Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska 358 Win in BLR or 45-70 in Marlin Guide gun??

Guys,

I'm hoping to spend a summer in AK in a few years with my family. (objective is to get there in early June and stay through early August).

This plan is still in its infancy, but I'd like to do a good bit of hunting while up there. Species still TBD, based on season and, of course, budget....

I'd like to bring a single rifle for most of my hunting. Question is.... should that be a 358 Win or 45-70? I'd make either be stainless, for certain.

is the 358 Win in BLR ample for all game in AK like I assume, or do I need to destroy a shoulder with a 45-70. As you may guess, I'm leaning towards the 358 win, but dont wanna end up feeling undergunned on the outside chance I get a chance to hunt something as big as a brown bear (the seasons and budget may rule this option out anyhow....).

Final item: I've never owned a BLR, so I'm not that familiar with their workings. Are they sufficiently reliable for AK conditions? Of particular concern is the inner-workings and corrosion resistance. I certainly dont intend to swamp the thing in salt spray, but I figure it's a question worth asking.

Any feedback you offer will be well recieved. Thanks in advance.

shane

Early August means you won't be hunting much. Don't know where you'll be, but considering the dates I can't imagine not running a stainless bolt action. Also can't imagine needing anything more than say a 308 for ease of ammo.

I was hoping to hunt carribou for certain, and I'd like to add something like goat, sheep, moose or black bear to the list if possible.

Brown bear is definately a stretch, but I dont want to limit myself based on caliber alone....

If the opportunity was right, I might send the wife + kids back home early, and I could stay some additional time to include one of those "wish list" hunts.

Hunting Alaska definately fits into that "lifetime dream" category. To make it happen, I'm expecting to take a sabbatical from work. If I can make this happen, its one fewer thing I can regret on my death bed someday.

shane

You ain't gonna hunt goat, sheep or brown bear with out a guide unless you are an Alaskan resident or of second degree kindred and hunting with that person

You could hunt black bears and possibly caribou but you won't be able to drive to any areas that hold caribou, unless you hunt the 40 mile herd and that is a registration hunt which can be closed the day after it opens. Not a lot of areas open for moose in August either and the one's that are, get pounded by the locals. Your best bet for either a caribou or moose is to wait until September and do a fly in.

I'd also recommend bring a bolt action rifle, 30-06 will do the trick and ammo for it is very easy to find up here. Good luck.

I have a BLR in 308 and a 45-70 Marlin XLR. I like both. However the BLR is as accurate as a bolt gun, fast handling.
Do you reload? If so the BLR in 358 using Noslar partitions or Barnes TSX bullets in a 225 gr should handle a bear in a bad situation, especially with the quick handling BLR. Under 100-150 yards the 45-70 should work, but the 358 will give you more range like 200-250 yards, especially if you are going after caribou, goat or sheep. It should also work ok on moose from what I have read.

Not having ever been to Alaska my opinion is probably worth about what it costs, but.... if I were going somewhere like that I'd probably take a stainless/synthetic bolt gun in .308 or .30-06, especially if it were the only rifle I were taking. Having some experience with BLR's in various configurations and quite a bit of experience with my Guide Gun and several others (all in .45-70) I would go with the Guide Gun over the two levergun choices you offer. BLR's are a bit too delicate for my taste, especially as the only rifle under possibly adverse conditions. I've never seen a Guide Gun that, after sand/mud/foreign matter disasters, I couldn't have up and running before the next morning with just a few simple tools and no replacement parts. I can't say the same about some of the BLR's I've had to fix. Good luck with your dream. Go for it.

The other guys pegged it, get yourself a stainless/plastic 30-06 do a fly out Caribou hunt, take a black bear tag. Start doing your homework now on the fly out, I'm sure plenty of people here can give you some direction. Little early for moose, tough hunt anyway unless you are ready to handle some heavy packs. If you don't plan ahead even the fly out part can get tough to get booked.

What part of Ak are you looking to go to? That's like saying you plan on spending the Summer in Canada. Depending on where you go, there might not be any seasons open at that time.

Either would work on moose, deer, bu, but I'd also lean towards a stainless bolt gun myself.

Shane,

I don't know dick about hunting Alaska so I'll not comment there... I have owned both a Marlin 45/70 GG and a .358 BLR. Both were good guns.

For what you say you want to hunt, if you stick with the lever-gun idea, I'd instead go with a BLR in .325 WSM. 22" barrel, light and handy, get the pistol-grip version IMHO. Anyway I have one of those too. Load that bad boy with 200-gn TSX's and have a very versatile setup. Can't speak to it's durabilty/reliability in AK but my Marlins and BLR's have always been reliable guns in general.

Reading between the lines here are you wanting the lever for it's firepower as a defensive "camp gun"? I can dig that; not saying it makes sense ( the AK guys will know better) but when I bought my 45/70 GG I was hoping to do a canoe or raft float with my family in AK and the idea was that the 45/70 would be a great camp gun.

Reason being, a bolt gun makes more sense IMHO as a hunting gun, generally speaking. Perhaps even as a camp gun.

I think you need to rethink your plan. My wife and I went caribou hunting in late August. I could walk around in shorts and no shirt some days. The day we left I had on everything I had brought with me. The flies were terrible at the airport.
Big piles of meat oozing blood and covered with flies.
After a short time your meat was covered with maggots. I took them off with a fillet knife. Try September if you can.
whelennut

jwbga,
If I were you I would decide what I was going to hunt first and then pick the rifle based on that. Then I would buy it and start getting used to it NOW. Don't wait until the last minute and then try to learn how to operate and maintain it. Have Fun deciding.
whelennut

I'd say at this point, forget about the gun question, and focus on learning about hunting Alaska. The gun question will work itself out. Getting learned up on what hunting AK is, and isn't is 100 times more important than choosing a gun.

Given your time frame, I'd say forget the gun and concentrate on fishing poles.

BTW, I wouldn't go with either of your choices.

Bingo

Rethink your plan but the .358 will do anything that needs doing.

I've only shot deer with mine. It's impressive.

Klikitarik is a great .358-in-AK resource, bet he'll chime in soon.

My mistake. Apparently .358s suck.

funny , I was just reading not to long ago how Larry has a hard time keeping 120 tsx's out of his 7-08 in a moose. Guess those .358 bullets must hit the ground right as they come out of the end of the barrel.

I used to think my 350 rigby was the be all, do all Alaskan rifle, then I hunted Montague for a week. The rifle was simply too heavy for hunting hard for a week. After the trip the rifle was promptly replaced with a Ruger 350 rem mag, shorter action, 2" shorter barrel, about 2#'s lighter. It is still a very good rifle, but it is not a light rifle.

Then I borrowed my wifes ruger M77 ul .308 (originally my rifle) for a hunt. The dots all lined up, light done right is where it's at, and if you can't kill it with a .308, or a 7-08, a bigger caliber isn't going to make you a better shot.

I would not consider a 225 gr @ 2500 fps the ideal combo for hunting caribou. The original poster doesn't even own either gun in question, so doesn't have to handicap himself.

Done right for minimal coin, rem 700 sps ss 7-08, lop 2" off the barrel, top with leupy 6X42 in talley lw's.

Done better, kimber montana 7-08, same glass and ring/bases.

I'd hunt anything Alaska has with a 308 or it's ilk, not to be confused with elk for the lawyers reading this....