I am booked for a hunt on Prince Of Wales for this September 2010 for BlackBear and Sitka deer. I have three rifle to choose from. They are:

270 Weatherby Mag syhnetic stock stainless barrel.

300 Weatherby Mag wood stock blued barrel.

375 H&H synthetic stock blued barrel.

I shoot all three real good.

My problem is I don't want to take my 300 Wby because of the wood and blued barrel.

I don't want to take the 375 H&H because it is a blued barrel.

The 270 WBY fits seems to fit the bill.

Couple questions:

Do you think the 270 is more than enough gun on these big blackies?

If I wanted to bring the 375 will the wet environment ruin the gun because it's not stainless?

Can anyone recommend how to protect the barrel on the 375 or the 270 while I'm there?

Thank You

You have got yourself a problem. When i hunted there(2003) i took along my Wby 300. It is wood stock and blue bbl,not anymore. When i got home i took the stock and junked it.They only have two kinds of weather- light rain and heavy rain.The next time i went to Alaska it was SS all the way.I think that the 270 is a little light for the bears they have. A friend that hunted with us hit one with a 270 but could not find it.The bears have a lot of fat in the fall and did not bleed much.The 270 would be perfect for the deer. Sounds like a good reason for a new gun. Good luck

Hmmm, what did folks do before stainlees steel. . . . . .?

If you apply about 14 coats of Johnsons paste wax over the stock and all the metal, it will go a long way to protect your rifle. Oil will just wash off right away. Wax. . . . well, you wax your car don't ya?

Johnsons past wax works good but if you get good and wet you'll have to reapply the wax after a good cleaning. Just bring some along.

On the other hand the 270 weatherby will be a great choice. My father used a 270 weatherby for decades in Alaska and it worked great including a grizzly bear. He finally got rid of that rifle after about 40 years because it was shot out.

Don't stress, just take the weatherby and don't look back. If you hit a bear with a good bullet in .270 it will die. If you hit a bear shitty with a .270 (or most other calibres for that matter) it will run away and you won't find it. I've seen people kill a lot bigger animals with lesser calibres.

I can't speek from personal experience, but I can tell you what my brother in-laws cousin uses. He lives in Sitka, works at the high school, runs a fishing guide service then fishes commercially when the seasons open up. Went fishing with him back in the summer of 08, got to see all the pictures of all the blacktail, carabou, moose, and black bears he's taken over the years, even one beautifull cinnamon black bear rug he had in his study. All the animals where taken either his Win mod 70 270Win or his fathers old Rem (721 or something) 30-06 when he was younger. Like I said can't speek from personal experience but seeing as he was born and raised in Sitka, fished and hunted the area as long as he has, I'd have no trouble taking a 270wby mag after black bear.

Any caliber between a 6.5x55 to a 30-06 would be perfect.I've seen about a dz blackie's killed and they all seemed to die real fast with a well a well placed shot. For sitka deer my personal favorite is a 257 Roberts which is also plenty for black bears.

Take the .270 Roy and a TSX or TTSX.

If you don't roll your own, don't use a rapidly expanding bullet.

September is monsoon season in the panhandle.

On the protect the stainless barrel thing, just use your favorite color electrical tape. I put a "X" pattern over the end with about 3/4" tags, the a couple of full turns around the tags to secure them. Make sure there's no oil on the metal when you apply the tape.

I'd strongly suggest scope covers. I like the see thru variety myself.

I doubt if you will reapply wax and oil each night it rains. When guys are at home, they think they will and when they get there, it does not happen.

I would consider buying another rifle or getting the .300 Wthby, a fine choice for that hunt, re stocked with a Brown Precision sysnthetic stock and getting your metal coated with Bird song or similar treatment.

I do feel that .27 caliber is too light fo that hunt. .30 minimum with 180 gr. Premium bullets, or heavier.

.30 cal min on black bears is a joke. Lots of people kill them efficiently with a .223

Nothing funny about a lost, or wounded bear. Especially when you are paying $6,500 for the hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by cold zero:
Nothing funny about a lost or wounded bear. Esoecially when you are paying $6,500 for th hunt.

If you have any shooting abilities whatsoever you will have no problems with blackies. They are not hard to kill, sometimes they will run a bit. Nothing runs very far with a hole in its heart or lungs, even if it is a smaller cal. hole.

I guess I'm more concerned about the guns condition after the hunt. I know I can put the bullet where it needs to be, but I am also the type that feels if you have a bit more gun and can shoot it as well as the smaller one than use it..

quote:

Originally posted by joedjr:
I guess I'm more concerned about the guns condition after the hunt. I know I can put the bullet where it needs to be, but I am also the type that feels if you have a bit more gun and can shoot it as well as the smaller one than use it..

I agree, but I just get tired of hearing the same old bull that you need a cannon to kill anything

Take the 270 or the 300, nothing wrong with either one. As for blue and wood a lot of plain old rifles have survived a lot of years hunting in the rain. A few years ago my brother and I went on a Moose hunt. 13 days of rain on a 10 day hunt and we never ruined a single blued and wood rifle.
Go kill something!

You guys take these big black bear on POW pretty lighty. Just remember if you draw blood that is your tag by state law in Alaska. I have guided on POW for nine years now and take eight to ten bears a year and have seen them run off with 375 bullets in them . I don't let clients shoot unless we are one hundred yards or closer because don't want to lose a bear and have still lost four or five. I guess what brothers me is talking to people on the Island that have shot bears at three hundred yards and wounded them and don't even try and recover them and go on to another bear, easy come easy go . I would rather see people use a big gun that will knock them on there butts than a light gun .Salt water is what really does the damage to blued guns. When you are in the skiff use a gun boat or at lest a soft case to protect your gun from salt spray.
Jim Phillips
Annahootz Alaska Adventures
annahootz.com

4 or 5 lost bears in 9 years is a pretty poor track record if you ask me! I've been guiding,hunting,dlping bears for 30 yrs and have only 1 get away. Along the way there has been some monumental tracking jobs but all were sucessful in the end.That particular bear we lost was hit,knocked down,rolled down a hill and chased for miles,it was during a hunt with a member of this forum and except for the wind blowing about 50 or so I still have no idea how he managed to keep going,he was spotted miles away 2 days later and was still going. While I was guiding Germans for moose (when there was moose) they took a few grizzly bears with 7x57 mausers and that killed them just fine.

A 30-06 will be just fine if you do your part. These critters aren't covered with kelvar.

when the BOG and ADF&G was trying to get a handle on wounded Bear loss in S SE ... several years back ... they came up with some figure estimates.

Guided Black Bear was 1 in 6 or 7 ... fairly accurate because Guides keep notes and records of field activity and will testify to the fact.

Un-guided (mainly non-res) Black Bear was 1 in 4 to even 1 in 1 ... hard to get a number on but based on some types of evidence.

It has been a topic of debate down here in S SE for many years.

But this has lead to the Bear Wounding law in units #1 to #5 .... and is part of the reasoning for the Harvest Ticket system just put in place.

Muskeg is pretty accurate and I would match my record with anyone in southeast . I have been guiding and hunting in the Sitka area for fifty years so POW is fairly new to me so nine years is not my total expeirence. I have worked with six other guides as a assistant and I know what is happening in Southeast. I can also state that the guides I have worked with all out of Sitka are a very ethical group and we rarely let clients take risky shots. Southeast is very different when it comes to tracking bears .Jungle is thick . I guess the point i was trying to make is the same as Johnies I have seen and talked to hunters on POW that shoot from the skiffs , that have wounded bears and not even made a effort to locate them and I believe the wounding loss for non guided hunters is pretty high. I am starting to get concerned about these Island bears and hunting pressure.
Jim Phillips
Annahootz Alaskan Adventures
annahootz.com

Further restriction for the non-resident Black Bear hunter in all of SE AK is on the near horizon ....

and one of the reasons is the wounding rate ....

The Board of Game meets this late fall to address the issues at hand.

I have been hunting Bear on POW since 1980 and guiding since 1988 ....

bear guides concern "about these Island bears and hunting pressure" is the real deal .... sad but true.

Don't get us wrong ... POW is still a very good hunt, but the ADF&G has to keep the kill at certain levels (7% to 9%) of the given population by Directive. In recent years that might have been exceeded.

1. Yes, the 270 bee is good for BIG blackies.

2. No.

3. The old fashion way, wipe down nightly and take quality take down cleaning rod and jag.

well guess im a bit outta the loop here fellas.

since when does a blued..wood rifle become so easy to ruin and if you do own something so tender...go buy a real rifle that you can use in the real world.

i come from the north west in oregon where the hunting seasson is wet ALL the time! never ruined a rifle there and have never ruined a rifle in all the years ive hunted here in alaska. ive used lever actions as well as m-70's in 06 and 375h&h and 25-06. clean em and oil em and treat em like the tool they are and act like you want to re-use em some other day...and bingo....they will treat you well.

oh and calibre...if you can shoot the 375 well...that is inside an 8 inch plate at 300 yards every time...use it and keep your shots under 150 yards. if you cant hit the barn with it then by all means take what you can shoot well.

quote:

Originally posted by Buliwyf:
1. Yes, the 270 bee is good for BIG blackies.

2. No.

3. The old fashion way, wipe down nightly and take quality take down cleaning rod and jag.

+1

Last few I shot in SE were with 25 calibers, you certainly don't need more than the 270 Roy.


Wiping down every night in a rain forest ain't always an option.

ive been huntin s.e. ak since johnson was president, most of my guns are blue, dont really have much problems with rust, i like outers metal seal,(notaround the trigger) but if you keep a wet gun in a case it enhanses the rust process on the outside of the gun where it touches anything wet. i use canned air to blow out leaves an water. the old blued tang saftey rugers rust so bad so fast. one day an it will look like rebar, but your friends will think you use it a lot. the stainless rugers dont rust. period. but most other stainless rust somewhat and look like crap.. a rubber stock is a lot better than a wooden stock if you bluelocktite screws a plastic stock is just about foolproof, if your worried about resale dont take it. take the gun you really want to hunt with

quote:

Originally posted by waterrat:
Any caliber between a 6.5x55 to a 30-06 would be perfect.I've seen about a dz blackie's killed and they all seemed to die real fast with a well a well placed shot. For sitka deer my personal favorite is a 257 Roberts which is also plenty for black bears.

.

.
. Execpt there are a fair number of over 7 ft sq black bear . as far as the 257 goes . Now I don,t doubt the round will work if everything goes perfect . but POW is about as brushy as any other place in Southeast ... I know of a number of 8ft sq. black bear killed in Southeast and so going too light I don,t think is such a good idea . . I would go for the shortest rifle of the 3 ...
.
. A 338 RCM would be perfect . the 375 Ruger Alaskan is also . ...... There arn,t any where near the number of black bear on POW there used to be .......A very good friend who lives in Coffman Cove told me a couple days ago that last year he say about 5 bear all year .... We used to see up to 20 a day .......

That said , myself I would use the 375 . but I agree with Muskeg Man .. about your 270 .......
Definatly the same bullets also ....
.
. Off hand shots are VERY COMMON . The brush is too thick most of the time for any other position . Try to shoot your deer in the ribs just back from the shoulder . At least if you eat some of the best venison there is .......
IMO . shooting sticks and bipods are out . Its hard enough just getting your body thru the brush , not to mention your rifle .. anything extra is added junk .... If you need a stick as a rest or shooting aid there are several TRILLION OF THEM already there 1 minutes work with a folding pocket saw will have a custom made one free of charge .
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. Air Bob soles are best if you are getting in and out of a boat much . other wise X Tra Tuff CORKS are The Best . unless you have a good pair of broke in leather corks ..

Now . To medel a little .. Sell or trade the 300 Whby for a stainless 338 Ruger . either the standard Win mag or the RCM . Shorten the Win Mags barrel to 22" and you will have a great Alaskan rifle .............

.
. The best trophy you can take on POW is a wolf so PLEASE , if you have any chance at all of killing one , PLEASE DO !!!! . Wolves eat a deer a week and kill and eat LOTS of black bears ...... A fawn bleat is a mandatory item to have with you . and a mouse squeaker . is also .....

I've hunted and fished with bear guide three times. To say not finding 4-5 bears that were hit over 9 years of guiding is poor is a rather bold statement.

The only place I know of that rains more is Ketchican and I think they get about 3 weeks of sun a year.

Waterrat you must be exceptionally good if you can track thru dense forest in driving rain an animal that is thick in body fat and won't bleed outward much. Or perhaps you only take the US shooting teams with you.

Or perhaps you have some novel way of tracking animals thru the muskeg...

I think your 270 weatherby would work fine, but I like being overgunned so I would take the .375.

Went up there in 2005 with 5 clients and we all harvested nice bears. Myself , I shoot a .338 with a 200 gr nosler and only had to shot one time and tag was filled. The others had .300 mags and 300 ultras and all only had to shot one time to fill their bear and deer tags. I like big guns and here in Montana you need a good gun to range shoot....Bring some good bug spray and GREAT rain gear---2 inches a day it rained..Have fun...

The hunt is the prime reason for POW. The rifle is the tool. Take good care of a reliable piece of equipment and it woun't fail you and you will get home and see that, at worst, it carries the marks of a bullet well placed, under adverse conditions, in a far off dreamed destination.

I use a Model 70 in .375 H&H up there myself. I take good care of it every night!!!! Why the big gun? Simple answer.........already mentioned...........That is damned thick stuff away from the beach of just inside the clearcuts. I want that bear DRT, dead right there. No blood trailing in the jungle with a pouring rain. And I'm generally by myself.

I've used 3 different guns 3 different times in Alaska.. First was a blued barrel and syn stock. Some rust did build up on the under parts.. The other 2 were SS barrel and syn stocks. These showed no signs of the elements..

Take the 270

Two brownies and one black bear, all with the same .338 stainless & a good 2-6X scope. The black bear was on Kupernof last May at 130 yards, kneeling, off shooting sticks, walking broadside. I took out his shoulder with a 225 gr; pulverized it. It got back up & motivated right on rather fast with 3 legs. Guide shot once, I shot twice more , my last hitting it in the neck with a lucky hit. He had 4 holes in him...hard to make a killing hit on a running bear. Squared an honest 6'8" with me holding one end of the tape. SE black bear get bigger than that; they can take a lot of killing. Bring enough gun.....practice under hunging conditions regularly before you go. Hope this helps/ Chaz

quote:

Originally posted by bluefin:
I've hunted and fished with bear guide three times. To say not finding 4-5 bears that were hit over 9 years of guiding is poor is a rather bold statement.

Waterrat you must be exceptionally good

From what I've heard, Waterrat is exceptionally good.

Black bear - anything from a 270 to 375 is a good choice. My personal choices would start with a 30-06, and then include (about equally in preference) the 338WM, 9.3x62, 35 Whelen, 375 H&H or Ruger. A well placed tough 200 gr bullet from a 30-06 would be hard to improve upon, so at least consider it the standard upon which to measure different choices.

I agree with yellowstone, since my tracking skills, or perhaps my preference to avoid the need for tracking, causes me to prefer more than enuff gun. Once the bear runs into the thick stuff, it gets to be a potentially unplesant experience, at least.

KB

Im kind of surprised in this thread that no one mentioned bullet weight. I think a 270 weatherby with a 150gr Nosler partition would work wonders on a big blackie. Like others here have mentioned, take care of that blued steel and wood and it wont melt in the rain.....