New Alaska Rifle Tips?

[Dutch Jennings]

LARGE & DANEROUS GAME (GRIZ) RIFLE....needed for Alaska trip, shots out to about 500 if needed. I'm a big guy and like 300 Win Mag, but hesitate buying one due to recoil. Don't want to buy a rifle I hate practicing with well enough to learn well at distance with with my scope. I like the 7mm Rem Mag a lot but am wondering if that's big enough for brown bear close range (including defensive role). I could use my 30-06 with 220's but there again same thing. Any Alaska guys, what do you recommend?

 

[alcesgigas]

If you're a non-resident you will be accompanied by a licensed guide who'll be carrying the necessary equipment. You're better off shooting a rifle you are familiar with; accuracy is what kills. It's unlikely you'll be a participant in anything remotely resembling a mauling and you are more likely to have such if you're toting a big gun that you don't know, hate shooting, and/or just plain afraid of it as much as any bear. However, all that aside, if you simply want to get something big get a 375 H&H. H&H not any other because that's been on he job since 1912 everywhere on the globe. In a 10.5# rifle (scope, loaded, sling and all) the recoil is spread out to seem like less than your 7mm.

Whatever have a great time up here, be safe, and use the best optics and camera to keep the memory alive!

 

[adam32]

Did your guide say to be prepared for shots out to 500 yards on grizzly?

 

[Frog4aday]

Your dilemma is the classic one we all face: how do we get lots of power and velocity without getting the c-r-a-p kicked out of us by a hard recoiling rifle. The "muzzle-brake" birds will be on here soon, touting them. For a HUNTING gun, I think they are a nightmare. But to each his own. (By the way, your GUIDE and HUNTING PARTNERS will not like the muzzle brake either. They are DEAFENING to everyone around them.)

Let's talk options. First off, if you have a .30-06 you already shoot well, just go with it! With modern bullets it is awesome. It'll get the job done. Shot placement (as with ANY caliber) is really the key anyway.

Secondly, if you really just WANT a new 'toy' (.300 Win Mag? .338 Win Mag?) Then WEIGHT is your friend. A heavier rifle will kick 'softer' due to decreased recoil force and recoil velocity. Go 10 lbs on your gun and, hey, it's almost like your .30-06! Of course, carrying that weight while hunting isn't fun, but everything is a compromise.

Third, mitigate recoil with a LIMBSAVER recoil pad and a MERCURY RECOIL REDUCER in the buttstock of your rifle.

Fourth, lighter bullets kick less than heavier bullets. If you go with a BARNES TSX/TTSX or Hornady GMX or HAMMER bullets (reload only) then you can go down a bit in bullet weight and still get the penetration of a heavier 'lead' cup & core-type bullet.

I vote for the .30-06, as alcesgigas suggested. You won't be alone. You'll have a guide and perhaps even another hunter with you.

If you really want a new gun, then get yourself the one you already show an interest in (the .300 WM) and try some of the things I've mentioned to reduce the recoil.

 

[Dutch Jennings]

I should have mentioned, I'm probably going to be moving to Alaska before the end of the summer for a new job. So I'm doing any gun shopping now. Reason for the post is to see if I actually need an additional gun and if so what caliber makes most sense.

 

[Dutch Jennings]

Did your guide say to be prepared for shots out to 500 yards on grizzly?

I have not talked to a guide, and I'd never attempt a shot like that on a bear anyway. I don't know who'd do that, but not me.

 

[Dutch Jennings]

Your dilemma is the classic one we all face: how do we get lots of power and velocity without getting the c-r-a-p kicked out of us by a hard recoiling rifle. The "muzzle-brake" birds will be on here soon, touting them. For a HUNTING gun, I think they are a nightmare. But to each his own. (By the way, your GUIDE and HUNTING PARTNERS will not like the muzzle brake either. They are DEAFENING to everyone around them.)

Let's talk options. First off, if you have a .30-06 you already shoot well, just go with it! With modern bullets it is awesome. It'll get the job done. Shot placement (as with ANY caliber) is really the key anyway.

Secondly, if you really just WANT a new 'toy' (.300 Win Mag? .338 Win Mag?) Then WEIGHT is your friend. A heavier rifle will kick 'softer' due to decreased recoil force and recoil velocity. Go 10 lbs on your gun and, hey, it's almost like your .30-06! Of course, carrying that weight while hunting isn't fun, but everything is a compromise.

Third, mitigate recoil with a LIMBSAVER recoil pad and a MERCURY RECOIL REDUCER in the buttstock of your rifle.

Fourth, lighter bullets kick less than heavier bullets. If you go with a BARNES TSX/TTSX or Hornady GMX or HAMMER bullets (reload only) then you can go down a bit in bullet weight and still get the penetration of a heavier 'lead' cup & core-type bullet.

I vote for the .30-06, as alcesgigas suggested. You won't be alone. You'll have a guide and perhaps even another hunter with you.

If you really want a new gun, then get yourself the one you already show an interest in (the .300 WM) and try some of the things I've mentioned to reduce the recoil.

 

[VernAK]

I doubt that you will save any money by buying in L48 vs AK. Wait until you get here before making a decision. Where are you locating in AK?

 

[Dutch Jennings]

Yes I like my 30-06, have had it for years and shoot it well including at long range. And yes, it's long been wearing a heavy Pachmayr recoil pad. I didn't want to have people telling me I'm under-armed with it up there, though it sounds like its a popular rifle up there as well. From your comment it seems you favor of the 300 WM over the 7mm RM if I decide to get into a magnum. Thanks for sharing your view on this.

 

[Dutch Jennings]

I doubt that you will save any money by buying in L48 vs AK. Wait until you get here before making a decision. Where are you locating in AK?

I'd be going to Anchorage. I'm a Minnesota boy so know what ice and cold are all about, yet Alaska would seem to be a whole new level of "cool". Exciting to think about nonetheless. We'll see. If prices are about the same there (was assuming not) then yes waiting makes more sense.

 

[Frog4aday]

I'm sure you will love it in Alaska. Everyone I knew in the service that was stationed up there thought it was the best place they'd been.

Your .30-06 is going to be just fine. Seriously! Just use Barnes TTSX or Nosler Partitions and don't worry about it. It will have the power and penetration you need to hunt everything up there. I think the true natives probably get a chuckle at us lower 48 folks showing up with our super magnums when the natives have been killing bear and moose with .30-30s and .300 Savages for years.

As for 7mm Rem Mag vs. .300 Win Mag, I don't really have a 'favorite' between the two. It just seems if you are going to be in Alaska, the bigger bore/bullet would be the way to go. But I think the 7mm RM is awesome. Remington truly hit a home run with that cartridge.

 

[Dutch Jennings]

I'm sure you will love it in Alaska. Everyone I knew in the service that was stationed up there thought it was the best place they'd been.

Your .30-06 is going to be just fine. Seriously! Just use Barnes TTSX or Nosler Partitions and don't worry about it. It will have the power and penetration you need to hunt everything up there. I think the true natives probably get a chuckle at us lower 48 folks showing up with our super magnums when the natives have been killing bear and moose with .30-30s and .300 Savages for years.

As for 7mm Rem Mag vs. .300 Win Mag, I don't really have a 'favorite' between the two. It just seems if you are going to be in Alaska, the bigger bore/bullet would be the way to go. But I think the 7mm RM is awesome. Remington truly hit a home run with that cartridge.

Ballistic performance in the 7mm's is really great, and so many people are infatuated with the 6.5 Creedmoor instead. If I had it to do over again I probably would have bought my Savage 11 in 7mm-08 instead of .308.

 

[ShtrRdy]

When my family and I visited Alaska i was impressed to see a couple bear mounts in the airport the signs that went with them said one was killed with a .375 H&H and the other with a .416 Rigby. As big as those bears were i would use the biggest rifle i could possibly carry.

 

[Frog4aday]

Ballistic performance in the 7mm's is really great, and so many people are infatuated with the 6.5 Creedmoor instead. If I had it to do over again I probably would have bought my Savage 11 in 7mm-08 instead of .308.

The 7mm is a great cartridge. I really like the 7mm-08, too, as it works great for hunting without being abusive to the shooter.

The 6.5's are so 'hot' right now because it almost seems like some people have 'discovered' ballistic coefficient (BC) overnight and now think it is some magical thing that can transform the wonderful target round into an elk/moose 800 yard killing machine. It's frustrating. I like the 6.5 Creedmoor. It is efficient. It is a mild 'kicker'. It is wonderfully accurate. But as a hunting gun, it is no more magical than the 7mm-08, .270 Win, .280 Win, 6.5X55 Swede, .260 Rem, etc.

You didn't go 'wrong' with the .308 Win choice though. It seems to be getting kicked to the curb lately, but the .308 Win has won a lot of 1000 yard matches over the years. It has killed a ton of game since it's introduction, too. It is efficient, it is effective, and there is ammo everywhere for it. Reloading is easy, too, with lots of 'cheap' brass to be had and bullets in a ton of different weights and styles to be found.