I'll be leaving Sunday for a Brown Bear hunt in Alaska, east of Mcgrath. I can bring either my Bansner 375 RUM or a Rem KS in 338 RUM. I was thinking the 338, but the outfitter said there would be a chance for Blackies and Wolves in the mountains as well, during the Goat and Sheep calving season. I shoot 250gr A-Frames in the 338 RUM and 270gr TSXs in the 375 RUM. I was thinking the 338 RUM for longer shots, but the 270 TSX flies pretty flat in the 375 RUM as well.

I think you are good with either. mY 375 RUM has no problem shooting 400 yards with 270 tsx and 300 tsx and honestly i don't find it any easier to shoot my 338 RUM at that distance. Both shoot grat that far and I have killed animals with both at long distance. i did not get to go on my bear hunt as the weather was crap.

Gerry, thanks. Yes, weather is the great unknown in the land up north, for sure!

Either is actually too much gun so which one will leave the smaller hole for the taxidermist to fix?

Scott, I guess I'm too used to hunting Africa :-)

I used a cannon last year on moose too, so no condemnation coming from me!

Seriously, the wolf is a dog and theres no reason to blow a 6" hole thru the side of it so what'll minimumize pelt damage? The local fellers use .223's and killed a fair number with 'em last year.

When I hunted up there I brought a 30-06. I never pulled the trigger but I thought the -06 would be fine for everything you're chasing.

The only concern for the Wolf is having a rifle with enough range. Wolf are a target of opportunity, and probably harder to encounter than most any game animal in NA. But I was trying to balance having enough rifle for Brownies, but in a caliber with enough range to take a Wolf at 350 yards if the opportunity presented itself. If I already had a Bear down, I'd use a 243 on Wolf, but I think I'm only bringing one rifle.

Either rifle would be great. Splitting hairs to say the least. Wolf hides can be sewn back together.

Either one for me you can always flip a coin.

The risk of pelt damage is grossly exaggerated. I shot a wolf with a 400gr Hornady IB, with my .416RM, cuz that's the rifel I had at the time (230 yd shot).
The wolf went down and didn't even quiver; never have I seen anything more instantly dead. And I could not find the holes in it for the life of me, upon examining it where it dropped.

Yes, I'm thinking a Wolf may not have enough "meat" to expand a 270gr TSX. I'm not as concerned with the Wold as with having the horsepower for a good Brownie at about any angle presented.

Being an expert after one brown bear hunt I concluded bigger is better. I would be more concerned about the scope selection. If I were going tomorrow, my gun would have a 1.75x6 Swarovski or Zeiss illuminated reticle scope.
Good luck!!!!

LJS, I've got the illuminated scope covered :-)

I've also considered splitting the 2 duties, and bringing a Blaser in 416 Rem with a 2nd barrel in 300 Win Mag. Or a Merkel DR in 9.3x74R and the Blaser. Or...or...

Either will work fine, which do you like/shoot better? I shot mine at 18 yards with my Ruger 375 Alaskan. Wolf dead, no taxidermy issues!

P.S. Save the back straps, they are tasty.

My wolf and BBQ links.......

Wolf story………….

http://24hourcampfire.com/ubbt..._my_wolf#Post5756575


BBQ story………………..

http://24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...I_ate_my_Wolf#UNREAD

Biebs,

Have you tried the 210 or 225 grain 338 bullets?
I use a 230 gr. in my 338 win mag and made 1 shot kills on both bear and wolf this spring. Both shots were less than 200 yards.

Have you shot that 416 Ruger I sent you? It should be a real Bear stopper!

Hawkeye

quote:

Both shots were less than 2100 yards

Must been 2099 yards heck of a shot.

As you already know, the big bullets with controlled expansion have little more (if not less) pelt destruction than a smaller gun. Lot's of guys shoot duiker with a 375 H&H and say the damage is less than with a 150 or 180 gr bullet in an '06.
As for your original question, either would he a fine choice but I've always been fond of anything in a .338 dia. I loaded some 338 RUM, 225 X Barnes for my cousin and he killed a huge Brown bear with it a few years ago. I've used my old 338 win mag on about everything in NA except sheep and WT deer.
Have a good one. I can't wait to hear how you do.
Zeke

p dog shooter,

Typo has been corrected.

Hawkeye

Take the 577NE Beibs! These critters are wearing bullet proof armor these days!
You'll need all that power!!!

Mike, I can't seem to get any better than a 3" group at 350 yards with it yet. Maybe I should drop down to the 750gr bullets for flatter trajectory, and maybe add a Leupold 6.5x20 :-)

Just clean your bifocals and 'getterdun'!!

Biebs
Take the 338, Tom has one so if you run out of ammo you can get some from the Shankster.
Good luck buddy
I will talk to you before you leave.
Larry

10-4

Well Biebs is on his way
He will be heading to camp tomorrow from Anchorage with Tom Shankster.
Good luck be safe
Larry

Thanks, heading out in 2 hours!

Well
Tom called me yesterday while Biebs was traveling.
He said they were scouting around found plenty of tracks very close to base camp.
Old Biebs won't have to walk far it looks like.
Biebs did not tell you but Federal is filming his hunt for a TV show I guess.
He will be hunting the Dillinger Drainage about 80 miles east of McGrath. Unit 19c
Well waiting for the call later in the week to see what he harvests.
Larry

Well
Just wondering if Biebs has bagged his bear yet
No calls yet.
Oh I forgot Biebs can't remember how to use a cell phone.
Larry

Results?????????????????

Have not received any calls from up there yet.
They only have limited sat phone service.
And Biebs don't like calling or using phones.
Larry

Congrats
Biebs just called on the sat phone
SUCESS he shot a nice blonde bore yesterday.
He sounded very happy
He will fill in the details when he gets back home next week.
Great job Shankster putting up with Biebs
Larry

The tsx will expand in the wolf. I had the same thought when I shot a jackel with a 350gr 416 tsx.Iit was in 2 seperate pieces after I hit it at 50 yards.

No Wolves, but I got a nice Toklat-colored Grizzly on day 6. The 338 RUM worked great, as that's big country, and I shot him in the mountains at 365 yards. Hunt Report to follow. :-)

Great!

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Hunt Report to follow. :-)

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Still recovering! :-)

You or the teddy bear?

OK, Mikey....here it is. I made a trip up to Alaska in late May for a cancellation Grizzly Bear hunt. With 2 weeks to go, it was only $6,500, so I had to jump on it. Larry's (Elk88101)outfitter had called him, and he knew I could make it, so there it goes. The area is Unit 19 up in the Alaska Range, in Dillinger Pass. It is quite remote, with the closest town being McGrath about 100 miles to the west.





The area was quite stark, with rocky valley floors between the steep cliffs of the range. There were Dall Sheep everywhere, and that's what the outfitter specializes in, but with little other game or fish to feed on, it is a bit thin for bear. We saw one Black Bear during the hunt, and one other Grizz other than the one I took, plus one Porcupine.

This is BIG country. After walking the mountains, you look down and see the Jeep, and decide to go grab some eats, only to find that the Jeep you see down in the valley is 6 miles away! I'm glad I decided to bring a rifle with some range. We spotted the bear nibbling on Willow buds at the base of a mountain, but he was quite a ways up by the time we got to him. I took him at 365 yards with a 338 Ultra Mag shooting a 250gr Swift A-Frame. The Bear up there have the Toklat coloration. It's not as pronounced in the pix because we're quite wet, but he's quite blonde on the head and back, with dark chocolate leggings.

One more off the Bucket list!

Biebs,

Beautiful bear and those amazing spring claws. Couldn't have been out of the den long.

Mark

Nice!!!

365 yards, I can't even see that far any more

Nice bear and great country