Hello

Would the 45-70 with a 460gr Cast Performance bullet @ 1750-1800fps be adequate for the big bear hunting and maybe even back up for hunts in big bear country?

Thanks!
Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Coloradoyaler:
Hello

Would the 45-70 with a 460gr Cast Performance bullet @ 1750-1800fps be adequate for the big bear hunting and maybe even back up for hunts in big bear country?

Thanks!
Mark

..................Yes it will work great .................It is a good knock down round But you want to get well with in 100 yards ..........

Ditto with Gumboot

To expand on Gumboots answer a little, what would the velocity of your cartridge be at 100, 200, 300 yards?

If you are from Colorado and are going to be spending all the money and time that it takes to go brown bear hunting wether guided or not, I would advise using the most effective center fire rifle reasonable.

Of course everyone sees hunting a little different and as an example bow hunters don't seem to mind the added challenges and corresponding reduction in amount of game taken associated with their chosen weapon.

That being said, I'd be peeved at myself to no end to fly all the way to Alaska and not be able to shoot at a nice brown bear because at 250 yds I know my bullet has the velocity of a softball. If you were competent with your rifle and using something like a .338 win mag, a 250 yard shot is reasonable.

Around Dillingham and as a resident it'd be ok to go hunt moose, bear, or anything else with a bow, muzzle loader, or 45-70 since there's always next weekend if things don't go right with the chosen primitive weapon.

If this is a rare or once in a lifetime trip for you I'd darn well bring a big accurate high velocity rifle that you can shoot well.

.......Where are you wanting to hunt up here ,., ??

quote:

Originally posted by Scott King:
To expand on Gumboots answer a little, what would the velocity of your cartridge be at 100, 200, 300 yards?

If you are from Colorado and are going to be spending all the money and time that it takes to go brown bear hunting wether guided or not, I would advise using the most effective center fire rifle reasonable.

Of course everyone sees hunting a little different and as an example bow hunters don't seem to mind the added challenges and corresponding reduction in amount of game taken associated with their chosen weapon.

That being said, I'd be peeved at myself to no end to fly all the way to Alaska and not be able to shoot at a nice brown bear because at 250 yds I know my bullet has the velocity of a softball. If you were competent with your rifle and using something like a .338 win mag, a 250 yard shot is reasonable.

Around Dillingham and as a resident it'd be ok to go hunt moose, bear, or anything else with a bow, muzzle loader, or 45-70 since there's always next weekend if things don't go right with the chosen primitive weapon.

If this is a rare or once in a lifetime trip for you I'd darn well bring a big accurate high velocity rifle that you can shoot well.

Well said by Scott. The short answer to your question is yes. But, like Scott said.....

Thanks for the replies!

Gumboat, do you guide bear hunter? We are moose hunting for our second year this sept. Last year we hard 10 days of driving rain and 40mph winds!

Scott makes a good point! I think I'll carry my Ruger 375 Alaskan. But my guide gun is so easy to carry!

Thanks again!
Mark

The described 45-70 would certainly more than adequate for hunting big bears and would not be a bad choice for a back-up rifle either.

Regarding the issue of long range shooting - Bear hunting, like any dangerous game hunting, is not a long range affair, for safety as well as ethical reasons. A competent rifleman with a 45-70 should certainly be able to place a killing shot out to 150 to 200 yards.

quote:

Originally posted by Coloradoyaler:
Thanks for the replies!

Gumboat, do you guide bear hunter? We are moose hunting for our second year this sept. Last year we hard 10 days of driving rain and 40mph winds!

Scott makes a good point! I think I'll carry my Ruger 375 Alaskan. But my guide gun is so easy to carry!

Thanks again!
Mark

...........................I am not a [guide ] as in a licensed Alaska Professional Hunter ....But I go hunting with locals ,alot of whom like and trust my relatively aggressive stance on close in bear ......Southeast Alaska has such a strong and growing Brown bear population ......that it is now easy to see more bear in a day out deer hunting than you do see deer .In the northern part of southeast ........Bear hunting in Southeast is different than it is up north and out west .............We are pretty much 100% boat based and skiff access where as they are bush plane with tires ,ski,s or floats , and sno machines .....Neither is better than the other ., Both are great but they are very different .......The bears are the same except the northern and western bears have these big old jug heads .......Here a 10 foot squared bear may have a 27" skull there it may have a 30" skull ...It,s just a different gene pool , but the trophy book scoring system goes by skull size ........If you were fall bear hunting on the fish criks here your guide gun would by and large be equally as good as the 375 Ruger Alaskan .......But if you were to hunt up north ,or something like a monster bear was spotted but the situation was such that you had to shoot at 200 yards or nothing the 375 Ruger would be just the ticket .........the 375 would be great for up close also .....

quote:

If you are from Colorado and are going to be spending all the money and time that it takes to go brown bear hunting wether guided or not, I would advise using the most effective center fire rifle reasonable.

First things first. Hunting Brown Bear guided is the only option unless you are a resident or next of kin who is a resident will take you.
My experience in guiding over the last ten years has brought me to this conclusion. 45-70 is enough gun for close range. I have one handi in spike camps just for security while sleeping. If i was to reccomend a gun it would certainly not be a 45-70. I have seen bears killed with 300 win mags, 500 S & W's and a different array of firearms and Bow and arrows. My conclusion is use a gun 338 Ultra mag or Larger that you are comfortable shooting. You are spending alot of money, bring a gun that is good out to a couple hundred yardscthat will get the job done without question. I personally carry either a 375 Ultra Mag with nosler custom 300 grain, or a 416 Rigby with nosler custom 375 grain.
IMO

......Maribou .,Nice rifles and recomendation ....What are Nosler custom bullets ....

The 45-70 with the hand loads you've discribed will work but you are really limited as to range as others have mentioned here already.

If you choose to bring the 45-70 my expiriance with these kind of loads leads me to recommend useing new brass for your hunting ammo.

Since you have the .375 Ruger thats hands down the way to go. You may be carring a little more weight but your down range energy will be double not to mention flat trajectory.

quote:

Originally posted by gumboot458:
What are Nosler custom bullets ....

It is ammunition loaded by NOSLER.
You can pick the NOSLER bullet of your choice, but thats as custom as it gets.
Very good ammo though.

....Thanks KC ....I thot Nosler only made a 400 gr bullet for the .416 ??

quote:

Originally posted by 458Win:
The described 45-70 would certainly more than adequate for hunting big bears and would not be a bad choice for a back-up rifle either.

Regarding the issue of long range shooting - Bear hunting, like any dangerous game hunting, is not a long range affair, for safety as well as ethical reasons. A competent rifleman with a 45-70 should certainly be able to place a killing shot out to 150 to 200 yards.

Agree 100%, I am going after brown bear this spring and will be using my Marlin XLR 45-70 using 420 grain Garrett Hammerheads. I will not shoot past 150 yards and prefer to be much, much closer than that. Personally, I wouldn't attempt to shoot a brown bear beyond 200 yards with my 375 H&H either, chasing brownies in the alders is not my idea of fun.