All this talk has caused me to jump in. I've been in Alaska for a couple months about 10 years ago. I found it to be a very big state with many hunting conditions. To choose the ultimate Alaskan hunting rifle, I would look at what the Guides are using. Also, the type of rifle would depend on what part of the state you were hunting in, and what you are hunting. If I was in the southern, eastern, or SE areas, I would want somethhing asap (as small as possible), with as much punch as possible. I would not be afraid of overkill. Generally, big bore stuff goes slow enough to not waste a side like a 7 mag or 270 will. I shot a blacktail last year with a 375 H&H Ackley Improved. The bullet was a 300 at 2680 fps. Hit it at 90 yds. Good eatin. This year was a 375 Whelen imp. The power is there if you need it, and what you don't need keeps on going. In the treeless north and west, You want something that shoots somewhat flat or at least predictable, and can handle wind well. For general use state wide, the 8 mm rem mag seems the smallest I would want to use. In the SE, S, and E, I would want a 375 H&H, 375X338 win, or bigger. Using a non-wildcat makes sense. My memory of the layout of the Forested areas is sometging like the Montana Rockys, but heavily dense most places. Trees, berrys, ferns, and so on. I am no expert here. Its been a while. I know when hunting SW Oregon, the shots are close. On to scopes. I am leaning twords low to no power or no scope at all. I had some close deer experiences last week and felt the scope was slowing me down, even on 2x. I use the 2x7 VX-2 on several of my rifles. My latest has iron sights only. At least have it detachable, and iron backups. You can hit things out past 400 with a low power scope. I feel that 400 is the ethical limit for hunting shots. Most everything I've shot has been within 100 yds. As far as rifle actions, They all have +'s and -"s. I use Rems, Wins, and 1917's. I don't like A-bolt triggers. I have opinions, and these are some them.

Good pick the Marlin 45-70, I have two them a GG and a SS. The GG i had Wild West Guns customize it a little and the SS i cut it back to 18.5" and recrowned and put a Decellrator recoil pad on it and use 350 grain handloads w/ Reloader 7.

As for all around rifle for Alaska I would suggest the 338 Win Mag, I have a mauser FN with a old detachable scope on it that is my main hunting rifle for years.....

Alot of local hunters use 338 win and some even like the 375 HH, had one and went right back to my 338 Win. I use 250 Sierra BT and Hornady RN bullets with Reloader 19 powder /Fed 215GM primers in Fed Prem Cases w excellent results.

BusMaster007:

A black or blue rifle is fine for Alaska hunting, and lots of hunters use them here. However, those like myself who see guns as "hunting tools," prefer stainless/synthetic. Hunting in the interior of Alaska in September can be quite wet and cold. Sometimes it rains for days, while other times one has to leave the rifle outside the tent to avoid condensation/freezing on the metal. One of my hunting partners has a "blued" rifle, and after two days of hunting I can see rust growing on his rifle's crown.
--------------
About Alaska guns, the most popular cartridges, by a wide margin over all others, are: .30-06, .300WM, and .338WM.

I imagine these three cartridges are "all around" calibers we use to hunt caribou, moose, deer, and other Alaska game. Most Alaskans hunt the game mentioned above (including black bears), and occasionally may kill grizzly/brown if the opportunity presents itself. But hunting grizzly or brown bears is rare with most hunters up here, and it is also expensive. Some of you may have already noticed that most bears are killed with "all around" rifles, since those are what the average Alaska hunter has in his or her hands at the moment.

[ 10-16-2003, 06:58: Message edited by: Ray, Alaska ]

You guys are gonna KILL ME for what I decided...


After reading the kind and generous posts in this thread, and realizing that it's really true that I'm much more inclined to hunt Alaska than Africa, EVER...AND I'm extremely comfortable with the Remington 700...
I took the information and wrote myself an article to justify my choices in this upcoming project.
It WILL be a Remington 700 Mountain Rifle with a few modifications done to it.
I have to go to bed now, so I'll leave you hangin' with that thought in mind and come back in the morning to either add to this thread or start a new one with the particulars of my choice.
THANK YOU to all who are posting on this, though.
I'm interested in all of your choices and opinions and they've been of great help to me in making my final choice.
It's a doozy!

Gentlemen,
I recently had a similar rifle built by John Ricks although it has not been delivered yet...

Winchester SS Classic Express Action that was trued, feeding perfected, and surface ground for proper scope base placement. Barreled action pillar bedded on custom SS pillars in Steel Bed.
Williams SS Barstock One Piece Trigger Guard
Custom Torx Guard Bolts
Wisner Spring Steel Extractor
Pac-Nor SS Super Match No. 5 in .375 caliber at 24"
NECG Banded Masterpiece Front Sight with inserts
NECG Masterpiece Island Rear Sight
Talley Barrel Band Sling Swivel Stud
McMillan Winchester Super Grade with one rear stud
Talley TNT bases opened to 8-40s
Two Leupold 1.75-6x32 E Duplex in Talley QD rings
Barreled Action/Trigger Guard, etc coated in ROBAR Roguard with the bolt and internals coated in ROBAR NP3
Setup as a take down rifle in a Pelican Case

Here are a few bad digital pictures...




Regards, Matt.

[ 10-16-2003, 09:20: Message edited by: Matt in Virginia ]

Matt,

I have the same McMillan Winchester Super Grade Stock on my LH MOD 70 SS Classic 30/06 except black with gray streaks. That one item sure finished off the rifle, plus it improved the accuracy.

dasMafia: In reality, it is the lower-48 hunters who mostly carry big guns up here. Most Alaska hunters use the three cartridges I mentioned above. But it does not mean that some of us don't have big guns, just that for the average hunt in Alaska a big gun is not always carried afield.

However, if I was ONLY going to hunt the large bears, I would skip the .375 H&H and get one of the .416's. One also has to consider that those Alaska hunters who carry the most popular guns (.30-06, .300, .338) are killing big bears, too. If I was hunting bears, I would prefer a hunting partner who can really shoot his .30-06 instead of one who can't shoot his .416.

I use a Ruger M77 ss 300 win mag. topped with a Leaupold vary 3-9. I have found that the 180 grain speer grandslam shoots the best in this rifle. I have used this one everything from brown bear, sheep, goats and caribou and in a few more days I will be in Wyo chasing pronghorn with it. Only down side it is heavy while sheep hunting

If you don't handload one can't argue with the 375 H&H as a top choice for Alaskan big game...it has earned a very well deserved reputation for effectiveness and flexibility around the world for many, many years.

The only advice I would give is to at least pick up, cycle, aim and dry fire a Sako Stainless Synthetic in 375. My guess is that you will be troubled by the Rem and Browning having done this.

This rifle is perfect, right out of the box, guaranteed to shoot 1MOA or under and will inspire such respect and confidence that just carrying it on your first hunt will off set the extra $150 you will have to pay for it over the domestic wanna-bees.

The action is so smooth that you can easily cycle it from your shoulder with live ammo, making follow up shots nearly as fast as a pump.

Alaskan hunting is a "big" topic. The answer to your discussions about rifles, calibers and sights is mostly answered by where in ALASKA you want to hunt! I lived and guided in the Brooks range for many a year, before the Park Service took over much of it, and found a Winchester M70 in 7mm Rem mag to be a fully satisfactory arm, except possibly for it not being stainless. The only modification I have done to it over the years was to install a synthetic stock and a better scope.

Bears, anywhere except Kodiak, the Alaska Penensula, Southeast (Any of the Gulf of Alaska Coast) are really not that big. The biggest problem we had with clients with "Loudenboomers" (big calibers) was that they generally couldn't shoot them well enough. An accurate rifle, that you can shoot really well, with a bullet with a good ballistic coeficent and sectional density is all that is required.

Bears, at least in the North, generally tend to mind their manners, with the possible exception of curious and not too bright blackies.

Coastal bears in the "South", can be, however, fun. I posted a great photo here a couple of years ago of a friend raising his rifle to shoot a charging Kodiak Bear, taken by his son standing at his shoulder. He was deer hunting and had "only" his 300 wnmag.

Good Luck!

I think most guides want you to use the biggest cal. rifle that you can shoot well and depending on the game you are after, most when it comes to brown bears have a min. cal. that they want you to use ie: 3006, 338 with premium bullets, My opinion is that if you can shoot a 3006 you can shoot a 375. What ever rifle/cal. you use don't buy one just before the hunt buy it early so that you can spend quality time with it.

I own a Browning Stainless Stalker in 338 Win Mag and a Remington Model 700 stainless synthetic in 375 H&H Magnum. I haven't hunted with the 375 in Alaska yet because Uncle Sam shipped me down to California.

Prior to that, I hunted Alaska for eight years with the Browning 338 and a 225 grain Barnes X handload. The combination worked well for me on Sitka Blacktails, goat, caribou, moose and brownies.

I expect the 375 to be more of a good thing although in IMHO, it's not really necessary. I prefer stainless and synthetic rifles because of the weather conditions you can encounter. If you opt for a blued barrel, bring a lttle OOOO steel wool to carefully remove any surface rust that may appear. That little trick worked well for a friend of mine when we hunted Montague Island for Blacktails.

If I ever make it back up there I won't be coming back to the lower 48. I could survive right well with 2 rifles. One would have to be a Ruger M-77 Stainless w/laminated stock rebarreled to .375 Dakota (different but I like the round). The second would be a tried & true .30/30 that would not leave my hand. It would be my walk around gun. When I lived there before probably the 2 most popular rounds for sport hunting was the .30/06 and the .375 H&H.

[ 10-19-2003, 08:44: Message edited by: WyoJoe ]

Long ago the .30-06 was the number one cartridge up here, and the .375 H&H was the "bear cartridge. Then in the 60's and 70's the .300 and .338 gained popularity, matching the .30-06's. Nowadays just about every Alaska hunter has at least one of these three cartridges. In the interior of Alaska, where I hunt, it seems that the .30-06, .338 and .300 outnumber all others by a huge margin. Some "bear" guides are using .338's and .375's, but a great number of guides are now using .416's and even .458's. The .30-30 is still being used, but I seldom see any around the areas I hunt.

A friend of mine switched from a .30-06 to a .375, while another friend from Anchorage has all of them up the .416 Rem. It is hard to match the power of a .416 with a 400-grain slug, and it is a powerhouse with a lighter bullet such as a 300 grainer.
-------------------
Here is the information:

This is from the NRA's January 2001 issue, American Hunter: "The Alaska Department of Fish & Game hunter safety staff in Anchorage tallied the big game rifles sighted at the Rabbit Creek rifle range for the 1999 hunting season. The top three cartridges were the .30-06 (21%), .300 Win. Magnum (19%), and the .338 Win. Magnum (18%). These were followed by the 7mm Rem. Magnum (9%), .375 H&H Magnum (6%), .270 (6%), .308 (4%), and .300 Wby. Magnum (4%), .45-70 (1%), .280 (1%), and a host of others, including many wildcats. Comparable data are not available for hunters who live in the bush."

[ 10-19-2003, 10:18: Message edited by: Ray, Alaska ]

Hey Guys-- CK in Juneau likes his '06 better than his 338 cause he's a wimp when it comes to big bores! Walex

The basic facts of living and hunting in Alaska's coastal bear country are this You may go your whole life without bear trouble. But don't stake your life on pure chance. You can count on trouble coming unexpected, at extremely close range, out of the grass or brush, at unbelievably blinding blurring speed in split seconds in which you can be totally shredded, ruined or dead. I'veknown quite a few in almost 56 years in Alaska. Killing an animal is one thing, stopping him is another. Almost every guide I knew from Karl Lane, Ralph Young, to Ed Builderback, all switched from '06 to 375's the minute they could afford to. Ralph Young, after a close call with his rifle slung on his shoulder, took the sling off and never went into the woods in bear country with a rifle that had a sling. The only exception I knew was Marcus Jensen, who preferred an M1 Garand, 220 Gr. bullets. "8 rounds and no muzzle jump." he said. I never go into the Admiralty island weeds for any thing but deer, but the bear are always there too, and usually they avoid you. but the potential for running into one that's having a bad day is always there. You have to always remember that any one of them can and will, kill you. The bear lover may have got a thrill out of tempting the fates, like the guy who gets his kicks playing russian roulette. Eventually he paid in full. My favorite anology is this: If Mike Tyson was in the room, and serious threating to rip your head off, would you rather have Lennox Lewis on your side to help you, or fast little Oscar de la Hoya? Anybody picking the cute little glamour guy would be an idiot.
Walex

Hey Walex! Look who's calling me a wimp! I think I've seen your wimpy muzzle brake'er on your .375 H&H cause you didn't like the recoil............And now that it's got a brake on it, it recoils just like my 30-06.............No I don't from suffer big bore envy. I get the job done from the golden rule:

SHOT PLACEMENT

BULLET PERFORMANCE

ENERGY

Just remember, it's not the size that matters, but how you use it.

[ 10-20-2003, 02:29: Message edited by: CK ]

CK Checking your reaction time! Whole 15 minutes! Walex

Pretty funny, your getting pretty fast yourself, you must be burning up your key board, fingers are a flying. Should I call 911 for you to put out the fire:

[ 10-20-2003, 02:52: Message edited by: CK ]

Gentlemen

I got two friends who spent a few years in Alaska. They claim that "the ultimate rifle" for Alaska is two rifles A large caliber like 338, 358 etc. and a 6,5, 270, 280 or 7mm mag. According to them most sheep and goat hunters uses rounds smaller than 30 cal

What are the most common calibers for Alaskan mountains?

/ JOHAN

The facts are as follows: Most bears that have been killed in Alaska (during a charge) for the past 100 years, have NOT been killed with big bores. The majority of bears that have been killed during a charge have died to smaller guns such as from the .30-30 to the .30-06. This has happened because those are the guns the average Alaska hunters have had in their hands at the moment, since most Alaskans are not hunting bears. The average Alaska hunter is looking for moose, caribou, deer, some elk, some bison, etc. instead of bears.

Another fact is that bear encounters are rare if you compare the number of people in the outdoors to the number of bear attacks on humans for the past 100 years. For the past 100 years, approximately 58 people have been killed by bears (including the recent two bear huggers). Of the 58 people or so killed by bears, a little over 50% have been hunters with big and small guns. In all cases of close encounter bear charges that have resulted in death of hunters, the size of the gun has not made a difference whatsoever, since most hunters had no idea the bears were near.

There are countless cases where big guns nor small guns stopped bears. There have been cases of bears shot several times with .338's, .375's, .416's, and even .458's where the bears ran. There was a case near the Kenai Peninsula where a brown was shot two to three times with a .458, where the hunter was inside his tent and the bear was by the tent's door. This bear ran, and later was killed by the guide.

If you read the book "Some Bears Kill," a book that tells stories of humans who survived the attacks, you will notice that in all the bear cases mentioned, the great majority of guns were very small. A guy from Anchorage fought and killed a brown bear with his knife and fists, another kept a bear at bay with a park bench, etc.

One fact we can't ignore is that those humans who didn't survive bear charges at close range, had no idea they had stepped so close to bears. A bear that is in the brush 16 feet away can be on top of you before you even know what is happening. A bear in full stride during a charge can move approximately 16' in less than a second. It is more like a jump forward that covers approximately 16'.

Some of the reasons why we sometimes step too close to bears without knowing about it are as follows:

1. Walking near streams or rivers where there is high ambient noise such as running water.

2. Walking through the brush on windy days.

3. As we age our hearing is not as good anymore, while sometimes we have damaged our hearing for whatever reason, etc.

3. Ignoring or not knowing enough about the possible areas where bears could be, such as salmon streams, etc.

4. Not being aware of one's surroundings, terrain, etc., being distracted by something while walking and not paying attention, or running quietly on trails where bears may be present at one time or another.
------
All that aside, during a charge, firearm proficiency (knowing your gun and shooting it well), having the proper ammo, not losing your cool under stress, your wits, and being lucky... are far superior to the size of the gun.

[ 10-20-2003, 04:37: Message edited by: Ray, Alaska ]

Ray, the problem with your statement that with a chargeing bear, rifle profiecency, good ammo, Keeping your wits and cool, luck, and many add shot placement, and all that is far superior to the size of the gun, that I have, is the fact that even if one has all that going for him, he might even make a bunch of eventually fatal shots, but if he don't stop the animal, disable him, turn him or whatever, with a caliber that is not up to the job, the damn thing might kill you. I've never understood the thought process. The rationalization also, using your example of statistics that the size of gun didn't matter in so many fatal attacks, might give a lot of guys the wrong idea and get them in trouble in bear country. I tend to give more credence to the articles by Phil Shoemker about his ugly old .458 and all the old guides I've known in almost 60 years of Alaska living, from Ralph Young, Ed Builderbeck, Karl Lane and others. I don't think they used heavy rifles because they were inexperienced, or dumb and just didn't know any better. Didn't ever hear any of them talk about trusting to luck or any dumb-s--t rationalizations like well you're more likely to get killed on the highway than out in the woods bare-handed and buck naked, either. I think that is the worst thing about the bear huggers, who have taught many generations of Americans that all wild animals are cuddly and harmless. Not realistic and have cause much injury and harm. Even to the animals they want to protect. The two katmai bears were put at risk senselessly and needlessly by that suicidal idiot and his ego. Question; Why did the US Army come to use the .45 automatic pistol? Because the .30 caliber 30-40 Krag would't stop the crazed Moro fanatics, that's why. Walex

I think it was the 38 Colt or 38 S&W that wasn't good enough to stop the Moro tribesman. I believe the 30-40 Krag was quite suffecient.

Johan, Your friends advice is good, but I've seen really big brownies up high on the peaks, while flying, higher than the goats. Make the 7mm remington your smallest choice, or 300 WinMag, better yet the 300 RUM has the horsepower out there at long range to anchor them better, and if by chance you have a bear drop by for lunch, you can reach out and touch him with some authority before he can get close enough to touch you. Good 1 gun choice, 338 tuned up with light faster bullets for the goat sheep moose caribou hunt and heavy bullets for deer in the big coastal bear country. Walex

Allen , you may be right about the 30/40 Krag, I don't remember if the military round was a round nose or a spitzer in 1900, I know they still designed the '30-03 with a round nose, then changed to a spitzer. round nose would stop better. Walex.

walex: Don't forget that I also mentioned "being lucky."

Once one steps too close to a bear that is poised for an ambush, there is no time to turn around with a gun to fire it. However, some people have been lucky enough to fire their guns maybe one time without aiming and have killed the bears. Again, according to the data of bear charges at close range for the past 100 years, most bears killed by the surviving humans have died to what one would consider small caliber guns. I am not saying one should use a small gun.

Keep in mind that I am talking about reaction time during a charge one is not aware of. In most cases, according to survivors of bear attacks, they had no idea they had stepped too close to bears, so upon realizing what was happening they didn't have time to ready and fire their guns.

I am not a bear expert, but I listen to what survivors of bear attacks have to say. At the same time, I understand that one should use the biggest gun one can shoot. But sometimes a .30-06, or maybe a .30-30 is the biggest gun a person can shoot. Sometimes the gun in the person's hand may be a .22 LR, like it was for a little Native lady who killed a record bear with it a few years ago. Yes, she was lucky, but she also knew where to shoot it. She shot it on the side of the head, by the ear, and she emptied the gun on the bear until it stopped moving.

If anybody gets the impression that bears are cuddly, as far as I am concerned they should go and pet the bears and get eaten by them. I don't feel sorry whatsoever for humans who can be that stupid.

Agreed Ray, I sometimes forget that I had all the do's and don'ts drilled into my head from a very early age, such as don't trust to luck and go waltzing blindly through the huckleberries. First rule was never get into a spot where a bear could ambush you or sneak up on you, be totally aware of your surroundings at all times. The Indians here did everything in groups, teams. Bears are less likely to jump a group, than a single person. Bears don't live long bucking odds in their world. No they are not cuddly, but I never get tired of watching them. Another thing I learned very early was no matter what the precautions and bear expert advice nothing will prevent or help avoid problem with the rare old rotten toothed slick rubbed hide gaunt old aching old wounds and joints brownie like the one that ate the bear hugger. My first real dustup with bear was with one of those who was almost on a couple of fellows fishing salmon in the Klehini River, 33 miles up from Haines, when I was 17 yrs. old. Have some pretty impressive flashbacks when I think back on that one. Impressive animals. Walex

After a close encounter with 3 adult grizzlies and the death of a friend on Kodiak(deer hunting), my paranoia lead me to a BAR 338. With aluminum receiver, loopy 1.5x5, 250 gr noslers, and 20" barrel. I want more than one shot at close range. Like 338's. Before, I carried a win mod 70 ss(now with 21" barrel). Mod 70 so I can keep it working in extreme cold weather(easy to strip the bolt of lubricant). Have a ruger 77 also and had a Browning ss stalker at one time. Had problems with the safety on the ss Stalker. Equal accuracy from all 4 and all better than my old eyes can shoot, although I did shoot a 1" 100yd group with iron sights on the BAR. Used the front sight hood as an inverse peep sight and just centered the whole target. Also a lot of luck but I have witnesses!

I use a plain old parkerized Mark X .375 in a Hi tech stock. It has a a 4x Burris in weavers with a ghost ring rear mounted ahead of the the scope and a flat post front. It is plain and abused and works fine. Always produces bloody hands at the end of the day.

ED

das mafia;

i agree with u about the deer re .375 h.h.

however, i don't think that it is too much for moose, or even elk if u are hunting in timber, if hunting elk in the open there are better choices than .375. such as .340 wthby, .338 ultra mag, etc.

in general, .338 and .375 are greeat all around alaska guns. if limited to one gun i would bypass the .300's. i.m.h.o.

cold zero

My Rifles include:

Mauser FN in 338 Win. with a Leupold 2.5x8
Marlin GG in 45-70 Custom WWG with a 1.5x5
Ithaca 37 12Ga, 20" Slug Gun
Marlin 39 "Mountie" 22LR Lever.

I handload for my 338 and 45-70 and use Hornady Bullets, for several years.

I do 90% of all my hunting with my old FN 338 Win.
It has a Walnut stock and QR Jagger Rings on the scope. I use the 250 Hornady RN and 73.0 of RL 19 with Fed 215 GM primers in Fed Prem Brass.

[ 11-16-2003, 00:14: Message edited by: Alaska Bush Man ]

I own a Remington 700 in .300 WinMag. It's highly customized (to the tune of over $2,000), but I don't hunt with it.

I own a .450 Marlin for summer carry. It's moderately customized, but I don't hunt with it.

I own gangs of other rifles, nearly all customized to one extent or another. I don't hunt with them.

As an Alaskan resident, almost annually since 1974 I've hunted moose, caribou, blacktail deer, and both black and brown bear with my 30-06s.

I've had 4 30-06s over the years. The first was a pre-64 Winchester with a 3x9 Weaver. Then I went to a Remington 7400 with factory open sights. Then I bought my first Honey; a Browning Stainless Stalker, the year they first came out (1987, I think?).

What a wonderful rifle!! I used it for a few years with a Redfield Widefield 3x9, then started reading (and becoming infatuated with) the Jeff Cooper Scout Rifle concept. I ended up modifying the Browning into a "pseudo-scout", the first of it's kind in Alaska that I knew of.

Most memorable was a November deer hunt on Kodiak. It rained/snowed sideways every day. After hunting each day, I'd hang the rifle OUTSIDE on a nail on the side of the cabin, and cook dinner while everybody else was oiling their rusting, blued rifles, and even disassembling their variable scopes trying to defog them. I won some converts on that trip.

I finally retired the stainless stalker a couple of years ago. I've built another '06 on a German 98 Mauser (1943 vintage, with all matching numbers). The action was blueprinted, a stainless Douglas #3 barrel installed, the assembly dropped into a Bell & Carlson glass bedded straightline stock. A custom scope mount for the Burris 2 3/4x Scout scope (from the previous Browning) with quick detachable Weaver rings was mounted. Ashley Ghost ring sights were mounted as a backup in the unlikely event that the simple Burris Scout scope failed during a hunt. There are three sling mounts to accept a Ching Sling (named after it's designer, Eric Ching). Stan Jackson in Anchorage performed the machine work flawlessly. The entire rifle (scope included) has a Robar Polymax camo finish. An Uncle Mikes elastic ammo carrier was cut to fit the bolt handle side of the stock and screwed into place. It holds 9 rounds, 4 of which are in a stripper clip (the forward mounted Scout scope and Mauser action allows the use of stripper clips).

I load it with 180 grain Swift A-Frames, and even with a 20" barrel, I'm still getting 2700 fps. with 1.25" groups at 100 yards.

It's an impressive rifle. I wish I had a digital camera so you all could see this piece in all it's glory.

Although I still have a Browning Stainless Stalker ("Alaskan Special") in .338, also modified into a "pseudo-scout", the 30-06 has been my primary hunting rifle. I plan to use the .338 Browning for moose and brown bear in the future, after I finish building the Swift A-Frame load I like best (I'm torn between the 275 grain and the 250 grain; I'm still working at the range with it).

The 30-06 will be used for all other big game hunting (caribou, sheep, deer, black bear).

Anybody interested in Jeff Cooper's Scout Rifle concept should read "To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth". It changed my shooting life dramatically.

HAD MY dream ALASKA rifle built many years ago.

Model 70 in .375H&H
Had the bbl cut to 21"
McArthur brake installed
McMillan kevlar stock
Griffin & Howe quick detach rail mount so can go to irons in 3 seconds and back to scope in another 3.
Burris compact 2-7X

TOTAL weight 8 pounds
Shoots/recoils like a hot .243 with the brake.
impervious to weather..thanks to ....this will make some of you guys cringe....
.
.
.Brownells black Krinkle paint.
EVERYTHING but the glass is painted with the krinkle paint. Provides a bullet proof protection against any weather and the krinkle makes it easy to handle in wet, cold ..imagine the entire rifle being checkered...that is what it is like.

You take off the paint and the blue is MINT/NEW underneath even though the rifle has been beaten all over Canada moose and bear hunting, been soaking wet for days without proper maintenence available.

Very interesting thread...

How would a 9.3x62mm stack up as an Elk, moose bear gun? Would ammo availability make it a poor choice over say a .375H&H?

Regards,

Pete