I'll be hunting this fall (late November) for blacktail on Kodiak. I'll be all alone each day, dropped off a boat in the morning, and picked up at night.

I plan to take a 375 H&H with 270 grain CEB Safari Raptors in case of an unwanted bear visit, knowing full well the deer will fall dead just from the look of it. Am I being paranoid to take that caliber? (I have plenty of others to chose from, my favorite being the 300 Weatherby with 180 TTSX's.)

I will also have my 329PD with 18 BHN Keiths with hefty doses of propellant.

Your 300 would be just fine. Then again the 375 does very little meat damage on Deer and is a great Deer
Round.

I don't think I'd use the 300. I used one for years around here for moose and although it killed them great, the high velocity did ruin some meat. I've since moved on to the slower cartridges and am very happy.

Given the selection I have in my gun rack I think I'd either take my 30-06 with 180g tsx's or my 375 with 270tsx's or 260 accubonds. I'd hate to hit a deer with a 3000fps bullet at close range.

Scott, did you use Barnes in the .300 Win Mag? I've found them to be pretty tame from a meat damage standpoint compared to any lead bullet that I have used in my .300. My experience is with quite a few mule deer and one dall's sheep, though, which are a bit bigger. I have only shot 200-210gr bullets in my .300's.

Some cup and core bullets are explosive in the .300 anything mag.

Rodell, there is no downside to the .375 unless it weighs a ton compare to your .300 Bee. Just take that and have a fun hunt. Is it necessary? No. If you are asking the question though, you have a doubt, so why not sleep better knowing you have a little more horsepower? Again, no downside.

Jeremy

quote:

Originally posted by farbedo:
Scott, did you use Barnes in the .300 Win Mag? I've found them to be pretty tame from a meat damage standpoint compared to any lead bullet that I have used in my .300. My experience is with quite a few mule deer and one dall's sheep, though, which are a bit bigger. I have only shot 200-210gr bullets in my .300's.

Some cup and core bullets are explosive in the .300 anything mag.

Rodell, there is no downside to the .375 unless it weighs a ton compare to your .300 Bee. Just take that and have a fun hunt. Is it necessary? No. If you are asking the question though, you have a doubt, so why not sleep better knowing you have a little more horsepower? Again, no downside.

Jeremy

Never used a win mag but did use tsx's in the weatherby as well as cup and core. In variable circumstances like cup and core at 100yds or so, tsx's at point blank, the meat damage was a little much for me. At the same time I was using the rh 300 I started picking up left handed rifles in 375, 30-06, 458, 9.3, and discovered their virtues.


I had a mentor decades ago that used to promote the virtues of, "plunking one thru them," and getting as close as you can without them aware. So, the flat shooting magnums did suck me in initially in my youthful zeal, but anymore the -06 or 458 range is the outer limits for me. If its 338 lapua range I'll concede the day and try again tomorrow.

I "blew up" a couple of blacktail deer with too hot a bullet and said to heck with that.

I know both of my favorites are overkill for the blacktails, but I worry about that bear visit as I make multiple trips out with meat.

I have no idea how long the shots will be on deer, either.

Kodiak you can reach out on Deer a lonnggg ways if you wanted to.

Overkill? I’m not familiar with that term?

Overkill. When you kill and field dress with your rifle?

quote:

Originally posted by rodell:
Overkill. When you kill and field dress with your rifle?

That sounds borderline handy!

You might be a redneck if ... you trim your shrubs with a .30-06. - Jeff Foxworthy

quote:

Originally posted by rodell:
You might be a redneck if ... you trim your shrubs with a .30-06. - Jeff Foxworthy

I been know to taken limbs off that were hard to reach with a 12ga.

Now that we are a bit off topic.....

I did shoot and gut a mule deer one time with one shot. It was a medium sized buck, he was quartering away at a pretty steel angle. I mis-judged the distance and hit the on side hind leg low just above the knee. The bullet neatly sliced the belly from that point to the ribs on the opposite side.

He took off for about 15 yards and literally ran his guts out.

That was with a 30-06 and a 180gr bullet.

Jeremy

quote:

Originally posted by Fourtyonesix:
Your 300 would be just fine. Then again the 375 does very little meat damage on Deer and is a great Deer
Round.

I can't speak about the Raptors as I've never used them. I have however killed Lots of Sitka Blacktail deer with the 375 H+H. Its a perfect deer round . And is a whole lots more comforting when you realize that noise you thot you heard when packing out your buck , is actually a brown bear following you.
If you shoot your 375 well, and are comfortable with it. That is the better tool for the job as you will be hunting alone.
As a general rule , I use a behind the shoulder under the spine shot. Often the bullet will clip the top of 1 scapula if its a quartering shot . a few inch down. The bone is fairly thin there. And you won't get hardly any blood shocked meat. At least with the 270 gr bullets I've used. Mostly 270 gr X + TSX and before those the Remington , Hornady and Winchester bullets. I prefer that shot because it knocks the deer down from spinal concussion and by the time they come to, the double lung shot has done its job.
The Kodiak group of islands is a good place for a shooting stick. Long enough for offhand shooting. If your practiced up. That will get you everything 300 yards or closer. And that will equal A full pack out !A good strong , but not too heavy shooting stick also makes a good walking stick for packing out.

Rodell,

We hunted Kodiak in November and never saw a bear. I know they were around but we saw none. Don't worry too much about multiple packing trips because if your in decent shape you'll be able to pack the whole deer out in one shot. They're not that big. If the 375 makes you comfortable take it. I've shot a load of deer size game with the 375 and it works perfectly.

Mark

The .375H&H is never a bad choice, despite the wayward musings of all the Weatherby fan-bots.

I've used my .375 (an old BRNO 602) on deer and hogs as well, and have tried 270gn and 300gn handloads at '30-06' velocities. Kills 'em all just as dead.

This cartridge will give you a lot of versatility up in the wild & wooly boonies of AK.

Have fun.

My daughter and I took a .223 and a .308 last November. We made it out alive with 3 bucks

I've hunted Kodiak, Afognak, and Raspberry Islands, and never saw a bear, though we saw quite a bit of tracks and scat. But the .375 should make a fine choice. Ranges on deer tend to be short, even if you climb above treeline.

Be sure to take a good headlamp. It gets light late and dark early in November.

I think the 375 is a great choice, particularly when hunting by yourself on Kodiak. Great round for any critter on planet earth. Should the worst happen and you have a deadly encounter with a brownie the 375 will put it down if property hit.