Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Need cartridge recommendation for a Grizzly/Brown Bear hunt.

You can fire 375 HH ammo out of a rifle chambered for 375 weatherby?

That was a big suprise to me also. I wouldnt bet my life on it.

Yes you can, all the 375 Wthby is ,is a blown out fireformed 375 HH. the 378 on the otherhand is off the same case as the 460 and 416 Weatherby. Magnum Man

Good posts. I'd not hesitate to use a 270 - WCF/WSM/WBY w/150-160 Partitions...assuming I have a guide w/a medium bore for back up, should the worst case happen. They are killers w/good bullets and shot placement.

That said, for a 'STOPPER' - I'd feel a little better personally using a 338/06 or 338 WM using 225/250 Partitions. Fail Safe 230s and Barnes also have done well, but a Partition has the longest history so why change

Next up for me would be a 9.3x62 in a new Sako Black Bear, 7 lbs, handy, recoil allows better shooting for me, than a 340 Roy or perhaps 375.

375s - the H&H is simply classic, no question it's a solid choice, and yes they do 'push' more than bite vs some other rounds like a 338 WM.

For me, that's as much as I want, b/c anything more might compromise my shooting, as well as any follow up shot which might be needed. Horsepower is fine, and a certain amount is preferred, but shootability must be in play.

A 416 would be great big bear medicine, but I shot one....ONCE...and have no interest again

So, in order of MY preference:

As a handloader, MY choice:

338/06 - 250 Partitions...225s will flatten trajectory and do fine. You get one more round in the magazine than a Win Mag if that matters, or is needed.

9.3x62 - 286 Partitions, 250 ABs will flatten it and do well also. IIRC JB used the 250 AB in his 9.3 Short Mag on the 350 RM case.

Factory loads:

338 Win Mag - Partitions 225-250
340 Roy (since you like WBY) - Partitions
375 - Partitions

Yup!You can...the 375 Weatherby being just another version of a family of Improved 375's.Although how much they really "improved" the H&H is open to debate.

I like to do things sort of "traditionally".Lots of things will kill a brown bear but rather than spend much time on mental masturbation,worrying how far down the caliber ladder you can go to kill one,I'd get a 375H&H,load it with a good bullet and get to shooting.

With RL15 this is not a difficult cartridge to master and very precise shooting can be done with it.It's propensity for RL15(no need to look elsewhere),and great bullets like the 250TTSX,sort of render any other medium bore of smaller bore size or case capacity moot.Drive them 2600-2900+ fps and you end up with the practical equivilent of everything from a 338/06 to a 35 Whelen,or 340 Weatherby with more expanded frontal area.

Or if you like the heavies you can go to 300 gr Nosler Partitions or anything in between.

Animals like brown bear are the precise reason H&H invented the cartridge in the first place.Anything else is a spin-off or copy cat.

Lots of cartridges will kill a Brown bear, but that isn't the question. I killed a 7 foot Grizzly with a 25-35, one shot between the eyes. It killed the bear, but I wouldn't recommend it. Any time you are hunting something that can weigh a half a ton and could eat you, taking a light caliber is not a great idea. A backup hunter/gun is also a good idea.

The first picture is a track with a 460 Weatherby Mag. cartridge in it. If you are around bears like that, I would pass on the 270 WBY and look to bigger guns. The biggest gun you can shoot, then go a caliber larger, will probably get it done.

You also don't want to get too close to the scope with a big caliber, but a bruise is still better than teeth marks...

Myself if i was going i would use my 338 RUM with the Swift 275 gr A-Frame loaded with Retumbo. Of the rifle rounds you listed it would be the 340 Wby loaded with the same bullet and powder i listed for the 338 RUM. The Wby Accu-Mark is a heavy rifle and the recoil shouldn't be a problem from the 340 and you will kill any Bear you decide on. I have the Accu-Mark LH rifle in 7mm STW or i should say i did before my son took a liking to it.

One of my brother in law's took a Polar bear, and a brown bear in Alaska back in the late 60's early 70's with a 300 win mag. That was back when people were routinely using 30-06's and 300 mags for big bear.

Nothing wrong with the 06 or 300 if you use the right bullet and shoot straight . When Hunting big bear, it may be wise to use the biggest cal rifle you can handle well. You would be much better off using the 30-06 you can shoot than a big magnum you are afraid of and finch from, bullet placement is what it is about .

Still routinely do.

The 2 guys I know that have taken big brown bears, one used a .30-06 with 220 gr. Partions and the other a .325 WSM with 200 gr. Partitions. In each case, the round worked just fine with no fuss.

Reading this thread is interesting, guys that live in grizzly country and hunt them recommend smaller rounds than guys who don't. One comment is true though when you are really close to one the gun in your hands does feel a bit small My buddy went out with a guy who shot a really nice bear with a 7mm WSM and 160 gr accubonds with no problems, the next time he was drawn he brought a Blaser single shot in 308 Win and 150 gr Hornady SST's He ended up shooting a giant of a bear all alone at 20 yards as it came for him. I would never go with a combo like that too much could go wrong. Another friend shot a grizzly with a 300 Weatherby and 220 gr Hornady's at under 50 yards the bear went down but got up quickly and dissapeared into the bush. They were expecting it to be dead just inside the bush but it wasn't the short story is after one hour the bear charged them and our other friend had just enough time to get one shot off before it got his hunting partner, he used a 338 WM with 200 gr E Tip's the bear grazed him as it flew by him thankfully dead. Had he used a better bullet like a Nosler Partition there wouldn't have been any problem but the 220 gr Hornady failed miserabley at 300 Wby speeds.

I'd hunt griz with a 270 and a proper bullet.But since I'm not gonna eat the thing a bigger hole is better.They really haven't been all that hard to put down.Interior griz anyway.

Last one I seen go down was with a semi auto Remmy 30-06.One factory Win 180gr Power Point ended a leh hunt.

Bobin NH, you've hit the nail square again. as usual.
65 Br is on the mark also when he says that a 375 HH gives more of a big "push " for recoil than the sharper recoil of the 33's or my 35 Whelen . My old XTR pf M70 Winchester in 338 Win mag is fully qualified to kill at both "ends" . My M77RS in 35 Whelen is ok for a limited amt of shooting and no fun off the bench. These are both 8.5# rifles scoped and not very enjoyable to shoot. My FN custom B&C stocked 338-06 is a lot easier to shoot recoil wise than the mag or Whelen. It might surprise some of you guys but a 10 lb Whitworth in 375HH is much easier to shoot and tolerate the recoil on than the lighter med bores.Both my Whitworth and B&C stocked 338-06 have a generous sized butts to spread out the recoil. Magnum Man

Gerrygoat already touched on it, but apparently the farther anybody lives from brown bear country, the bigger the cartridge the recommend.

The same is pretty much true of elk.

Its true. I've been saying that for years. Its funny that almost any oldtimer born up here has hunted with the same caliber. Ask an oldtimer whats he's hunted with for the last 55 years and he will say one of the following- .270win, .300mag, or most commonly 30-06. Havent seen many carrying .416's. In my mind its more expensive ammo. More expensive guns. Sharper recoil. More power than you need.

As I stated above JB I've all sorts of mid bores but If I had the Op's opportunity, my ss M700 in 300 Win Mag and 200 gr NPT's would still be my pick to go. Weather proof, durable stock, accurate, dead reliable and I shoot it well. It gives me confidence on whatever I hunt with it. Magnum Man

I'd go with Marlin 444 lever action loaded with 270 grain Speer bullet.

Sherwood

Magnum Man,

The .300 Winchester Magnum with 200-grain Nosler Partitions is a great choice for just about any big game on earth!

I bought a Remington 7 MS in .350 Rem Mag for the time I would get a chance to hunt the great bears. Someone already mentioned the .45-70. I came across a nice Siamese Mauser which will handle the max load Buffalo Bore .45-70s. I would feel confident with either rifle and would probably bring them both on such a hunt.