i keep hearing the best all around rifle for alaska is a .338 win. mag.

i don't doubt that it would be very over all useful , but would you be better off going on up to .375/416 class gun if you were hunting in areas with high populations of big bears , or can you get by just fine with anyone of the many .300 magnums and really only need the .338 and up for a big bear.

mark

.338 win mag will do you just fine. If i were to own just one rifle that would be it.

I'm with fish. You can buy a lot of guns in big calibers but you can do it all and well with a 338.

.338 Win Mag is a great gun. If you want something that will shoot flatter go with a .340 Weatherby or .338 Ultra Mag.

IMO, the .338 caliber is one of the most versatile calibers for reloading.

Minker, when I moved here from Ohio 16 years ago I brought a 338win mag with me. I have used it from deer, mtn goat and brown bear. For just a all around gun that is my choice. Although now I now carry a 458win or 375 H&H while guiding or for general screwing around the house or mushroom picking ect.. I agree with the rest the 338 is probably your best choice.

ditto on the 338 BUT, probably a better choice for an all around evry-day use gun is a 22LR. Get a tack driver to go with your 338.

Yeah, White, I need a 22LR ;o)

Funny you guys say the .338. I own one, and it is my best rifle and I take it on most everything. But if I had to say ONE rifle, I'd probably go with the 300 Win Mag. I don't own one, but from what I heard its a good BIG gun and can go small. Hmmm...interesting.

Alaskan, if bears are involved in the equation I'd have to say 338 is best for a "smaller caliber" if your worried about meat loss on bou or deer neck and head shoot them. 300 are ok but I've seen plenty of bears shot with them and think you need a little more, thats just my opinion not saying that your wrong or anything.

.300 is nothing more than a .30-06. Look at the ballistics, you'd be surprised. If you are going to go with a .300, you might as well go with a .300 RUM.

300 ultra mag!!!

Like I said, I don't have a 300, just from what I've "heard" I thought it would have been the popular choice. Glad to see the .338 was a good purchase. I sure like it though!

I agree with the masses. 338 win is it..best all around gun.
shoots nice out to 300 yds with 225 gr.

There are lots of lead chocies for the 338,
180, 210, 225, 250, 275 gr's.
Nosler, bearclaw, swift a frame, barnes x, sierras etc....
If you were hand loading, you could laod up some 210's or 180's for deer, goat, sheep, or go up to the 275 for big bear..

with the 275's it is just shy of a 375 in ft/lbs..

a 325 wsm would be a good choice as well. if the round contiunes to be popular, but a handloader could do well with various bullets weights.

"can you get by just fine with anyone of the many .300 magnums and really only need the .338 and up for a big bear."

problem is, you step out of the truck in most places and bear are a concern. not syaing there is a charging, anrgy snot dripping bear around every tree, but you have to be aware of the possibility of them.


I personally would not want to have to make a shot that counted with a 300 and some 180's or even 200's..since I got here I took my 300 on 1 sheep hunt and have not picked it up in 4 yrs, only to move it in the safe. I would rather have the 375 to face dwon a bear, but would be confident in the 338 ability to knock em down.

now a wolf charging me in Montant at 10 paces, bring out the 458.

Sure would be great entertainment to watch the cajun treat that wolf like an otter coming through an ice hole wouldn't it (WOLF ON!!!)

It's amazing how many bears the Alaska Wolfman killed or the book said he killed with a 06 & 220 gr bullets. he could have been chewed up, but he must have been cool & steady. smith

killing them from 50, 100 even 200 yds is not a problem..

it is the ones that pop out 10-50 ft in front of you and decide either you are a threat or you are food..
those are the ones you need a big gun for. and with this always being a possibility: prepardness and prevention make a difference..

I would not want to use a 30-06 when i could be using a 338 or 375 or 426..

i would rather have a 30 06 over a smaller caliber or a stick or knife though.

426...nice.....

My big bear gun is a .375 and I have killed everything from whitetail to moose with it. Topped with a straight 4 power and detach mounts, it is my "go to" gun on almost every trip. I wouldn't want any of my other guns (.270, .300 RUM, .480 Ruger) if a bear charged.

Paper bag

Kusko,
that 375 is a great gun. I carry mine alot also I like that it still has "some distance" for a larger bore rifle. I use mine for moose/grizzly hunting. But when on the peninsula or kodiak it's the 458 with 510 grain pills for me. Man can that gun can tip them over. No one has mentioned the 416 but that also is a really good gun, has some reach and I've seen some devasting results.

Hup, I'm not familiar with the 426 I'll have to look into it. Ammo must be spendy? I'm paying 120 a box for the 458.

Holy cow !! Why not reload?

i've had a .458 for many years and i'd pack it if i had to crawl thru a alder thicket after a bear.

my .50 bmg single shot would take out anything in short order but its a little unweildy at 29 1/2 pounds , not too mention the barrel length .

finally got to look first hand at a ruger hawkeye alaskan in .375 ruger , i think i need one .

i have a .300 weatherby , recently looked at a rem.700sps in .300 rem. ultra mag., it has 18% more juice than the weatherby. got to looking , they make a .338 RUM too .

might just keep the weatherby and buy the .338 RUM and the .375 ruger.

i have other short range bear medicine , marlin guide gun in 45/70 as well as i now have a pair of .10 ga.magnum street howiters.

i have quite a few targit grade .22's , i like my .17 mach 2 and .17 hrm as well.

i have a savage model 24 , 22/.410 i think would be handy to carry for small game after the bears go to sleep.

The point is; will you have it with you when you need to?

You can own all that you have but you need one when you are there. That's what you asked isn't it?

White,
I've been moving around the state lately looking for some marten population to trap and affordable housing. Two tough requirments.. so I have sold most reloading equipment and space to get going again. But seriously how many of those catridges can a guy shoot. I'm not a puzz but that 1 really does kick.

Uhhhh.....what the heck is there to hunt in Ohio that has you so concerned that you've bought all AFRICAN SAFARI guns??

I may add though, "because I want to." is a VERY acceptable answer.

I hunted with an o6 for years, 220 gr. pills. While it did alot of killing, and I shot it A LOT, I switched to the .338, as my son, as well as friends, were taking an interest in bears.
I've since had ample oppertunity to take deer, moose, many bears, etc. with it and am convinced it is ONE of the best Alaskan calibers out there. I also belive it is at the upper limit on what level of recoil most can manage. A sesion at the range leaves my teeth vibrating!
With a quality bullet,(I shoot the 225 gr. Swift A-Frame), and proper shot placement, the results are nothing short of astounding.

alaskan , groundhogs are fun to hunt and blow to bits in the process . you should see what a .458 or a .50 bmg does to one.


you can't hunt deer in ohio with any centerfire rifle. varmits , small game , furbearers , thats about it. wild hogs if you find them .

that was just a small sampling of my guns.

405 win., 45/120/3 1/4" sharps, 50/90 sharps, 8 ga. double, 11m/m mauser , i can go on and on .

i love to shoot , reload, cast bullets, collect old guns .

yes, because i want to !

From what I've seen on my trips up, the area that your in would be a big factor. I set up a 300 RUM mainly for moose and bou, would have worked fine in the more open areas, but in dense foliage (alders and such) I felt alittle naked...lol

My hunting mate uses a 338wm with 300gn projectiles on buffalo with devastating results.
I have a 375H&H and use 300gn projectiles on buffalo and wild scrub bulls with simular results to the 338wm.

If I had to buy a new all round rifle it would be a SAKO 338.
Al

For what it's worth I can kill anything in Alaska, including big bears, with my .300 Weatherby Magnum. I do not feel undergunned with it. But it is a little long for the type of bear hunting that I do.

So for big bears I went with a Remington XCR chambered in .375 RUM. I had the barrel chopped down to 21" and have an EO Tech red dot sight on top of it for close encounters in thick cover.

The reason I chose the .375 RUM is because at the time I was looking for this rifle I was reading about Hal Waughs adventures as a bear guide and thought it would be cool to have a rifle chambered in .375 Weatherby.

I couldn't find a factory rifle that was chambered in that caliber so I decided to go with .375 H&H. But then I read about shorting the barrel and velocity drop so I settled on the RUM..... and it kicks!

- Clint

Clint, I heard that thing is a BEAST!

Kicks the snot right out, I hear.
I have a friend who guides bear hunters here in S.E. He carries a 460, w/muzzle brake. I guess there might be sound reasoning behind such a choice, but for a hunting rifle that I would use for day to day endevours, no thanks.
There always seems to be more horse power, but I belive that, for an all-around Alaskan hunting rifle, a .375 or a .338, stoked with a quality bullet, and adequate practice with such, is the answer.

i know this is an all around gun topic that includes bears but i don't hunt them but i carry a 22-250 whenever i go anywhere. i've gotten quite a few different animals throughout my life and nothing beats a well placed shot. head and neck shots are all i go for. i don't know how many caribou over the years but i've never used anything bigger than a 22-250 on them. i don't get moose often but i've killed them with a 223 with a neck shot. on thursday two of my friends got back from hunting bearded seals out in the ocean these are anywhere from 3-600 pound animals depending on age. i've used a 22-250 with all the 50+ oogruks i've gotten during the spring. that goes for seals also and hopefully this fall that will also include sea otters. i don't see the the point in carrying a elephant gun for animals that can be taken with a small caliber gun. i have some of the big caliber guns like a 30-06, 270, and 7mm rem mag but i only carry them if there is a chance of running into beluga. those guns were given to me that is the only reason i have them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EVqT3XEzss
All you need.
Steve,

Yeah, it weighs just under 7 lbs fully loaded and kicks so hard that the bolt handle peels the skin off my trigger finger. So I wear a pair of Mechanix Gloves when I shoot it.... Since I like Barnes Bullets I shoot 300 gr Barnes TSX hand loads out of it. It seriously does kick hard!



- Clint

Well I guess you WOULD drop it if you leaned back and didn't hold on to it like everybody in that video... LOL

- Clint

You guys all have much more experience with bears than I do. I have never gone out looking for them and have never had to shoot out of self-defense... this being said, I love my model 70 Winchester 30-06. After hunting with it for a couple of years and really learning how it reacts to different yardage, bullets, inclines, etc. I have a decent feel for it. It is my "big" meat maker.
When I first moved up to AK, I had two guns... that 30-06 and a 12 gauge. I could take everything I wanted with those two firearms from squirells to caribou and had peace of mind while out berry picking. I have since legitimized a few others and am working on legitimizing the next one. I don't think I am going bigger though... maybe a muzzel loader or something slightly larger than my .22lr for sitting for fox.
I now live where there are black bears and am thinking that I may hunt them... I'll do the research, but I think I should be okay with that 30-06.
Not that I would do this, but I have heard of polar bear being taken with .223.

I'm guessing we're still talking about the 375. The thing is, a guy really only needs one shot. Also, we all know that when we have a live target we never feel the recoil.

Now on the range is where it hurts. I use a sandbag or a bag of lead shot between the rifle and my shoulder. HUGE difference! The 375 is much different though IMO, than a 300 mag. The report is not sharp and the recoil is a push rather than an impact. At least thats the way it seems to me. But you're right, I wouldn't want to shoot it all day.

White, when I shoot my .375 RUM it feels like somebody hitting me in the shoulder with a baseball bat! LOL




- Clint

Yeah but look at yourself. What do you see? Do we really need to elaborate?