Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Caribou rifle

I agree Jerry. Not everybody is focused on the big picture though.
As far as big guns go, it is not a macho thing it is a need. We have concurrent Bear season along with deer season. When I'm hunting deer I'm usually more interested in trying to find a bear. The places you find bear around here, well the encounters are usually better measured in feet than in yards. If I am ever fortunate enough to run into one of our 400-800 pound Bruins at rock throwing distance here, then I'll feel much better with a 45-70 or a 35 Whelen over a 243 or a Creedmoor. Western hunters just don't understand the situation here. They try to insert their conditions into ours and the two are not relatable.

And for the record I've never carried a magnum afield a day in my life. Never hunted with one. Unless you count 357 and 44 magnum revolvers and carbines.

Mike

Well having bear and maybe BIGUNS at close range calls for preparations.

I had a 35 Whelen PUMP that I built BEFORE Rem adopted the cartridge in the 7600s. That would be comforting in those situations.
I did kill some deer with the Whelen but it WAS overkill. There was only 1 reason I got rid of it. Don't remember the years but the scuttlebutt was Dupont was dropping IMR 4320 from production.

JDJ said that 4320 was THE powder for the 35 W and I found -**AT the time**- he was right. WELL 4320 was NOT dropped and I can't get the rifle back. The guy is a COLLECTOR and not a hunter. He won't turn loose of it.

With the rifles and cals/cartridges I have now, I'd feel JUST as comfortable with my 6 OH6 in 30-06 with the right bullets.

AS TO NEED - I have NO need to hunt a mag for WT deer. I do for 2 reasons.
1. I like the rifles and cartridges.

2. Familiarity is worth a TON. I have the possibility of Elk hunting here in Ar. so I hunt my mags to stay COMFORTABLE shooting and hunting them. I can pass any reasonable rifle/cartridge shooting test for hunting, REGARDLESS of what some might think.

Good Luck

Jerry

Mike,

Just a few comments:

- We have plenty of big bears and thick forest here in the west, too

- This thread is about hunting Caribou, not deer hunting and tight cover in the eastern US

- I can’t fault your choices of hunting rifle for tight cover in your AO, but feeling much better about something doesn’t actually make it more effective in real use. But there’s nothing wrong with carrying what you feel comfortable with

Fixed

Jordan

This is a 'friendly' attempt to explain the drift, which isn't much, in this thread.

We were talking rifles for Caribou hunting. The 7 mag came up and I agree with its use, because of its trajectory.
However the following was injected...........





Agreed - thick cover and game CAN be found in most States.

SOME - more than 1 - automatically think Non Residents can't shoot mags accurately.

I stated earlier that NO doubt some Non Res. have shown up over gunned and FOUL things up. However all of us are NOT inept with mags.
Some of us use magnum rifles NOT because of the size of game or distance BUT to maintain familiarity with them.

THUS the line of discussion took this direction.

Jerry

Jerry,

I’m pretty sure I’m the one who started that tangent

I don’t think this discussion is about non-residents not being able to shoot mags accurately, but the simple fact that shootability is inversely proportional to recoil, for everyone I’ve ever encountered. We were discussing hitting things “far away”. I do a lot of shooting at “far away” things, and unless the wind is roaring or the distance is extreme, it is invariably easier to hit things with less recoil, for every single shooter I’ve witnessed, including myself. And I tolerate recoil just fine. Some of this has to do with people’s inclination to practice more, and become more familiar with their rifle’s ballistic profile, when recoil and reloading component cost is lower.

Not to say a 7 Mag wouldn’t work just fine or be a great choice, but softer recoiling rifles would work just as well for caribou on the tundra, and maybe better for some.

Jordan

Remember most of us are Loony's.

I LIKE the mags and enjoy the PUSH ! What can I say, I'm crazy like that.


Jerry

Off Topic Addendum :

Before 1986 I had a 257 Roberts.

M 77, 1976 yr. American Liberty designate.

I played with it some, it did NOT impress me at all. Just sorta POP, no
BANG, no Push, no Shove. ho hum yawn.

Now I knew it was a ‘76 model but did not appreciate WHAT the cartridge was.
Oh me!

JRS would say, “Little Misses I’ve Known” !

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
I hope you realize the pertinence to this discussion.

Jerry

I get it!

Never hunted with a 7 mag. Owned two and took the one along on a Moose but tagged out first morning of hunt with my 450 Marlin.

LOL. The big picture isn't getting money from any dude who wants to come hunt. The big picture is keeping ourselves sane, having fun, and protecting the animals we hunt from undo hardship, along with the mission of giving our clients a good hunt. Those tasks all becomes a lot more difficult for everyone involved when we're chasing down animals with legs blown off by guys who can't shoot....the percentage of which increases with those who carry hard kickers. Pre-screening of clients helps to minimize these situations. During this time we're trying to get to know the potential client on other issues, too, such as being on the same page about trophy expectations. We'll make our side of things known, and if a potential client doesn't see things the same and takes their money elsewhere, so be it. There are more important things in the world than maximized profits.

Funny about feeling the need for a big gun in bear country. I'll be hunting brushy bear filled country in a couple weeks with a 223, 6mm, or 6.5. If a black bear pops out that needs shot, he'll die just the same as with a bigger gun. But as Jordan noted, we're talking about caribou hunting, and it's generally done in open terrain anyway.

Like what?........grin

I don't expect you'd be needing to weed me out. When I go hunting in the West I carry along a 270 Winchester which to me is the Western hunting cartridge.

Great choice!

My closest encounter (9 feet) with a charging griz(sow) came just about a year ago while caribou hunting. She wasn't all that serious I guess.

My .30-06 was in the boat- 20 yards away. A .22 LR or a .416 would have been equally effective.

There's a lesson in there somewhere. When I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Bearanoia is way over-rated, but not to be dismissed outright.

I understand all of that, and agree with you. In reality the word "magnum" means big, or large, extra large, and so on, and has been used as a noun too. What I was trying to say is that there are a lot of cartridges that also are extra large, and don't have the word "magnum" on the head stamp. But in Alaska it's very common to see bears when caribou hunting.

prairie_goat,

I don't know about Canada, but in the interior of Alaska the caribou migration routes are through different types of terrain (open country with low growth, forested areas, mountain passes, along creek beds, and so on). It's a lot easier to spot a caribou in the open, as it's easier for them to avoid predators in the open grounds, but they are also found where grizzly and black bears, wolves, moose, and other animals roam. Bears and wolves pray on caribou. In here hunters use small and big guns, usually "all around" cartridges from the .270 to the .375, with the largest concentration on .30 and .33-caliber rifles. However, caribou are not difficult to kill with relatively small gun calibers, and some hunters up here use these, too.

That said, if using a 6.5 gun and worry about bears, keep in mind that some of the 6.5-caliber bullets have great SD, and can be used for moose-size animals.

Ray,

I'd much rather have a smaller caliber rifle with good bullets if facing down a big bear. That's just me, I suppose. I can shoot a small cal better and faster and more accurately. I've proven it to myself repeatedly, both in the field and at the range. And a bear shot right is going down no matter what it is shot with, while a bear not shot right is going to hurt someone before it goes down, no matter what it is shot with. I suppose that was cemented for me when I read about Phil putting down that bear with a pocket 9mm.

Hunting bears is an entirely different proposition than SD against bears. A gun that appropriately puts a bullet through the ribs of a big bear during a hunt may be a bit harder to handle if that bear is charging me. So I don't see where burning a lot of powder really gains me anything. Seems like keeping a cool head and shooting straight wins 10/10, caliber and ft/lbs nearly irrelevant. I'd rather have a 223 with the right bullets than a 375 with the right bullets, in that case. Seems like a small caliber, moderately powered cartridge would be quite effective for both bears and 'bou. Again, that's just me. I suppose if a guy carries and shoots a 375 with the same carefree ease that he shoots a 223, it likely isn't a hamper for him to carry the 375.

I do begin to wonder how many guys are compensating though.

I've killed 2 nice Barren Ground Caribou from drop camps near the Mulchatna River in Alaska.

One with a 7 Mag (160 grain Partition) and one with a 6MM-06 (100 grain Partition). If I were going again I'd use the 7 Mag.

They both worked fine but there WERE Griz in the area and my buddy's .340 seemed to make a lot of sense.

Also, there were lots of opportunities to take a long poke at nice bulls.

Enjoy your trip -- seeing 1000s of animals was a real experience.