Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Preferred caliber?

there's only one way to cover your bases here and that's to have a variety and just grab what ever tickles your fancy that day. some days i'm comfey with the .223 AI and some days i feel the need for a .375 RUM.

i will say that my 7mm-08s gets a lot of fresh air, but there are so many right answers that this thread could go on forever.

I went with .308 just because my kid has a 708 that I can use most any time. My safe is too small to have two of the same...at least for now

Well placed bullets trump most, but you can't ignore physics. When you look at factory loads from Federal, per their website, the difference in velocity from a .308 with 180gr trophy bonded tip v. .338 250gr Nosler partition it is even less than the 300-350 fps suggested, it is actually 180fps (2120 v. 2300 respectively). What must be recognized however is the difference in weight at that velocity is a game changer as it relates to ft lbs energy which translates to penetration. The endergy difference is over 500lbs (1790 v 2505 respectively), a 38.8% increase which cannot be ignored. It is not uncommon to be presented with an opportunity at a clean kill at 300 yards (my personal range limitation in most all circumstances due to wind influence, animal movement, and lack of training beyond that range).

I have never shot a coastal brown bear, much less at close range under attack, so have no real world experience with this. I have killed many elk with a .338 and with a .270 (which actually outperforms the .308 with a 250gr nosler partition 300 yards downrange due to ballistic coeficient) and the real world difference is, well, pretty real.

You can't ignore the physics. The .308 is an awesome caliber, and will work on pretty much anything in N. America. In certain applications, it is a better caliber than the .338, and vice versa. You just cannot change the physics of mass and velocity....it takes both to create energy.

If I were to hunt in dangerous game territory, and had a choice, I will take my .338 over my .270 every day.

My $0.02

Far be it from me to argue that a 308 is a superior stopper to a 338 at the same velocity, but to get there you need to shoot 225 or 250 grainers to have the same sectional density/penetration. And like you said, physics can't be denied. That takes it out of the "all around" category for runts/pusses like myself. I have a little Ruger Hawkeye compact in 338RCM. About ten rounds through that thing and I'm done for the day. Delgue posited the "one rifle" for MT arguement, and I think a 308 would do nicely there. If I hung out on the Kenai, I'd grab the little Ruger in a hearbeat.

Sawtoothsteve so if you had to choose between a 7.5 pound .338 or a 6 pound .308 for a dall sheep hunt you would lug the extra 1.5 pounds along just because you might see a grizz?? Sorry but that just seems outrageous to me. But that's also why we as hunters are so blessed with so many rifles to choose from as every one is different and gun makers are always working o fill different consumers wishes.

Lanche,

Probably not going to lug the extra weight on the Dall hunt. That said, the Dall hunt is my dream hunt and I hope to get that done before the knees are completely gone. I would probably consult with someone like yourself before going in order to make the rifle choice. I have always assumed that the Dall hunt would be in mostly open country so not as concerned, but perhaps the trip in could get a little tricky in the brush?

If I am in close quarters and have to make a disabling shot that can break bone I probably take the bigger gun. I have packed my .338 over some major miles in the Idaho wilderness v. my lighter .270 just because I felt I needed it for a clean kill in many of the shots that I knew would present themselves. I was also younger and the extra pound really didn't seem to make a difference. I cut weight in other areas to take along the preferred principal tool of the trip.

T A K

Agreed, the .338 is overgunned for some applications. Personal oppinion, the .308 (and my .270) are a little undergunned for some applications (purely from reading balistics charts as I have never used a .308 in the field). If the question is point blank personal defense against dangerous game...well then I really (thank the good Lord) have not been in that position. If wanting an all around, I would probably chose a .300 win mag. Since I got my .270 as my first gun at age 12, my personal favorite for deer sized game, I bought the .338 for elk and moose hunting as what I felt would be optimum for that application. When hunting with both an elk and deer tag in pocket, I always take the .338. Just be sure to make a clean shot if shooting a deer or else you could waste too much meat(too much gun). Maybe I just have not subscribed to the all around gun and own guns for specific applications.

Sts, makes sense Sir. Just when you said there might be a chance of dangerous game in the area you lug the heavier rifle. If going to Kodiak to hunt deer I would still bring my .308 or even my .243 so I could take a fox or two rather than lug a heavier harder recoiling rifle along just cause there are brownies around. Just different strokes for different folks I guess. If I used that rational I would never need anything other than 375 as I am always hunting in grizz country.

Lanche,

Being experienced around bears, are you more confident in avoiding them altogether, carry pepper spray, or believe the .243 sufficient with a well placed shot?

Even with a 3.0" magazine?

That's interesting right there. The upper end of the Flathead valley between Hwy 93 over through Glacier Park does have a [bleep] of Grizzlies in its northern reaches, the area that holds the most Grizzly Bears in the lower 48 is South and a little East of there about 100 miles. You get over the Dry Fork Divide and into that part of the state around the Scapegoat Wilderness and there is an unusually high concentration of Biscuitroot, which ups the holding capacity for Grizzlies.

That Northfork area though, that's gotta be the highest concentration of color phase bears that I know of. And of both species. I've seen jet black Grizzlies with only a little silver showing on their hump when they were facing dead away. I've also seen black bears that had text book grizzley colors.

The one burning question... On the BC side of the line, do the old timers up there call it the Kooney like they do down here?

I'm not Lanche, but I'm no stranger to living in bear country.

One thing that kills me is how many guys you see packing a 44 mag with a 5" tube thinking they've got the Bear Medicine covered. Then think that a 308 (or 243) isn't enough gun??

Truth is, bear encounters are a lot less frequent than bears trashing your camp when your not there.

Never get between a sow and cub(s)
Never trust a bear on food
If you act like a victim in the ghetto, you probably will be.

My 120 B-tips in 7-08 are 2.842

Dan, what about a #50 recurve? Lol

Steve I don't count on a rifle to bail me out while hunting anyways. If I surprise a brown bear at 10 yards and it wants to do something about it I'm pretty well screwed regardless as it will be on me faster than stink on.....well ya know especially since I don't run with one in the chamber. That said last fall on a sheep hunt a ow with yearly cubs caught our scent when we were 100 yards away. Sh started to bluff charge a bit but as she got within 50 yards and back up on her hind legs again to scope us out I was already drawing down on her in case she continued her lumbered charge. I guess you could say its risky, but I just respect the bears rather than worry about them and I sure sleep better than my buddies a night knowing they'll be unvoluntarily be keeping a good watch all night.

I shoot either 52# or 60#

This spring I'm going to try my damndest to shoot a black bear with my Schafer. Maybe by the time you roll into town I'll have this calling thing figured out

This.

Now I'm gonna read the thread <g>.

Dan, I'm so damn glad you are back!

I have found LESS meat waste on deer with my .338WM-250NP handloads at 2750-2800-fps-mv than with my .308s, .270s, .280s. .30-06s and some other smaller bore rifles. In fact, I have come to prefer using my .338s and 9,3s for my hunting and I am only a "meat hunter" largely due to this situation and the bigger rifles/bullets kill faster, on average and this includes Grizzlies.

Would I carry a heavier rifle in sheep country, yes, I do and so do most of my friends who have considerable experience hunting in BC and the "territories". I have no dog in this fight, but, a .308 or a .270 is not the equal of a .338WM from what I have witnessed and is also not hard to learn to shoot well.

To get some more trigger time on animals with my big game hunting rifle, I took my 8.5lb all up 338RUM mountain hunting this year, and took 2 medium sized bucks. All I can say is that those deer hit the ground like they were struck by lightening when that 225gr NAB hit them..(grin) I'm about at 3080 MV. I'd not hesitate to take that rifle on any backpack hunt, for any species.