Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Most popular caliber carried in AK.

Bear stories thread got me thinking.Let's say your out hunting moose, caribou,sheep or some other type of non-dangerous game.What caliber do you guys carry? I'd imagine you always have the possible of running into a bear unespectively...just curious on how you folks prepare for a non-bear hunt.

.270 Winchester.

270 Win.

I carry at some point in time during the season:

243ai
25-06ai
7saum
30-06
338rum

All have a purpose and get used when needed.

The 30-06 is still the most popular round in Alaska

Depending on the day I may bring a 338 WM or my 30-06.

Though my battery consists of slightly different tools than his, what Calvin said....

Gets me thinking (!) I have just completed the annual armoror's duties, two 416s both with back up scopes sighted in and ready, a 35 Whelen with the load work completed but not sighted in, and 300 rounds of fireformed, primed brass wearing the 'loadwork scope" About to order THE SCOPE. A 340 SS WBY shooting 250s2950, a 454 FA and a 475 FA on hand, all ammo, leather, and glass are in order. TO DO change the lower unit lube on the Yamahas, wire in the spare battery and radio, and new heavier ground tackle.

I hunt bears but seldom kill them (usually some excuse or another), I think I just enjoy them (alive) a bit too much.

The deer,'Bous, bears, and two Dall's sheep were all taken with a KS 30'06 and a 6X42. Most with 125Xs (all exited), even the bears ...165BTs and even some 220NPs.

It seems a six and a half pound (fill in the blank) rifle that you have worn the bolt knob shiney will more or less work great.

Even in Alaska we shoot all year and hunt a few weeks so time spent in preparation fills in the empty times. One of Elmer's lesser qoutes "I do all of my hunting before I fire a shot" comes to mind , another favorite of The Col. "Better a first rate soldier with a third rate weapon...than the other'way around".
Whatever gear you take into the field. there should be no surprises. Best wishes.

To hazard a guess, I'd say the most popular is the .30-06. It works on virtually everything and we've had guys in our moose camp use them very effectively.
Having written that, my favorite is my .270 Win. This chambering just plain works for caribou & sheep and a former partner of mine used his on moose and Brooks Range grizzly with no problem. My current interest is my .270 WSM and I'm beginning to use that on most of my hunts.
BTW, when we hunt sheep or caribou, our rifles are carried strapped across our packboards and we never carry them in our hands. It's amazingly fast to take your packboard off and unstrap the rifle using quick release straps. In the past, I've used my .338 WM on our moose hunts and I really like that chambering but I'm gradually migrating to my .270 WSM for that use as well.
Bear in Fairbanks

Once I thought I wanted a 270. I did own one for about an hour a SAKO and made a quick $100 on it at a gunshow, but that was in 1977. Once again the 270 siren had me in it's trance... not able to find a proper 270, I bought the 'afore mentioned 700KS, SS 30'06. I proceeded to pretend it was a 270, the object- trip was my first for Kodiac Blacktails, a December hunt in Larson Bay so bears were just a remote possability. The new craze back then, was Barnes X bullets. 125Xs at 270 speed and really, really good performance. That BTW was my first 30'06 TOO BORING for such a sophisticated person such as myself, lots of ,06s later... I think the old Springfield makes a pretty good 270 or even 338 it only took FOUR 338s to arrive at the conclusion that the 338 performs in the field almost as good as the 30,06!

I just loop my rifle over the stob of my packframe. It's much quicker to unlimber and put into action that way. But that's me - old school.

Is it still the 30-06 and 223?


ddj

Right now, 7mm WSM, 300 RUM and 358 Norma Mag.

Since some guy said that headstamps don't mean much..

I use the:

105 Scenar
100gr Swift S2
162 Amax
155gr Scenar
225 Accubond

Funny how I've moved away from x bullets.

Many of the guys I have known and hunted with have been adherents of a 300 Mag of some persuasion for regular use. Generally their battery also includes an H&H and a 223 among their commonly used tools.

Any reason in particular?

For the last 5 years or so, I've been using either a 9.3x74R or a 7x65R. Have also shot critters with a .270 Win, .338 Win, .375 H&H, and .45-70. I think that's it. Have avoided owning/hunting with an '06, as I'm afraid I'd get suckered into hunting with just one rifle! I do now own a .30-06(a BRNO Effect), but haven't hunted with it yet.

Jeff

For my style of hunting mountains in SE AK for Sitka Blacktails, the higher BC bullets work fine, and are really easy to get to shoot small groups. The 338 Rum gets called into service whenever I leave my island. I am hoarding a bunch of 210 Barnes XLCs for that rifle now. Just using up 2 boxes of the accubonds that were given to me.

I didn't see any mention of the 300 WSM, how about it. Does it have much for popularity?

It sure does here in Mt.

Thx
Dober

Mark,

It's a very small spattering of people I know with short mags. Of the dozen or so, a third have 30's. More popular is the 270 WSM. Most are light Kimbers; their owners are primarily sheep and goat hunters. Of course, that (simply) means those loonies' rifles would work on anything Alaska could dish out

best,
bhtr