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I've had a good amount of time while glassing this season to think again about the best hunting rifle setup for Alaska. I have been hunting with a 338 the last two years with the idea that it can be great everywhere but it has been occurring to me that as great as it is, it's not as 'perfect' as either of those in the below respective regions, and there's really no reason to limit myself to one great hunting rifle. The idea being that the rifle is great for the intended big game found in those areas while also still plenty good for the more rare unexpected situations. The set up would simply be this:

- A 30 cal for interior GMU's or higher elevations that usually have pretty open country with higher chances of longer range shots. These hunts for me have a lot more hiking involved so a lighter weight rifle is also better.
- A 375 cal for coastal GMU's or lower elevations where vegetation is usually thicker, shots are shorter range, and bears are larger. I might even say a 416 could take this role if all other rifle characteristics were the same and it would be fun to throw 400 gr pills. Rifle weight (or lack thereof) isn't very important.

Happy to hear other ideas and perspectives in this. And yes, I understand there's a good argument to make for one gun, a 30-06 for everything but I am still young enough to explore the other options before I settle on that smile

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AK mtnrunner,

Like you, I've had lots of time on the winter trail by dog team and snowshoe, and thousands of miles of river by freighter canoe, to THINK, with rifle in hand.

Now I've tried the one gun thing, didn't even last 8 months.

30 mph winds in open winter country, my rifle had to be short and light. Any longer than 40 inches, it wouldn't fit my dogsled scabbard. Had to be moderate recoil for good practice at extended range. Had to be good for long shots on winter Caribou and have some gusto for spring bear:

338RCM carbine.

On the rivers, i need the big, rut-charged bull moose ANCHORED on dry hround, not seconds later in a swampy oxbow, or dead in the river.

416 ruger

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Last edited by mainer_in_ak; 09/23/21.
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I've killed 2 grizzly bears in AK. One was with a 375 Ruger & the other with a 30/06. Both were 1 shot killls. I've killed everything else in the lower 48------from moose to antelope and everything in between with a 30/06. When grizzly are in the mix-----I would not put the 30/06 there.

IMO---the 30/06 in AK, it didn't give me the confidence in it. 375 Ruger was OK. If I lived there permanent And grizzly/brown bears were in the mix----I would pick a 300 Win Mag. It shoots flat enough for goats & sheep. It's perfect for moose. Caribou are pretty easy to kill. A 200 grain Nolser partition will handle a grizzly.

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i carried an 06 for years moose hunting Those two gallon pilesof steaming acat in 20 rard or less visibility spots concerned me so i bought a 338WM

it worked too in my 53 years here ive never shot a brown/gris, nor desire too

unless its a silvertip I'll make an exception there


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If I had to run 1 rifle up here it would be the 30-06 but thankfully I don't have to limit it to just one rifle.


That's ok, I'll ass shoot a dink.

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If I had to whittle down what I already owned to just one, living in coastal ak and hunting mostly in big brownie country, I'd probably take my kimber .375hh.
Small solid bullets punch pretty little holes through deer, and I load a few heavy loads down my magazine for the brownies.

The longer I hunt in this thick crap the more I like the short barrels. No longer than 21in. Nearly none of my shots are much more than 50yds anyways, except for spring bears on the beaches can be longer. But I use my 24inch 300wsm on dedicated spring bear hunts.

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While I have no experience with hunting Alaska, I'll just throw this out.....

IMO the .375 Magnums are a bit much for lighter deer size game.....as a one-gun hunter, I'd look closely at the .35 Whelen....it has a wide variety of bullets available and among them one will fill the task of large bears.

As a two-gun hunter.....I'd give consideration to just adding a 7-08

Last edited by vapodog; 09/23/21.
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I run a 35 Whelen for everything except tundra bou.

Run as light as 180 for deer (or even lighter if you use 357 pistol bullets), or as heavy as 310 for moose and bear. Covers everything I need out to 300 yards plus.

For Tundra bou, I have an '06 running 165's.


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I’ve killed close to 100 blacktails with a .375, from 5 to 300 yards, using 300gr partitions and the old Hornady RNs of the same weight. It tears them up less than any .270 or ‘06 load I’ve used.

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Originally Posted by pabucktail
I’ve killed close to 100 blacktails with a .375, from 5 to 300 yards, using 300gr partitions and the old Hornady RNs of the same weight. It tears them up less than any .270 or ‘06 load I’ve used.

This has been my experience as well. (Although not on nearly as many deer)
My buddy hunts with a .338wm on admiralty and I've seen that tear volleyball sized holes in those little blacktail.

Last edited by 907brass; 09/23/21.
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Originally Posted by 907brass
Originally Posted by pabucktail
I’ve killed close to 100 blacktails with a .375, from 5 to 300 yards, using 300gr partitions and the old Hornady RNs of the same weight. It tears them up less than any .270 or ‘06 load I’ve used.

This has been my experience as well. (Although not on nearly as many deer)
My buddy hunts with a .338wm on admiralty and I've seen that tear volleyball sized holes in those little blacktail.

What bullet?


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absoutely no intention of cooking moose tag soup....

my short range moose guns are also my long range moose guns, have zero use for a cartridge that is not fully capable of dumping moose at 1500 yards, hence... I only hunt with 300 RUM & 338 Edge minimum ...

rule #1 .... Don't screw yourself before you leave the house, always take more gun .......

has worked for 34 years of killing moose


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If I was living up in Alaska permanently I think I would use my 325 WSM Kimber Montana for my all around rifle.


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22-24" 300 ultra, 1 and done for everything everywhere. Bullett technology is the real change. Monos like hammers or ceb or even barnes if they are fast enough. Little meat damage and dramatic results. A scope swap lets you operate in any scenario near or far.

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Originally Posted by akmtnrunner
I've had a good amount of time while glassing this season to think again about the best hunting rifle setup for Alaska. I have been hunting with a 338 the last two years with the idea that it can be great everywhere but it has been occurring to me that as great as it is, it's not as 'perfect' as either of those in the below respective regions, and there's really no reason to limit myself to one great hunting rifle. The idea being that the rifle is great for the intended big game found in those areas while also still plenty good for the more rare unexpected situations. The set up would simply be this:

- A 30 cal for interior GMU's or higher elevations that usually have pretty open country with higher chances of longer range shots. These hunts for me have a lot more hiking involved so a lighter weight rifle is also better.
- A 375 cal for coastal GMU's or lower elevations where vegetation is usually thicker, shots are shorter range, and bears are larger. I might even say a 416 could take this role if all other rifle characteristics were the same and it would be fun to throw 400 gr pills. Rifle weight (or lack thereof) isn't very important.

Happy to hear other ideas and perspectives in this. And yes, I understand there's a good argument to make for one gun, a 30-06 for everything but I am still young enough to explore the other options before I settle on that smile

I have come to the same conclusion as you. My working gun is a light weight 300 Win Mag, ammo is easy to find; and with a muzzle break it kicks like a 243. When out for moose and brown bears, it's the 375 H and H. One thing nice about the 300 that people never seem to mention. If you hand load, you can push it like a 30-06, but never the other way around.

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Originally Posted by AkMtnHntr
If I had to run 1 rifle up here it would be the 30-06 but thankfully I don't have to limit it to just one rifle.


My feelings also. that's why I have three 30-06.... and some others.

I type better on this computer than on the iPhone, by the way..... smile

Last edited by las; 09/24/21.

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Originally Posted by Swamplord
absoutely no intention of cooking moose tag soup....

my short range moose guns are also my long range moose guns, have zero use for a cartridge that is not fully capable of dumping moose at 1500 yards, hence... I only hunt with 300 RUM & 338 Edge minimum ...

rule #1 .... Don't screw yourself before you leave the house, always take more gun .......

has worked for 34 years of killing moose



Is shooting moose at 1500 yards really a thing?


mike r


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Wish you were better

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He didn't say he could do it - or has done it - he said the rifle was capable of it. Semantics, my man....

I've a 30-06 easily capable of 1,000 yard shots - gives 3 shot, inch groups, at 300.

Unfortunately, my capability gets toiletry at 500.or so... smile

And if one is a hunter, rather than a shooter, that's enough, as is a 30-06.

I'm carrying the 725 in .260 more and more... Old age sucks.

Last edited by las; 09/24/21.

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Before I joined the AF, I worked with a guy that had just gotten out and was stationed here most of his career. He told me to either get a .338 WM or .300 WM and be done if I ever got stationed here. The first rifle I bought after getting here, was a Remington 700 SPS SS .300 WM. While I now have a lot more guns, that .300 WM is still my most used one. It’s never failed me in the field. Yeah, it had a feeding issue when I first got it, but Remington sent a new internal magazine and fixed the problem. I have shot to a ton more since that issue and never a problem. I can’t say that about my Remington 700 BDL .300 WSM though.

Last edited by Hudge; 09/24/21.
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Originally Posted by las
He didn't say he could do it - or has done it - he said the rifle was capable of it. Semantics, my man....

I've a 30-06 easily capable of 1,000 yard shots - gives 3 shot, inch groups, at 300.

Unfortunately, my capability gets toiletry at 500.or so... smile

And if one is a hunter, rather than a shooter, that's enough, as is a 30-06.

I'm carrying the 725 in .260 more and more... Old age sucks.

Ha ha. Texted a friend the other day that I think I'm too old to be shooting a 338 anymore!


If you take the time it takes, it takes less time.
--Pat Parelli

American by birth; Alaskan by choice.
--ironbender
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