Q./ Did the guy with .270win kill on 11.5ft bear, then gain confidence in the .270win and the importance of shot placement,
..or did he just consider the whole event a rather lucky streak of success, preferring to opt for a larger calibre in the event of another bear hunt?

The man That shot the Big Bear was also a teacher and he simply went hunting with his only rifle and used his only ammo. The Aleuts that live there all shoot flat shooting rifles because of the long shots they get at Caribou. They use some very small calibers and sometimes it gets them in trouble when confronting the Bears. Good shooting.

There are some more really great stories in Alaska Bear Tales also.

That's a find story, but with all do respect, if it takes 4-5 shots to put a bear down, you're not hitting it in the right spot.

I will give more detail to the hunt. I was shooting the .300 Winny, there were two 30-06's and a .375 H&H. When my Bear went down like a ton of bricks I kept my rifle on it to make sure it went nowhere. Another hunter with the .375 picked a Bear and started shooting, knocking it down with first shot, got back up twice, he continued to shoot until there was no movement for a total of five shots. The guide shot another Bear, the one closest to us with a 30-06 twice to get it on the ground and then two more to anchor it for good. My brother-in-law kept guard for everyone as the shooting was going on. We never considered it as excess shooting, just being sure we had them all grounded well. While all the shooting was going on the Bears were very noisy. the shooters were cussing everything within hearing and every bird in the world were screaming (duck-gulls, etc.) A cool headed young guide was very helpful in making sure things didn't get out of hand. Good shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by phurley5:
The guide shot another Bear, the one closest to us with a 30-06 twice to get it on the ground and then two more to anchor it for good.

It all sounds pretty exciting but if this was a guided hunt, which it sounds like it was, are you aware that it is illegal for guides to take a game animal while on a guided hunt unless it is in defense of life an property and in that case it has to be turned in to the state.

People are not aware of a lot of stuff. I will never hunt brown bears, but from your reputation on here and the articles you have written for various magazines, if you tell me an '06 will do the job if I do mine, that is good enough.

458Win ----- Two points. The guide actually did shoot the Bear to protect the group as it was the one closest to us when they appeared, He reacted first to prevent a bad scene. He also was tagged for a Bear to take one for the High School of the Village. Their mascot was "T Jacks" or Tundra Bears in our terms. Whether he was legal or not I cannot say, that is above my pay grade. Good shooting.

I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the laws and that it is possible you implicated your guide, and possibly yourself, in an illegal activity.
These forums, facebook and "reality" TV are how an awful lot of cases come to the attention of our Troopers.
Unless your guide reported his kill and filled out a report and turned in the hide, skull and claws to F&G he was not on the up and up.

quote:

Originally posted by AK_Stick:
That's a find story, but with all do respect, if it takes 4-5 shots to put a bear down, you're not hitting it in the right spot.

Actually, with brown bear, 4 shots isn't that bad. Especially if the shooter doesn't want to bust the skull up. Even with a 375. For the bear to be totally dead on the ground. . Sometimes the get knocked down but aren't dead and it's a lot harder to know where the important stuff is inside a bear when its laying on the ground. Sometimes in a funny position. A big bear is a truly Big animal. And there is No shame in shooting it extra times.

the 30-06 is overkill, if you ask Jocko...

quote:

Originally posted by Cold Trigger Finger:

quote:

Originally posted by AK_Stick:
That's a find story, but with all do respect, if it takes 4-5 shots to put a bear down, you're not hitting it in the right spot.

Actually, with brown bear, 4 shots isn't that bad. Especially if the shooter doesn't want to bust the skull up. Even with a 375. For the bear to be totally dead on the ground. . Sometimes the get knocked down but aren't dead and it's a lot harder to know where the important stuff is inside a bear when its laying on the ground. Sometimes in a funny position. A big bear is a truly Big animal. And there is No shame in shooting it extra times.

Much has been written on the unkillability of the AK Brown/Grizzly bear.

In my experience, they're not nearly as tough as many make them out to be. For sure they can be impressive when shot poorly and allowed to get their dander up.

Hit it in the boiler room, and if you can, get a shoulder with it, and they're not long for earth, or distance.