Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Minimum 'caliber' for Kodiak Brown Bear?

Phil, is there's a reason why you don't hunt BB with a .270 or 7mm?

I have heard a lot of claims but have yet to meet a person who could shoot a heavy rifle "better" from a field position CONSISTENTLY than a rifle with less recoil.

I'm not one of them. But I'm amazed at the large number of "experts" posting here. From States where the only Grizzly Bears are in a Zoo!

Alaska lanche,

I've heard the same argument about resident elk hunters here in Montana for decades: We can get by with smaller cartridges than non-residents because we have all season to hunt, so can "pick our shots."

This is mostly BS. While a few Montana residents hunt the entire season, most have jobs, so end up hunting weekends, when most other hunters are out. Unless they're lucky enough to own some elk-suitable land, or know somebody who does, they hunt public land like everybody else.

We have a 5-week rifle season, except in certain back-country areas that pretty much require horses to access. As a result, most residents can hunt five weekends, which means 10 days--IF they don't have something else they must do for part of the weekends. Some take a few days off from work to hunt, but the majority just make do with whatever Saturdays and Sundays they can.

Since they have limited time, and usually end up hunting where most other people do, their chances at elk are often fleeting, or take place in timber where the angle isn't ideal. As a result, few resident hunters pass up half-decent shots at a legal elk.

Non-residents usually hunt for at least a week, and often for 10 days. They often hire an outfitter, who has horses for taking them deeper into public land, or leases private ranches where pickups are often used. Hunting pressure is much lighter, especially on private land, where a lot of elk move after the first few days of hunting season, due to pressure on public land.

I have hunted elk in all those ways, though most has been foot-hunting on public land. In general, the easiest shots come on private land, though the early back-country public-land hunts can also be easier, because they start during the rut.

Twice when hunting private land I've seen 30-some branch-antlered bulls on one mountainside, a week or two after the season opened, and they lingered at least an hour after legal light. You NEVER see such large numbers out in daylight on public land.

In other words, non-resident elk hunting is often far easier than resident elk hunting, with far more options for "picking shots." Yet many non-residents firmly believe they simply must bring a .300 or .338 magnum, rather than the .270's, 7mm magnums and .30-06's used by many if not most residents.

The two bulls I've killed when I've been lucky enough to hunt private land during rifle season, by the way, were standing close to broadside, in the open, at 250 and 150 yards. Both were 6x6's, taken with a .30-06 and a 7mm magnum.

Because I don't own either a .270 or a 7mm. But I certainly have no problem allowing my clients to use them and as I have stated earlier in this discussion, the shooters using them used less bullets and killed theirs just a quickly as ANY client using a .338, .340 Wby or .375. Simply because they could shoot them.
I would say that they were unusual hunter thought because they were experienced enough to know and admit that they shot them better because they kicked less.
Even you, who claims to shoot your 340 better from the bench due to ample padding, says that the 7mm is more pleasant to shoot. It sounds like it could be simply that your 340 is a more accurate rifle from the bench.
I have heard a lot of claims but have yet to meet a person who could shoot a heavy rifle "better" from a field position CONSISTENTLY than a rifle with less recoil.

And while I may not own a 270 or 7mm, I have and do hunt brown bears with my 30-06.

Marinehawk,
Nice choice on the .340 Weatherby cartridge. I have a couple friends who swear by the .300 Weatherby but I feel the .340 is the most versatile Weatherby round.

Thirty three pages of posts!

It�s different for an AK resident, who can hunt brown bear, moose, caribou, sheep etc� several times a year to go out hunting brown bear, perhaps along with other game on the menu, with a .270, .308, 25-06, etc �, than it is for someone from Arkansas, like the OP, to scrape together scarce resources to spend a huge amount of money and time on a once-in-a-lifetime or even a somewhat rare hunt--primarily for brown bear.....

One big distinction that some don't recognize is the difference between AK residents, who can hunt BB at will, and out-of-state hunters who have to spend great resources on a possibly once or twice-in-a-lifetime hunt....

If I was hunting BB essentially in my backyard, I would be happy to hunt with a .270, .308, whatever. But not if I'm spending a ton of money and time just to get there.

�Even you � says that the 7mm is more pleasant to shoot. It sounds like it could be simply that your 340 is a more accurate rifle from the bench.�

I actually didn�t say that. My 7mm Wby, .340 Wby, and .375 Wby all recoil about the same. My 7mm is lighter than my .340, which is lighter than my .375. They all feel about the same. It�s just that my .340 is, so far, a tack driver that I can shoot really well, even better than my smaller-caliber rifles. That being said, I get better groups out of it than I do my .243 Win, and .308s etc� When I said I would love to bring my 7mm on a BB hunt, I meant because it�s really light, not because it recoils less. But, in my case, the weight difference is not enough to make me bring a .243 or a 7mm on a brown bear hunt. I can carry the .340 Wby. The difference between that and a lighter rife is less than 1% of my weight+ the gear I carry. That < 1% is worth it to me even if it is not, or should not be, to others. Just my perspective.

Thanks Moose, it's only one of many good options. Hopefully, I'll do my part.

Sorry to hear about your mom and your heart. I hope you are better soon!

All I know is all I ever carried in brown bear country was a 30/06 stuffed with 200gr Partitions. Of course that was prior to the internet, so I was obviously less informed...

Never felt bad about lugging a 30/06 in Kodiak or SE. I've been in on a brown bear killing on the C in ABC and he died without any fuss. Friend was using a 30/06 too.

Hard to believe I survived all those years.