Alaska hunt...

as i said to my son-do you really think you had a chance against 4 (w/ 5 or 6 shots) grizzlies IF they wanted a piece of you? Not going out alone pays more dividends than most sidearms, although the 10 semis et. al. hold a lot more rounds!!
 
the short bbl revolvers are for closer-than-desired encounters. i'd go w/ the high-capacity semi and start using the rifle to scare 'em off farther out, if they were coming...
 
Hi fellows!
Thanks for the answers!!!
The matter is, here, iin my country, sole people uses the 300 win mag and
they squint at the 308win which uses the same bullet but at a slower speed as if it isn't as effective at normal hunting range.
I see that beans are cooked everywhere! But that many trust (as also happens here) in the skill with the rifle and the comfort of use more than in the power of the shot
I use some times all the calibers named in this post, i love the 338win... but, my rifle and shot, ARE the 308win...

so far, it has shown me that what doesn't die with a 308 shot, doesn't exist, at least in medium game
Obviously, for bigger game, bigger rifle...
I've known several people to start with a 338 WM and 300 WM and then after a couple/few years moved to a 308 or 30-06 for their day to day hunting. There's of a lot of moose, caribou, sheep and deer that has ended up in the freezer by the unpretentious 308 up here. Use the right bullet and put it in the right spot and it will go down quickly.
 
If you have specific questions, feel free to ask. I've been here over 25 years. I don't have all the answers but I have a few. ;-) Best of wishes in your planning.
 
I think that if I was worried about bears while fishing I would have a 12 ga loaded with slugs slung over my shoulder while fishing.

Very few people are efficient enough with a pistol to be able to place the bullets into the correct spot on a bear, and the last thing that one would want is a wounded bear close enough that you could use a pistol on.

It is as a guide I had up in British Colombia told me while I was on my grizzly hunt. He had a 44 magnum in a chest holster and I asked him what he planned on doing with it encase a bear charged. He calmly said that he planned on shoving the pistol into the bears mouth and pulling the trigger 6 times.
The Lovely Mrs Freefall and I were at our favoured fishing hole one day, I was carrying my Super Blackhawk, when we encountered a 10" wide front pawprint that was filling with water.
"Wholly crap" I remarked, "what are we going to do if this things still IN the track with this little popgun?"
So the next time we went fishing I left my pistol home and took my 12 ga. I laid it down and started fishing. Then I took a few steps downstream and cast again. After about 20 minutes i heard something large coming towards me through the brush. I looked upstream and saw my shotgun about 60 yds away.
"Oh Lord" I thought, "if I live through the next 5 minutes I will never fish without my pistol again!"
And I have not.
 
The Lovely Mrs Freefall and I were at our favoured fishing hole one day, I was carrying my Super Blackhawk, when we encountered a 10" wide front pawprint that was filling with water.
"Wholly crap" I remarked, "what are we going to do if this things still IN the track with this little popgun?"
So the next time we went fishing I left my pistol home and took my 12 ga. I laid it down and started fishing. Then I took a few steps downstream and cast again. After about 20 minutes i heard something large coming towards me through the brush. I looked upstream and saw my shotgun about 60 yds away.
"Oh Lord" I thought, "if I live through the next 5 minutes I will never fish without my pistol again!"
And I have not.

That's where you need a sling so that you can have it right there on your back at all times.

I can just imagine the feeling looking at that shotgun laying on the grass with a bear between me and the shotgun.
 
If you have specific questions, feel free to ask. I've been here over 25 years. I don't have all the answers but I have a few. ;-) Best of wishes in your planning.
Hi Tundra Tiger, thanks & I’ll go 1st … not bashful on tapping 25-yrs of Know Power, when can we start our planning for a DIY Moose Hunt? :sneaky:

HEHEHE _______ 1/2 kidding!
 
My offer is serious :A Big Hello:... if folks have questions, I'm happy to try to answer. There are certainly folks who have a lot more experience, but I'm no greenhorn. Even with living here, I've done a fair amount of fly-outs to hunt stuff, so I feel like I have some notions about how to go about that.

@JimP ... Had that very thing happen to someone I know here a few weeks back. Fortunately the bear was entirely disinterested.
 
375 HH with good bullet. The only animal in AK which may require the extra margin afforded by the 375 is a big bear. May require is the key phrase. You may go years without needing anything bigger than a decent 30 cal. But.... and it's the but that can get you or cause headaches.

If you can shoot the 375 well, it is capable of decent trajectory out to normal hunting ranges. Ballistically comparable to the 30-06 with normal bullets for each. If you like to snipe hunt at long range, then there are better calibers. However, big bear long range sniping is not at all recommended anyway. :)
 
Hi fellows!
Thanks for the answers!!!
The matter is, here, iin my country, sole people uses the 300 win mag and
they squint at the 308win which uses the same bullet but at a slower speed as if it isn't as effective at normal hunting range.
I see that beans are cooked everywhere! But that many trust (as also happens here) in the skill with the rifle and the comfort of use more than in the power of the shot
I use some times all the calibers named in this post, i love the 338win... but, my rifle and shot, ARE the 308win...

so far, it has shown me that what doesn't die with a 308 shot, doesn't exist, at least in medium game
Obviously, for bigger game, bigger rifle...
Seen a 308 stuck in the front shoulder of many a plains game in Africa. Happened again this year.
 
That's where you need a sling so that you can have it right there on your back at all times.

I can just imagine the feeling looking at that shotgun laying on the grass with a bear between me and the shotgun.
If a long gun is just slung over one shoulder, it's not stable enough for me to fish with it. If it's slung diagonal, it's not very accessible for a klutz like me.
 
I’m the last person anyone should ask the one caliber question
After a fair bit of hunting up here I’ve figured out that I could have saved a lot of money if I’d only bought a stainless 30-06 and learned how to shoot it.
30-06 for the all round win !

CA4391B2-4A02-4B59-B87A-6AE96DA284C1.jpeg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
@Tundra Tiger … thx for the AK ‘boots on the ground’ offer to assist w/ Intel sharing. I am definitely interested to hear more on your fly out hunting adventures & critical preplanning Do’s & Dont’s … I’ll drop you a PM & we can exchange email addresses. Thx!
 
@Marcos Rodriguez what @BRICKBURN said.

Regarding bears, generally speaking Black Bears are more dangerous than Brown Bears. It is extremely rare for a Brown Bear to kill someone. Even maulings are rare. They occur because you are doing something the Brown Bear doesn't like. Stop doing that and the Brown Bear will quit and leave. If a mauling is about to begin lay flat on the ground face down, cross your legs and interlace your fingers behind your neck. Don't make a sound and don't move.

The last few years Black Bears have actually been hunting, killing and eating humans up here. Not many, but that is significantly different behavior than Brown Bears. Obviously if you are being eaten fight to the death, either yours or its.

Regarding handguns for bear defense, two most common up here are the 10mm and the 354 Casull. If you want to use a 10mm two things:

1. Use a Glock. It's old fashioned but they just run. The varsity team runs Glocks- there is a reason.
2. Practice a lot. The recoil of a 10mm is significantly greater than a 9mm and if you allow any muzzle flip there is a good chance the spent case won't fully eject.

Bear spray does two things.

1. Blows back in your face incapacitating you. Think about it. If the wind is at your back, the bear already knows you are there, so unless its hunting you it will disappear, probably without you even knowing it was there. If the wind is in your face, the bear can't smell you, that's when you are likely to surprise it unless you've been making noise. Deploy bear spray and which direction is it going?
2. It makes you taste better. Who here doesn't prefer some spice on their hamburger or steak.

A few years ago there was a gentleman killed and eaten by bears. Multiple expended bear spray containers were found near his remains. Both Black and Brown Bear tracks were at the scene. AF&G wasn't able to determine which started the attack. My money is on the Black Bear.
 
If a long gun is just slung over one shoulder, it's not stable enough for me to fish with it. If it's slung diagonal, it's not very accessible for a klutz like me.
You have to figure that you are not looking for speed but availability
 
If a long gun is just slung over one shoulder, it's not stable enough for me to fish with it. If it's slung diagonal, it's not very accessible for a klutz like me.
Still better than 60yds away though?
Do not have the sling tight, but a bit loose.
 
If you are afraid of bears but not hunting them, better off with a big canister of bear spray along with bear avoidance and behavior knowledge then take your regular hunting rifle. Seems like a lot of these threads and questions are done in search of an opinion that agrees with the original question. :) All around for AK hard to beat a 300 WM or 338 WM with good bullet. Basic 308 with good bullets will work fine for the game you are likely to hunt- just guessing... caribou, deer, moose, black bear and goat or sheep if you have the coin. :)
 
So the next time we went fishing I left my pistol home and took my 12 ga. I laid it down and started fishing. Then I took a few steps downstream and cast again. After about 20 minutes i heard something large coming towards me through the brush. I looked upstream and saw my shotgun about 60 yds away.
"Oh Lord" I thought, "if I live through the next 5 minutes I will never fish without my pistol again!"
Freefall,

i have read on this thread and heard many times that the people will "take a shotgun, it is more effective than a handgun!" that is true, and always ends up with a story like yours above. they set it down somewhere (it is just going to happen) and then they need it and don't have it. a "guides choice" holster (leather) is the answer to all things regarding carrying a large hand gun, it is a chest rig and the best way to carry wearing waders, a pack, rowing a raft, etc. carry a handgun thats caliber starts with a 4....41, 44, 454 etc. shooting a bear at very close range is a bad deal, but better than not having a gun and better than a shotgun leaning on your raft 30 yards away.

re: the OP, generally overall some good advice. a 3006 or 300 win mag are great choices for most game. (stainless, it WILL GET WET!!) i carried a 338 win mag for a long time, when ruger came out with the 375 stainless alaskan, i bought one and was never sorry i did. it can shoot very flat with lighter bullets, is handy, affordable, tough and stainless! more than needed or wanted for mountain hunting sheep and goats, but for everything else works great. recoil is surprisingly to me, not bad. (i do use a tikka t3 30 06 for my mountain hunting)

@BRICKBURN observation was correct tho, depends on what and where you are hunting.
 
Hello Marcos and others,

In advance I apologize for the length of this rant.
But it’s raining all day here where I live and I can’t get outdoors to work around my house.
So, I’m drinking espresso and typing (lucky you guys). LoL.

Calibers for Alaska:
I like very much the .375 H&H for both Alaska and Africa alike.
However, the good old .30-06 is very popular in Alaska (in Africa as well) and it has been reliably taking all species of Alaska game animals for over 100 years.
I have used both calibers here and over in Africa, with perfect results.

Alaska Bears:
I have lived in Alaska for just a tic over 40 years now and I have had many “close range” encounters with grizzly (aka: so called “brown” bears), black bears and a very few polar bears.
Close range in this case being under 100 meters, many times way closer than that.

Most of my close range bear encounters have been with grizzly, due to my love of fly fishing for trout and salmon.
This of course involves camping near and walking along remote rivers and creeks, with fly rod in hand.
Also, I’ve been dispatched to quite a few problem bears (grizzly and sometimes polar), during my years of being a bear guard on the oil field.
My employer sent me to a school to learn about bear behavior and how to interact with problem bears.

Likewise, I have bumped into grizzlies, while deer hunting and while caribou hunting both.
Once a grizzly took a caribou away from me that I had shot, out past the village of King Salmon, Alaska.

Furthermore, I have worked as a bear guard on photography and research ships, voyaging to Siberia and the far north, true Arctic environment.
I would go out in the ice with photographers and biologists, armed with pepper spray, flare gun (issued by my employer who maybe had never seen a bear).
I prefer the flare gun as a less lethal option, instead of the pepper spray.

And my firearm of choice was always my .375 H&H, iron sights and 300 gr A-Frame ammunition.
But on one voyage, my employer (on the South Korean ice breaker Aaron), insisted that I carry a shotgun instead of my rifle.

So, I carried a Remington Model 870 Magnum, 20 inch barrel and iron sights, loaded with a single 2&3/4 inch, rubber buckshot cartridge for the first round and then, all cartridges following were 3 inch Brenneke rifled slugs after that.
As for pepper spray, I like the idea of having more than one tool in my kit, when dealing with bears.
However as mentioned, the flare gun is my choice instead of pepper spray.

Last but not least, my house is although inside the city limits of Anchorage (300,000 to 350,000 population), it is in the woods.
As such, we have black bears visiting several times each summer and occasionally grizzly too (less commonly but also wolf, wolverine and lynx as well).

The point of this long tedious rant is that, I have not yet had to kill a bear.
My multiple experiences with them have left me with the opinion that, bears are very similar to dogs.
While walking about your neighborhood, most dogs will not attack you.
In fact most dogs probably don’t really care about us passing humans, unless we have food they can smell or, if we behave in some offensive way toward them.
A very unusual exception might be if we encounter a starving dog, so desperate that it could be willing to risk death by attacking us to eat our flesh (highly unusual but remotely possible).
However, it is the odd angry “criminal mindset” dog or bear that attacks without provocation, because that’s what criminals do.

In my many experiences with bears, they seem to regard us about the same as neighborhood dogs.
Most (most) have little to no interest in us.
I have stood in knee deep water, catching char (a type of trout) and silver salmon (aka: coho salmon), where the O’Malley river empties into Karluk Lake, on Kodiak Island, with multiple grizzlies also in the water, catching fish on either side of my location.
They paid little to no attention to me personally.

But each time I caught a fish, I had to play it gently, in hopes it wouldn’t splash very much.
On Kodiak, Afognak and other large Alaska islands, as well as along various streams on mainland, Alaska, I have either had bears take splashing fish from my line or from fishing companion’s lines, before we could bring the fish to hand for a photo and unhooking it to release.
If one or more bears are close while I’m fishing, I do not try to retain and carry a fish back to camp for my eating.
It’s likely to arouse the bear’s instinct to take it away from a lesser animal (me).
Also, I always begin gradually fishing my way from any bear/s that want my fishing spot, no problem.

Anyway, after all is said and done, do not lose sleep worrying about being attacked by bears in Alaska.
It could happen but it is not very likely at all.
You’re probably more likely to be struck by lightning while hunting or fishing in North Dakota, eastern Montana, etc.

Just study up on bear behavior and if you see one, act accordingly polite in bear terms, up here in the far north.
Also, bring at least a .30-06 and 180 grain or heavier bullets for whatever you are hunting here.
If you are unlucky enough to be the exception to the rule and a bear actually tries to bite you, (again, very unlikely), do shoot your .30-06 straight (brain or spine) and I predict that you will prevail.

That said, although I am not particularly afraid of bears, nonetheless I have huge respect for these pre-ice age monsters ability to snap me like a stale bread stick, in the event I bump into the odd angry “criminal” bear one of these years.
Therefore, my favorite rifle for Alaska is the same as for Africa’s so called plains game.
It is the .375 H&H.
With 300 grain bullets, it is a lot less destructive on meat when shooting smallish animals, such as duiker and black tail deer.
Yet by reputation, it will crumple charging grizzly and lion alike.

Unfortunately, Winchester has quit making their stainless steel / plastic stock model 70 which, was possibly the best affordable to all hunters, rainy / snowy weather and sea spray resistant hunting rifle, world wide.
They might still make it in .338 Winchester caliber which, indeed is another wonderful cartridge for Alaska, Canada, Africa, etc., etc.
The stainless steel Ruger that 1dirthawker uses here in Alaska while guiding bear hunters is another great rifle for our often wet.
I’d like to see Ruger start making that rifle with an H&H length action.

Cheers,
Velo Dog.
 
You will be hunting in EXTREMELY wet and salty conditions. So Kevlar/Hogue/synthetic stocks and stainless steel barrels are a huge plus point here. However, I hunted there with a traditional wooden stocked blued barreled pre ‘64 Winchester Model 70 in .338 Winchester Magnum and the rifle didn’t incur any damage. But this was mainly because I have a habit of routinely cleaning and oiling all the firearms I use, on a daily basis. I used to give the rifle a good cleaning and oiling after every hunt upon returning to camp.

As for caliber, back when I first hunted in Alaska in 1975 … the .338 Winchester Magnum was almost universally accepted by Alaskan hunters as the all round rifle caliber of choice. The most popular Alaskan load for this caliber, was Winchester’s 300Gr Power Point (now unfortunately discontinued). In the last 20 years however, the .338 has lost favor and been almost completely superseded by the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum. Whenever I hunt in Alaska (the most recent time being 2019), I always prefer a .338 Winchester Magnum if my guide has one to spare. However, any of the following three would fit the bill very nicely:
- .338 Winchester Magnum
- 9.3x62mm Mauser
- .375 Holland & Holland Magnum

Loaded with Swift A Frames or Nosler Partitions (heavy for caliber, as always).
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
53,626
Messages
1,131,449
Members
92,687
Latest member
JohnT3006
 

 

 

Latest profile posts

Impact shots from the last hunt

Early morning Impala hunt, previous link was wrong video

Headshot on jackal this morning

Mature Eland Bull taken in Tanzania, at 100 yards, with 375 H&H, 300gr, Federal Premium Expanding bullet.

20231012_145809~2.jpg
 
Top