when i was young all the old timers used 3006, omly need one gun, anything else and you probably drove a vw with flowers painted on it.
but after i got a little older and expanded my travels to mainland and saw the size of the brown bear tracks, the 06 looked puny i decided on something bigger, got a 338 then had to listen to all the" why you need a cannon" crap.
but it seems like i know a lot of guys after a little encounter they run down an buy a 338.
so how many out there will fess up

For me it was that I wanted/needed something a bit larger. In all my years here in Ak., I've always used a .270 Win. with great success for sheep, caribou, etc. BUT, when I finally decided to go after brown bear the first time, there was no way with a .270. The .338 had been out for years and had proven itself in the fields so I got one. At any rate, I still use my .338 as my moose rifle although I could get by with one of my .27 cal. rifles. I also have a .270 WSM that I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. There is the possibility of encountering grizzlies in timber where we hunt moose so that's the rifle I use. The .338 also went with me on our 3 trips to Afognak for elk as well. I wholeheartedly agree, if/when you get up close & personal with a brown bear, even a .338 feels quite puny in your hands. You even think a .458 is too small.In short, I love the .338.
Bear in Fairbanks

I took my 91/2 ft. Brown Bear at Cold Bay with a .300 Winny, and at the time felt like I had a pea shooter in my hands. A one shot kill but three more Bears appeared after the shot and had to be delt with. On the next hunt in the Big Bear country I carried a .340 Wby, and since I pack a .358 STA, and will in the future. After my close encounter I have a great respect for the Big Bruins and will pack something big enough for the job. Good shooting.

There are times when even a 458 feels puny but experience has taught me that the 30-06 with good bullets is still all that is required so long as you have the right zip code on the bullets.

I started with a .300 Weatherby and it worked just fine. I've used a 7x57, 30-06 and .338.

For no real good reason now I use a .375 or a 9.3 and I intend to use a .458 soon. So far I seem to be able to use the larger cartridges effectively and the game taken don't seem to mind.

If I find myself comfortable using the .458 locally I suspect I'll carry it exclusively. Why not? I'm not saying bigger is better but if bigger is possible from a comfort, and capable perspective I don't see the problem.

If I found myself uncomfortable using anything larger than my 7x57 I'd load 175g bullets and have myself a heck of a time.

i eventually couldnt resist gettin a 375H&H
but then i moved up to south central and after about a year i saw so little bears or sign i sold it an got a 308 win.
but back on the A B C's i carry a 416 or 45 70 most of the time
there seems to be a lot more bears around now than 20 yrs ago
even encounter brown bears on the shootin range here time to time

I've hunted exclusively with a 338 WM since 1993. Only recently, I've decided to downsize and have bought both a 30-06 and a 7mm-08. I plan to hunt with them unless the area I'm hunting has a decent bear population and I think I have a chance at shootin a monster. On those hunts, I'll carry my 338 WM.

My go to rifle is a 300 RUM with 168gr TSX. It has proven to be all that I could ever need. If I felt the neeed to move up from there then I think you have to go bigger than 338, 375 seems to be the next logical step up. I built a 375 RUM as a "heavy" rifle but really don't think it will kill any deader than the 300 RUM.

you know....I've 2 .338 win mags and think it must be 10-15yrs now that I have used one. It is not the recoil as I am not shy of being "recoiled", these calibers don't bother me. I have been amazed with the aught six and .338-06 and the 9.3x62 and the 45-70 as "meat guns" so in them yrs. that is what I have been using both for moose and bears. Been know to pretty much have the lil' .30-30 with 180grn. hardcast around often too.

I concur with 458 that the ability to take the shot when present and to place the shot well is ideal. I remember when I use to always carry a .270 but them northern mountain grizz tracks helped to change my mind too..ha.

tbear78, that .375RUM is an awesome grizz gun....loved mine but sold it. A remmy.

Since you have the 270 the jump to a 338 is a good choice, if you had a 30-06 I'd be a happy camper with the right bullets. I've never felt under gunned with a 30-06 in AK with the right bullets and at times with that rifle I was 30 yds from a 9 ft bear on the penninsula. I just don't want to be caught with a scope on a rifle in thick stuff, that's when I feel I'm just carrying a stick that's make of steel.

My first big game rifle purchased was a 338wm. Second a 458wm and then later a 30-06.

the payoff for packin a big gun came after over 10 yrs.
just finished quartern a deer an got it in my pack, walked a couple hundred feet from gutpile
when a big sow w 2 cubs showed up. i managed to keep some bushes between us hopin she would get to the gutpile an not see me, but a cub spotted me and with a curoius look ran up to me about 6 feet away. the sow was only about 25 ft away.
woof and she came flyin around the brush and i shot her about 12 feet away killed her in midstride.
just glad i wasnt packin an 06
the bullet construction an shot placement theory
dosent always work on your time schedule.
ive seem plenty of perfectly placed shots with large and small guns where the animal took off.
if the animal knows your there, its likely to run , dosent mean they wont die, just not where you last saw them.

My first rifle was an 06 but I always wanted a .375 so when I was 18 and had a job I bought a .375, After packing the .375 around for 10 years or so I swiched to a .338 that was about 2 pounds lighter,
The .338 seems to be a perfect balance and has been my primary guide gun for about 20 years now.
I took it on one of my trips to Africa where I never seemed to get a shot at under 250 yards.
I really like the .338 I guess thats why I have 3 of them.

No

quote:

Originally posted by anukpuk:
the payoff for packin a big gun came after over 10 yrs.
just finished quartern a deer an got it in my pack, walked a couple hundred feet from gutpile
when a big sow w 2 cubs showed up. i managed to keep some bushes between us hopin she would get to the gutpile an not see me, but a cub spotted me and with a curoius look ran up to me about 6 feet away. the sow was only about 25 ft away.
woof and she came flyin around the brush and i shot her about 12 feet away killed her in midstride.
just glad i wasnt packin an 06
the bullet construction an shot placement theory
dosent always work on your time schedule.
ive seem plenty of perfectly placed shots with large and small guns where the animal took off.
if the animal knows your there, its likely to run , dosent mean they wont die, just not where you last saw them.

Just a curious questions from a non-Alaskan. What becomes of the cubs in this scenario? Is an effort made by fish and game to capture and send them off to a zoo or does nature take its course?

Originall posted by Sevens

quote:

Just a curious questions from a non-Alaskan. What becomes of the cubs in this scenario? Is an effort made by fish and game to capture and send them off to a zoo or does nature take its course?

In some cases when possible the cubs have been captured and sent to zoos or big game alaska untill a home can be found for them. In many cases it is just to prohibitive to capture the cubs.

these wernt in town bears ,only acess is by boat
i had to go back the next day to get the hide an skull out as required by law,i had gotten it away from the skinned carcassmaybe 100 yds but with a deer in pack no way to get all out before dark.
buy the next day another bear had dragged the carcass about a 100 feet away. which means it was near buy
unless cubs are bigger another bear will eat them

Curious as to where the shot hit the bear that it killed it in mid stride? I assume a CNS hit?

running full tilt from around the bushes, making an arc as it turned toward me the shot went behind the left shoulder, the bear landed pretty much facing me, while i was skinning it i found the right rear foot shot off at the ankle joint. my pickup is 18 ft long and it wasnt that far away when all this happened .
the leopold set on 1.75 power worked just fine.
the gun was 416 rem, but no i wouldnt say it was a cns shot.
obvously the deer was shot with same gun, it was maybe 50yds away and eating.
i made a behind the shoulder shot, i dont like head shots, and i prefer neck roasts so ribs are where least edible meat gets the bullet if possible, anyway the deer actually lived longer than the bear, by a few seconds

Put one together in 07 for an Alaska trip. One of my favorite rifles, 1 moose and 2 bull elk later it's a real comfort where the bears live. 225 TSX is a real hammer.

My primary elk rifle for years was a 7mmRemMag. Have used most cartridges from .25-06 up to the .395Max (a wildcat).Due to a number of reasons (one, just to have something different), I now use a .338 WSM wildcat. I like the idea of having something bigger to provide enough energy for a DRT animal. In case of bears when in Alaska, I also like the increased capabilities.
A friend and I took almost identical rifles to Namibia last year (mine a lefty-bolt, his a righty). They did an excellent job.

quote:

Originally posted by anukpuk:
running full tilt from around the bushes, making an arc as it turned toward me the shot went behind the left shoulder, the bear landed pretty much facing me, while i was skinning it i found the right rear foot shot off at the ankle joint. my pickup is 18 ft long and it wasnt that far away when all this happened .
the leopold set on 1.75 power worked just fine.
the gun was 416 rem, but no i wouldnt say it was a cns shot.
obvously the deer was shot with same gun, it was maybe 50yds away and eating.
i made a behind the shoulder shot, i dont like head shots, and i prefer neck roasts so ribs are where least edible meat gets the bullet if possible, anyway the deer actually lived longer than the bear, by a few seconds

I have killed a decent amount of game with the .338WM. Caribou, moose and deer that have been shot behind the shoulder seem to take longer to die then those shot with smaller high velocity rounds. Those hit with a CNS shot all have dropped at time of impact.

What does it really take to stop a brown bear charge? A properly placed, well constructed bullet with enough velocity to penetrate and break bone.

I think the 30-06 would fit that bill....the rest is just giving yourself that warm tingly feeling. Sometimes thats not a bad idea.

I started out with a 338 when I was 15. First shot a moose then a dall sheep and some deer. Other moose fell to .308 winchester, archery and a 500 S&W. And I shot a few more deer with handguns, .223, 22-250 and 300 win mags. Got a black bear with the 308 win also.

Not so much Alaska as Africa, but I've had 3 338s going back 30 years, used them on elk, mule deer, coyotes, large plains game in South Africa, etc.

Got a .375 H&H and my first 9,3x74R about 4 years ago and haven't shot the .338 since. both the 9,3 (286 Noslers) and the 375 (300 TBBCs)kill things real dead and don't seem to kick as much as the .338.

Anybody need a good .338???

Bought my first .338 in 1987 when it was chambered in the M700 BDL for the first time. Warshall's in downtown Seattle. Back when guns came with irons. Had it ever since. Never took the wood stock out in Alaska, but did on a trip to Utah after elk.

Very practical chambering for Alaska use. Absolutley despise the Rem 2-position safety. In the future, would go S.S. with a synthetic stock and a 3-position safety.

quote:

Originally posted by anukpuk:
when i was young all the old timers used 3006, omly need one gun, anything else and you probably drove a vw with flowers painted on it.
but after i got a little older and expanded my travels to mainland and saw the size of the brown bear tracks, the 06 looked puny i decided on something bigger, got a 338 then had to listen to all the" why you need a cannon" crap.
but it seems like i know a lot of guys after a little encounter they run down an buy a 338.
so how many out there will fess up

I went the other way bought a .338wm before moving to AK, now the 30-06 is all that seems to leave the safe? (of course now I am one of them Old SOB's)

Ya I really like th 338.. I've had a lot of them and will probably get another .A friend here has a 338/06. He gets close to Win mag velocities with th 210 Nosler. It is nice and he likes it where he hunts there are plenty of grizzlies . His one chance to use iton one happened last fall @ about 10' but the bear was there and woofed @ him while he was in camp . It scared his so bad and happened so fast he didn't have time grab his fifle . Had he a perfac@t shot would haVe beedn highly unlikely .And tho most bears will turn with most shots , then the bear needs to b found and killed .most of the time a bigger rifle than. AN 06 kills faster with A maRfginaL shot

quote:

Originally posted by MuskegMan:
Bought my first .338 in 1987 when it was chambered in the M700 BDL for the first time. Warshall's in downtown Seattle. Back when guns came with irons. Had it ever since. Never took the wood stock out in Alaska, but did on a trip to Utah after elk.

Very practical chambering for Alaska use. Absolutley despise the Rem 2-position safety. In the future, would go S.S. with a synthetic stock and a 3-position safety.

maybe this is what you are looking for. My .338.

I recently traded in my 300 RUM on a 338 Win mag since I have a 300 WSM and decided I didnt need 2 300 mags

quote:

Originally posted by 22WRF:

maybe this is what you are looking for. My .338.

Very nice! Heck, I could even do the push feed flavor. Trying to get a .35 Whelen build going and/or upgrade my blued .338 to a stainless, 3-pos safety model.

I love my 338 Mag, and have used one almost every year since 1985 in North America and Africa.

Switched from the 338 to the 375 H&H. No reason other than I have been fascinated with the history and romance of the venerable ole' round since I was kid.

I don't feel undergunned for anything with my .300 WinMag. That's if I'm hunting, and run a chance of being 100 or more yards away for the first shot.
If it's an SD situation, and things happen in a hurry, I'd hope to have my M71 Winchester with it's ghost-ring sights, and 20" barrel. It's been rebarrelled to .375/348 Improved, and will push a 300gr roundnose about 150-200fps slower than a .375 H&H, but I love the balance.
Have fun,
Gene

Beat me up, bur I hate the 338 mags. The recoil velocity is murderous. The 375 is far more effective with a more tolerable recoil.

Yes, I switched to 338 but added an '06 to the end. Perfect for bullets up to 250 gr and out to 300 yds or so.