Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska What caliber for combo Dall/Grizzly hunt?

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Have you guy's had any problem with feeding in the Montana?
Just picked up one in 300wsm,and it doesn't feed worth a darn.Sent it back to Kimber,see what happens.Will be toppin her with a Mark 4 4.5x14x40 and shooting either Kodiak 180's
or Scirocco 180's,both have excellent coefficiancy and better in the wind.COUES

Since the bear is incidental only I would stay with the 270 and load it as hot as possible with a premium bullet like the TSX. Why compromise, carry more weight and not have the ideal gun for either situation? The 270 will work on a bear and you will have a guide. I would not even think twice about choosing the 270 when it fits your primary function to a T and you may not even see a bear.

I'm going on a caribou/grizzly hunt this Fall, with the griz being incidental. I'm also trying to decide what to take, among my collections of 300 magnums, but the rifle that I have grown the fondest of is the NULA in .30-06 with it's penchant for sub MOA groups with the Federal loading of the 180gr Barnes Triple Shock. I have some work to do with the 300's (have two .300 win mags, and one .300 RUM) as far as load development, before I decide; but that 6.5lb .30-06 with the Leupy with B&C reticle has my confidence.
Don

For me the '06 is about where my fondness for lite weight mountain rifles peaks. Plus I think it's the ideal all around caliber due to the vast bullet weight it will handle well.
If anyone comes across a SUCKS KS MTN rifle in 30-06 Please drop me a pm.

When I hunted Alaska for sheep and grizzly, I carried a 8.5 lb. 300 Win. Mag. loaded with 180 gr. Nosler Partitions, and it worked very well, but it was a bit too heavy to carry strapped to a backpack and carried day-in and day-out.

Today, I'd certainly go with a lighter rifle, and I really don't think you could do much better than a Kimber 8400 Montana in 300 WSM. Load 180 Partition spitzers or similar, and you've got the best of everything in one package. Perfect from sheep and grizzly, although the same rifle in 325 WSM certainly deserves a hard look as well.........

AD

I can't argue with the Kimber Montana, but if you only want to sell one Ruger and have a very lightweight stainless synthetic tack driver, you might consider a Tikka T3. I can't say enough about mine in 270 Win that I shot all last season, and the 223 I picked up the other day shot 55 grain Ultramax SP reman's under an inch during break in and sight in yesterday. I had four shots well under .5 moa, and think the other was me, and this was with the first ten rounds through her. Just a thought on another option for a really good shooting rifle, especially for the money.

Only downside off the top of my head on the Tikka is that if you go 300 WSM, you will have the same length action as a 300 Win Mag since Tikka uses the same length on their long and short action cartidges. This was actually a plus for me in my 223 since I wanted it identical to my 270 for practice and familiarity.

DJ

Boy, if that Kimber was ever offered in LH, I'd have an excuse to buy another rifle.
DB

I can't even find a listing for a kimber Montana in 300 WSM on the kimber web site. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

It is such a killing machine Kimber is madated to keep it secret in the name of game conservation. You must apply direct to the factory and undergo an extensive application before they will consider you for adoption of such a rifle. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

from my experience hunting grizzly, it would take a 338 or larger to do the job... I shot a 6 1/2 foot black bear in the fall of 04 with 300 ultra mag... which was plenty of gun!!!! I am going to alaska for Grizzly in May and for sheep in Aug. I am taking a 338 ultra mag for the grizzly and a 270 whetherby mag for sheep. Hope this helps!!!!!

Stetson, they are Model 8400s. Try Jays or Cabelas.

Threads like this are tough on my Visa card...I just ordered the Montana in 300wsm....

Couldn't resist....<grin>

I found a couple on GA yesterday. Average seems about $1100. One nice feature over the SUCKS is the safety and they are about the same price. If only it came in a long action. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

I figured you'd break pretty easy...