Alaska Grizzly Bullet Choice

[Salmonhead]

Round for Grizzly and Caribou hunt on Alaska north slope. 300 Win Mag is a given. 200gr Federal Terminal Ascent or 200gr Swift A-Frame. Both bullets have great attributes. 6 of 1, half dozen of the other? The Terminal Ascents will be the factory loads the A-Frames will be home loaded developed before trip next August. Terminal Ascents shoot great in my rifle and have better ballistic design. A-Frames are tried and true. If the A-Frame loads are not consistently accurate the rifle will make the decision for me.

If you want to run the 200 Swift A-Frames, we have that on hand if you want to try a half box before doing your load development. That bullet has been extremely hard to procure, but they finally filled some back orders last fall. If you have the bullet on hand already, I can point you in the right direction for a load

 

[memtb]

marksman1941, you seem to be "snake-bit" when it comes to firearm malfunctions. With your apparent bad luck…..stay away from bear country. Or, find a reliable "good luck charm"! memtb

 

[marksman1941]

marksman1941, you seem to be "snake-bit" when it comes to firearm malfunctions. With your apparent bad luck…..stay away from bear country. Or, find a reliable "good luck charm"! memtb

Thankfully I don't live in bear country anymore. I bought the 329 when I lived in north Idaho and bow hunted, in case I ran into something large.

The 329 malfunctions were the only issues I ever had with that revolver over several years and many, many rounds. I learned to loctite the hell out of the ejector rod, and never shoot those 255gr buffalo bores, and life was good. That thing ate a steady diet of hsm 305gr bear loads and worked just fine.

My main point in posting those issues was to refute the hard line stance some folks have of "semi autos will always let you down and revolvers never will". They're all machines that can have issues. Know your machine, practice and test it, and the issues are minimal. But nothing is ever flawless.

 

[Pdvdh]

marksman1941, you seem to be "snake-bit" when it comes to firearm malfunctions. With your apparent bad luck…..stay away from bear country. Or, find a reliable "good luck charm"! memtb

According to some Glock folk in this Thread, the semi-auto Glocks primarily fail to function because of bad or faulty ammo. Which was, and is, my point on the primary difference in reliability between "semi-auto anythings" versus revolvers, pump actions, or bolt actions. Semi-autos are entirely dependent on their ammo for proper function. The firing of the ammo cycles the semi-auto action, whether it be semi-auto pistol, shotgun, or rifle. The firing of the ammo is what causes the semi-autos to function as semi-autos. Bad ammo or poorly matched ammo = no semi-auto function.

Proper feeding from semi-auto pistols can also limit the shape of the nose of the bullet for reliable feed from the mag, up the load ramp, into the pistol chamber. I prefer wide flat-nosed revolver bullets for bear defense. So that's another potential compromise with a semi-auto pistol... for me. I can load and fire any nose-shaped bullet, or power-level ammo, in my revolvers.

A defective sidearm or long arm is an entirely different subject matter. Wise folk will thoroughly field proof their pistol/revolver or long arm of choice with their bear defense ammo to ensure reliable function, prior to carrying and relying on their firearm in the field. Non-defective revolvers, pump actions or bolt action long arms? Just about any ammo should function properly/reliably in a sound weapon. ESPECIALLY true, in comparison to any semi-auto firearm. Nevertheless, the wise move is to make good and certain the bear defense bullets aren't jumping their crimp in heavy recoiling revolvers, and that firearms are feeding and functioning with your selected bear defense bullets and ammo, whether factory ammo or hand loads.

 

[marksman1941]

According to some Glock folk in this Thread, the semi-auto Glocks primarily fail to function because of bad or faulty ammo. Which was, and is, my point on the primary difference in reliability between "semi-auto anythings" versus revolvers, pump actions, or bolt actions. Semi-autos are entirely dependent on their ammo for proper function. The firing of the ammo cycles the semi-auto action, whether it be semi-auto pistol, shotgun, or rifle. The firing of the ammo is what causes the semi-autos to function as semi-autos. Bad ammo or poorly matched ammo = no semi-auto function.

Proper feeding from semi-auto pistols can also limit the shape of the nose of the bullet for reliable feed from the mag, up the load ramp, into the pistol chamber. I prefer wide flat-nosed revolver bullets for bear defense. So that's another potential compromise with a semi-auto pistol... for me. I can load and fire any nose-shaped bullet, or power-level ammo, in my revolvers.

A defective sidearm or long arm is an entirely different subject matter. Wise folk will thoroughly field proof their pistol/revolver or long arm of choice with their bear defense ammo to ensure reliable function, prior to carrying and relying on their firearm in the field. Non-defective revolvers, pump actions or bolt action long arms? Just about any ammo should function properly/reliably in a sound weapon. ESPECIALLY true, in comparison to any semi-auto firearm. Nevertheless, the wise move is to make good and certain the bear defense bullets aren't jumping their crimp in heavy recoiling revolvers, and that firearms are feeding and functioning with your selected bear defense bullets and ammo, whether factory ammo or hand loads.

You make good points. Every firearm you decide to use should be thoroughly tested and vetted prior to carry, and your defense ammunition shouldn't likewise be extensively tested. Regardless of the action type, this should always be the process.

Here's where I diverge, and I will die on this hill; A quality semi auto running quality ammo, matched to the gun and throughly tested, is just as reliable as a revolver or a pump gun under the same conditions. We put thousands upon thousands of rounds through competition pistols, rifles, and shotguns every year. More than most folks will shoot in a lifetime. Malfunctions don't happen in quality firearms with quality ammunition unless there's major operator error, or the firearm has been neglected.

The caveat I will allow is shotguns. Shotguns in general can be the most finicky, and a dirty shotgun with a sticky bolt can be a nightmare. Again, that's user error at that point for neglecting the firearm, but it is the platform that we see the vast majority of our issues arising from.

 

[Pdvdh]

You may maintain and care for your semi-auto pistols better than the average hunter. You may know more about matching ammo to a specific pistol. Sounds like you certainly know more about the importance of vetting ammo to a pistol, compared to the average user.

Firearms in the field are exposed to dirtier operating conditions than firearms on a firing range.

My own personal lifetime experiences? Shared by my 40+yr gunshop/gunsmith relative in Alaska, working the bugs out of many Alaskan hunter's and customer's firearms over that period of time? Semi-auto anythings are more problematic than revolvers, pump actions, and bolt actions. They're not in the same league. Not even close. Not for the average user and hunter.

 

[Taj]

You must be running a 338. As mentioned above I will be using a 300WM. I have never used a solid copper bullet. Perhaps I should give it a try.

On my last African hunt I shot TSX's for all of my plains game and Barn's solids for the ugly stuff. I loaded the 150 grain bullet for my .30-06 because I wanted to something that would shoot a little flatter for some of the antelope. I was super impressed with performance. Penetration was excellent. The optics on my .300 H&H went down so I shot everything with the 06. I killed a very large kudu at 240

yrds and a Blesbok at 390 yrds. Both were point of shoulder shots and both were cleanly killed. This springbok was a through and through at 220 yrds and as you can see by the exit, it was DRT right there. I really do like those bullets and will use them any time I can and as long as I can get them to shoot to my liking.

 

[dennisinaz]

I had a Glock blew up in my hand on a grizzly/ caribou hunt. It was an ammo problem
I still carry a high cap semi auto in bear country. Revolvers are theoretically more reliable but they're slow to reload and hold only 5 or 6 rounds.

 

[bballard]

Most of the bullets discussed here will kill the animals you are hunting quite easily.....it's more about your shooting skills. Let the gun decide which bullets to take! On my caribou hunt ln the Alaskan brooks range, I was carrying a 300 win mag with 200 grain accubonds.....grizzy was not on the menu, but they showed up on the gut piles. I had complete confidence in my rig.......good luck!

 

[DJ Morrison]

The nice part about where you are going is the griz up there tend to be smaller but feistier than their costal counter parts. I am a firm believer in Barnes ttsx and the lrx when shooting something that can fight back. I have never had a failure with these. now the original x bullets were questionable, but lately all have been excellent. 200g lrx will kill your bear and do a good job of reaching out to get your boo!! Have fun and good luck.

 

[quandary]

My latest plan, assuming it shoots in the 300PRC I am building, is CEB 200gr Lazers. The rifle has a Hawkins Hunter bottom metal with the Hunter magazines which have an internal length of 3.77. The 200gr Lazers have a COAL of 3.74 seated at the Seal tite band seated at the case mouth per CEBs recommendation.