I have a Browning Stainless A-bolt stalker in .338wm that I mounted open sights to, and scoped with a good sturdy leupold. That rifle, in my opinion while I was living between Ketchikan, Sitka, Kodiak, Valdez and Homer could handle 99.9% of the hunting that I ever encountered, unless there was ducks involved
I picked the stainless rifle because in the areas in which I lived, there was a lot of rain and wonderful condensation all over, plus the snow blah blah everyone knows what it does in Alaska. Plus being along the coastal regions the frequency in encountering salinity, whether via boat or hunting by the beach, is above normal.
I opted to mount open sights just in case that scope came unglued. I would have liked a quick detach scope however that would have been more delicate, and I wanted a tough as nails rifle. There are bears there, but also there's so many other animals around that are rather large so that's why I opted for the .338wm. It handles deer quite nicely and everything I've ever shot with it, and has vaporized more than a few squirrels during the down season.
Just my ideal rifle Not to say it's my only one, quite the contrary, and definitely not the only one I've used to hunt with. But it fit my scope of what would be worthy!

OK, got rid of the Hogue eraser stock on my .375 Ruger, and epoxied a cross bolt in a standard Ruger plastic stock; and now I think I have the perfect Alskan rifle and catridge. Just got to get a can of Rustoleum paint, then will be good to go! Just not sure yet what color. . . . . . .

quote:

Originally posted by DWright:
OK, got rid of the Hogue eraser stock on my .375 Ruger, and epoxied a cross bolt in a standard Ruger plastic stock; and now I think I have the perfect Alskan rifle and catridge. Just got to get a can of Rustoleum paint, then will be good to go! Just not sure yet what color. . . . . . .

Who says you have to have only one color? A fine rifle like that deserves a fancy paint job.

Ya, I know. Would be great to paint it to commemorate your .458 WM Phil, that would be great. Can't quite remember the pattern though. Maybe you could re-publish a pic if it here. After all, this rifle was put together with that .458 in mind. Wish I would have kept that issue of Rifle magazine, damn it!

My rifle has been through a number of paintings over the past twenty-seven years so if you just grab a can of flat black, brown, green and maybe tan and start spraying I'm sure you will come up with some sort of approximation of it at one time or another.
Good luck

Well, alrighty then. I'll call it 'Fugly 2'.
If I remember correctly, I'm gunna need to get a can of Bondo in order to recreate the legend of the .458!
Cheers

Well I just gotta chime in and say 7mm for everything but coastal Brownies. I used pre 64 mod. 70s and 98 Mausers in 7 Rem. Mag and 160gr. partitions for 25 or so years and the last few I've been using an 8400 Montana in 7 WSM with 160gr. Accubonds (carry 175 A frames for bears but usually use the Accubonds anyway). Moose are one of the least tough critters to bring down so calibre isn't really an issue there so you should opt for something flat shooting. Any calibre prefered by Brown Bear guides for stopping bears in their tracks isn't exactly capable at long range (unless you get into .33 x .378 or similar but who wants to take a 15lb gun sheep hunting)

quote:

Originally posted by bedrok:
Well I just gotta chime in and say 7mm for everything but coastal Brownies.
Any calibre prefered by Brown Bear guides for stopping bears in their tracks isn't exactly capable at long range (unless you get into .33 x .378 or similar but who wants to take a 15lb gun sheep hunting)

In my opinion the 7 mag with tough 160 or 175gr
bullets will work perfectly for coatal brownies --- many folks would add "as long as you can shoot it well" but since that applies to EVERY caliber it doesn't need to be said.

It also applies for stopping calibers not being capable at long range. If the shooter has any ability and knowledge that is BS. I have killed game with my 458 at well over 400 yards and with th 375 farther than that. It's the shooter - not the rifle or caliber.

I agree!

Just take the advice of those living and hunting up in Alaska....its that simple.

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:

quote:

Originally posted by bedrok:
Well I just gotta chime in and say 7mm for everything but coastal Brownies.
Any calibre prefered by Brown Bear guides for stopping bears in their tracks isn't exactly capable at long range (unless you get into .33 x .378 or similar but who wants to take a 15lb gun sheep hunting)

In my opinion the 7 mag with tough 160 or 175gr
bullets will work perfectly for coatal brownies --- many folks would add "as long as you can shoot it well" but since that applies to EVERY caliber it doesn't need to be said.

It also applies for stopping calibers not being capable at long range. If the shooter has any ability and knowledge that is BS. I have killed game with my 458 at well over 400 yards and with th 375 farther than that. It's the shooter - not the rifle or caliber.

. The farthest animal I ever shot was a 1 shot on purpose kill on a Sitka Black tail buck in the vicinity of 500 yards , with a 375 H&H w/Federal High Energy 300 gr TBBC ammo ... I wanted to hit the shoulder just behind the T bone and just under the spine , I hit just in front of the T bone and 3" down ... Dumped him ...The scope was a 3x Leupold .

I've got a fixed 2.5 power Leupold on my .375 Ruger, and that is plenty for the longest shots I would take clear out to 500 yards on a large animal if it was a had to situation. The point where the cross hairs on the duplex get thick are right at 500 yards on my rifle. Always got razed for using low powers, until I used a 2.5 Leupold on a .35 Whelen to out shoot a .280 Rem with a 4.5-14 scope set at 14 power at that distance.
It is the shooter, not the rifle.
The highest power scope on any of my rifles; and this includes my .300 WM, is a 1.5-5.
Have found that most folks with the real high power scopes are just once a year hunters. Or, just getting started hunting.
We had a customer have us mount a 6.5-24 Varmint scope on a Marlin .30-30 lever rifle a few months back. He said he could not hit anything with the open sights and his buddies told him he needed a high power scope past 100 yards, so . . . . . . . . .

A few years ago the range master at rabbit creek rifle range in Anchorage did a unoficial survey of the rifle calibers comeing onto the range in the late summer prior to the fall huning season.

As I recall the .338 was #1 but I'm not sure. What I do recall is that .338 win , .300 win and .375H&H were the top three by a large margin.

Those three would be my top picks as well and I guess it just boils down to wether you want to carry the extra weight of the .375 and get the added punch or if you want to lighten things up a bit with the .300. You would be just fine with a 30-06 as well if you really wanted to lighten things up.

A brown bear is the benchmark for a rifle in Alaska. Weather your hunting them or not you want your rifle to readilly handle an unforseen incident with a bear.

I have ether personally shot or backed up brown bear hunters with each of the calibers I've mentioned and with the larger ones (.338 and .375) quite a few. They are up to the job but so many others would be as well.

I've mentioned it before but this is worth repeating. The worst feeling of inadequacy I have ever felt was haveing a bear surprise when deer hunting on Afognak island with a .243.

OR you could put together a nice .375 Ruger with the little 20" barrel that weighs no more then the typical .06. Then have the best of both worlds. Not sure about any extra weight issue. . . . .

quote:

Originally posted by DWright:
OK, got rid of the Hogue eraser stock on my .375 Ruger, and epoxied a cross bolt in a standard Ruger plastic stock; and now I think I have the perfect Alskan rifle and catridge. Just got to get a can of Rustoleum paint, then will be good to go! Just not sure yet what color. . . . . . .

This reminds me of the first time I ever saw a rifle painted with Rustoleum. I was hunting moose with John Swiss, out of his camp at Black Lake on the AK Peninsula. We found some wolves one day while fying his super cub, and since it was legal to land and shoot wolves, we did. I didn't have my rifle, but John reached in the tail of the super cub and pulled out this old beat up .338 model 70 that he kept 'for emergencies'. It was completely painted with red primer Rustoleum, ugliest thing I ever saw, but it shot straight enough!

Got it painted up and it came out pretty nice really. Did a 3 color camo job with Cedar bows for the pattern. I've got some pics, but can't get the damn things on this forum, so . . . . . . Sent some to Michael458 and Gumboot by E-mail, but the photo bucket thing is over my head.

Poll over on Alaska forums and right now the 300 Win mag is leading the 338 followed by good ol 30-06...

According to gun sales and polls in Alaska the 30-06 is still slightly ahead, followed closely by the .338 and then the .300.

quote:

Originally posted by DWright:
Got it painted up and it came out pretty nice really. Did a 3 color camo job with Cedar bows for the pattern. I've got some pics, but can't get the damn things on this forum, so . . . . . . Sent some to Michael458 and Gumboot by E-mail, but the photo bucket thing is over my head.

,
.
. I,ve been wraslin with those pictures something fierce and I still can,t get one of them to photo bucket .... What kind of camera did you take them with .????? No ., I just need to get my thinking cap on and the ear flaps down tight and I,ll geter ....... Michael is a Forester so he,s pretty sharp , me , I,m just a logger , not alot of brain activity in the off hours there .... Plus I think Obama sent a stupid bug into my computer on New Years day as this thing has been acting up since then ......

Hi Gumboot, not sure about the camera as my shootin buddie took them. I don't do camera's and complicated equipment like that. He sent them to me, them I sent them on.
I could send them again if that helps. . . . .

Editted: I sent them again from a different format and address. . . .

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
If you can't do it with a 30-06 the problem is not with the rifle.

Suscribed for Moose/Bear Hunt pricing Phil.

A good shot/hunter can get by just fine with a 30-06, especially with the very good bullets we have available. I won't attempt to name them all, but the same applies for the .300 mags, .338 mags. and .375 mags. I have been shooting a .338 Win. mag. and 250 grain bullets since 1975. I started with an old Springfield 30-06 with a K4 Weaver scope. I know I could get by with the .308 Win. and a good 165 grain bullet. The kicker in most of our minds is being prepared for the worst case scenario. So we carry a big gun for the 10' brown bear that were going to blow off the end of our muzzle yet we still want that "Old Betsy" to shoot into the next zip code if needed. Any of the above calibers and a few in between are plenty flat shooting enough for Alaska hunting. The .308 Win and 168 grain bullets at under 2,700 fps mv works just fine for popping pumpkins on our nations enemies and it does this at over 500 yards with ease. So we need to get our accuracy and learn our trajectory with what ever we choose. Any one of the above listed calibers can shoot as flat as the .308 Win. The man holding the rifle is the deal breaker. If he is good with a rifle any one of these will work. So the best one is your choice. Stainless/synthetic rifles require less up keep. That is what my "customized" Mod. 70 is made of. As much as I like that gun the old Win. pre-64 Mod. 70 Featherweight 30-06 is probably the last gun I would get rid of if times got tough. It's old rust blue and walnut stock require more up keep though. So yeah, stainlees and synthetic is probably the way to go for a "hunting tool". If a guy can handle it I guese the .375 Ruger and a good 270 grain bullet in a stainless Ruger version is probably one of the better deals on the market. I would want a 22" barrel. Lots of choices. I keep reaching for my 8 lb. .338 Win. Mag. and 250 grain bullets, cause it works so well for me.

A feller came in the shop the other day with a older, but never fired stainless Ruger with the old canoe paddle stock, chambered in .300WM. He wanted a little too much for it, but would to have liked to have picked it up for a good squirrel rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by DWright:
A feller came in the shop the other day with a older, but never fired stainless Ruger with the old canoe paddle stock, chambered in .300WM. He wanted a little too much for it, but would to have liked to have picked it up for a good squirrel rifle.

I just CANNOT warm up to a canoe paddle Ruger. Maybe they shoot ok but ugly is as ugly does for me. Alaska's game should at least get the respect of being shot with a "purty" rifle.
Bear in Fairbanks

Welcome to AR AK Guy !

quote:

I just CANNOT warm up to a canoe paddle Ruger. Maybe they shoot ok but ugly is as ugly does for me. Alaska's game should at least get the respect of being shot with a "purty" rifle. Big Grin Big Grin
Bear in Fairbanks

That is why I replace them with a Boyds JRS Classic laminate. My 270WSM is sporting Nutmeg with the polished SS and my 35 Whelen has Pepper with the Hawkeye matte SS.

The looks and feel of a rifle are definately important to me. If I can't enjoy looking at it, then I won't own it. However, I do like the utilitarian appeal of the canoe paddle stock. Our shop just had one painted with camo graphic's and it looks great!
The only thing I don't like about them is that with my short arms, I don't see how one can easily cut the stock back 1" for my correct length of pull.
Now laminate stocks to me look terrible. I have one on a shotgun, and I camo painted it. Can't like the laminate look on anything except a sheet of plywood.
I guess it is all in the eye of the beholder.

Never been to Alaska -- hope to some day -- so please dont take the statement as anything but conjecture.

If I were going I would be looking to my 30-06AI and wondering...Would it be enough? I love the 30-06 and the 30-06AI. End of the day I would probably be happy and feel good about taking my 338WM.

Would I be wrong to feel undergunned w. a 338WM and 225gr Interbonds?

quote:

Originally posted by BISCUT:
Never been to Alaska -- hope to some day -- so please dont take the statement as anything but conjecture. End of the day I would probably be happy and feel good about taking my 338WM.

Would I be wrong to feel undergunned w. a 338WM and 225gr Interbonds?

.
.
. Nope , it'll work great . do most everything you need very well !

Hey Guys
I have sorta watched this thread for awhile, and pop over time to time to take a look. Been reluctant to post, some of you know I don't care much for anything under 338 so you for sure know where I start at. I have never carried anything in Alaska less than 338 Winchester and it did a great job for me. I used a 275 Swift A, and that's a hammer in 338, but that was way back in 99, just before the turn of the Century as I recall. I was doing a lot of 338 back then. Later it was 358 STA and 45/70, then my 50s and 458 B&Ms. Next time, probably a 458 B&M and maybe a 416 B&M or possibly even a 9.3 B&M? Of course stainless and of course Winchester.

I have a love/hate relationship with Alaska. When the sun shines, I love Alaska. When it rains and is 35 degrees, I hate Alaska. I end up hating Alaska more than I love it, but keep going back? I think of the 60 some odd days I have spent in Alaska I saw the sunshine about 10 of those. Alaska is the roughest place in the world that I know of on rifles! Rough on me too! Cold and wet don't go good with me! Last there in 2008, and it was raining and cold of course. The very first day out! Started seeing some bears, a couple of pretty good bears that first morning. No man, that big one might be right around the corner, right? After all, only been in the woods for a few hours! That evening, standing there, cold, in the rain, waiting, I looked at my wife, and asked "WHAT IN THE HELL ARE WE DOING HERE?" Sissy that I am, "I WANT TO GO HOME". LOL. She is tougher than me sometimes! She made me stick it out!

During this time I had an AI stocked 50 B&M and a Ultimate stocked 458 B&M. It was my intention to use the 50 on the bear, 470 gr HPs at 2200 fps. 458 was the backup gun. After a few days the wood stock looked like a blank piece of plywood, the rain and wet had washed all the oil out of it. Of course the Ultimate Stainless 458 was doing great. No issues at all. Shot the bear with the 50 and no issues, small bear, 8ft, but I was ready to get the hell out of there! Then pissed off at myself at the same time. Anyway continued to monkey around a few days with the 458 in tow.

Caliber wise for me, anything from 338 up is fine, with my preferences going up to 416 to .500. Rifle very important, short, light, handy and stainless, with Ultimate stock, Winchesters of course. Scope, if 416 a 1.75X6 Leupold, 458 and 50, 1.5X5 Leupold. In the future NonCon bullets for all.

DWright

Here is your rifle I think!


These would be my choices for Alaska!


Great thing about these is that I have nice wood stocks for some of them, so they can pull double duty when not in Alaska, and in a more hospitable environment!

Michael

I might also consider one of the little 50 B&M SUper SHorts with the new 350 HP NonCon at 2190 fps. Talk about easy to carry and handy.


Oh and since this photo was taken some of the velocities of certain bullets has gone up with a little more load development, especially the NonCons.


Michael

Heh Michael, ya that's my rifle alright. Guess I'm gunna have to get a good camera and figure out how to post them on here. Thanks!

I agree about the rain being a pain. It can rain here where I'm at for months on end at times. Think I remember it raining for about 9 months straight without a let up, when I moved here some 25 years ago. Took some getting used to.
In fact, the blue steel barreled action in the back ground of my Ruger in that pic is a Sako L61 in .300 WM, that I ended up reshaping the wooded stock and then coating it with an epoxy deck paint with sand in it, to keep the water from ruining it, and giving it a good grip in wet weather. Works great!
Then I apply about 14 coats of Johnsons paste wax on all the metal.

Went out shooting yesterday with a co-worker, and got all the rifles pretty wet in just a few minutes, but they were Carbon/Kevlar stocks, and that plastic stocked Ruger .375, so no big deal.
Those short rifles of yours are about ideal. My next rifle will be along those same lines, on either a Winchester or Mauser action. Will have to be Winchester for the stainless.
Now; where's my coffee?


As always; Cheers!

Heh Michael, question:
Can you cut off the butt stock of those ultimate Winchester stocks by an inch and install a good pad, or are they pretty much the way they are gunna be? My length of pull is just 12-3/4" to be right. I know some of those plastic stocks can be a bitch to alter.

DWright

Well until you sort out the photo thing if you want something posted send it to me. It took me several tries to figure it out too.

One word for you-----WINCHESTER!

Heh!

No cutting that cheap ass Ultimate stock. Hollow inside! I tell you cheap, because off the rifle it looks rather flimsy. On the rifles they feel great, damn near perfect. I HATE plastic stocks! Despise might be a better word! But these little Ultimate stocks have grown on me quite a bit. I can't believe they are holding up as well as they do on these guns. In 458 and 416 I have shot many many 100s of rounds with them, zero issues. The 50 Super Shorts have had 1000s of rounds through them, zero issues!

It's the only plastic stock I would have on one of my Winchesters. I get some stainless rifles in with that other plastic stock to build on from time to time. I replace those with an AI stock from the start, hang them on the wall in the storage room on the range. Crappy looking things! Would not be caught with one on my rifle. The Ultimate stock on the other hand, like I said, they have grown on me.


So where you get these little short arms from? You are like Billy (the B in the B&M) damn have to cut his stocks off 2 inches, looks like a kids youth model! My 16 yr old and Billy used to be exactly the same on stock length, but that's when Mark David was 10 yrs old!


Michael

Ya, my arms are like short little stumps! Had to return to the lady that made my Motorcycle leathers to get a remeasure. She said my arms are 4" shorter then most guys my size. 5'10", 260 lbs, with short little Popeye arms. I even shoot a youth model Rem. 870, that fit's me perfectly. Had to paint that damn laminate stock however. Hate laminate on anything except garage cabinets.

Now, the plastic stock I put on that .375 Ruger is also hollow, but cutting it down and puttin a pad on it was no big deal. You just can't put the oringinal pad back on it because of the way it's made to recess into the stock. But a flat one works fine. But with that Winchester stock, it looks like the outside shape changes after the first 1/2" or so, which would be the problem, I assume.
But would be easy enough to just use an aftermarket synthetic such as HS, or McMillian, etc. made to the correct length.

Thanks for the offer to put my pics on here, but you have plenty else to do I'm sure.
But if your really feeling generous, you could always just send me one of those short Winchesters in one of your big calibers for testing here in the Oregon rain forrests for Oh, maybe a couple years, just to make sure they really work in this type of climate. I'm thinkin that would give them the final test needed to prove their worthyness. And, the beauty of this offer, is that I wouldn't charge you a dime for all my testing. . . . . .
Bet it'd be fun to watch the water vaporizing trail those big .50 cal. bullets would make, while traveling thru a good downpour out to about 500 yards! I know it's fun to watch with the little .45-70s.

I'de like an OSB stock .

Heh Gumboot; now OSB is fine as long as you treat it with a good sealer. Stay away from Thompsons water seal however, as it don't last more then a couple days. But I think a good 3/4" particle board laminated 3 sheets wide, then sealed with just Z-prime is surely the best. It sucks up paint really well if you decide to go ahead and camo it. Just make sure it's 'underlament rated'!