Brown bear Rifle

[RH300UM]

Have you hunted a Alaskan Bear? Guided?^^^^^^

 

[Pdvdh]

Yeah, I don't have to hire a licensed guide, as a resident of Alaska. But after paying a $25K fee, I'd expect to kill my own brown/grizzly bear.

To each his own... I prefer to accomplish such things on my own. Glad the guide killing my bear isn't an issue for me...

But IF I was guided, I'd double up on cartridge and caliber, to give the guide a reason to believe any bear shot is likely short lived.

 

[Pdvdh]

Have you hunted a Alaskan Bear? Guided?^^^^^^

Curious about this... How common for the guides in your outfit to open fire after the client's first bullet hits home? Do you give the bear some time to expire if the hit look's solid?

 

[Kodiak Special]

Do not know where yet but will attend several sport shows to get a read on guide and service face to face if possible. We be quite disappointed if a guide opened up on a bear that I hit well. Might end up on one of those boat hunts in the ABC s . Do not need a 10 footer but a nice representative animal and a great adventure would be a winner. Will be looking at the peninsula also.

Congratulations on the hunt, there is nothing like it. Your gun is fine.

I prefer heavy 375 bullets, mostly because I know them. If it were a WinMag I'd feel the same way. Partitions are good, I use the bonded bear claw T3 round from Federal, they perform well, and would also swear by A-Frames as I like Swift bullets.

Happy to give you my no B.S. findings on guides, I've been there plenty. You'll have a great time!

 

[mrbutter]

Planning on a once in a lifetime brown bear Alaskan hunt in a couple years. Have a 300 Win Mag that shoots 220 Nosler partitions and 200 Nosler partitions quite well. Don't really want to buy another rifle but should I move up to a 338 class? Thinking of either a 33 Nosler, 338 WM or 338 ultra??? Opinions???

.375 Ruger Guide Gun. Great bear medicine in a short action cartridge. .338 WM or .340 Weatherby would be a good second choice. I've heard some African calibers are great, but expensive.

 

[RH300UM]

Every situation is different

If a guide put a bullet in my bear, or any other animal I paid to shoot, that guide better have a tag for that species. I don't need to hear about all the times a guide or a PH saved a client from an animal. I know it is their duty to save my life, but other than that, he best keep his rifle pointed somewhere other than at my animal. If the animal wins, then I should have been better or brought more gun. And if he does save my useless carcuss, it will be more to save his license and a big investigation. Just thinking out loud!

Curious about this... How common for the guides in your outfit to open fire after the client's first bullet hits home? Do you give the bear some time to expire if the hit look's solid?

Every hunt,Hunter is different
So many varieties and variables to throw in to the mix.
Common?
I don't now or can answer truthfully
Me personally it's a individual decision.
It's not a cut and dry thing being a guide
I'm not trying to boo hoo about this and that.
I have to make decisions
Decisions that mean lives
I'm not perfect at this.
But safety is #1 for me and my hunters
I do not want to ever call a family with bad news about their loved one because I held off on shooting at time because I had indecisive moment
It's my worst fear as a guide. I am responsible for my clients safety
Then there are 100 other things heaped on top of that.
I want my hunter to be successful and have the hunt of a lifetime. I truly enjoy that experience. It's why I guide.
But I also want us to get back to our loved ones safely and uninjured.
Im not perfect in this. But I will always error on the side of safety
Always!

 

[Deleted member 118518]

I have never been healed enough to hunt Brown bear anywhere. But, I have known a few people who were. In the late 70s and mid 80s I was in the gun business and an acquaintance of mine came to the store wanting to get a rifle to hunt brown bear in the Yukon muskeg scrub oak country. His guide service told him to bring a big bore with a durable stock and iron sights. He also told him if he hung a scope on it it had to have quick detachable rings. We ordered a Weatherby 340 Fiber Mark. When the rifle arrived we called the Weatherby custom shop and arranged to return the rifle to them to install the iron sights. While that was happening we ordered a Kahles 1.1 X 4 -30 mm tube scope. Then we ordered 30mm leupold rings and Pilkington Quick release levers. Then we started buying 250 Grain partition ammo from wherever we could find it. When it came time to shoot this piece of ordinance my friend returned with a pretty sore shoulder wanting a better recoil pad. No brake. Well it happened that a new pad was on the market from Kick Eezz i think. Something called sorbathane. We got one of these pads and since he was in a hurry we simply removed screws and factory pad and screwed the new pad onto the rifle he then produced a roll of duct tape and taped that thing up seven ways from Sunday. So in time he became pretty dangerous with the gun having set the irons to close range and the scope as well. Time to leave came and off he goes. Upon arrival at camp the guy in charge makes everyone shoot their rifle at close distance and at 100 yards to prove they could use it. My friend recalled that there was a hunter there from Germany who had a .366 cal rifle and the guide told him he wasn't familiar with it so he couldn't use it. I was told it had drop dead gorgeous wood. The head guide loaned him his .375 HH. After supper they were told that there was one rule for hunting these bears and that rule was "shoot-em till they are dead". My friend hunted all week without seeing a bear of any size so his guide told him they would go to his favorite place the next morning. They had to follow a game trail thru tight scrub which ended at a natural pond. His guide told him to be aware that the bears sit in ambush along these trails and just stand up and fall on their lunch. His guide carried a 45/70 Marlin and a 44 mag revolver. Nothing happened en route to the pond but once there a nice Brown walked out of the brush and went to the pond. My friend laid down and waited for the bear to turn away from the water and when he did he put one round into his chest. The animal fell where he stood and never moved. He became the story of the camp. The bear was a little over nine feet and is now a stadium coat. Every guide there tried to buy the rifle from him before he left but no he kept the rifle.

 

[5.56×250]

I think guides feel a need to finish bears simply because once out of sight, a wounded bear becomes the hunter , a hunter with a big ol chip on its shoulder. I'm with most on here though, if i paid to hunt and kill ANY animal , i want the job all by myself . An animal finished by someone else isn't my kill in my mind. With big bears or cape buffs, the line does get a little blurry though . Tough call to have to make as a guide , im sure.

 

[RH300UM]

I think guides feel a need to finish bears simply because once out of sight, a wounded bear becomes the hunter , a hunter with a big ol chip on its shoulder. I'm with most on here though, if i paid to hunt and kill ANY animal , i want the job all by myself . An animal finished by someone else isn't my kill in my mind. With big bears or cape buffs, the line does get a little blurry though . Tough call to have to make as a guide , im sure.

What's my life worth?To you?
25k?!
If a bear gets shot. Goes into the alders. I'm not sending you in. I'm going in. Your staying out. 2 reasons. 1st your safety is paramount to me and my outfitter.
2nd is I do not have to worry about you or the noise created. Meaning if you are not there and I hear a noise I know it's the bear. No second guessing. And I am going to put the finishing shots in it anyways. So I have a difficult time understanding shooting sooner after the initial shot/shots by the hunter vs. me shooting later in the above described scenario ?

 

[Rondidio]

I used a 458 Win mag on this Boone & Crocket Coastal Brown. It was at 75 yards. It Did Not Go Down Easy! Glad I had a Dangerous Game Gun.

 

[Rondidio]

Hunter has to draw first blood then guide will shoot if threatening situation happens.

 

[Cowboyblaster]

Planning on a once in a lifetime brown bear Alaskan hunt in a couple years. Have a 300 Win Mag that shoots 220 Nosler partitions and 200 Nosler partitions quite well. Don't really want to buy another rifle but should I move up to a 338 class? Thinking of either a 33 Nosler, 338 WM or 338 ultra??? Opinions???

If you are going to buy a rifle specifically for this hunt i would suggest the only cartridge ever made specifically for large dangerous bears (griz) 378 Weatherby mag.!. If this will be a guided hunt there will be no reason to put a scope on it becase we never ever let a hunter shoot an animal that was more than 150 yards away period the end good luck and never hunt dangerous game with a semi auto

 

[HRM Johnny]

I'd want to shoot and kill my own bear, rather than having my guide kill it with his 375, after my first hit, or two

375 and bears are almost part of the same sentence. Mixed bag says the others. It's a bear trip, get a pure bear rifle if you can.

but feel certain the guide was plugging it too, since it came at them. And they commonly carry .375s.

The 375 is what most guides carry

Experiences and conclusions among guides vary. The one I knew closest after his career was over opined that the .375's were a good client rifle,

further extrapolated to .375. The bigger the bear - the bigger the gun recommended

When I lived up there all my buddies doing a Kodiak hunt seemed to swear by taking a 375 with them. As

Take your 300 win mag and don't be surprised after your first shot the guide will hammer the bear with the 375

The guide followed up immediately behind my shot with his 375 and knocked the bear down.

My 2 cents as a AK guide is

Prepare yourself mentally is the biggest factor. Your rifle choice is important, yes. It's the delivery tool and needs consideration. 375 is what I tell hunters to consider. If not it's not the end of the world. Good bullet construction is always paramount.

If I would ever get a chance to go for brown bear I would take my 375 H & H , 270 gr Hornady or 300 Swift A-frame.

shoot benchrest with an old Alaskan Guide.
We have talked kodiak hunts into the wee hours.
He would tell you, 375

We never hunted big bear but did take 4 of them when they came around the house. Generally that was about 1 each year. The 375 did a much better job than the 30-338 we had. Recoil is very manageable. Just my 2 cents.

At least some of the advice is coming from people with experience shooting big bears. Most of the advice is from arm chair experts. I have shot or seen shot grizzly with a 300, browns with 338 and 375 and polar bears with 358 Norma and 375. I tell you with absolute confidence that a 375 was far superior in safe and humane kill power. That 338 on an 11' 4" bear really made him angry. Once they are fired up they get super power ability to absorb bullets and keep going - or coming. That bear closed ground on us fast as the 338 emptied. Thankfully, the 375 anchored him. The only big bear rifle I carry is a 375. By buddy bought a 416! Long range isn't for dangerous game, and often reloads aren't allowed.

If you are going to buy a rifle specifically for this hunt i would suggest the only cartridge ever made specifically for large dangerous bears (griz) 378 Weatherby mag.!. If this will be a guided hunt there will be no reason to put a scope on it becase we never ever let a hunter shoot an animal that was more than 150 yards away period the end good luck and never hunt dangerous game with a semi auto

I am not going to Voice a personal opinion. I've never hunted big browns. I live on the East Coast ( as I believe you do also.) where we have black bears. That's not even in the same category. Not even close. As I read through the comments I thought there was a definite pattern. I just thought I'd point that out.

 

[LRNut]

If you put a bullet in the shoulder/lungs of a bear, it will die...eventually or perhaps immediately. Put a bullet in the guts and he might die a painful death if he is lucky. I don't understand you guys who say the guide better not shoot; I suspect most of you have not hunted much dangerous game. My last brown bear was shot with a .338 Win Mag and 250 AFs. Bear went down when I shot - dropped like his legs were pulled from under him. Guide followed up with a shot, and I put in a second one as well. Bear went nowhere.

My advice: if you have a problem with a guide shooting your bear, don't book the hunt. Your attitude alone will sour the hunt. You are essentially saying you killing that bear single-handedly is more important than human life or at the very least, your ego is more important than an animal suffering longer. I sure would not want to be your guide.