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Lots of expert bear advice here. The bear I lost was 150 yards away. I was on the south shore if Tustemena lake about a mile east of Nicholai creek. Anybody whos been there can tell you the bluffs are almost vertical. My first shot was slightly into the bone on his right shoulder. It was a very obvious hit and we could clearly see it. The second was while he was trying to claw his way up the bluff at 2mph also a clearly seen impact. After that he was in the alders. The blood trail was marked at almost waist high on brush and grass. Neither were leg shots. Its possible the second shot never made it into lungs/heart. It was 6-10" further rear than I would have liked. This is the first bear I have ever lost. Im at a loss for while Im catching so much crap over bullet choice. Right on sierras website for this bullet its recommended for Alaskan brown bear. Ive shot two moose with this same load. No problems. Also, I believe I did mention this is my second season reloading. Im certainly no expert. I put my time in at the range and in the backyard. My accuracy and dedication cant be questioned. Anytime someone says their accuracy can't be questioned I'd immediately question their accuracy. It sounds to me reading some of the posts that your ego is wrapped up in this. My suggestion would be to leave the ego behind. No one is perfect. And people are giving you feedback on your bullet choice based on their personal experiences. Just because a manufacturer puts a picture of an animal beside a bullet doesn't mean that bullet is a great choice. Never said I was perfect. I did say that two of us watched the impact from both bullets and they looked pretty good. You sure have danced around what other bullets you tried in that .338 win mag....
Then STFU. The rest of your statement is superflous bullshit with no real bearing on this discussion other than to massage your own ego. Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me.
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Campfire Outfitter
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Matty99669, You’ve been given a lot of good information as well as a little bit of crap about your choices. Just because Sierra says they’re “Bear Bullets” ....don’t make it so. You heard numerous examples of Sierra failures on large, heavy boned, thick skinned, heavily muscled animals....as well as stories of failures on small, relatively delicate big game animals. Most of are “not” trying to lead you wrong....just give you good info.
The .338 WM is well respected as a good bear cartridge in most arenas of thought. A bullet of proper construction, properly placed will take any Alaskan bear. It may not be the best “stopping cartridge”.....but that’s a different topic. memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
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Campfire Ranger
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Interesting thread. Did you kill the second bear on the same tag you shot the first one?
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Maybe if he got Alaskan bear hunting tips from Ted Nugent.  
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The 338 Win with 250-300 solids could skull kill a bull elephant. Just like golf, not the club but user of the club.
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Campfire Ranger
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Interesting thread. Did you kill the second bear on the same tag you shot the first one? Only applies to your part of Alaska.. not up here. Anyhow from the regs.. A person who has wounded game should make every legal effort to retrieve and sal- vage that game. Animals disturbed while hunting do not count against your bag limit; however, bears wounded in Units 1-5, and 8, and elk wounded in Unit 8 do count toward your bag limit for the regulatory year.
Last edited by 79S; 01/17/20.
Then STFU. The rest of your statement is superflous bullshit with no real bearing on this discussion other than to massage your own ego. Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me.
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I found a great shooting load in my 375 H&H using 270gr hot-cor. Then I read muledeers thoughts on that particular bullet, he was not impressed, pretty sure he said he wouldn’t use that bullet for anything due to it just blowing up. But I’m sure Speer says otherwise.. Anyhow, I shot 300gr TSX out of my 375 and they shoot great and that’s the bullet I will use if I ever draw a Kodiak bear tag. But if all I had was a 338 I would be doing everything I could to get a 250gr tsx to shoot.
Last edited by 79S; 01/17/20.
Then STFU. The rest of your statement is superflous bullshit with no real bearing on this discussion other than to massage your own ego. Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me.
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Interesting thread. Did you kill the second bear on the same tag you shot the first one? Haha, that's a loaded question....
Ping pong balls for the win.
Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable
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Ain’t easy havin pals.
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Followed by a partition either 225 or 250.. then accubonds in the same weight
Then STFU. The rest of your statement is superflous bullshit with no real bearing on this discussion other than to massage your own ego. Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me.
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Ive never heard that about sierra. I went through 6-7 different bullets trying to get the best accuracy. Hornady, berger, sierra, nosler, ect. From 200-250 grain. Thats what I found for the best accuracy. You should try what I used for black bear in my 338. I shoot the 225 gr swift A frame over RL19/ CCI 250. My bear wasn't much of test since it weighed 200 lbs or so. The load was straight out of swift's manual. That load will easily shoot MOA. If it doesn't, then there's something wrong with the rifle, scope, or shooter. Good luck
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I've never hunted AK brown bear and probably never will. But I gotta know - how many guys pile them up with bores 7mm or smaller?
Politics is War by Other Means
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Tyrone, I’m sure there’s been a few. But, my logic contends that if someone is dropping $15 to $20K on a guided “Brown” hunt, they will likely carry a little larger cartridge/caliber. I certainly know that I would prefer to kill the bear......rather than have the guide kill “my” bear! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
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I’d be curious to hear what we’re the bullets that were tried during testing, and why were they discarded?
IMHO some guys get too focused on range accuracy in a hunting rifle/bullet choice.
If I had a rifle that would shoot “soft” bullets into consistent 0.5 MOA groups, but would shoot a tough, proven bullet into consistent 1.25 MOA groups, I know high one of be using on bear. “Sub MOA” isn’t the holy grail some folks think it is.,,,
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I wouldn’t use a 7mm, I’m sure you could do it. I wouldn’t hesitate to use a 30-06. Especially with today’s bullets. Like all things regarding hunting, bullet placement is paramount. Things get dicey when holes are poked into animals that can and will kill you, that are not immediately terminal. The last bear I shot, with an excellent bullet placement that proved fatal for him, still covered about 60 yards straight towards me faster than you can imagine. Fortunately he died before he arrived at my location. Big Bears require serious attention to proper bullet placement. It’s really that simple.
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And using bullets up to the task.
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I wouldn’t use a 7mm, I’m sure you could do it. I wouldn’t hesitate to use a 30-06. Especially with today’s bullets. Like all things regarding hunting, bullet placement is paramount. Things get dicey when holes are poked into animals that can and will kill you, that are not immediately terminal. The last bear I shot, with an excellent bullet placement that proved fatal for him, still covered about 60 yards straight towards me faster than you can imagine. Fortunately he died before he arrived at my location. Big Bears require serious attention to proper bullet placement. It’s really that simple. 30-06 really more powerful than a 7mm mag?
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Campfire Ranger
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Tyrone, I’m sure there’s been a few. But, my logic contends that if someone is dropping $15 to $20K on a guided “Brown” hunt, they will likely carry a little larger cartridge/caliber. I certainly know that I would prefer to kill the bear......rather than have the guide kill “my” bear! memtb
Plenty of bears (the majority I believe) up here are killed by residents (like the op); many with medium bores and appropriate bullets.
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Tyrone, I’m sure there’s been a few. But, my logic contends that if someone is dropping $15 to $20K on a guided “Brown” hunt, they will likely carry a little larger cartridge/caliber. I certainly know that I would prefer to kill the bear......rather than have the guide kill “my” bear! memtb
Plenty of bears (the majority I believe) up here are killed by residents (like the op); many with medium bores and appropriate bullets. I didn’t think about the resident aspect, which changes things considerably. Not knowing how many Brown Bears a resident can take in a lifetime, but assuming it’s more than one, the resident can take a few more risks than a non-resident...... that may have saved much of his life for this “once in a lifetime” hunt! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
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OP
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Matty99669, You’ve been given a lot of good information as well as a little bit of crap about your choices. Just because Sierra says they’re “Bear Bullets” ....don’t make it so. You heard numerous examples of Sierra failures on large, heavy boned, thick skinned, heavily muscled animals....as well as stories of failures on small, relatively delicate big game animals. Most of are “not” trying to lead you wrong....just give you good info.
The .338 WM is well respected as a good bear cartridge in most arenas of thought. A bullet of proper construction, properly placed will take any Alaskan bear. It may not be the best “stopping cartridge”.....but that’s a different topic. memtb
Good info. Like I've said- I fairly new to reloading. I read about the bullets Im using (generally from manufacturers websites). I understand that .338wm is a well respected round for Alaska. About 70% of the guys I'm around hunt them. The question is why not use a bigger round if I can handle it? Bigger bore, more weight, more energy. What is the downside? Safer and a more humane kill. I will check into different bullets and loads combinations but not for coastal brown bears.
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