Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska If you were to have just one caliber ?

So what is the most common and useful up there at this time of shortages? I think that's the important question. I've heard 30-06 but I don't know about how available things are current

Last data I read was that the 30-06 is still the most popular in the state. Of course what would you expect when the world record Brown bear was taken on Kodiak Island in 1952 with the 30-06 and the official state rifle, as voted on by our legislature, is the pre 64 M70 in 30-06

Looking at your whine list about the 300 RUM ....

I'm afraid I have bad news for you ... you might look into changing your pronouns to her/she, change your wardrobe into something more feminine & change your name to Joanie or Jenny

That's the best you can do? Laughing....

you go Karen !

That’s a cool trivia fact about my favorite state that I did not know about. Thanks a lot…now the 1953 model 70 in 30-06 might not go to JES but rather with me on the ferry outta B’ham soon. 👍

Thanks. That's interesting and I learned something.

Don't have any problems with the 30-06, first fired one back in '78 and hunted with one growing up in Alaska living off grid in a commercial fishing family, Which gave me the opportunity to circle the Kodiak Islands dozens of times and kill piles of deer, elk, reindeer & mt. goat along with a bunch of wild cattle on the Sanak Islands & few other islands around Sand Point & Dutch Harbor

Back on the mainland a bunch of moose , black bear & a few brownies got whacked, 30-06 was king in our family and all the boys had one .... of course we also had the usual surplus mausers in 8x57, 7x57, 7,65 Arg & 6.5x55 .. but when moose season came around, the 30-06 was numero uno !

Until that one day where I saw the moose of a lifetime, with two satellite dishes attached to it's head and had no way of getting down to it & take a shot, terrain, brush and time .. darkness approaching on the last day of the season ....

I remember clearly ... being pissed as hell and thinking Why TF can't I shoot it from here ? There's gotta be something better than this damned '06 ....

By this time I was old enough to buy my own rifle & after some digging around & seriously getting into ballistic comparisons , I bought me a 300 Win Mag & sold the '06 to a cousin .... Ballistic studies got me into handloading, in order to load up the fastest, flattest shooting ammo I could possibly get at the time .... This was 1988 and I haven't needed a 30-06 for anything since .....

The quality of my moose improved dramatically, I was taking longer shots on bigger bulls, I quit shooting spikes/forks and raghorn bulls on the first weeks of the season & made plans to set up for some decent shots (500+ yards) on bigger bulls with racks all hardened & sharpened up in the last two weeks of the hunting season , then came the 8mm Rem Mag & my favorite, the 340 Weatherby .. It was all over for the 30-06, there was absolutely no need for it, because I could kill anything in Alaska with my 8mm Rem Mag & 340 Wby at typical '06 range & I could whack a bull way tf out there as well ...

Enter the 300 RUM .... Nobody in Alaska knew what it was at the time & I talked Joe at GNG into special ordering me one & he ordered a dozen from what I remember, Rifle showed up with a limit of two boxes of Remington ammo & a set of Hornady dies .... The 180 gr Factory ammo at the time was loaded hot, right around 3320 fps according to my Gamma Master Chrony , and I absolutely loved it ! Finally a cartridge worthy of Long Range Hunting ...

With a case full of Reloader 25 and 200 gr Accubond bullets it laid waste to some fantastic bull moose since , at ranges my old '06 royally pissed me off at ....

After 30 plus years of "sending it" I don't need some clueless Fudd, stuck in a rut, trying to school me on what I should shoot and how close it should be ...

I understand the fact that some guys love the 30-06 and will call it king ..... I once did .... then I grew up

Swamprat, the first part of your post would garner some respect...if true.

The last part sounds like something from a petulant child.... which makes the first part irrelevant..... hint... laughing

Oh man, the “I’m smarter than you” dudes still can’t help themselves.

I need to get more popcorn. The 24hrcf never ceases to amaze me

458, for the win.

This needs tacked up somewhere for all to read.

From what I've seen over the years since the 300 RUM showed up is a bunch of crying

Usually from the gun dummy simps still attached to old stuff better left in the past

,,,,,

Read in an technical bulletin update on how to make the 300RUM fly faster and more accurate, an exciting new development making it more effective than ever. Apparently tying the 300RUM to the azz end of an 30-06 makes it far more effective. Solves accuracy, range, and social acceptance issues.

I imagine the 300 RUM destroys more than it’s share of otherwise good edible meat…I guess that is the price you pay for horn hunting and 800 yard shots…

I ain’t got no problem with a RUM either. It does a lot of stuff pretty well. I’ve got room for all of them in my house.

No different than any other cartridge.

Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement, ... bullet construction,...

There you go

If I were to move to Alaska (my Sister lives there, so at one time I was thinking about going) I would be happy with any of several cartridges. If I were to be offered an unlimited amount of bullets but just 1 rifle I would probably go with my 9.3X62 or my 375H&H. (flip a coin)

If I were limited to a 30-06 however I doubt I'd ever really find it lacking, again if I can use any bullets I'd want.


Of all the rifles I own now-days I'd be happy with my 270, my 308, my 30-06, my 300 H&H, my 8X57, my 358 Winchester, my 9.3X57 my 9.3X62, my 9,.3X74R or my 375H&H.

Of those I have owned in the past that would also feel fine with are the 7.5 Swiss, the 300 Winchester, the 308 Norma, the 300 Weatherby, the 338-06, and the 338 Winchester.

As long as I got to choose the loads I would be fine with any one of those listed above. Shoot any of those well, and use a good bullet that doesn't blow up easily and you can kill any game in Alaska you need to.

"Those who know, do not speak.
Those who speak, do not know"

Lao Tzu

True when traversing a narrow path. However, those that do not speak, do not educate future generations.

Open minded conversation and willingness to listen and learn are a better path to enlightenment.

You should have brought a Barrett, then you could have shot them black tails from the boat and had your lackeys go step & fetch em... knowing how little you like to walk.