I am moving to alaska and was planing on buying a rifle for hunting bear sheep goats and deer. I have a good deal at a 300 win in a ruger stainless/synthetic. I plan on shooting a 200 grain remington a-frame or a 180 gr. trophy bonded bear claw. I this a good setup and which bullet do you suggest I use. what would also be a good scope to complete the setup and is a bipod a good idea.

quote:

Originally posted by AzDeerSlayer:
I am moving to alaska and was planing on buying a rifle for hunting bear sheep goats and deer. I have a good deal at a 300 win in a ruger stainless/synthetic. I plan on shooting a 200 grain remington a-frame or a 180 gr. trophy bonded bear claw. I this a good setup and which bullet do you suggest I use. what would also be a good scope to complete the setup and is a bipod a good idea.

The most popular cartridges in Alaska are the .30-06, .300WM, and .338WM. Of these three the .338 is favored with bear hunters, but lots of bears are killed with any of these.

My favorite is the .338, so I am biased, but your .300WM idea is not bad at all. It should work well for you up here.

Anything from the 30/06-375 H&H make a good all around big game rifle for alaska. I think your idea of using a 300 win mag is very good. My buddies and I have been using the 180gr nosler load from federal for a few years now and it has always performed very well. My one buddy has been hunting with this load and a ruger 300 win mag since 83 adn killed everything up with it.

quote:

Originally posted by AzDeerSlayer:
I am moving to alaska and was planing on buying a rifle for hunting bear sheep goats and deer. I have a good deal at a 300 win in a ruger stainless/synthetic. I plan on shooting a 200 grain remington a-frame or a 180 gr. trophy bonded bear claw. I this a good setup and which bullet do you suggest I use. what would also be a good scope to complete the setup and is a bipod a good idea.

Congrats on the move to Alaska. Your rifle selection is great, now for the cartridge. For "...sheep, goats, and deer" the 300 Win is as good as it gets! But for "bear"?....depends which varitey you are talking about...black, grizzly, brown, or polar. For "black" the 300 Win is great, but for the rest I think the minimum is 338 and would personally prefer the 375

Enoy Alaska!!

A friend and I spent the afternoon testing reloads for his .300 Win. Accuracy seemed best, and I can't imagine anything but the best terminal performance from the 180g TSX and Partitions we shot.

Our thought was to use the 180g bullets moving right along on moose, bears and what few caribou we have left.

congrats on your move.

the .300 is a good balance of power given your needs. i would use the swift a frame and not the trophy bonded bear claw.

good hunting.

....Rebarrel it to 375 Ruger !!!, Trade it for same gun but 338 win mag ., sell it and get a 375 H&H ... Keep it for a trip to Prince of Wales and buy a 416 at Bert,s .,., 340 Whby and 338 RUM are good choices also ... There are big furry brown things that like to take deer from unsuspecting.deer hunters..... It will probly keep you from getting bit but then someone will have to go find the wounded bear...

What are you going to do in Sitka?

I also like the rifle choice, and the bullets will work, but I might add in Barnes Triple X's too.

quote:

Originally posted by gumboot458:
....Rebarrel it to 375 Ruger !!!, Trade it for same gun but 338 win mag ., sell it and get a 375 H&H ... Keep it for a trip to Prince of Wales and buy a 416 at Bert,s .,., 340 Whby and 338 RUM are good choices also ... There are big furry brown things that like to take deer from unsuspecting.deer hunters..... It will probly keep you from getting bit but then someone will have to go find the wounded bear...

English please..

ADS,

I love the 30 calibers but they're still 30 caliber regardless of how fast you drive the bullet. A 338 can be had in as many rifles as the 300 mags in as handy a package. It is just a bigger hammer for moose and bears plus with the lighter bullets its trajectory is very close to the 300's. It is simply the best all around Alaskan caliber.

Mark

For Alaska you need 2 rifles, one for thin skinned game and one for the thicker skinned. I use 2 model 70's for hunting up here, a 270 for everything but moose and grizz/brown bear and a 375H&H for those 2.

30-06, 300 win mag (not weatherby), 338 win mag or 375 H&H are some of your best choices as to standard availability of ammo and are chosen by many locals. Any of them will do it all with good bullets and proper placement.

Congrats on your move but don't expect easy hunting or game around every corner.

quote:

Originally posted by yukon delta:
30-06, 300 win mag (not weatherby), 338 win mag or 375 H&H are some of your best choices as to standard availability of ammo and are chosen by many locals. Any of them will do it all with good bullets and proper placement.

Congrats on your move but don't expect easy hunting or game around every corner.

AMEN to that!!

If you're going to include brown bear then .338 WM with 250 grain bullets is the minimum I would recommend. If you hand load and plan to hunt bears often then I would go with a .375 because of the availability of 225 to 235 grain bullets for lighter skinned game. I have a .375 Ruger Alaskan now and load 235 and 270 grain Barnes TSX's for light skinned and bigger game respectively.

scrap the 300, get at least a 338 they make cleaner kills on deer. and in sitka you will eventually run into a brown bear. forget the bipod , i dont even use a sling

180g X or 200g partition will serve you well in Alaska with the 300WM. What are you doing for work in the great white north?
Good luck!!

I have nearly all of the calibers mentioned here and a lot of expiriance hunting most big game in AK with all of them.

My first choice for a all around rifle in Alaska .is the .300 win mag. I have had a few and shot brown bear and moose with them as well as deer, black bear and a bunch of stuff outside.

I just bought the same rifle you mention getting a deal on and it shot 1/2 inch out of the box.

quote:

Originally posted by anukpuk:
scrap the 300, get at least a 338 they make cleaner kills on deer. and in sitka you will eventually run into a brown bear. forget the bipod , i dont even use a sling

need a 338 to kill deer, must be some tough deer up there

Get the 300WM. You'll be very happy with it in Ak.Use the most accurate premium bullet for your rifle and enjoy!

My son plans to move up right after he finsh's collage. For a high school grad gift. A very good family freind gave him a stainless Ruger MKII in 338 wm with sites and a Leupold 2.5 x 8 with hunter plex reticle in Tally Quik release mounts.

I think this combo is about the perfect AK rifle.

A 300 win mag using the right bullets will kill anything up here, and out past where most folks can connect. Yes a 338 is comforting against big bears, but it is placing your shot properly, not more lead that kills game. The 300 will be very shootable in a gun 1# lighter than a 338, and most Alaskan hunts are very physically demanding, to where a light rifle is a huge asset.

I'd top it with a leupold 6X42 with an elevation turret, second choice a leupold 3.5-10 w/ target turrets. I've seen the light as to what an lrf and turrets allows. Forget the bypod.

I could see if you were hunting bears or moose from a boat or 4 wheeler where the hunt isn't as physically demanding a heavier gun in a heavier chambering isn't a bad choice. But as an all around gun, go lighter in power and rifle.

My older brother has lived in Palmer for 18 years now. He has shot every thing up there with his .375 H&H. It is nice to have a larger rifle when you have 100 lbs of raw meat in your pack and in alders above your head!! I had my Kimber Montana 300 WSM with me on Kodiak hunting Goat. The Montana was nice to carry , but coming down with the meat made me rethink the rifle caliber.

I also found a sling more or less useless. If you take it put it in you pack and use it when you can. It will just hang up on every darn thing you walk by. Bipods are not needed. One of the best rests you can find is your pack.

I would chose the .338 Win or bigger. I have a .338 Win in Ruger No1. Before I go again I will replace it with a bolt gun in the same caliber. Or maybe a .325 WSM or .375 Ruger.

What's your brother's name in Palmer? That's where I live.

Yukon Delta PM sent.

jarrod i guess you missed the part about the brown bears, they come to deer calls and gunshots

quote:

Originally posted by anukpuk:
jarrod i guess you missed the part about the brown bears, they come to deer calls and gunshots

No I was just referring to the part where you said "scrap the 300, get at least a 338 they make cleaner kills on deer." I knew what you meant was just funning with ya..

another comment on shot placement, how do you know your going to get good shot placement? ill gaurantee a big gun will matter when shot placement is a problem up close on a mooving target

ive shot a truckload of deer with everything from 6,7, 25,30, 338, 375, 416 and the big guns dont bloodshot meat with 416 probably being the best

P.S. deer tend to run about 30 yds after a body shot with 416 , leaves a clean hole like a coffee cup clean tru em. smaller cal seem to kill deer quicker

..............Paul H ;'; you suprised me .,., If you take a 300 win mag RugerM77mk2 and a 338 win mag Ruger M77Mk 2 the 338 weighs a bit less than the 300 .The outside diameter of the barrels are the same ....The recoil is about the same ..and the 338 shoots nearly as flat ... Plenty flat enough for 400 yrd deer shots with factory 225 gr soft points..... Haveing spent the spring and summer here in the interior and spending alot of time with homesteaders and a hunting guide from here ..,.I can say,. the bear situation here is probly like being down south compared to the A .B .C .islands .,.,.,. I don,t know why this foolishness must continue ......Perhaps I should rephrase that .....Southeast is not like anywhere else on earth ..... When someone from outside asks about suitable calibers for the A B C, s a 338 win mag or a 35 Whelan are better choices than a 300 .,., They shoot a fatter bullet and genrally a heavier bullet ......Then Paul your scope choice ???????????????????????? a fixed 6 x with target turrets ...Or a heavy 3.5x10 with turrets.. A 2-7 or 2.5 - 8 are GREAT choices and not very heavy .....Plenty bright also ....................Everyone who hasn,t had lots of experience with central northern south east can say what they want but a successful hunt puts meat on the shooters back ... and in areas where the Brown bear population may be 3 or more per sq . mile even a 338 isn,t a BIG gun....But it is a nice rifle ........Course a RED MISTER is the BEST ......