listed recently that may get picked up.

I am back and forth on a stainless lightweight maybe I'll hold out until I get there and have a better idea how much sheep or hunting in the mountains I'll do and have an idea exactly how long I will be residing there. The medium bore is an itch I have had for a long time and I would very much like to scratch it. I was on Tradex doing some browsing and was almost moved to reach for my wallet but I am still not decided on what I want. .338 Win mag has the advantage of easier sourced factory ammo if I had to, 9.3x62 is classic and there are some great deals to be had for one especially in blued and walnut, .35 Whelen also a classic with many positive attributes other than availability of factory rifles, and then there are the .375's certainly tempting perhaps more recoil than I would care for but in that case a .338 or .358 magnum may be more than I'd care for as well. I would say my most pressing challenge is find a .338 or .375 and fire a few rounds to see if it is beyond my abilities.

I am going to make an assumption that you are relatively young (probably shouldn't assume anything though lol ) so I would imagine when you get a good look at some sheep or goats you very likely will get a strong desire to hunt them.

You of course are right that the 338 would be much easier to find ammo, and it is a good idea to shoot a 338 or 375 before you buy one to see how they are. I had a 375 Ruger for a while that performed great but in the end I couldn't tell any difference on how well it killed game compared to my 35 Whelen so I traded it off. The Whelen kicks a lot less than a 375, my 375 was about 9.5 lbs and the Whelen is 7 lb 4 oz by the way. Something like the Federal 210 gr Partition factory load for the 338 WM doesn't kick too bad either. I'm in B.C. so I'm not sure how easily factory ammo for the 35 Whelen or 9.3x62 is found in the Yukon, both are best for someone who handloads. If you do want to handload one day either are excellent choices that will kill very well but not kick too bad.

You are correct in assuming I am fairly young at 28. I handload, so I have that going for me although I'm fairly new to that part of the hobby. I take it that the .300 magnums loaded with 200-220 grain do not equal the on game performance of the various medium bores from the responses here. I suppose a big bore lever could be worth considering as well, there probably aren't many scenarios between 200 and my personal limit of 500 that a 160-175 grain partition from a 7mm rem mag isn't suitable for.

hello,

if i may add ...

you will need a bigger gun if you want to go for the bison our minimum are 30-06 with 180 grains. i do think you need a bigger than this so if you have a 7mm 338 or 375 is the next step... 9.3x62 naturally if you reload and you will ...

223 and 243 are really useable especially for coyote and wolf but you use your 243 for moose, black bear and caribou or sheep ...

you will need a 12 ga and 22 ...12 with 26-28 barrel will work for ducks, geese and grouse or ptarmigan.

Paul is right we have a great range in Whitehorse and we have more guns than the rest of Canada ... compare to the population lol ...

cant wait to meet you at the range.

Phil

i have stainless and blued 9.3x62 zastava. very good for the price and useful guns.

you wont find anymore the zastava in stainless so if you find one keep it ...

Equally important is your fishing tackle and boat. Lotsa good water in YT.

A 300 with 200-220 gr bullets are really good too. I had a 308 Norma Magnum for quite a while and ran the bullets in that range, I'm hoping to add a 300 WSM this year and use the bullets in that range. Still if you handload a 338 WM, 35 Whelen or 9.3x62 would be hard to beat, a powerful lever gun is intriguing as well.

Wow. Thats kind of really stupid. But thats what gun laws are. Stupid. Did not realize this rule was in effect. Sorry to hear that one for you folks!

James checks your PM.

Phil

I know nothing about Canadian firearm laws, but can you guys own any type of handgun. It would seem to me that it would be very handy to be able to carry a large caliber pistol while in bear country. Although, I'll admit that a shotgun or rifle would be better for fending off a bear attack, it would still be nice to have the option of a handgun.

Own, yes. Carry in the bush, no.