Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Rifle for bear hunting in Alaska

And everyone comes to the same conclusion - that what they want to carry - it the best.

Was caribou and blk bear hunting on the upper reaches of the Kuskokwim in the early '90s and saw scenes like this nearly every day of a week long hunt. Second to last day, outfitter offers my buddy and I a chance at one of the many browns we were seeing for $4k a piece. I decided not at that time -- talk about false economy! I was appropriately armed too. Those were my 340 B days slinging 250-gr Nos Part's.

Do tell. Inquiring minds want to know.....or at least I do.



FWIW....on this topic....if I ever went, I'd probably take my 30-06. Never went, and at current rate that bills vaccum my wallet, it's likely that I never will

Sorry to hear about your economic situation, Justin. Hopefully you'll eventually be able to go on some sort of an Alaska hunt for any of the big-game species that are available. It's a pretty unique experience.

In reference to your question - about the one time that a bear chose to "peek" inside one of my tents - wasn't much to it, actually;

Arrived back at camp right at dark and found both tents flattened (client's tent and my tent). After scavenging the remains and some quick in-field repairs in the dark, I had a functional tent set-up for the client. I spent the remainder of the hunt "sleeping under the stars", so to speak.

Was a great hunt. Killed a really nice bull moose.

Mav

George,

I am not a bear guide. I am Alaskan and I have shot 1 Brwn Bear/Grizzly in LDAP. However, the 350 Rem Mag in a mohawk kicks more than my 9.5 lb whitworth Express 458 that is magnaported. They (the 350s) weighed only about 6.5 lbs and the actual kick from the rifle is memorable.

A 350 Rem in a Ruger 77 would be great. It weighs at least 1 lb more.

I think that you might come up with a very good 300 Win Mag in a mauser like a CZ550 Kevlar. There are enough good gunsmiths in SD that you could have it cerakoted, dakota 3-p saftey, ported and tuned so you have a 9.5 lb rifle that with 200 grain partitions would kick like a 270 and would be able to handle the rough stuff.
Leupold was making 3X scopes. Get the old lyman dot recticle with thin crosshairs.
Work the action 400-500 times so it is smooth as butter.

Practice shooting a paper plate off hand at 50 yards till you can get it 9 out of ten times.

You would be the envy of many and would be prepared if tshtf.

Sincerely,
Thomas

Thanks Maverick.

Not much to the economic situation. Just a middle class American with 4 kids. Love them all dearly, but they came at the rate of 1, 2 for 1, and one "oops" after wifes tubes were tied. lol. Thank God daily for my job and my family. Long as I can raise them right, that's all that matters. In the mean time, I'll just stick to white tails and hopefully blackies soon enough. Lord knows NC has enough bears to go around until I can hunt a "real" bear haha.

Really enjoyed reading this thread. Get a chuckle out of some responses. I can't imagine a creature on this planet that can last very long with a hole through both lungs. Maybe I would opt for a larger caliber and cartridge if I planned on running face to face with Yogi, but in an ideal world, I would like to think the bear had no idea where the loud bang came from when I let the air out of him, and that once we met face to face...well...all that Id would get would be a hollow stare from cold dead eyes.

Personal protection as a guide having to potentially follow a wounded bear into thick stuff, and getting maybe one shot off before they're rolling in the mud together, yeah Id rethink that. Hunting and personal protection are two different things IMO.

Again, take my opinion with a grain of salt. I've never killed anything that weighed more than me.

Here�s one heckuva cool story for all you bear-hunting aficionados.

On a spring day back in 1953, 63-year-old Bella Twin and her friend Dave Auger were hunting grouse and picking berries near Lesser Slave Lake in the Swan Hills of northern Alberta, Canada. As the story goes, they were walking an oil-exploration survey line when they ran into a humongous grizzly bear following the same line toward them. The two feared that if they ran, the grizzly would notice them and give chase, so they hid in a brush pile and hoped the big bruin would pass without any trouble.

Unfortunately for the bear, it was intent on getting its share of berries and came very near Twin and Auger. Frightened by the close encounter, Twin raised the rifle she was carrying and fired. Her aim was dead on. The grizzly was struck in the head and fell dead.

Bella�s bear was no ordinary griz. Its skull scored 26 5/16, placing it at the top of the list of Boone and Crockett world�s records where it stayed for many years. The bear currently ranks number 30 among the all-time records and still stands as the longest-reigning provincial big-game record in Alberta.

In the half century since Twin killed her record grizzly, many differing accounts of the incident have been given. However, all of them agree on one thing: little Bella Twin killed that 1,000-pound-plus griz with the humblest of all rifles�a single-shot, bolt-action, .22-caliber rimfire. With just one long-rifle cartridge, this petite Cree Indian grandmother finished off one of the biggest grizzlies ever documented and earned remembrance as one of the world�s truly legendary hunters.

Thats an awesome story Salmonella.

Justin I do agree about the double lung shot; won't make it but a hop-skip-and-a-jump away. As long as its not in the alders!

Have been mulling over this issue some more as well. I do like the 30-06, but am now leaning towards a 308. Just love a short action, and I can get my Remington 600-Mohawk. I was reading about bullets for re-loading, and though I don't reload (yet!) my father does extensive load work for his 308's. So cranking a few out wouldn't be an issue.

Any recommendations as far as bullets go?
180 grain seems to be the standard
.308" (7.62mm) 180 grain, Sectional Density .271
Though a 220 grain seems interesting. (A woodleigh bullet. People seem to love these for bear from what i've read)
.308" (7.62mm) 220 grain, SD .331 (Just for interesting comparison numbers, obviously not apples/apples and one measurement 'SD' is not indicative of total performance .375" (.375) 300 grain, SD .305)

Seems like a 220grain might be pushing the "You could, but why?" area as the seating depth may interfere with powder capacity and diminish velocity. Could tilt the scales towards a 30-06 for some extra oomph.
Any experience with this particular issue? May warrant another topic in a more relevant thread.




Ballistic stats are from article by Chuck Hawks article
http://www.chuckhawks.com/sd.htm

25-35 works for me, once between the eyes, DRT...

Dude you are all over the place. Why would you be leaning twards a 308 when you have a 7-08? the difference is practicly zero. Even a 30-06 from your 7-08 isint much. If recoil is an issue and a 375 H&H is to much to handle maybe you should consider needle point or something that is moore suitable to you.

Real men shoot a minimum of a 505 Gibbs, and hold the rifle butt against their crotch when they shoot, none of this sissy shoulder fired stuff.

Leaning towards the 308 because it has larger and heavier projectiles than the 7-08. Also that the 30-06 compared to 308 is near the same as well. As mentioned earlier in this thread

Get your father to load you a 210 gr Partition over 56 gr of IMR 4064. Good for about 2700 +/- with very reasonable recoil. The Weatherby factory ammo ($$$) would give you the same (more or less) ballistics and the deal is done. Or you could experiment with the various premium 225 grains good for 2600 +. I have never hunted a large bear though I hope to (I have killed 40 +/- CA pigs with this load but would not be arrogant enough to compare the two animals). If a 30-06 does the job, a .338-06 adds a little frosting without giving you a detached retina in the process.

After having done an egregious amount of reading, I believe I have firmly decided on caliber. 358 Winchester - Gives excellent projectile weights and energy, sufficient killing power, some factory ammo, and easy re-sizing of 308 cases in the future. Also is a non-magnum caliber. Might have found my golden ticket

Gonna build one or buy one already chambered?

This hits the nail on the head for me.

A certain range of combinations instill in me a level of comfort, whereas combinations outside the guardrails of my range do not instill comfort. If I go too far out the bottom end of this range of combinations, it starts to feel like a stunt trying to kill big dangerous animals with sub-level chamberings. If I go too far over the top end of this range of combinations, I feel over-gunned with a bigger chambering than I can effectively manage.

With that in context, I am not an AK resident and I require a professional to assist me with their big bears. As a result of this, I must defer to that professional's expertise on my chosen chambering that falls within my personal comfort range. If feedback from that professional is that my choice is too much of a stunt and that I'd be better served stepping up a notch or two within my comfort range, I'd do so. If feedback from that professional is that my choice is too far over the top and that I'd be better served stepping down a notch or two within my comfot range, I'd do so. If on the other hand, if I get a green light for my chosen combination within my comfort zone, I'd not worry one bit and I'd go forth and hunt big bear with confidence.

I see nothing but bad stuff resulting from a hunter relying upon a firearm that is outside the bounds of their comfort level.

Best

I guess this means the thread is over...


I'm happy that your original desire for an 8 1/2 to 9 lb. rifle, handling 350 to 400 yard shots was achieved. I'm positive you'll have easy access finding a plethora of varying factory loads for the Winny.

Good luck on the Brown Bear hunt. Remember to take lots of pictures and post them back here upon your return...

best,
bhtr

Just an observation but it might not be a bad idea for the OP to see if he can hook up with chums or relatives who hunt and who might have a variety of rifles chambered for different cartridges; spring for some ammo,and actually fire these rifles himself.

This way he can see where the upper levels of his comfort zone and recoil tolerances might land.He might find that it is higher than he thinks,and does not preclude things like a 338 or 375H&H.

Especially, since Dad is a handloader, it would be no real trick to load a 375H&H "down" with 4064 or RL15 until it approximates a 358 Winchester,and still maintain that 8-9 pound rifle weight.(I bet he could do much the same with a 338 Win Mag)And after the use of such light loads in the 375 over an extended time frame,he could (if he wants)boost charges up to full throttle level after his comfort level is determined.Handloading is a wonderful equalizer.

With the 358, you're operating at the end of the road...no where to go.But with the 375H&H throttled back,you have plenty of room to go up if desired,moderate recoil,plenty of bullets worthy of the task and factory ammo just about anywhere to cover those unforeseen contingencies.....Just a thought.

Have several qualifiers:

1) Modified model 700 in .416 Remington Magnum with 21" barrel, Timney trigger and Williams aperture sight.
2) Savage model 116 "Alaskan Brush Hunter" in .375 RUM with 18" barrel and 3-9x40mm Leupold Rifleman scope mounted with Warne QD mounts so the excellent iron sights can be accessed in seconds.
3) Marlin model 1895G "Guide Gun" in .45-70 GVT with X/S sighting system and 2-7x33mm Leupold Rifleman scope mounted with Warne QD mounts so the excellent iron sights can be accessed in seconds..
4) Marlin model 1895GS "Guide Gun" in .45-70 GVT with pretty decent factory sights and 2-7x33mm Leupold Rifleman scope mounted with Warne QD mounts so the pretty decent iron sights can be accessed in seconds.

Man, nice post. I think I upchucked my dinner when I read, ya a 7/08 is fine!!!! Please, like ya dude if you can drive a Ford Ranger GOOD load a ton of stone in her leave the F=250 home. I was born at night but not last night. My pick goes to the H+H. like you say limbsaver recoil pad and M. brake if recoil is your girlie thing. I shoot a .300RUM good to better but all means nothin when X hairs are on the boiler room target. Lucky you hear the bang from the rifle.....later