Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Lost a bear with .338 wm.

This chit is getting fu cking ridiculous. You alaskan fu cks need a website all your own. All of my pre 64's shoot consistent sub moa. Maybe i could sell them for more than "$75,000.00". Fu cking chit is hilarious..

Amen!!!

I'm pretty sure that was a typo, as in he meant to say $7,500-12,000

Still funny though.

Using Sierra Bt's on brown bears and then wondering why a bear ran off..........mmmmmmm...........

The fact is- both the bears I recovered last year were double lung shot. The blackie had one through the heart. Its just not a matter of shot placement, or expansion. the shots did what a .338 does. We just have some big pissed off bears full of adrenalin. Ive shot 8 brownies and countless black bears. Im not some dude shooting columbian blacktails. I dont like following them through the brush when they refuse to go down. I want more kenetic energy and knock it the [bleep] down. Im looking for a bigger rifle and asking opinions on calibers from guys that own and shoot them at dangerous game. Nuff said.

Smoking gun,

Was not a typo. Judd Brennan sold a flintlock rifle inlaid with precious metals and ivory, engraving that took over a year to finish. It sold for $75,000. If you pick up a few books or DVDs on American Kentucky rifles, you'll see pictures of the thing. His son does high end double rifles and bolt actions.

BSA,
All the barrels on those pre 64 model 70's are the originals. I'm unsure if you understood my intent. What I was alluding to, was that 2" accuracy from a fine vintage rifle is superb. Your's sound like real accurate shooters. Must be a thing of pride seeing that accuracy from an oldie.

Matty, if you want a measurable step up in power from the 338 Winchester magnum, I would recommend that you get the 416 Remington magnum. Sierra doesn't make any .416 caliber bullets, so I would probably load up some 350gr or 400gr Swift A-frames. That will definitely give you more stopping. Other bullets that I would consider would be the Barnes TSX, the Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw and the Nosler Partition.

Finally! Thank you!

Jesus calm down buddy... you gone off the rails like really bad... you get ahold of some firewater or something?

OP,
Go here -
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/userposts/id/6930

Read through some of Phil’s posts over the last few years on this subject. Very few with more knowledge of big bears and bullet performance than he - Oregonians excepted, of course.

I don't doubt it at all. Sounds like a really nice rifle. I bought my first house in 2001 for $62,500 It was an old farmhouse fixer upper on 4.5 acres right up against the State Park with great deer hunting. Sometimes it's hard to wrap my mind around how collectable and expensive nice things can be.

So during your load work up what other bullets did you try?

Color me surprised, the guy says try 350gr or 400gr Swift aframes, or Barnes tsx.. You can do that with the 338 just run 250's.

Phil is the real deal. He killed a huge brown bear that he startled and was charging with a 9mm handgun! No BS at all.

If you want a bigger rifle then get one, and blame it on your other rifle being not big enough. Just don't expect everyone here to go along with it.

I'm all for having another reason to buy a new rifle. But try to use good bullet from the get go.. me I usually use a partition.. then followed by the poor man's partition the good ol hornady..

Sometimes indifference with a rifle is all in the mind, and that is ok.
I'd assume when Matty tracked through nasty brush, got swatted in the eye by an alder or had to pack meat or hide over exauhsting distance, he just plain didn't like the rifle afterwards.

When a guy or gal DRT's a pile of game with no fuss, you cling to the gun. It never gets sold. That ideal gun is different for everyone.

I read an outstanding article written by Tia Shoemaker. She had a jam in her 375 ruger during a bear charge. She claimed no fault of the gun, but rather, a flat point bullet loaded in the gun didn't feed right. She eventually gave up on the gun and went to a 416 rem mag built by darcy echols. Then hiked up in the mountains and took a sheep with it!

The new rifle bug is hard to shake......

In that case just skip the 375s and 416s, because CZ makes an affordable .505 Gibbs. The Gibbs can push a 600 gr Woodleigh PP at 2500+ fps.

If you want to put things in perspective: the Gibbs is to the little 416 Rigby, as the 308 is to the little 257 Roberts.

I absolutely agree with "accuracy being second..." and I can list a whole bunch of dead and recovered bears that would begrudgingly agree.

Please elucidate....

Bears are light boned and delicate compared to big herbivores so I am wondering where a bullet pointed in the right direction goes?

Okay, you asked a question hoping not for real insight, information or inspiration, but rather insight from someone equally clueless, guessing.