Seen lots of Moose lost with those .30 cals. If they won't stop a Moose, why take one for Grizzly. Minimum .338 Win Mag! No one in my group carries anything less. .338, .375, or .378 Weatherby.

cold zero
Why soo heavy rifles? You must like to haul lot's of extra weight

Take a look at Ed Brown's rifles if you are thinking about something new. A 8,5X64 or 8,5X72 should be fine. I would keep the rifle around 9-10 pounds.

Cheers
/ JOHAN

For myself I would choose a 375. I can shoot it well and it does not weigh 13#. I like the Weatherby but my fear would be that after chasing a bear my arms would not be as steady after humping around 13#. I have never been a fan of any of the 300 class. No special reason just personal choice. So my two picks would be a 338 or a 375 and the 375 would be my first pick.

cold zero ----- Listen to Maddog, he speaks the truth. I killed a 91/2 ft. Brown Bear with a .300 Win mag using 200 grain Nosler Partitions. A one shot kill, however at the shot three more Bears, a 71/2 and two 8's within 20 and 30 yards stood up from their Salmon stream to see what all the noise was about and why their buddy was laying on the tundra. At that point I felt very undergunned, even with three other guns blasing away. My guide, another hunter and my brother-in-law, were cool in a dangerous situation. Two of them were tagged also and it worked out OK, but it could have been very close for a single hunter or a hunter and his guide. I can still hear the shouts, cursing, roars, death growls, moans etc. My next trip I carried a .340 Wby and my last trip I carried a .358 STA. Pack the largest rifle you can shoot instinctively and practice, practice, practice. Yep, smaller rifles will kill them with the perfect angle, but you might not have that angle. Good luck and good shooting.

I cannot imagine carrying a 13 to 14 pound rifle around while hunting (and if you can do it easily then you don't need a rifle to hunt griz just take a switch) so I would opt for the 300 WinMag if that is the only other choice.

My own personal 1st choice would be a 338 WinMag but that's beside the point.

I think I made a poor choice of words when I said "largest" and "smaller" when referring to Bear rifles. I should have said largest chambering, and smaller chamberings. My .358 STA weighs in at 91/2 lbs, while not a lightweight it is not a 13 pounder either. Further reasoning reveals the heftiness of the rifle might be better if used as a club if you are really drawing for straws. Good shooting.

I like my 13 lb club, it I cant shoot the bear, I can always hit him with it

I have 8.5 pound 416 rem mag loaded with 3x9 scope on it.I use it for bears with 22" barrel love it.It does not kick as much as you think just gives you a little shove.They were called Remington Big Game Rifles they made about 2500.Its awesome brush gun and tent gun.It is pretty accurate.I like Ruger Model 77 338 win mags in Stainless also.Its a rough place on wood blued guns .I about ruined mine on my first 10 day trip.

In my opinion shoot the largest caliber you can handle and if it's less than .338 hunt something else, no your imitations. The big boys require respect and big iron!I hunt our bears with a minimum .338 and I've taken em with .416 and even my .450 ackley. Remember there is no such thing as magic or overkill."Always walk softly and carry a big stick"

I have missed reading these forums for the past two years! Shame on me! I have to admit I agree with Ken Essex above on all counts! His statement makes me laugh because it is basically true. A good guide is worth his (or her) weight in gold, but I've never met one younger than me that did not want to shoot first! And on more than one occasion they did! Or they shot 5 nanoseconds after I did...Ha! That is because they are serious hunters and that is good. So it is possible to get away with bringing your 22.

You should bring the biggest gun you can shoot well. Sometimes a .338 seems small. I more often than not carry my .378 with 250 or 300 grain bullets. It has never seemed too big to me. Not yet.

RWJ