7 PRC for costal brown bears?

[BowMan86]

I have personally seen two brown bears taken with a 30-06. Neither one made it more than 60 yards. Good shot placement and bullet selection and your 7 PRC will be fine. Make a poor shot or poor bullet choice maybe not.

 

[Ecampbell25]

Haha awesome thanks a bunch. Know any good sheep spots lol you want to share…@marlinsdad?

 

[Mojave]

3 thoughts. And a huge long disertation on calibers.

I lived in Barrow, Sitka, Anchorage and Fairbanks. I have killed exactly zero bears.

I would not hunt brown bears without a back up hunter with a 7mm. Get the biggest rifle you can shoot well.

The 416 Remington, 416 Ruger, 458 Winchester and so on probably have too much recoil for you to want to practice and will be heavier.

If you are going to be by yourself or with a buddy. A big rifle 375 H&H/375 Ruger whatever is a good option. Another great option is the 9.3x62/9.3x64 rounds from Europe. There are Sako, Tikka, CZ, Rugers and other rifles available in that caliber and ammunition is available in Anchorage. Probably at Sportsmans in Wasilla as well. The other classic Alaska bear smasher is the 358 Norma.

The 9.3x62 shoots a 250-300 grain bullet about 100 FPS slower than the 375 Ruger/375 H&H do. Terminal performance is very similar. The 9.3x62 is based on the 30-06 so you get 5 in the magazine. Hornady, Remington, Winchester, RWS, Norma, Lapua there is a ton of ammo for it.

The 9.3x64 is a rare cat, but I have seen them for sale in Alaska. I think they were old Sauer or Steyr rifles. The 9.3x64 ammo is also harder to find. Only RWS and Brenneke make ammo for the 9.3x64.

Only Norma makes 358 Norma ammo. Factory rifles would be of Scandanavian manufacture. Schultz Larsen, Sako, Husqvarna. Not super common at all. Classical Yukon and Alaska bear smasher.

Alaskan Eskimos hunt Polar Bears with a 223.

 

[Ecampbell25]

Mojave thanks for your input. Maybe I’ll start talking the better 3/4s into a bigger caliber.

Funny you mention ammo. I’ve looked at bass pro in anchorage and sportsmen in wasilla for 338 and 375 and they had zero boxes.

But they did have 7 PRC and everything else except the big bores.

It’s probably time I start reloading anyway.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Timjohnson11]

I used a 300 PRC on my peninsula hunt. Worked great.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Yes thanks for the response. I was talking to a guide and he told me the minimum caliber they let clients shoot them with is 338 win

Guides don't like tracking wounded bears. For me it's the bigger the better. But I do agree, it's all about shot placement.

 

[Hackleback]

Back in the day, many carried 338 WM in SE AK. I suspect there is still quite a few around and ammo is likely available most places. Long barreled rifles in SE are a hassle as it is thick.

 

[EdP]

I wonder how many hunters had guides push them into using a gun bigger than they could shoot well instead of the .30-06 they had been shooting well for years. That would just feed the notion that hunters from the lower 48 can't shoot so need to bring a bigger gun.

 

[Mojave]

I don't want to be bear poop. That is why I suggest bigger calibers.

 

[Mojave]

A 30-06 with a 180-220 grain Swift A-Frame or Nosler Partition is a great choice. Holds 5 rounds, and the bullets penetrate.

Any bullets that do not penetrate is a bad choice.

Read the book Ask the Bear Guides. Or just call Alaskan bear guides and ask what they shoot.

 

[Mojave]

Not saying you can't kill one with a 7mm PRC or any other 7mm. You need a bullet that penetrates.

 

[VernAK]

First I'd consider rifle reliability......is it going to go bang every time?.......cycle all ammo through the gun before the trip.......then does it fit you like a fine bird gun?..........don't hang a bunch of crap on the rifle; ammo pouches, bipods etc as they hang up on clothes and brush. If you get it full of volcanic ash on AKPEN, can you strip the firing pin from the bolt and rinse it in the river?.........Is the floor plate going to flop open or the magazine going to drop out?.......Where's Joe Want when we need him?

 

[MarlinsDad]

All the areas I found sheep they weren’t legal to hunt that’s why they were there

 

[Ecampbell25]

First I'd consider rifle reliability......is it going to go bang every time?.......cycle all ammo through the gun before the trip.......then does it fit you like a fine bird gun?..........don't hang a bunch of crap on the rifle; ammo pouches, bipods etc as they hang up on clothes and brush. If you get it full of volcanic ash on AKPEN, can you strip the firing pin from the bolt and rinse it in the river?.........Is the floor plate going to flop open or the magazine going to drop out?.......Where's Joe Want when we need him?

So I built this custom 7 prc on a controlled round feed action. Bolt will come out and I am able to clean it.

Still waiting to get it back from GA precision… so I will make sure it cycles properly. Appreciate you vernAK

 

[Ecampbell25]

All the areas I found sheep they weren’t legal to hunt that’s why they were there

Sounds about right…

 

[Castmaster]

Why not just get a 300 wsm or 300 win mag and shoot 180gr, 200gr, or 220gr partitions.

 

[QuackAttack]

You should shoot it through the shoulder at 500 yards with a 223 and Sierra matchkings.

Just uniform the flash hole and send it from a Tika. That increases the killing power at least 300%.

 

[gbflyer]

There’s an old book called “The Cheechakos” by Wayne Short. They ended up living at Baranof but started out on Admiralty. They shot a lot of bears, both in DLP and otherwise. 30-06 with 180gr bullet. It’s a really good book, if you can find a copy it’s worth the read.

 

[EdP]

DLP???

I found and ordered the book, still available in limited quantities. Sounds interesting.

 

[gbflyer]

DLP???

I found and ordered the book, still available in limited quantities. Sounds interesting.

Defense of Life and Property. That’s what Alaskans tell the brown shirt when Mr Bear eats your chickens. . Glad you found the book. It’s worth it.