i have a ruger 300 win that shoots like a dream and i can hit very,very well with it now some say that a 300 is to small for brown bears but i am not goona be hunting bear but maybe one time and already have this gun. i have loaded up 180 grain partions for moose and blacks. I am getting barnes x for the browns and blacks i just wanted to know if it will work or if i am truly just crazy. thanks m61fan

If you shoot well with it you are well armed.

You could use your 180 partitions for all the critters up here. It is a very good choice for Alaska.

I had a ruger 300 that I used for awhile here. I only shot 6 deer with it myself. My buddy owned it before me and used it for deer, black bear, caribou, moose, Dall's sheep, goat and a grizz.

I would use 200 partitions for the brown bears personally. We loaded up some 200 grain partitions for a friend to use for kodiak brown bear. One shot = one 9' bear .(well placed shot).

Of course if you spend much time on these forums you may end up with a 40+ caliber for the brown bears.

m61fan: Your 300 Win mag, shooting 180 Nosler Partitions, is an excellent choice for anything in Alaska. But, sometimes, bigger is better. I have a .416 Wby but I do not carry it here in Alaska. I do carry a .378 and a .300 Wby. on a routine basis and they work great and I know of three or four brown bears that have been killed more or less cleanly with .300 Win/Wby mags. Moose and caribou are frequently shot with .300 Win/Wby mags. You will do fine with a .300 Win mag., shooting 180 gr NPs.

thanks for the reencouragement that will help while i am hunting with it besides for backup i have a ithaca 37 deerslayer so that should do if things get ugly i hope thanks. for the advice m61fan

accurate shot placement is the key to be sure. however, u still need to use a big enough hammer to get the job done.

i do not think that the 180 gr. bullets are large enough for b.b.. for grizzly yes, b.b. no. especially if u run into the bigger bears which are a different bear altogether.

if u can handload a hot 200 gr. then that would be the acceptable minimum. if like me u don't, u can get a gun smith service to do it for u or use federal h.e. 200 gr. which is excellent. avoid the t.b.b.c. many better choices available.

once u have taken a b.b. u will have a different perspective on what is adequate. it is dangerous game.

for all other game in ak. your choice is great.

good luck.

I would also encourage you to use the 200 grain bullets, but I think 220 would be better. You will be shooting close, and you want the bullet to do as much damage as possible, for as long as possible. The 220 round nose would be my choice in the 300 Winchester.

m61fan:

I must admit I'm not a .300 Mag anything fan but since you have an accurate rifle I would say go with it. I would only use quality bullets however, my preferance being either Nosler or Northforks. Not implying there aren't others, just that these are ones I like. I've found the accuracy edge goes to the Northforks at least in my .338 and I haven't tried 'em in anything else yet.
Should you decide you want to go for brown bear and use this rifle, I'd get the heaviest premium bullet that either of the 2 mentioned manufactuerer's mentioned above make. All bears are impressive, Brownies especially so up close & personal. I know I would not go after a Brownie with anyone using a rifle of smaller caliber than a .338 Mag. That's me however. Yeah, I know they've been killed with less but when the chips are down, more is better. My thoughts anyway. Bear in Fairbanks

Cold Zero and Bear in Fairbanks: I absolutley agree with both of your recommendations...(my favorite rifle is my .378 shooting 300 or 260 gr NP/SAF). I use my .300 Wby only when I am hunting spring caribou (in Feb/March), and when used with 180 gr NP, it is an excellent caribou outfit. Otherwise I carry my .378. Any of the .338 caliber rifles are excellent as general field weapons. I do know plenty of people that use various .300s on bears and moose, but I do not use a .300 for those purposes myself... I was simply trying to give the questioner a positive answer without imparting too much of my own bias for larger bore rifles. I do think that when you start getting at or much beyond a 200 gr bullet in a .30 cal rifle of any type you are starting to make the rifle act like something it is not (a .338, which does shoot a 210 or 225 gr bullet with authority). But, if he chooses to carry a .300 then he should shoot heavy well-constructed bullets. I might have over stated my point when I said that the .300 is good for hunting anything in Alaska . My general field weapon is my .378 using 250 to 300 gr bullets.

remember these big bears are usually shot in thick cover , and I will ask you have you ever seen one at full stride , sometimes all you get is a shoulder shot and I don't think a 30 cal. will reliably break him down . 60 yards gives you one shot to kill him or break him down believe me guns are cheap at 60 yards bigger is always better , just don't know till you've been there .

Yes if I were you I'd use the .300 and load it with a very tough and heavy bullet and you'll have no trouble. If you shoot it really well and it's a tried and true old friend by all means that's the rifle for you. Especially if you're only anticipating this one bear hunt.

My suggestion would be one of the following...

200gr Swift A-Frame, 200gr Trophy Bonded Bearclaw or the 200gr Woodleigh Weldcore (specifically designed for the 300 Win Mag velocities) or the 220gr Nosler Partition.

Add the North Fork bullet to those recommended above...

North Fork Bullets

How do you feel about using a 243 for deer? I ask because this is along those same lines of thought, sure it will work when you have a picture book broadside standing bear with no bush in the way. Can you hold off for that shot only? That is how I would look at it. Do consider the 200gr. premium bullets if you go with the 300.

HBH

Yes a 300 with the right Bullets will work I went down this path a few months ago on here and this is what I came up with. Ask yourself this can you handle the recoil of your 300 win shooting 200gr or 220gr bullets? If you can then you can handle a 375 H&H shooting 270gr or 300gr bullets. Now I know what you are thinking a 375 H&H. There is no way it kicks the same as a 300 win but off hand it does with less muzzle jump and it does not have that sharp fast kick like a 300win. The 300 I have weighs 10 lbs with everything and the 375 weighs 9lbs with everything. Off hand the recoil is the same now on the bench the 375 kicks more. When you start looking at the bullets of the 30cal and the 375 cal side by side you will see why so many have picked the 375 for Big Bears. I first did not believe that I needed a 375 H&H to hunt Browns next fall but I am glad I listen to the people on here and tried the H&H. I know it will be the Rifle I am using next fall!!

i have been thinking and listing to you guys and i think i will stick with the 300 and wait till i can afoord a good 375 H&H mag. that may be the best thing but if the perfect shot presents it self out hunting for moose or black bear i will take it i am looking in to the 375 any suggestions on a good one for less than 850 so i can still get a good scope.

You could look for a Rem 700 BDL in a 375 H&H and probably find one for around $600 used or build one for around $700 or so. You also can get a CZ for around $600 used in a 375 H&H. If you take the 300 Win Mag I would use either the 200gr Barnes TSX or the 220 Nolser Partition. I know a guy that has used the 220 gr Partition on Brown Bear and said it worked well and it even stopped the one that charged him. Or if you wanted to go the cheaper route and still have a nice rifle you can get a Weatherby Vanguard in a 338 win mag for 379.99 at Walmart and they are a nice Rifle!!

i had a howa 1500 it was one of the most accurate,least picky rfiles i have ever seen.well me and my dad came to the conclusion that the only thing it wouldn't make one hole groups was if you turned the bullet around. it was a 308 but i traded it to my dad with my truck for his truck never regreted it but that was a hell of a shooter the wost group it shot that i know of was 1.25 no joke it would shoot .5 all day long at hundred even shot many one hole groups at hundred. now i like that idea but i think i would stick to the 300 before i went and got a 338 just not a whole lot of differnce in my book.well thanks for the advice

If I *had* to use my 300Win Mag on brown bears, I would use the 200 or 220 gr. Barnes bullets. But If I went on a hunt for brown bears, I would take my Sako 375H&H and 270 or 300 gr. Barnes bullets. I want to make sure I have enough gun. But I think you will not have a problem with the 300Win Mag.

m61fan: I see that you are from Anchorage, so by now you probably know that you should not have any greater problems hunting bears with your .300 than with a .375 H&H. In fact, more bears are killed in Alaska with the most popular cartridges than with .375's, .416's, and .458's.

The most popular cartridges in Alaska are the .30-06, .300WM, and the .338WM. These three outnumber all other cartridges by a very wide margin. Use the gun you are most familiar with, from the .30-06 to the .458 Magnum. You have said that you can shoot your .300WM, so use that gun with heavy and tough bullets from 200 to 220 grains in weight. The additional weight increases recoil a little, while velocity is also reduced a little, which is fine, since that loss of velocity helps the bullet penetrate more by slowing expansion. This is very desirable when hunting bears.

Again: You have in your hands one of the three most popular cartridges in Alaska. These "three most popular" cartridges kill more bears in Alaska than most others.

Lots of good advice from some experienced folks. The 300 Win Mag with 200-220 grain premium bullets your barrel likes best will serve you well. Shoot for the shoulder at less than 100 yards and have a good time.

thanks for the info i'll let you know if i get the 375 m61fan

SEP,

Are you in the Air Force? The reason I am asking is that I used to live in Moose creek when I was stationed up there 20 years ago. If I remember correctly it was in the log duplex on GoThattaway rd, the main road that is behind where Pete's bar used to be or where I think the Bread shop? is.

Doug

Thank God a .300 will work on these critters !

I have a hunt booked for next spring and plan on taking my .300 Weatherby with good old 180 grain Nosler partitions.
I don't have a bigger caliber gun, feel confident with this one, and feel it will do the job, if I do mine.

I'm guessing if you hit em where your supposed to they're gonna meet their maker.

steiny;

think about 200 grainers for the wthby. it handles the heavier bullets better than the w.m. and u would be well served to do that.

DWhunter,
I retired from the Air Force in March 04. I live in what used to be Pete's Place. We converted it to a fourplex and moved into it. Gothattaway runs east west in relation to Pete's Place and DaNiece runs parallel behind it. There are two log duplexes on Daniece...maybe that's where you lived.

BTW, aren't you sponsoring an event at Chena Lake soon?

sep

Sep,



Yes, I will be up there on the 28th and the event is on the 4th out at Chena Lakes, come on out. There was a mtg last Friday in F'Banks about it and folks from the city and all the local volunteers are planning a really big time for everybody that afternoon. To name just a few of the celebs and others that are coming Chuck Yeager, Astronaut Joe Engle, Craig Boddington, Maj Gen Doug Pearson, Geoff Miller (Rigby guns), Jim Jones and Hunting across America TV Show, Chris Chaffin (The Outdoor Channel) and when I last spoke with Senator Stevens a few weeks ago he was going to be there as well as Sen Lisa Murkowski, Congressman Don Young and I recently heard that Frank Murkowski will be there as well. It should be a big time for everybody.



Come on out, I am looking forward to mtg some of the folks from the forum there.



Doug