Folks,

I will be hunting with akshooter later next month for brown bear. I have been swamped with personal matters, so I apologize for the last minute question. I know I am in beyond capable hands with bob, but would like to learn as much as possible before boots are on the ground.

Does anyone have some reference material for shot placements with brownies? Broad side' quartering towards/away, head on, etc. need some anatomical points of reference where I need to thread the needle. I will be shooting 300 grain Barnes TSX out of a .375 H&H.

I usually tell people that for the first shot it is best to try to shoot them in the armpit. For the following shots that will occur during the spinning snarling melee, you'd do well to shoot for bone but just getting some more lead in them will help, even if not ideally placed, assuming the first one was in the proper place.

Take this for what you will as i have only taken two brownbears personally, and helped out on a third, but IME unless spine or brain is hit there will generally be lots of action immediately following the first hit, with the bear doing his impression of the Tazmanian Devil of cartoon fame.

Have a good trip, and post some pics when you get back, bear or not. The area you're headed to is beautiful.

Gunshop nailed it! Give them a killing shot 1st then finish the job if it's necessary,,most of the time it isn't. Some advocate a shoulder shot but in my experience many times the bullet is too high especially if the bear is in deep grass or the water. I personally shoot everything so the bullet goes through the top of the heart and lungs,,deadly!

577

You will have a great time with akshooter.
I spent some time with him after my last trip to AK. I had a blast, and consider him a good friend.

Even if he did make me cross a "thin ice frozen pond"...

He is a Good Guy.

quote:

Originally posted by waterrat:
Gunshop nailed it! Give them a killing shot 1st then finish the job if it's necessary,,most of the time it isn't. Some advocate a shoulder shot but in my experience many times the bullet is too high especially if the bear is in deep grass or the water. I personally shoot everything so the bullet goes through the top of the heart and lungs,,deadly!

Agreed. Good advise from the formers. I'd not advise an attempt at CNS. Big hole thru and thru the pulmonary and follow him up a little while later in the willows to find him stone dead. I'd also prefer to keep shooting. Certainly your first shot will be deadly but consider that you aren't ruining any meat for salvage by continuing to shoot and you did bring an entire box of ammo with you so you might as well use a few of them up. More bullets into the bear increases odds of a tsx recovery for future Show and Tell here on AR.

quote:

Originally posted by waterrat:
Gunshop nailed it! Give them a killing shot 1st then finish the job if it's necessary,,most of the time it isn't. Some advocate a shoulder shot but in my experience many times the bullet is too high especially if the bear is in deep grass or the water. I personally shoot everything so the bullet goes through the top of the heart and lungs,,deadly!

Ditto on what Jim says!

Originally posted by N.E 450#2

quote:

Even if he did make me cross a "thin ice frozen pond"...

Mr T I sunk my Skandic in that pond on Friday.
Thought I might loose it but a friend came along with his Skandic and pulled me out. I dumped the water out of the carbs and off I went.

577 Nitro Express You have come to the right place the guys are giving you good info. I would'nt expect less they live right there and have a ton of expireance. You'll be about 90 miles east of Scott and just across the lake from Waterrat (but I think he will be bear hunting on our side of the lake this spring)

We are down to less than a month I'm looking forward to it.

Yup, What Jim + Scott said . GS too.

Recover a bullet if you can . ! Have a great hunt .

There are some pictures in this thread with a bit of dialogue on where to put the first shot.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...621045161#3621045161

quote:

Originally posted by 577NitroExpress:
Folks,

I will be hunting with akshooter later next month for brown bear. I have been swamped with personal matters, so I apologize for the last minute question. I know I am in beyond capable hands with bob, but would like to learn as much as possible before boots are on the ground.

Does anyone have some reference material for shot placements with brownies? Broad side' quartering towards/away, head on, etc. need some anatomical points of reference where I need to thread the needle. I will be shooting 300 grain Barnes TSX out of a .375 H&H.

Excellent! Looking forward to hearing all about it! Good luck to you!

Some good reading before your hunt, particularly in helping you judge brown bears (I know you have a guide for that, but the more I learn before going the better as far as I"m concerned). Hopefully you have a very good set of binoculars. I brought two sets, an inexpensive set of Leupolds which were useless and a used pair of Zeiss binoculars that were fabulous.


http://www.abebooks.com/book-s...-alaska/author/russ/

It definitely helped me on my hunt.

I have re-read Tony Russ' Bear Hunting book several times, as he makes a number of points that do not get written elsewhere, such as the fact that big bears are very low to the ground and one picks his shot wisely because they can disappear in low grass instantly. Also, prepare to keep shooting if it moves at all -- or even if it doesn't!

Another good one is Craig Boddington's Perfect Shot on North American Game with several illustrations. Don't know when if ever I'll get to hunt brownies, but I have been preparing since 1980 and who knows.

quote:

Originally posted by chuck375:
Some good reading before your hunt, particularly in helping you judge brown bears (I know you have a guide for that, but the more I learn before going the better as far as I"m concerned). Hopefully you have a very good set of binoculars. I brought two sets, an inexpensive set of Leupolds which were useless and a used pair of Zeiss binoculars that were fabulous.


http://www.abebooks.com/book-s...-alaska/author/russ/

It definitely helped me on my hunt.

To repeat myself and only because I think its worth doing so,.....

DON'T STOP SHOOTING!

Insurance shots into a down bear doesn't ruin any meat and isn't going to affect the taxidermy. Hit him again while he's laying on the ground and one or two more times after that. Thru and thru behind the shoulder will be more than easy for the taxidermist to sew.

Here is a .gif of ursine anatomy that may help anyone hunting bears.