Need advice on caliber for Moose and bear in Alaska.

[memtb]

Two shots and 2 DRT bears with my 458 win mag 26 inch hand loaded 510 grain RSP. The 458 have twice gotten on loan the African big 5 and everything was one shots

For moose and plains game I use the 405 gr Barnes X. At a Safari Internation convention I talked to the Barnes bullet reps and they enticed me to buy the Barnes 450 gr X I have not yet tested them on any critter.

While there are many deniers, "there is no substitute for cubic inches" is a valid comment when DG is on the menu. It just may prevent you from being placed on the menu! memtb

 

[CCAguns]

I'd opt for the 340 Wby with minimum 250gr NPs.

 

[fta0303]

Precisely my thoughts.
Besides many guides will not let their customers shoot at dangerous game past 100yards.
Who do you think has to dig that wounded grizzly out of the alders? A well placed shot from an 06, 300 win mag or .338 Win will do just fine. In the Canadian Arctic I have never seen a local Inuit polar bear hunter with anything bigger then a 30-06. Only tourist hunters bring the elephant guns, evoking giggles and ridicule from local hunters. Polar bears hit in the heart lung area with a good 180 grain bullet die within 1.5 minutes with no fight left during that time.

My Father worked in Alaska out of Fairbanks in the mid-fifties. He spoke to an Eskimo fellow who came from the North, asked him what was used up there on Polar Bear. The answer: .30-30 or .303 British. Clearly, you use what you have and make it work. The Model 94 provides a fast seven rounds, the .303 in a SMLE I think 10, sworn to be the quickest bolt action by British troops who used it in WWII. Both shoot 30 caliber bullets, neither as fast as the .30-06. Of course, Ituri pygmies hunted elephant with bows.

With a good bullet, a .30-06 will penetrate as much as is needed. A .35 Whelen is as easy to shoot and makes a slightly bigger hole. These remain absolutely proven bear medicine.

A good bullet, accuracy, and a quick-to-target easily handled rifle that you're used to is most important in those critical moments when the bear turns hunter. "Enough gun" is a gun you can brain shoot a bear with at speed.

 

[CCAguns]

And many were killed unloading their 30-30s and even 30-06s. Today's deep penetrating bullets weren't available back then, and a cup & core 220gr bullet from a 30-06 was considered minimum by those who travelled to Alaska to hunt.

Eskimos used what they had, but that is no guarantee it will get the job done. I wouldn't trust my life & limb to the bare minimum.

 

[fta0303]

"You'll do your work on water and lick the bloody boots of 'im that's got it."

I've not heard of excess Eskimo deaths due to the .30-30 or .303. The .303 ammo was probably milsurp, hardball. Good penetrator for a square hit. .30-30 maybe too low a velocity for cup & core to fail , certainly adequate for brain shot from any angle, in close range, proven thus. People tend to make their tools work. Point taken though, most Eskimos likely would have traded for an -06 or 35 Whelen. That Eskimo father probably made his son a more effective bear killer than most sport hunters.

 

[asd9055]

An eskimo growing up in the North in the 40's, maybe even the 30's. Growing up to hunt with spears, and later with any WWI rifle they could get. If you think you are as good as a hunter as that Eskimo was, be my guest, take any small rifle you want.
The question should not be if you can kill big dangerous game with the perfect shot. It should be, will you survive if not everything is perfect. Me, if I ever had the opporunity, I would take the larger caliber rifle I could place 3 shots in succession on a moving target. Abd I would practice a lot. But I am not a great hunter, just one that gets luck and gets meat home.

 

[Marky_mark]

Im going to the peninsula in 2 weeks
Ill be taking my 338 ss with barnes or aframes
Same as what I used on my polar bear, my walrus and my 67" yukon moose
416 ruger will stay at home
Id probably take my 300 wsm before I took my 416, far more flexibility for shooting distance
A frames or barnes for upclose, can use a berger for further away

 

[bearhtr2]

Used a 340 weatherby for 2 Alaskan grizzlies. Used 250 grain partition on both. Both were one shot kills. Better to have a accurate gun that you shoot accurately than poor hit with a bigger gun.

 

[CCAguns]

Yep. Had no desire for bear when I hunted Alaska. Wouldn't hunt elephant either - just personal choice. Have no problem with others wanting to hunt them.

Shot my caribou with my 340 Wby. Luckily got within 100 yards and the animal dropped at the shot. But when I was in the thick stuff with the wind blowing, I was damned glad to have the 340 Wby with 250 NPs loaded. Wind and tall brush sure rattle your nerves while you continually watch ALL around you. I'm a pretty good shot - but good enough?

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

I took a .325WSM with Ab 200gr. to Newfoundland for Moose & Bear. Also took it to South Africa and killed the bigger Plains game with one shot. No DG though.

 

[akmtnhnt]

Just recommend a Taser. Low recoil. Light weight. Easy to pack.

And they affect the only relevant thing - hitting the CNS.

If you had the battery to keep it going to a good long time and the spears to guarantee making contact it'd probably work really really well. Keep it going long enough and it'd be lethal.
It's actually specifically called out to be illegal though.

 

[6fatrat]

.338 win mag or bigger

 

[akmtnhnt]

While there are many deniers, "there is no substitute for cubic inches" is a valid comment when DG is on the menu. It just may prevent you from being placed on the menu! memtb

Except for shot placement. And in this analogy, that's like the turbo or nitrous. Kicks the ever living crap out of displacement and gets better mpg doing it.
223 in the head > 50bmg in the butt.
When it comes to DG 223 in the head > 50BMG to the heart/lungs. Their both dead, but the 223 in the head makes them dead faster.

 

[CCAguns]

.338 win mag or bigger

I believe the 338 Win Mag was once referred to as the Alaskan cartridge.