I plan for my next big hunt to be Alaskan brown bear in about two years. As I was shaving this morning I was fantasizing preparations and wondered, of my rifles I consider up to the task, which two you would recommend I bring. I shoot them all well. They are as follows:
.458 Lott Ruger RSM, wood/blued
.458 Win., Ruger 77 push feed tang safety,wood/blued
.375 H&H Mod. 70 CRF wood/blued
(2) .376 Steyr Prohunters, synthetic/blued
.338 RUM, Mod 700, wood/blue
.35 Whelen, Mod 750 wood/blue

Well as an avid hunter here in AK,I would take the 376 Steyr in Stainless/ Synthetic for the reason that where you will be hunting Brown Bears, I am assuming will be either on the Pen or Kodiak you will most likely encounter severe wet weather. But with that being said, if your thinking about dropping that kind of money for a BB hunt, why not just buy a synthetic rifle in .375? My peference...a .300WM with heavy bullets ( I have one in a Prohunter/ stainless as well)....just my .02

Yes, of the guns listed, the Prohunter in 376 steyr would be my choice...short, light, weatherproof, powerful, and accurate. I used a Steyr Scout with a camo stock for a couple years in 376 Steyr...225gr for Whitetails and 270s for Black Bear and other larger game. Can't beat them.

I have two .376 Steyr Prohunters so unless I decide to buy a new rifle, I will take both in case one fails. I really like them. Very accurate with lots of punch. Just thought I'd ask whether Phil preferred one of the other rifles. If I were to buy a new rifle just for BB, I think I would go with the Ruger Alaskan in 416. I will be interested in seeing what Mr. Shoemaker suggests.

For a new rifle, I second the 416 Ruger Alaskan. The 375 Ruger Alaskan would be a top pick as well. I like the iron sights as a back up to a scope issue or if you need to do a follow up in the thick willows ( I read too much LOL)

REESE, you are a lucky man to have such a dilemma, if I were Phil (and trust me I'm not), I'd tell you bring them all and we would decide in bear camp

RREESE

Any of your choices will work. The wood should be sealed as best it can and Johnson's past wax will help on the blued metal. My preference when I lived in AK was stainless/synthetic and it still is. The Ruger stainless/synthetic is hard to beat and the 375 Ruger might be just perfect.

Mark

The one in stainless/synthetic

Bring the one you are most comfortable with and shoot the best.

Phil is right - all the above mentioned rifles/calibers will do the job. So the one you r most comfortable with, is the one to bring. Personally I would take a 375 or 416 in a CRF SS/syntetic rifle, but that is just me..

On my first Brown Bear hunt I used a blued/wood
Ruger M77, in.338 WM. I found myself oiling it down EVERY evening of 17 days in the field(down on the Peninsula, near Port Heiden), in a small dome tent, to avoid rusting. This, after a hard day in the field.

For my next Brown Bear hunt I acquired a stainless synthetic, M70 Win. in same caliber.Did not have to do cleaning but once, and then, out of an abundance of caution.

You can certainly use one of the blued rifles; they were used successfully for many years before stainless came on the scene. You just have to take extra precautions. For convenience & minimal worry I like the stainless. With this in mind, as has been said take what you shoot the best and are with which you are most comfortable.

I have a Sako AV 375 H&H thats been to AK several times. The metal has been finished with Robar's NP3 and sits in a syn stock. Still looks like the day I got it.
Unless your hot for a new gun, which would be understandable. It would be an easy fix for one of the rifles mentioned.

Phil

quote:

Originally posted by RREESE:
I plan for my next big hunt to be Alaskan brown bear in about two years. As I was shaving this morning I was fantasizing preparations and wondered, of my rifles I consider up to the task, which two you would recommend I bring. I shoot them all well. They are as follows:
.458 Lott Ruger RSM, wood/blued
.458 Win., Ruger 77 push feed tang safety,wood/blued
.375 H&H Mod. 70 CRF wood/blued
(2) .376 Steyr Prohunters, synthetic/blued
.338 RUM, Mod 700, wood/blue
.35 Whelen, Mod 750 wood/blue

Phill is correct the one you shoot best is a big plus. If all were the same type action I would agree that any one is as good as the other. However IMO, one should never take on any large dangerous game with a Push feed rifle, In your line up I only see two rifles that I personally would consider, and they are the 458 LOTT,RSM,and the 375 H&H Mod 70. My pick between these would be the Mod 70 375 H&H.

The reason my opinion is in that dirrection is, I simply do not see the choice of a PF, when a CRF is available. Just another hedge against Murphy's law, that cost nothing in the choice since you have both. Top that off with the 375 H&H being about the best rifle cartridge for all around use just about any place in the world where bite-back animals live. I hunt everything I hunt in Alaska, and Canada with a 375 H&H Whitworth African express rifle, in a synthetic stock.
If I were going to buy a new rifles for Brown Bear, it would be a stainless/synthetic Mod 70 chambered for 375 H&H, with a good scope munted in quality quick detach mounts, and quality iron sights!

Back to top, as others have already said you whole list will work, the choices above are only my personal choices!