Alaska Grizzly Bullet Choice

[asd9055]

I agree with RH300UM. Either should be more than enough bullet, shot placement is the key. Make sure you can shoot the rifle proficiently and place the bullet in the kill zone and you will walk away a happy hunter. That's a lot of rifle for most guys, make sure you shoot it a lot before hand to make sure you don't get recoil sensitive with it. A blown shot on a grizzly can not only be very costly dollar wise but very dangerous as well. Good Luck and let us know how the hunt turns out.

Totaaly agree. Just one little add, make sure you practice follow up shots. Important with dangerous game.

 

[RH300UM]

Totaaly agree. Just one little add, make sure you practice follow up shots. Important with dangerous game.

Plus 1 on this
I've seen more hunters jam the rifle on the follow up shot with bears than any other animals all combined!
They always short stroke it
Practice this till it's second nature

 

[KH_Outdoors]

I am planning a brown bear hunt in near future. 375 H&H. Thinking of 300 grain Accubond or Partition. Your thoughts?

I think I would go shoot them and see which one the gun liked better. To include multiple weight class bullets too if you can. You may find the gun prefers 260/270 weight bullets over 300's. Either one will crush a Brown Bear!

 

[zeeman]

Thanks!

 

[dennisinaz]

One bullet that I don't understand why it gets so little attention is the Woodliegh weld core.

They don't have a high BC, but neither do TBBC or Partitions. Yet they do stay together, penetrate deep if not through most game.

Woodleigh is not making them currently

 

[dennisinaz]

I am planning a brown bear hunt in near future. 375 H&H. Thinking of 300 grain Accubond or Partition. Your thoughts?

There is a big difference between a coastal brown bear and an interior grizzly. My griz was from Brooks range and wasn't any bigger than some blacks I've seen. A fall Brown bear might have 4" of fat.
A spring bear is much thinner. I think the 300 grain Accubond will work for all three but on a fall brown bear i would lean towards a mono metal type bullet myself.

 

[Pdvdh]

There is a big difference between a coastal brown bear and an interior grizzly. My griz was from Brooks range and wasn't any bigger than some blacks I've seen. A fall Brown bear might have 4" of fat.
A spring bear is much thinner. I think the 300 grain Accubond will work for all three but on a fall brown bear i would lean towards a mono metal type bullet myself.

I shot a 10' 5" brown bear on Kodiak Island April, 2002. It had a minimum of 3" fat layer covering its entire rib cage. 4" in some areas.

Then last spring early in May 2023, I shot a 10' 1/2" boar on Kodiak Island, and it had no measurable fat over its rib cage.

So... some early spring bears clearly come out of hibernation with lots of fat remaining on their torso. That 2002 boar must have been exceptionally well fed prior to denning up in the late fall or early winter of 2001. Its body was also much larger than the 2023 boar.

I've never shot a fall brown bear. But have seen a lot of them while on Kodiak over the years. Big boars resemble hippos in the fall, with the added layer of body fat.

 

[SheepShapeAK]

It's all about shot placement. I got my buddy to start shooting the badlands bulldozers. He took a 10' brownie down on Kodiak with one shot from his 300 PRC with the 195 grain bulldozer.

Caribou you could sneeze and knock over. They aren't tough animals.

Just take the most accurate load for your rifle.

 

[SheepShapeAK]

I don't recall the OP stating he was hiring a guide?

Out of State hunters aren't required to hire a registered Alaska guide to hunt grizzly/brown bears, IF they hunt with an Alaska resident who's that's a first degree of kindred relative.

Second degree of kindred.

Alaska Big Game Guide Requirements, Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Information on hunting and trapping in Alaska.

www.adfg.alaska.gov

"Second degree of kindred" means a father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, spouse, grandparent, grandchild, brother- or sister-in-law, son- or daughter-in-law, father- or mother-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepsister, stepbrother, stepson, or stepdaughter (5 AAC 92.990).

 

[Pdvdh]

I shot a 10' 5" brown bear on Kodiak Island April, 2002. It had a minimum of 3" fat layer covering its entire rib cage. 4" in some areas.

Then last spring early in May 2023, I shot a 10' 1/2" boar on Kodiak Island, and it had no measurable fat over its rib cage.

So... some early spring bears clearly come out of hibernation with lots of fat remaining on their torso. That 2002 boar must have been exceptionally well fed prior to denning up in the late fall or early winter of 2001. Its body was also much larger than the 2023 boar.

I've never shot a fall brown bear. But have seen a lot of them while on Kodiak over the years. Big boars resemble hippos in the fall, with the added layer of body fat.

I found a picture of the carcass of the brown bear killed April 21, 2002. He was covered with fat from nose to tail. ~3" layer covering the ribcage.

On the other hand, some spring brown bear come out of hibernation with no remaining fat reserve. This one killed the first week of May, 2023. The hide directly against muscle. Very little fleshing required on this bear hide. Blew his head off...

Eagles had pecked on this carcass a bit prior to the photograph.

 

[memtb]

Did ya take him with a 10mm semi auto pistol…..asking for a friend! memtb

 

[Pdvdh]

I'd just as soon pick a rock up off the ground and launch it in defense against a big boar, as pack around a 10mm semi-auto. Save myself lugging around a useless 10mm.

 

[marksman1941]

I'd just as soon pick a rock up off the ground and launch it in defense against a big boar, as pack around a 10mm semi-auto. Save myself lugging around a useless 10mm.

Have you had a 10mm fail to perform for you?

 

[Pdvdh]

Have you had a 10mm fail to perform for you?

Yes. Not on a bear. On piece of cardboard. Failure to fire. A Glock. I've never carried a semi-auto pistol for bear protection. Never would except as the last resort.

I don't trust semi-auto anythings for bear protection. Know a guy that had a Remington semi-auto 30-06 jam after his first shot on a charging brown bear on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. A big boar. After the boar crushed all the bones in his face, he stopped what certainly would have been his death by placing the muzzle of a S&W .44 Magnum revolver into the bear's brisket, and emptying it as quickly as possible. Firing by feel, while laying on his back with his face in the boar's jaws. He spent a week or so in the hospital, with his jaws wired shut to heal. Had significant plastic surgery - facial reconstruction. Actually came out of it looking pretty good. His face isn't quite as well balanced as it was prior to the mauling.

I've learned to recognize surviving Alaskan bear mauling victims by their facial scars and multiple hair parts due to the bear tearing through their scalps. Some look like they're wearing multiple hair pieces. I've met four different Alaskan's whose heads, faces, and scalps have been torn up during bear maulings. And seen pictures of more over the past 45 years.

When I carry a sidearm for BIG bear protection, it's a revolver. A 454 Casull or a 500 S&W.

While returning to recover the meat off of a downed game carcass, I'll carry my Remington 870 pump action shotgun, if I have it available.

I'd use an AR-15 if I was in a firefight with a bunch of gooks carrying semi-autos. Bears don't carry semi-autos. So my preference against a close quarters charging bear; 1) pump action shotgun, 2) heavy caliber bolt rifle. I only carry revolvers as bear protection for their convenience, like when walking out to the toitie in hunting camp, or walking the 1/2 mile to retrieve my mail. Would never go into a knowingly dangerous bear encounter with only a revolver.