I've been having fun with the new-to-me 9.3X74R which I acquired early in the summer. As some might recall, another Campfire member used one with good results which he reported here.





That rifle now has a new home:




and it's a bit farther north...




...where the "coyotes" are a bit bigger. (So are the "antelope", but, try as we might, we were unsuccessful in finding one of them that provided more than track soup.)

I didn't know if these boys, especially the 6-year version, had the "stuff" to tramp through the necessary hundreds of yards of fluffy tundra (think hayloft full of loose hay if you're old enough) to get to the scene - and back. But they did. And they waited, not knowing for sure what was happening, while Dad disappeared over tundra and willow, with only the bark and report of the 286 grain bullets - three times- to give them any clue. But they sat as they were told...about 150 yards distant, until it was over. It was a good day for great memories!..........even without a moose.

They aren't simply becoming hunters; they're becoming MY hunters!

Nice!

Very nice and good seeing the lads out, course I would have used a 223AI....grin

Can't wait to get back to Alaska, because when I get back this time the only way I'm leaving is in an urn.

Really cool lookin' Griz...!
And rifle of course!
Well done! And with a definite classic touch...
Ingwe

Great pics! Between you and docdb, you two are really, really making me think I would like to give those bears a try. Just wish my pocketbook (and wife) would allow...

I'd take the great hunt over a great bear any day - if I have to choose. In this case it was definitely fine in the hunt department. I didn't know if my six-year-old had the mettle for a long stalk over tundra and through willows - it ended up being 3/4 mile; 0.76 mile straight line by GPS. (There's plenty of well-paying hunters that can't do that much hiking across deep, tussocky tundra. But there's something to be said about the reward of bologna sandwiches at the end of the trail!) It all seems easier after the fact. Do it while you can, not when you can afford it - if you will.

Great story and photos, I'm sure Timberline will get a big smile when he reads this one. They're lucky boys. Nothing better than pics of youngsters on a hunt!!

VERY cool!

Congratulations on a nice bear, and two great hunting partners!

Ted

That is very cool all the way around!

Klikitarik;
Thanks so much yet again for putting up photos of your part of the world. I always enjoy them and especially so when they include your fine family sir!

Congratulations on the nice "coyote" and yet another tip of the hat from me for taking your family out to learn what we love.

Very well done indeed!

Dwayne

Quick question, just curious...how well does that Ruger shoot?

I'm guessing well enough.

Congratulations to all.

Reading between the lines sounds like there may be an interesting untold story.

You want to read between the lines? Okay, well, how it shoots had nothing to do with needing three shots nor my own second guessing of what transpired; which, as with many things involving bears, might easily have gone worse.

I don't have time at the moment for any more detail than that, but I will say that I never did feel hampered by "only" carrying a single shot, though that may have had something to do with the fact that I had a Redhawk stuffed with 1880 grains of lead in my waistband.

Those lads have a solid look to them. Tough spirit comes in small pacages too, and those boys have the look of serious hunters. Good job Dad.

Randy

First off I never questioned how it shoots. Second I never considered your second guessing anything-and didn't imply that in any way-since I was not there. Third from reading your prior posts I also figured you had the experience not to hamper yourself intentionally or unintentionally.

The only intent of my comment was to think that going after a grizzly with a single shot on your own, along with three shots being taken, in what appears to be relatively thick cover, has the possibility of being an interesting tale that others may be interested in.

Guess I'm not the only one guilty of reading between the lines.

Didn't mean to infer anything negative at all from your post; guess I should have applied an icon or two; and I was answering some other posts in a single reply. No offense intended.

I can promise you that there is some material which I didn't post which might be fuel for second guessing. I do it enough myself without additional help.

But as someone else asked, it does shoot nicely, and mean that in a very good, overall way - even in how much it hurts or actually doesn't in a light compact package.

I did have a good idea what you meant. My response does indeed look defensive. (A rather dry sense of humor comes across very poorly when one is looking at things through a computer screen. That was my fault.) My apologies, I was funnin' along with what you were saying, not trying to refute or defend anything.

Klikitarik

I almost pulled my post a couple times, because truth be told after my initial reaction I realized I was guessing. You've given me no reason to think adversely of you.
However, once it was up, I said let it ride. Ego can be a stern master. My apologies returned.

Harry Neil

My question was serious, I was wondering if it produced a reasonable group at 100 yards, I have no idea what one of these rifles will do and I am contemplating wasting more money on another rifle I do not need. So my question stands, how does it shoot, 2 inch group or better??

In all honesty, Jimmy, I haven't grouped the rifle. It shoots well enough and with little load development - I've only tried two bullets and powders- that I figured I'd just hunt with it this fall. After initially sighting it, I've simply tried a shot or three from time to time from various positions and at distances I've known either before or after the shots.

The best answer may be here since it's the same rifle:

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads...rue#Post2927464


I have done more benching with my #1s in 45-70 and 218 Bee. They are both quite capable of holding close to, perhaps even less than, an inch. A couple of others I haven't actually wrung out.

Now, if I could just shoot as well as this rifle can while standing in the "safari crouch" (as seen in some of the older paintings); that was how I almost missed the first shot on this bear. And that deserves "the rest of the story" which battue quite smartly read between the lines. More later.

Well thanks, and not only to you, Randy, but to all the others who have offered many kind comments.

These boys are rather good lads and I am -(can you tell?)- quite proud of them. Obviously, at least to anyone familiar with the varieties of tundra that there is, the simple fact that they tailed me in making the approach to this animal proves something. And, it's true, they do listen (for awhile) when I tell them that they must be as quiet as possible when we're hunting - except the younger often forgets and wanders off cow-calling, a rendition which may not be quite true, but I figure he may just bring something around, and that we be a much bigger reward than anything I can do. But these fellows did much more noteworthy deeds the day following the bear hunt day when, after returning to the beach where the boat was anchored in a sheltered lagoon, the older helped the younger over the high bow while waves rolled over the stern. This took place after I pushed and levered the boat out through the narrow, shallow entrance to the lagoon in an effort to beat darkness and on our five-mile trip back to camp. In hindsite, a real quick lesson that, I regretted leaving the lagoon for the swells were building rapidly and there was shelter not only for us, but also for the boat. Arriving back at camp, the waves were coming straight into the rocky beach from the only unprotected direction. And since they were as large and close, I had not had a chance to put my pants and shoes back on after leaving the lagoon. Eight-year-old son handles the boat quite well when things are calmer, but that was not water I wanted to place the burden of responsibility on him for, so I was in my jacket and 'Looms. And landing even with minimal gear and the two boys was just about impossible and the older son did his best to try, but he wisely made the judgement that the rocks were simply too slippery even for one with a sometimes daredevil spirit. So we landed the boys and gear some distance from our camp in the protection of a hook and I returned to secure the boat at anchor and then disembark. By then the two boys had managed to drag the sled load of gear most of the way to the cabin, the kind of thing they seem to be quick to do when a situation gets rather ugly. That, to me, is a priceless quality and something I have yet to find a way to take any credit for them learning.

But, the effort to try to hunt the bear was one which involved the usual combination of open tundra bisected by lines of willows. And it required the usual memorization of some rather ordinary features which typically just blend in with everything else as elevation and distance change. So, though I was keeping track of which willow line we had last seen the bear behind, and which way it tended to be moving as it grazed, it was pretty hard to know for sure just exactly where it would be when that screen of willows was breeched. And I figured I was pretty safe in coming through the willows downwind from the bear. What I did instead was nearly walk right into it, and the wind was not in my favor. I caught a glimpse of the animal through a narrow slot and had to reverse a bit to get a second "take". The view was clear enough and the shot short enough and the bear had not seen or sensed me yet. Unfortunately the clear view I had involved a slight crouch, hardly an optimum stance from the less than optimum hind-leg stance anyway. But its what I got and I figured I was overdue for being winded shortly, so a decided to take the relatively simple, short distance shot. I know the hike had done me no good in terms of being a rock solid shooting platform. But worse was the fact that I sometimes get this crazy thumping in my head when I get within a certain distance to these bears- I guess it's more common when my intentions are less than pure from a bear's perspective. So that what happened. The bullet, an Interlocked, made a tremondous whop so I knew I had connected, but the bear was gone before I could have fired a second shot even with a semi-auto. I feared a gut shot judging from the sound of the impact and the immediate reaction of the animal. I walked the short way to the scene to check for blood. There was none, and I wasn't about to spend any more time with the bear between me and the two boys. So it was back around the way I had come, mostly to block the path between my sons in case the bear had enough juice to attempt anything. The thought did occur that perhaps I should have brought the bolt rifle, but then reason returned and I realized that all I was going to get with anything was probably just one shot anyway if I had to go into the thick stuff; then it would be up to me and the wheelgun to finish the job. So make one shot count. Fortunately, the bear was quite sick and only wanted to avoid more trouble. It made quite a ruckus as it pushed the alders aside in its effort to move away. Seeing that, I was able to locate it as it stood trying to gain some strength. It was a simple matter to slip two quick shots into its broadside chest area the first of which was plenty. Both shots were fired and a third shot readied so quickly, however, that the empties simply disappeared and several minutes later taken were no use in finding them.

But lest anyone think that these boys weren't having some fun and celebrating, aside from their instant reaction when I walked out and gave them a two arms up success signal - which they returned- they also gave me this:



'Course that isn't a "real internet hunting pic" so I wasn't about to use it. But I'm coming clean - or trying. (And I can't wait 'til I have to use one of my big game tickets to cover the trigger pull of one of these little guys. But the time for that is their choosing, not mine.)

Thank you I am thinking of swapping a few guns and I believe I am going to look into what it would take to get set up and reloading for this caliber. I looked at a CZ in 9.3 x 62 but it left me cold for the near $800 they want for them now. My compliments on your kids and the bear!