12 December 2004, 09:03
Bear in FairbanksRe: To 458WIN
Lawcop:
Others with more first hand experience than I may disagree but....
I well remember the bear on Kodiak Island I wounded in the spring of 1977. I was using a .338 Mag. loaded with 250 gr. Partitions. Briefly, I'll neve forget to this day my thinking to myself, as he ran off - "What in the world does it take to put one of these guys down? A .458 Mag.? I might as well be using a .22." Those are my exact thoughts as he hightailed it out to the valley floor.
A year ago this last Oct., while elk hunting on Afognak Island, we walked up onto a bear who was watching a deer trail from above. We were going downhill, back to camp & came onto him at literally about 20 or so yards. We didn't know he was there until I walked past him & he snorted & huffed & puffed. No growling. In short, we slowly moved downhill, the bear got up from his resting place, walked over and stood between the 2 trees we walked between when we came onto him. We were facing each other at about 30 feet (not yds.) by now. Very carefully & slowly, we backed down more never taking our eyes off him. The bear slowly turned and meandered up the slope following the path we had taken. I can guarendamntee you there was a pucker factor there and my "measley", little .338 again felt like it was no better than a .22 rimfire.
These are only a couple of the reasons why I'm so adament here on the board when guys ask about min. chamberings for the large bears. I just think a .338 Mag. is the min. but that's me. Ya'll take care now. Bear in Fairbanks
30 November 2004, 09:29
458WinFrom what I have been able to find out the photo was a peninsula bear. Which are larger than any Russian bears I have seen or heard of. Last year I talked with the top Russian Bear biologist and he showed me his field notes on all the bears they had taken. Out of over a hundred the absolute largest would just barely make ten foot (depending on who and how you cut him) and had a 27 inch skull before drying. There are a lot of stories coming out of Russia but no verifiable trophies making B&C.
24 November 2004, 19:15
RMillerSo this is why you carry an elephant gun for Brown Bear.
[image]http://www.groovebullets.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=304[/image]
[image]http://www.groovebullets.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=305[/image]
Having a buddy for lunch
[image]http://www.groovebullets.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=303[/image]
[image]http://www.groovebullets.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=303[/image]
25 November 2004, 03:30
DaveCGreat pictures.
Thanks for sharing them.
I assume that the larger bear had been eating the smaller bear.
DMC
25 November 2004, 04:16
458WinNo, that is why I carry a bear rifle. Some folks I hear even use bears rifles on elephants.
Great shots and a super bear. Let me know the skull measurements and GMU.
11 December 2004, 09:56
LAWCOPNEVER DONE one of the BIG bears, but just out of curiosity, how small and insignificantly puny does that rifle feel in your hands when you are looking at a 1000pound protien converter that all of a sudden has YOU as it's focus of attention?
11 December 2004, 18:52
RMillerWhile deer hunting on Kodiak Island with a friend. We came up within two brown bears less than twenty feet away. I never actually saw fur through the alders but I could see the bushes being flattened in a commotion that sounded like a freight train.
I had a 300 win mag with a 165 seirra boattail chambered and three 200 grain noslers in the mag.
In an instant I had the thought of ejecting the chambered round and cycling a nosler. But my next instantaneous thought was "NO WAY! The only way any bullets are leaving this gun is through the barrel!
I never did have any concern about a puny gun though.
We also came across a juvinile bear at 30 yards that started bouncing on its front feet and doing what sounded like hissing noises at us. I thought for sure that he was going to charge. He would have had to go through 10 yards of alders and 20 yards of open ground to get to us. I remember telling myself to pick a spot when he clears the brush. He finally turned around and left.
Deer hunting in Alaska can be exciting.
