30-06 for brown bear
03-09-2003, 09:03 AM
#22
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Texas - BUT NOW in Madison County, NY
Posts: 6,270
RE: 30-06 for brown bear
The ' 06 is certainly capable of killing brown bear. One of the largest ever taken was killed with a M95 Winchester in .30/40 Krag. Use premium bullets of 200 or 220 grains, and place your shots exactly!!
03-09-2003, 07:49 PM
#23
Fork Horn
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Anchorage, AK
Posts: 373
RE: 30-06 for brown bear
I got a 35 whelen just prior to moving here to alaska and if I had it to do over again would have gotten a 338 WM. The 338 is very popular and ammo availablity is much better than the 35 whelen. This is not a big deal to me because I reload but on the odd chance I was away from home and needed 35 whelen ammo I' m sure I would be screwed. You can find 338 and 30/06 ammo at most places and either would be up to the job. As one person stated above, it really likes to rain up here. Did I mention it rains almost every day. Get a nice stainless 338 win mag with a 1.5-5 or 2-8x very good scope, or another good choice for the big bears is the 45/70 or 450 marlin lever action. They are nice and compact and would be good for the thick brush often encountered while hunting brown bears.
03-09-2003, 10:29 PM
#24
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Posts: 1,964
RE: 30-06 for brown bear
Just skimming the thread so far -- interesting correlation:
Most of the " Yeah, go get a Coastal Brownie with your 30-06 --- great round --- it' ll do it good" votes appear to be coming from the lower 48 and with a high concentration coming from east of the Mississippi. (Not counting any " geo-secretive" posters)
Not one such entry from Alaska (so far). The Alaskan posts all seem to " encourage" using a " tool" that is a bit more in line with the task, with the 338WinMag mentioned frequently and the 45-70 Guide Gun as an obvious consideration.
What do you think? Is there a possiblity that the Alaskans are applying a bit less theory and have a bit less emotional attachment to granddaddy' s deer rifle and instead are simply using more first hand experience with HUGE fanged critters that BOTH dwarf whitetails AND can hunt you back? I think so.
P.S. Not taking anything away from you fine folks East of the Mississippi who responded on the " go with something stronger" side. Some heavy duty hunting camps in my Elk hunting area from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, and Mississippi -- all pretty well gunned to the task at hand.
Never Go Undergunned,
EKM
Most of the " Yeah, go get a Coastal Brownie with your 30-06 --- great round --- it' ll do it good" votes appear to be coming from the lower 48 and with a high concentration coming from east of the Mississippi. (Not counting any " geo-secretive" posters)
Not one such entry from Alaska (so far). The Alaskan posts all seem to " encourage" using a " tool" that is a bit more in line with the task, with the 338WinMag mentioned frequently and the 45-70 Guide Gun as an obvious consideration.
What do you think? Is there a possiblity that the Alaskans are applying a bit less theory and have a bit less emotional attachment to granddaddy' s deer rifle and instead are simply using more first hand experience with HUGE fanged critters that BOTH dwarf whitetails AND can hunt you back? I think so.
P.S. Not taking anything away from you fine folks East of the Mississippi who responded on the " go with something stronger" side. Some heavy duty hunting camps in my Elk hunting area from Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, and Mississippi -- all pretty well gunned to the task at hand.
Never Go Undergunned,
EKM
03-10-2003, 05:02 AM
#25
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Gleason, TN
Posts: 1,327
RE: 30-06 for brown bear
Well, first the question was, " I have a 30-06, will it work?" And the answer is yes is will kill a bear but it isn' t by any means the best suited to the job.
Then we threw " I think I' ll buy another gun for this" , that adds a whole new dimension onto the question since now you choice of gun is only limited to how much you want to spend.
I think most people agree that you should use the best caliber you can come by. The .338 is pretty versatile. If NEF made them in they' re handi rifle, I would have one right now.
Then we threw " I think I' ll buy another gun for this" , that adds a whole new dimension onto the question since now you choice of gun is only limited to how much you want to spend.
I think most people agree that you should use the best caliber you can come by. The .338 is pretty versatile. If NEF made them in they' re handi rifle, I would have one right now.
03-10-2003, 07:10 AM
#26
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Texas - BUT NOW in Madison County, NY
Posts: 6,270
RE: 30-06 for brown bear
Well, I spent three years in Alaska, as much of it as possible hunting bears. But, here I' ll go back to Bob Ruark' s advice " use enough gun" , but change that slightly to " use as much gun as you can shoot well" . If you have been using your ' 06 for years, and can hit a silver dollar with it at 100 yards, like old Bell could do with his 7X57, then I' d have to say, don' t go to a bigger gun now, unless you have time enough to become pretty proficient with it before going hunting!!
I once observed two Texans who flew into the Copper River valley to shoot brown bears. Both were armed with the .375 H&H. The flying service dropped them off on a nice beach, and they went up to a little higher ground to pitch their tent, so they could start hunting the next day. That evening, as they sat in front of their campfire waiting for dawn to come so they could legally start hunting, they heard some sounds coming from the alder bushes about 50 yards away. All of a sudden, they saw the barrel-keg sized head of a brown bear staring down at them from over the top of the 7 feet-tall alder bushes! Our heroes scrambled into their tent, loaded their rifles, and spent the next five days inside the tent, waiting for the plane to come get them, and did not budge from the tent until the plane arrived. The pilot told me he was amazed to see, when he returned to get the hunters, that there were no tracks in the snow leading away from the camp, and he thought something horrible had happened to his clients until they told him they had decided that their .375' s were way too small to shoot anything as big as that bear, and were just hoping he would not come to their tent to welcome them to the neighborhood!!
I once observed two Texans who flew into the Copper River valley to shoot brown bears. Both were armed with the .375 H&H. The flying service dropped them off on a nice beach, and they went up to a little higher ground to pitch their tent, so they could start hunting the next day. That evening, as they sat in front of their campfire waiting for dawn to come so they could legally start hunting, they heard some sounds coming from the alder bushes about 50 yards away. All of a sudden, they saw the barrel-keg sized head of a brown bear staring down at them from over the top of the 7 feet-tall alder bushes! Our heroes scrambled into their tent, loaded their rifles, and spent the next five days inside the tent, waiting for the plane to come get them, and did not budge from the tent until the plane arrived. The pilot told me he was amazed to see, when he returned to get the hunters, that there were no tracks in the snow leading away from the camp, and he thought something horrible had happened to his clients until they told him they had decided that their .375' s were way too small to shoot anything as big as that bear, and were just hoping he would not come to their tent to welcome them to the neighborhood!!
03-10-2003, 07:55 AM
#27
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Posts: 1,964
RE: 30-06 for brown bear
Elde,
What a great story! Two green horns, in the middle of the wilderness, on an unguided " do it yourself" hunt for the the biggest carnivores on the N/A continent! What a classic. The " steel" in your hands is one thing, and of course the " steel" in your mind is another. Best neither fail when it comes showtime with the big boys!
What would have they done if they had shot and killed something? With no expertise there to guide them would they have known what to do with it? Sounds like they could have had their favorite deer rifles in their hands and it would have netted the same result -- frozen with fear. All things considered - given they apparently realized they were in WAAAAAAY over their head -- their staying in camp was probably a pretty smart idea. I' m sure they were embarassed, but at least they returned home to their families in one piece.
Man' s gotta know his limitations! (Dirty Harry) And if you don' t know your limitations -- hire a guide!
Look at the size of that thing, I don' t think we' re in the local deer patch anymore Todo! (Dorothy)
Never Go Undergunned (mentally or firearms),
EKM
What a great story! Two green horns, in the middle of the wilderness, on an unguided " do it yourself" hunt for the the biggest carnivores on the N/A continent! What a classic. The " steel" in your hands is one thing, and of course the " steel" in your mind is another. Best neither fail when it comes showtime with the big boys!
What would have they done if they had shot and killed something? With no expertise there to guide them would they have known what to do with it? Sounds like they could have had their favorite deer rifles in their hands and it would have netted the same result -- frozen with fear. All things considered - given they apparently realized they were in WAAAAAAY over their head -- their staying in camp was probably a pretty smart idea. I' m sure they were embarassed, but at least they returned home to their families in one piece.
Man' s gotta know his limitations! (Dirty Harry) And if you don' t know your limitations -- hire a guide!
Look at the size of that thing, I don' t think we' re in the local deer patch anymore Todo! (Dorothy)
Never Go Undergunned (mentally or firearms),
EKM
03-10-2003, 05:54 PM
#28
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: AK
Posts: 252
RE: 30-06 for brown bear
I' m scratching my head wondering what two Texans (non-residents) are doing hunting grizzly bear without a guide. Since no guide was mentioned in the story, it is obvious they were hunting illegally.[
]
When was it you spent three years in AK?
]When was it you spent three years in AK?
03-11-2003, 02:29 AM
#29
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 41
RE: 30-06 for brown bear
ELKampMaster, I really appreciate your responses. As well as all the others. Just wanted to let everyone know that I did go to the gun shop and bought A 338 sako. Shot it for the first time today,oooooouch. I must admit it is a handful, I have never shot a rifle that powerful before, never needed to. Nothing around here needs more than my 06. But to be honest, I am a little shakey thinking about those big powerful bears. And I feel like I need all the gun I can handle for them. I will be shooting everyday that I possibly can between now and next fall, when the hunt takes place in ak. To get to know my new cannon. I did notice as was said earlier in this post, that most hunters in the lower 48 did vote for the 06 while the rest voted for a bigger caliber. Didnt want anyone to feel like their advice was not taken into consideration. But my life could be on the line here, thats why I chose the 338. Dont worry, I will have mastered that cannon before this fall.By the way I am shooting 250 grain bullets[noslier partition] and feel very confident in the set-up. Keep the advice coming, to a greenhorn every little bit helps DAKOTA NUT 5.
03-11-2003, 04:50 AM
#30
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: AK
Posts: 252
RE: 30-06 for brown bear
dakota nut 5,
First of all, congrats on the new rifle. I don' t own a Sako, let alone shot one yet, but I' ve heard many good things from them from other posters who praise those guns. On the recoil issue, I don' t know what Sako has for a buttpad, but I would install a 1" decelerator pad. I got one on my semi-custom Model 70 338 Win. Mag. and it does wonders in the recoil department.
Those Nosler Partition' s 250 grain bullets will put a bear in his place fast with good judgement and proper shot placement. Did you get those High Energy Nosler' s?
Just remember, if you do get a bear in your sights, keep shooting until he ain' t moving, and even when he ain' t moving, shoot him again. Alot cheaper to stitch a bear hide than yourself. Good luck!
First of all, congrats on the new rifle. I don' t own a Sako, let alone shot one yet, but I' ve heard many good things from them from other posters who praise those guns. On the recoil issue, I don' t know what Sako has for a buttpad, but I would install a 1" decelerator pad. I got one on my semi-custom Model 70 338 Win. Mag. and it does wonders in the recoil department.
Those Nosler Partition' s 250 grain bullets will put a bear in his place fast with good judgement and proper shot placement. Did you get those High Energy Nosler' s?
Just remember, if you do get a bear in your sights, keep shooting until he ain' t moving, and even when he ain' t moving, shoot him again. Alot cheaper to stitch a bear hide than yourself.
Good luck!