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

Don't need a fitty when a 14 lb 338 Edge works great out to 1500 yards, and I do get off the boat, gotta have a nice rest to shoot from then climb up to get the dead heads ....

Hunt smarter... not dumber ....

...

Coworker took two bearded seals, whale,bull moose, and some snow geese this year with a Mini 14 running factory loads in 223 Remington..iron sights of course.

Yaaas, but did he do it form a mile away...? laughing

20 years of running into other Alaskans out in the field, rarely do we ever blather incessantly about guns. Alaskans generally, really don't give a fk about what other Alaskans use for a rifle.

The conversations always revolve around fuel usage, engine troubles, weather, trail conditions, river conditions, old timers who used to use a specific river before my generation, trapping legends, mining legends, sled dog-behavior, snowmachine performance, weird animal encounters, etc.

Here on campfire, the obsession of lower-48 folks over rifle/cartridge and scope in Alaska, is really fkn nerdy and senlesss.

Talking about a box of fkn rocks is more useful. At least there might be gold in those rocks.

Those who incessantly brag about how far they shoot or how powerful their rifles and scopes are have other issues.

I’ll be up there next year grizzly hunting. 30.06.

Osky

.30-06. If I ever get to AK it will be for trout and/or salmon so I don't expect getting to shoot anything.

Used that same number a lot for cross canyon shots in steep brushy units. Been doing the same thing long long before laser rangefinders and the current smartphone and PDA's that run ballistic software and kestrel units. Back in those days it was notes with an scientific calculator and my protractor and inclinometer. Dan Lilja supplied a lot of the barrels back in those early days.

One thing remains constant .... and is seriously distubing ....

Those who can't shoot/have the proper equipment for long range hunting ...

Will always tread & stomp all over the rights of those who can & do ....

on the other hand ..

Long range hunters never stomp on other hunters rights ...

Why is that ?

With a lot of you guys ... the 30-06 is considered a phenomenal Alaskan big game hunting cartridge out to 400 yards with xxx fps of velocity & ft lbs of energy . Where the reg Elmer Fudd "abbity abbity" gun dummy oblivious to external ballistics, shooting run of the mill factory ammo in mixed brands & bullet weights is a celebrated "hunter" .....

The 300 RUM does the same at 500 yards as the '06 at the muzzle ...... so in other words (& math) the 300 RUM is the same as the 400 yard '06 at 900 yards ..... & the hunter is an experienced shooter, using handloaded ammunition with the highest bc bullets designed for long range hunting, painstakingly worked up for extreme velocity & precision accuracy that absolutely surpasses the 30-06 at any range ...

is spat on & ridiculed .......

For some reason I thought hunters were supposed to be on the same side .......

I guess not .....

I would choose a treadmill. Most of the lower 48 kuiu army i see in our airports should worry less about kit and more about exersize.

truth ! > maybe more salad less potatoes and gravy

Truth.

Haven't read the entire thread yet, but if I had to choose one "caliber"(cartridge) for the rest of my hunting days in Alaska without a doubt it would be the one cartridge I have yet to ever own just because we don't live in the crazy world of only having to choose one cartridge.....30-06 all day everyday. Its never the best answer, but never the wrong answer either.

That said, since I don't have to pick just one usually I'll grab the 338-06 shooting 230s as my do all. Its short/handy/light and works 0-500 yards just fine. If its further than that I got a 300 WSM with 212s that isn't as short, handy, or light as it has 6" more barrel and weighs in at 2 pounds more as well.

338-06:


300 WSM:


If I had to hunt with just a 30-06 though I would hack it down to a 16-18" barrel as I may never surpass the numbers of critters my wife and I have killed with just 20" barrel 308s and they seem to work just fine.

I'm not one to say you're wrong at all for a cartridge or hunting style choice...but you do realize that a given bullet's velocity gap between two starting speeds decreases the further downrange you get, right?

That is to say, your 200 Accubond at 3200 FPS (.300 RUM) is only going 1751 FPS at 1000 yards, where if you started that bullet at 2700 FPS (.30-06) at 1000 yards that bullet is going 1419 FPS. That cuts the 500 FPS head start at the muzzle down to only a 332 FPS difference.


As for this: I am not sure where your math here is coming from....as it just simply isn't adding up. There's nothing wrong with the RUM...rock on...but it isn't quite as magical as you're making it out to be at long range, unless you're just referring to recoil and muzzle blast.

I have a confession to make.. lord forgive me …. But I have a small dick and long live 30-378 with 150gr tsx bullets..

Must be a Valley Trash thing 😜

Dude you bettah be packing the shed up Ol Peltola coming for you white eyes. White man, on our land, choot all our caribou, catch all our fish.. eat all our berries..

Those are always great. Places are even unofficially named based on who put that trail in or who used to hunt it. If you are quick, you can even meet some of the characters.

I wouldn’t say Swamp’s numbers are far off the mark. The RUM with 250 gr loads with +.700 BC started at 2,850 fps does yield about 2,750 ft-lbs at 500 yards. Depending if you start the 30-06 with 180 gr at 2,750 fps you’d get around 3,000 ft-lbs at the muzzle.

At 900 yds the RUM will maintain around 1,750 ft-lbs, that’s right about where the 06 is at 400 yds with a 180 gr load.

I respect Alaskan folks a great deal and spent a year in Anchorage working on some engineering projects and traveled some of the state. I always enjoy reading what Mainer, Phil and Swamp write. They all bring a different opinion because they all hunt game differently. Never meeting them my opinion after reading many posts is Phil is a big time Brownie guide/hunter, known by many because of magazine hunting articles. His family operation on coastal and grizzly hunting as well as other species is well known. Mainer IMO is a pioneer and a subsistence man who hunts and lives with freedom and survival in mind. A true Alaskan spirit with a high utilitarian IQ which is needed to live and survive in Alaska. Swamp is an elite rifleman/LR hunter (great photos on factory and wildcatted cartridges, especially Wby RPM derived wildcats). His taking of game at extended ranges with the most recent technology/equipment and knowledge of how to use it and fine tune it are difficult to accomplish.

I could be wrong on the above, it’s just my feeling after reading many posts. Point is they all hunt differently and all appear to be proficient and fine with their methods and equipment. That’s all that really matters.

Comparing just the energy of a 250 grain out of a .300 RUM vs 180 grain out of a .30-06 at those distances may very well be comparable.....I dunno.....but using the same bullets the velocity and energy math doesn't add up.