alaskan black bear, 45-70...nuff said

30 December 2005, 10:28

boom stick

this is posted on the marlin owners forum, i posted on it a while back and i have the magazine article but he found a way to post it. it is worth the read and it is worthy of the alaskan board

http://www.marlinowners.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=11129

the rifle is identicle in set up to mine and i love it...it is my pet cart and rifle but around here it is like havind a fat girlfriend or driving a scooter...you dont want the people here catch you on one

hope you enjoy it...i like the part where the bullets cant stay in the bear

45-70 haters

30 December 2005, 18:19

dakor

Boom stick you seem to want to prove to yourself that the 45-70 is a Brown Bear cartridge. Some will say it is not some will say it is. I guess if you want to prove it spend the 10g's and go shoot a Brown Bear. Then post the results.

30 December 2005, 18:58

Harry C.

Broom Stick,

I enjoyed the article, thanks for posting it.

Harry

30 December 2005, 21:25

Tom1911

Why would anyone doubt the effectiveness of a .45/70 on any game? With the right bullet, it'll take any animal that walks on Earth! In bolt or double guns, its ballistics approximate the venerable .458 Win Mag!

Good huntin',

Tom

30 December 2005, 22:27

Antlers

hmmmm.....brown bears on POW

....

30 December 2005, 23:47

Antlers,

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any mention of brown bear on POW in the article.

There was a picture of the bear...

...and it's looks rubbed. Given it was the last day of the hunt, I'm not suprised.

31 December 2005, 00:14

Thebear_78

Well since I can do it the cheapest I guess I will have to just go shoot a brown with my 45/70. I actually have no doubt that my guide gun will work for bears. Its a big chunk of lead moving along at decent speed with lots of nock down power. I know a few guys that have shot griz/browns with the 45/70 to good effect. I know a few guys that shoot them with 300 win mags and I would much rather use my guide gun than a 180gr 308 cal bullet.

I normally pass them up because I don't want to deal with them after the shot. Those hides are heavy and they usually stink to high hell. I could have shot a few bears last year, one pretty decent bear but the prospect of climbing up and getting it and then dragging it back down with me convinced me not to. What am I going to do with a big bear hide in my small house, not really worth the 500-600 to get the darn thing tanned.

31 December 2005, 00:46

dakor

I said Brown Bears because he has asked the question before. I am not saying a 45-70 will not kill any bear I think it will but Boom Stick sounds like he needs to prove to himself that it can do it. As for shooting black bears with a 45-70 really not much to brag about. I would shoot any black bear with my 6mm-284 and a 100gr Partition that walks on this earth. I would also consider it a stopper as well. Black Bears are not tough to kill just about anything that will work on a whitetail will kill a black Bear. As for the comment about not wanting to shoot a Brown Bear because of the hide smelling and not wanting to get it tanned I really feel for you and wish I had that problem.

31 December 2005, 01:21

grizz007

Boomstick, I do not think you need to spend 10g's if you make the right connection to hunt any Grizz-some almost the same size as some coastal bear. If you shot one maybe it would please some here that do spend great chunks of money-they are not hard to kill as some fear they are. Wrong caliber wrong bullet wrong shot wrong situation wrong time of the day is the wrong combination but with a short lever gun in that caliber will fill the bill. I hope you succeed one day to get your dream hunt. good day.

31 December 2005, 01:31

boom stick

thanks griz

the 45-70 has plenty o nay sayers but i just like the idea of under 100 yard hunting with fat bullets and lever guns. i would not mind shooting a 450 alaskan 50 alaskan 50-110 or one of my own wildcat ideas...(50 boom stick magnum, a 50-140 case shortened to 2.8" with a 550 gr 510 bullet traveling @ 2,200 fps out of a blr)it realy is the hunt and the experience that is the prize.

thebear_78...send the hide and claws my way and i'll tan it and make a nice neclace if you please

31 December 2005, 04:08

DPhillips

quote:
Originally posted by BW:
Antlers,

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any mention of brown bear on POW in the article.

There was a picture of the bear...

...and it's looks rubbed. Given it was the last day of the hunt, I'm not suprised.

BW, here's a quote from the article...

quote:
When I boarded the Bear Necessity, the mother ship of Mark Gallaâ€™s Alaska Peaks & Seaâ€™s outfitting business, there were a couple of hairy eyes cast on the stubby lever-action carbine...

We spent a week probing the coves and passages around Prince of Wales Island morning and night. The weatherâ€”always the wild card on any huntâ€”was balmy...

As I stepped out from my â€œprivacy bushâ€ repairing my wardrobe, I saw Marlin with my Marlin, frantically waving me to join him. â€œThereâ€™s a real good bear on the trail just around from this tree,â€ he said. I handed him my toilet paper and ventured forth.
I cautiously stepped from around the spruce to the edge of the trail and saw the largest black bear I had ever seen coming straight on. It was about 80 yards away and spotted me as I raised the rifle. Through the 2-1/2X scope it was still nothing more than a large mass of black furâ€”almost no legs or ears, just a huge body and swaggering head. This was the Prince of Wales Island stud bear, and the only thing standing between it and a day-old Sitka deer fawn snack was me. I settled the crosshair just inside its right shoulder, hoping to clip the bottom of the heart and left lung.
The bear swapped ends at the shot, and headed back up the trail. I lead him a bit and shot again. The bear dove off into the brush. When I reached the point where the bear took off into the brush, there was the sudden realization that I had but two roundsâ€”one in the chamber and another in the magazineâ€”and it was like hitting a brick wall. I simply could not step off the trail into the bush after the bear. My spare ammo was in my pack 100 yards down the trail on the resting log. I retrieved it, and with a bit more calm, followed Marlin in after the bear.
We found it less than 30 yards off the trail piled up in thick brush. Both of the Garrett SHC Hammerheads had passed completely through it. The Sitka blacktail fawn never moved from its spot, and its mother looked at us nervously while it munched browse as we packed the bear hide back to the skiff, never saying â€œthank youâ€ for saving its baby.

31 December 2005, 04:51

Thebear_78

If I had somebody wanted to tan it I would probably take a brown bear for them. I passed a few up this year, nothing very big, one might, MIGHT, have gone 8 foot. He was pretty big. Came across him while I was moose hunting. Only bad thing was if I had shot him it would have really cut into my fuel to have to run its hide and skull in to town to freeze. I always get my $20 griz tag just in case we have to shoot one around camp that gets to curios. Its a lot easier to tag it than claim DLP, way less paperwork.

31 December 2005, 05:53

Jay Johnson

DPhillips do you know Jim McFarland at the Floatel?

31 December 2005, 07:20

free_miner

Galla and his crew are all Alaskan sourdoughs, veterans who know their way around the woods, and they know what works. To a man they pack a .375 H&H as a backup rifle for when the pudding hits the fan.

for an article meant to promote the marlin 45/70's prowess, it sure makes a statement on the 375 as a bear gun

31 December 2005, 08:42

DPhillips

quote:
Originally posted by Jay Johnson:
DPhillips do you know Jim McFarland at the Floatel?

No, I don't, sorry. My post was to help BW find the claim of the BB on POW Island.

31 December 2005, 10:32

Antlers

quote:
Originally posted by BW:
Antlers,

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any mention of brown bear on POW in the article.

BW,

I was referring to the post: "alaska, brown bear, 45-70...nuff said"

I thought it humorous that the post was arguing that 45-70 was adequate for brown bear, but referenced an article about POW black bears - maybe it's just me.

31 December 2005, 10:42

boom stick

quote:
Originally posted by Antlers:
quote:
Originally posted by BW:
Antlers,

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any mention of brown bear on POW in the article.

BW,

I was referring to the post: "alaska, brown bear, 45-70...nuff said"

I thought it humorous that the post was arguing that 45-70 was adequate for brown bear, but referenced an article about POW black bears - maybe it's just me.

oops! typo/freudian slip

31 December 2005, 11:21

quote:
Originally posted by DPhillips:
quote:
Originally posted by Jay Johnson:
DPhillips do you know Jim McFarland at the Floatel?

No, I don't, sorry. My post was to help BW find the claim of the BB on POW Island.

Thanks Dphillips. Course, I still don't see anywhere in the article where they mentioned Brownies on POW.

I do however now understand Antlers reply.

No harm done, either way.

31 December 2005, 23:23

North61

I have the very similar 450 Marlin which I like a lot. Sub MOA and powerful and handy. It is my bear defense gun with Ashley post and Ghost Ring.

Lot's of penetration but you know the A Square reloading manual makes some pretty persuasive points regarding the increased shocking power of 2400ft/sec.

This summer I took both the 450 and my 358 Norma out and shot down at the bottom of a slough with about 3" of water and mud soaked bottoms. On bullet impact you can see the crate form and gauge the impact power. The 350 grain bullets from the 450 at 2000ft/sec made an impressive crater about 1 foot wide and fairly deep. The 358 Norma with 300 grain barnes at 2500ft/sec made a much larger crater and the geyser would rain on me from a range of 25 yards.

Not conclusive but I think the 358 Norma or similar 375 H&H would give a much harder blow.