We are heading to Alaska next year on a DIY Caribou hunt with 40 Mile Air out of Tok.

I've been thinking hard about bringing a lightweight 270 Winchester on this adventure loaded with 150gr Premium bullets.

The only thing that I'm a little hesitant about are the Grizzly bears that roam the area we are hunting. I've got a wide variety of larger calibers that could prove to be a better choice, but the 270 has always faired nicely.

I'd like to hear your experiences, would you choose a different caliber?

223 AI for sure.

http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/ross-seyfried-busting-the-magnum-myth/

The 270 will do just fine on caribou. That area has lotsa bears that seldom bother but your 270 will work on those also. If I were guiding for grizzly bears or purposely hunting them over bait, I'd probably up the ante a bit.

Have you hunted there before?......and what time of year are you flying in?

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Contrary to what the counter leaners in any given gunshop would have you believe, there is not a grizzly behind every bush in Alaska. And the ones we have are not bullet proof. A 270 with a 150 grain premium will serve you well.

I've never hunted in Alaska before. The hunt will be in Mid August, 2016. I understand bullet placement is key; I consider myself to be a good shot. Would you recommend the 150gr Nosler or 150gr TTSX with the possibly of a big grizzly lurking?

Yes to both of those. Whichever your rifle likes best.

More important than what gun you pack is not doing stupid stuff in bear country. And when it comes to bou hunting, the biggest risk you'll have is if you carry pack out the meat from the kill site in multiple trips, finding a bear that has claimed what's left.

That said I think the biggest problem hunters face when coming up is trying to gear up for every possible scenario vs. focusing on the primary reason for the trip. Since it's a bou hunt, your .270 is a fine choice and I'd let your rifle tell you what bullet it likes best whether a 150 nosler, 150 ttsx, or even a 130 ttsx.

.270's have accounted for plenty of bears over the years.

I thought there was some big fines and court actions for shooting a grizzly that had not yet attacked you?

Quit worrying about the stupid bears and go hunting! Your chances of getting daggered by a half-dead caribou when you walk up to it are probably greater than getting eaten by a grizz.

I agree, the 270 is better than its ever been.Bullet selection is fantastic these days for all chamberings.

That's why I let them have one bite of me before I start shooting.

There is no 150 gr TTSX but no worries any premium 130 gr or heavier bullet will do the trick. I would choose the 150 gr Partition myself but there are also a bunch of other great bullets.

Yes they work fine up here.

Sis inlaw, 150 Partition, JC Penney branded FN Mauser. One shot deal

Wife woman, 150 Gameking, FN 98 I rebarreled and restocked. Not a grizzly but also a one shot deal.

Caribou are really easy to kill. Load up whatever bullet shoots well in your rifle and have fun. There's lots of bears in that country but odds are pretty good you won't even see one. Odds of you needing to shoot one are way low if you use your head. Pack a thermocell and enjoy the heck out of your trip.

I would absolutely use a 270. A plain old 130 Interlock would be perfect or whatever similar bullet your rifle likes. If you are worried about running into bears, bring a few ‘hard’ bullets along as back ups loads for bear. 25-06 and 270 are just perfect caribou rifles.

Only know two old pals who had to sort things out with aggressive grizzlies at short range in sheep/caribou country.Both use 270's with 130 Partitions and 130 Bitterroots.Both bear were dead pretty quick,one at under 50 yards and the other a lot closer.

[quote=TheKid]Yes they work fine up here.

Sis inlaw, 150 Partition, JC Penney branded FN Mauser. One shot deal

Wife woman, 150 Gameking, FN 98 I rebarreled and restocked. Not a grizzly but also a one shot deal.

That is a really nice bear!

My Grandpa spent the Korean war stationed in Alaska because the Gov't was worried Russia was going to invade. Anyway, he told me while he was there that the largest Brown Bear taken up to that time was killed by a Colonel with a .270. That's good enough for me.

Maybe Phil Shoemaker will post his experience with brown bear clients who use .270 Winchesters.

I've killed a number of caribou with the .270 and its rifle-loony equivalent, the .280 Remington, but one of the biggest bull caribou taken on any of my trips was killed by a kid whose father had given him a Northwest Territories hunt as a high-school graduation present. He took the bull with one shot from a .22-250, as I recall with factory ammo that was NOT loaded with Barnes TSX's, or any of the other bullets that supposedly transformed .224 centerfires into big game rifles over the past few years.

I always wanted a .220 swift for culling wild burros. Someday maybe, if I ever end up with a honey hole full of wild burros.

Yep, apparently the best burro-culling cartridge ever!

I used to know an old Montana game department employye, and one of his jobs way back when was to shoot elk that were destroying rancher's haystacks. (They use different solutions today.) His favorite "elk stack" rifle was a .220 Swift, as I recall a pre-'64 Model 70 Winchester. If close enough he'd head-shoot them, but if the range was a little longer (sometimes necessary on warier elk) he'd put the bullet right behind the shoulder, through the top of the heart. It worked every darn time.

The .270 is as good for caribou as it is for mule deer , in other words about perfect. And with Partitions, TSX, Swifts or any of the other great bullets is not a bad grizzly round either.

Truer words were never spoken...for "grizzly" you can substitute elk, moose, sheep, kudu, eland, gemsbok, waterbuck, zebra, T-Rex, etc, etc.

Does that 270 kill like the 7 Rem mag?

It is mighty tough to overcome that .007" in bullet diameter , but it comes close

I carried a .270 when we did a DIY Caribou hunt on the Mulchatna quite a few years ago. 130 grain Hornady soft points worked well.

Just out of curiosity Phil..... What would a 44mag shot out of a pistol do to a pissed off average brown bear? Arctic Ammo 300ish g. Fmj. Consider the shot/shots poorly placed from a scared fishing guide. Spent two summers pondering this question in your neck of the woods.

Take notes boys, you've been treated to valuable info all in one post!

My next elk hunt will have 160gr Partitions onboard. I've put that off way too long.

Unremarkably, those of us that use the 270 on elk here in grizzly country never think twice about its capability on grizzlies. Mature bull elk are a heck of a lot tougher than caribou, and grizzlies are grizzlies.

Your best defense against grizzlies is using your head and keeping a clean camp. It's just not that hard. All it takes is a little care.

As was said, load what your rifle likes and rock on. My personal favorite for elk hunting is the 150 Partition, but I've seen more elk killed with factory 130's than any other round/bullet combo.

I've got an uncle who has a pint jar full of elk ivories in his gun closet. %80 of them were collected with an old Rem700 ADL in 270. Of that %80 about %80 of those were one shot kills. He uses Federal Premium 150 Partition ammo. All but a handful of those elk came from public land in CO up in the high country so not all easy shots on an alfalfa patch either.

Elk are tough, caribou aren't. Load good bullets, practice profusely, and be selective if you've never hunted caribou before. The mediocre bulls will look giant to a deer hunter and you'll end up shooting one you wouldn't have if you waited a little longer.

The R.S. article is by the same guy that 30+ years ago declared the .340 Wby. to be the "one" if choices came to it.

I'm getting along in years and no longer have the stamina to hunt high and hard. My magnums are all gone. I use better bullets and could easily get along with a matched pair of small ring Mausers chambered in .243 and .308. I keep about fifteen or so center fire rifles because I like them and the enjoyment they provide, certainly not for actual need.

Enjoy,

Jack

Ross apparently never learned how magic the .270 was until he'd been guiding elk hunters on his Oregon ranch for a while.

At first he discouraged hunters from using the .270, but after a while saw the light. Then he wrote the article, and when people started waxing ecstatic over his insights, somebody pointed out that he was writing the same basic things Jack O'Connor wrote decades earlier. But apparently belief in the .270 is different when it comes from a .340 fan.

When we hunted caribou in Quebec, by far the most important accessory we took with us was a good head net. I would not have been able to stay in the field more than an hour if I didn't have that net on my head. The term "black flies" does not accurately describes those little pests. It should be "little black demons from the pit of hell." One guy in our camp got bitten so many times that he got sick and missed one entire day of hunting. I don't know if they are as bad in Alaska where the OP is headed, but I would not risk it! Take extra headnets too because someone in camp will not have brought one and you could sell one to them for a million dollars, and they would consider it a bargain.

Another important item to take is black pepper. Take a LOT of it, and put a LOT of it on the meat to help keep bugs off it.

Good luck and God speed on your caribou hunt.

I've been on two DIY Mulchatna hunts. On the first one we never saw a bug --- we DID see snow and ice.

On the second one, the White Sox were really bad. I had SCARS on my wrists where I'd been bitten.

As far as the Black Flies go------ My tanned Caribou hide is covered with Black Fly bite marks on the inside of the hide: gruesome.

I like to use my 7x57 with 175 heavies....can eat up to the wound channel. Them .270 are one shot wonders and will put the boots to most anything you hit properly. Caribou are like rabbit, pretty thin skinned and light meat/tissue density. They will run far when hit wrong, I've used many .270's so much in the past years I have nothing but praise for that caliber but as far as Grizzlies go I prefer bigger/heavier bullets, I like how they work on big Grizz. Have fun.

I've been on a few caribou hunts from Quebec to Alaska, and bugs can be bad early in the season. Have hunted the Mulchatna herd twice, and at the start of the first hunt all the caribou were on top of any mountain in sight, because that's the only way they could get away from bugs. By the end of the 10-day hunt (it included moose) the weather was a lot cooler, and the bugs were way down and the caribou spread out in lower country.

The general rule in most caribou country is that early in the season the bugs are bad and the caribou are in velvet, but the fishing is better (and fishing is almost always well worth bring a rod to caribou country). By the second week in September the antlers are hard (if not totally velvet free) the bugs are way down, and the fishing not so good.

Rainbow, Silver Salmon, and Char / Dolly fishing can be on fire in mid September. Just depends on the area and river system. Mid September is big rainbow time in the Bristol Bay Area. Big Dollies and Grayling this time of the year in Mr. Shoemaker's backyard on the peninsula.

The 270 is cool again!

Not until Ingwe says say.
A PooBah's blessing is the ultimate endorsement.

JB said the .270 is magic. That right there is the trump card. Ingwe loses.

As ingwe would say, "Dat's mean"...

DF

I think Ingwe may be "turning" as he is notably absent on .270 threads of late.

Yeah, just the thought of anything dealing with a .270 seems to mess with him...

DF

I bet he is "in the closet".