New Alaska Rifle Tips?

[nwmnbowhunter]

My best friend has an MG Arms ultralight in
375 A.I. with brake. Fully loaded and scoped weighs about 7 pounds. Kicks about like a 30-06 and shoots well under MOA.

 

[jjmp]

Keep your 06,but buy a 338 win/magnum,ss/syth, tuffer then blued n wood ,it's no easy haul up there ,good thing your young n tuff used to cold . I've got all the carthridges you talked about believe me less in number is More . Your not gonna be hunt big bears all the time ,but the 06 & 338 can do it all ,& save you Thousands if you reload , Best of Luck ,do it while your young !,Cheers .

 

[Nowoolies]

Keep with a .300WM and put a dead mule in the butt or two
My CZ has two dead mules in the butt and it now kicks like a .308 with a 168 gk and I only use 212ELD-X

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

LARGE & DANEROUS GAME (GRIZ) RIFLE....needed for Alaska trip, shots out to about 500 if needed. I'm a big guy and like 300 Win Mag, but hesitate buying one due to recoil. Don't want to buy a rifle I hate practicing with well enough to learn well at distance with with my scope. I like the 7mm Rem Mag a lot but am wondering if that's big enough for brown bear close range (including defensive role). I could use my 30-06 with 220's but there again same thing. Any Alaska guys, what do you recommend?

I have use the 300 win mag for 30 years up here and love it P also reload and the berger 215gr hybird has been my bullet I have used with the best take down of all bullets moose bears boos deer ect but if this is a once in a life time hunt and for big costal bears get a 375 H&H or a 338 mag get a brake on it

 

[chilli42]

Would you guys really want to take down a large grizz or brown at a distance with a 30-06? The poster seems he will not be with a guide if he is living up there. I would be comfortable with the 30-06 with heavy for caliber bullets in a defensive situation ... you are only going to get off one shot and it better be on the money. The poster is talking about a hunt situation of up to 500 yards, IMO would want something like a 375 H&H. I would not want to be the one bushwhacking for an injured bear.

 

[hzy1369]

I have a off the self Remington 300 win and it shoots softer then my 243. The recoil pad and stock really make it nice. My 20 year old 30 06 BDL is punishment after 5 round and is now a safe queen. Liked the stock 300 so much got the gen 2 and put it in a Magpul hunter stock shoots great light recoil but heavy to carry all day but that's only if your packing it. Not bad for spot and stalk

 

[Frog4aday]

Keep your 06,but buy a 338 win/magnum,ss/syth, tuffer then blued n wood ,it's no easy haul up there ,good thing your young n tuff used to cold . <SNIPPED STUFF>

This post was a GREAT reminder to me that the BIGGER issue in the move to Alaska is not whether the .30-06 Springfield can 'get er done' but the WEATHER! Having lived and hunted in W. Washington, you realize that what JJMP is saying is true: stainless steel and synthetic guns are a bigger consideration than people realize. Alaska (especially coastal Alaska) is WET. It rains a lot. A blued gun with a wood stock is going to really suffer under those conditions. If one doesn't have a SS gun, then cerakote is great stuff and a swap of a walnut stock to a synthetic or laminated stock, would be a good move. I like laminates as they give the feel of wood without being as susceptible to the wet weather. We have more options than ever - we really are living in the 'golden age' of rifles. More cartridges than ever. Better powders than ever. More over the counter QUALITY firearms available for just about any hunting situation. It's good to be a shooter/hunter right now.

 

[Varminator 911]

How about a 338 WM or 375 HH with a short barrel and a suppressor. Shoot about a 230 gn copper bullet to reduce recoil while maintaining penetration. Good recoil pad and stock that fits. Reduced recoil and noise with enough caliper and penetration for big bears.

 

[six pack]

A 300 mag with 200g A Frames or Partitions will work fine if you're on a guided hunt. However, I think most will agree that a 338 or a 375 would be better. I had my M70 375 H&H Safari ceracoated and restocked for Alaska and used the 270g Barnes that worked perfectly. I am planning another trip and am working up a load for the 250g TTSX. It will handle your 500 yard shot...which would be extremely rare...and doesn't really kick that much. Actually, it's more of a boom and a push than a crack and a snap.

 

[Frog4aday]

Would you guys really want to take down a large grizz or brown at a distance with a 30-06? The poster seems he will not be with a guide if he is living up there. I would be comfortable with the 30-06 with heavy for caliber bullets in a defensive situation ... you are only going to get off one shot and it better be on the money. The poster is talking about a hunt situation of up to 500 yards, IMO would want something like a 375 H&H. I would not want to be the one bushwhacking for an injured bear.

You ask a good question - would I WANT to go hunt grizzly and brown bear with a .30-06 Springfield? Hmmm...I think I take it more from the perspective of COULD a person safely and reasonably do so and the answer is yes. With quality, deep penetrating bullets (Barnes? Partitions? Trophy Bonded?) with a high sectional density, the ought six will get the job done.

If I was in the possession of that gun and the chance to go on a hunt came up, I wouldn't feel compelled to run down to the store and buy something else. I won't be alone on the hunt, I'll have partners. And shot placement and penetration are still "key" regardless. Bear (ha!) in mind that the OP did state that recoil was an issue that concerned him. That being the case, COULD his .30-06 work? Yes, it could. While it might not be the first choice (bigger is better when the game being pursued can, and will, kill you) it is not a ridiculous choice either. Many a big bear has been killed with less.

Heck, if I had to chose between hunting a big bear with a .338 Win Mag shooting 'cup & core' bullets or a .30-06 shooting a heavy Barnes TTSX or Partition, I think I'd take the better BULLET option over the MORE POWER option. Yet, people back in the day got it done with cup and core bullets time and time again. We have it so much better now.

Having said all that, I have a .338 Win Mag in the safe right now and faced with a bear hunt, I'd absolutely pull it out for the job. But more because I already own it and can shoot it (mercury recoil reducer in the buttstock and Limbsaver on the end of it.) It still wallops me when the 'fun lever' is pulled, but my Remington Titanium .308 has more painful recoil to me (the velocity of that LIGHT gun coming back into my shoulder is just vicious.)

As for the 500 yard thing, I think the idea of bears and long range shooting got 'merged' a bit. He wasn't thinking of shooting a BEAR at 500 yards. He wanted a cartridge for Alaska hunting that was capable of a 500 yard shot. (Caribou? Sheep? Mountain Goat?) But the way his first post was written, it came out sounding as if he wanted to take a 500 yard shot at BEARS and he clarified that wasn't his intention in a later post.

Now, if I decided I was going to make it my life's mission to hunt bears all the time, then I think one would be prudent to GO BIG and for me that would be a .375 H&H. It'd have to be heavy, too, because I'd need to be able to shoot it without flinching. That would mean I'd have to work out more to get my skinny little 'city arms' in shape to carry something weighing 11 or 12 lbs around all day, ha! Still far lighter than the 23 pound M-60 I had to 'hump' around for Uncle Sam, so there's that...

 

[org57]

I spent 7 years in Anchorage (Army assignment). I hunted all the time. I am 6'2", 200 lbs. I tried the 338mag and it shook me pretty hard. I went to the 300 Win. MAG, and it did everything I wanted it to. I got caribou, moose, and black bear. Could not AFFORD the cost of the guided hunt for grizz or polar bear. I would wait till you get to Alaska, look around, go to local gun shops and ask to test fire several weapons. I am selling my NEW Remington 700, CDL, stainless flutted, 7mm, with new LEUPOLD 3.5-10x50 scope, mount, rings and 3 extra stocks one of which is a nutmeg color thumb hole stock, TIMNEY trigger. All are new, never fired, just bore sighted. All for $1650. Good luck to you. Wish I was going to.

 

[Dutch Jennings]

My best friend has an MG Arms ultralight in
375 A.I. with brake. Fully loaded and scoped weighs about 7 pounds. Kicks about like a 30-06 and shoots well under MOA.

Sounds like a nice rifle. I'll keep it in mind, thanks. I think I'll just depend on 30-06 up there to begin with and buy something else in Alaska if I decide I really need it later.

 

[ntsqd]

Was it me, I'd be thinking of a CRF action in .375 H&H. Stainless if possible, Cerakote if not. Composite stock only. This isn't a mountain rifle, don't go light on the stock.

For dangerous game I'd make any scope mount a QD, just in case. Might look into some of the MSR offerings and see if a co-witness arrangement is possible so it is the same cheek-weld scoped or iron.

I'm coming to hate brakes except when I'm the person squeezing the trigger. Since I don't shoot heavy calibers all of my brakes are slowly coming off.

 

[Don A Parsons]

Yuppers, my vote is a old school 30/06 loaded heavy to go after critters,,, 7 Mag,,, 300,,, 338... ect... Even a 308 or British 303... Ha...

The now 3 rd world record Moose got plugged by a Brit Enfield a few years ago... Iron sights and duct tape holding the stock together...

All weather is a good idea,,, hot add dry as a pop corn fart inland at times,,, or dam cold and raining alot...

The funds you save will be better spent on a multi layer out door gear,,, thick light weight puffy inner gear to stay warm and dry,,, and a tuff as nails rain coat add stickers,,, """keep the gear weigth in check,,,""" you can thank me latter once you get up there... Get you gear extra large so you can move around freely...

PS: Travel with a open mind and hart,,, you Minnesota folks are good at this... """Expect the least to reap the rewards of the best,,,""" Alaska can be glory or bust...

Self mind dictates this...

Oh,,, don't forget about the little bugs,,, they will eat you alive if your not packing the best spray and bug net... You'll appreasshate the cold days since its the freedom of the North when there are no bugs