Quote: But that said my taylor is just going to be fun.
PDS, I have carried my Taylor for brownies and have taken one after a close call! Fun didn't enter the equasion at the moment of truth, but after almost full body penetration with the 400 grainer,I was overjoyed that one was all it took! It is a great round that deserves some attention from a factory sponsor one of these days!
Tanoose, I do hunt brown bear every year. I am not successful(for same) all of the time however. In some areas of Alaska, their numbers allow for the need of thinning. Of your choices as given in your post, I would recommend the 375 H&H. It is a no-nonsense round that will deliver the goods in any situation. The 416 will do the same and more; some people short change it as a short to medium range caliber. They obviously have never used one. But the H&H has no flies on it what so ever! I carry my .338 more frequently, but take My 416 Taylor when specifically after Brownies...just because I have one. I only know of one fellow that is shooting the Ultra Mag. He likes it alot, but to say it was common in my area of Alaska (Coastal South Central) would be misleading. best, bhtr
I used 416 Rem mag last 5 years in Alaska .I have not seen any 375 ultra mags only 338 ultra mags.There are tons of people using 338 win mags and 375 H&H.I use Woodleigh 410 gr soft points that expand big time.A friend of mine had a 416 Taylor bear charge last year while guiding .It had been shot 3 times with a 358 Norma mag.He shot it three times with the 416 Taylor with 400 gr Barnes x bullets.It died at their feet.The bullets went 3/4 way through the bear from facing shot.He switched to the 410 gr Woodleigh bullets because the expand larger than the Barnes x bullets.He now caribou hunts with his 416 Taylor in case of bears.The bear was 9.5'pretty good size.I like 338 win mag with at least 250 gr bullets to be my littlest gun in Alaska.I bought Weatherby 338-378 Accumarks for my long range guns.
Of all the fuides I have talked to about what they recommend and what they carried all but three used a .375 H&H with two using .416's(one Rem., one Rigby) and one a .458 Win.. I have used the .300 and .340 Weatherby's on the three brownies I have taken but if I were to go again a .375 will be my choice(.375 Weatherby that is). Lawdog
Posts: 1254 | Location: Northern California | Registered: 22 December 2002
If you were to hunt the big bears of Alaska ,annualy which would be a better choice the .375 H&H or the .416 Remington . And how is remingtons .375 ultra mag. doing out there.
Posts: 869 | Location: Bellerose,NY USA | Registered: 27 July 2001
When I lived in Alaska the .375 was more popular than the .416. Both will get the job done quite handily. It would be better to go for the .375 because ammo is easier to find than the .416. Makes a difference when you fly in and some of your luggage winds up 4 time zones away.
If you are hunting them annually then you would not be going after the big coastal brownies but rather the smaller but not necessarily small interior bears.
I think you would do fine with a 300 win and 200 partitions or 180 failsafe or 180-200 barnes X. Or with a .338 win or above.
I am planning on making hunting browns an annual affair now that I moved farther north. I have a 375 ultra that I'll use with a 270 or larger bullet. 300wsm that I would use with the bullets I mentioned for the 300 win mag. And I have a .454 casull that I think I'll put 325 A-frames in.
I forgot I also have a .458 win that I shoot 400 gr barnes X'S in. Think I'll try some 400 northforks in it too.
Posts: 9823 | Location: Montana | Registered: 25 June 2001
Both the 375 and 416 are an excellant choice for the big bears. I dont hunt brown/griz every year but I do always have a tag for that just in case moment. I usually use the middle of the road calibers. 30-06, 338winny, 45/70etc. Recently I picked up a 35whelen so I'm covered for the big bears.
Posts: 204 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 06 December 2000
The most popular cartridges in Alaska are the .30-06, .300WM, and .338WM, so these three are the top "all around" cartridges for all Alaska game. But you must consider that most Alaska hunters are not hunting grizzly bears alone, but caribou, elk, bison, black bears, moose, etc., and may kill the occasional grizzly that happens to come by. In other words, must Alaska hunters may use whichever big game rifle is at hand at the moment.
If I was only going to hunt the big bears and wanted a more powerful cartridge than the .338WM, I would bypass the .375H&H and buy one of the .416's. The .375H&H was a more popular bear cartridge back when the .30-06 was the most widely used cartridge in Alaska, but in 1958 and later the .338WM and other "all around" cartridges were produced, so now the .375H&H is not considered the top gun for Alaska hunting.
Please understand, however, that if I had a .375H&H instead of the .338WM I now use for all my hunting in Alaska, this .375 would be my all around rifle, even though there are more powerful cartridges out there.
Confused by now? OK...lets see: If you want to hunt only the big bears, buy the most powerful cartridge you can shoot well, hopefully a cartridge from the .338WM to the .458.
Posts: 2448 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 25 May 2002
For what it's worth. Probably not much coming from someone with no AK experience, I'm planning on a 416Rem at some point. I already have a 300WinMag and might as well take a BIG step up, skipping 338 and 375. I'll admit a 358Norma turns me on too, but that's an even bigger pipe dream.
This is in no way saying the 375 is no good, just not where I'm headed for myself. Either should fill your "need." Depends on the rest of your arsenal.
Posts: 557 | Location: Various... | Registered: 29 December 2002
When the game fights back, bigger is better, but big bears have been reliably dropped by midbore cartridges since before I was born, so who am I to argue with what works? Depending on the range, even the .308, 8x57, and .358 would make great bear guns with decent diameter, decent weight bullets of tough construction. The '06 case may be a bit better, .30-06, 8mm-06, .338-06, .35 Whelen, 9.3x62 would all thump bear hard, again with good bullets, at more useful ranges to be good all around performers. The .300, 8mm, .338, and .358 magnum rounds basically do the same, they just give a little more steam for long shots. The .375 and up are real stopping rifles and depending on how you load, you may sacrifice trajectory for extreme terminal performance at close range. In the end, as long as you can put a well-built bullet on the heavy side of the caliber weight range in the vitals, not many brownies are going to put up much of a fight.
That would depend on the terrain and bears you hunt.
If you are hunting brownies your guide probably wont let you shoot very far anyway so I would chose the 416. However one of the 375's will certainly get the job done. Penetration is a high priority when I consider a bullet for Brown bears.
If you were hunting inland bears I would feel totally comfortable with a 338. The 375 Ultra would be hard to beat here.
I am building a 416 taylor just on the off chance I'll go after the really big bears. I carried my 338wm last year in AK but we were inland. Having shot more then one blk bear and knowing of many more shot the avg rifle 270 30-06 ect is plenty for avg size bears 200 to 600 lbs. My freind killed his 480lb blk last year with his 44 mag. I would bet that the 3 800 lb blks killed in PA. last year were shot with avg rifles. But that said my taylor is just going to be fun.
Posts: 19835 | Location: wis | Registered: 21 April 2001
But that said my taylor is just going to be fun.
