Big Kodak Bear or Kamchatka Bear calibers

[BeastOfTheTrees]

.338 Lapua Mag or RUM, or the .375 Ruger or H&H or Weatherby Mag

anyone got experience with these rounds? Huge fan of the .300 Weatherby Mag just have never shot bigger

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Why not a .340 Weatherby mag? Similar to the Lapua, but with that weatherby style!

When you are face to face with one, no rifle feels big enough, but a lot of Kodiak bears have fallen to .300s and .338s

 

[thinhorn_AK]

375HH with no hesitation if it were me choosing. Get something stainless with CRF and dont look back.

 

[hodgeman]

375H&H or .375RUG are tough to beat for big stuff anywhere it's found.

 

[Steve O]

I have a few friends that are guides. They like to see .375 H&H with 250g Barnes or Hornady GMX. That’s exactly what I’m going to work up for my H&H.

 

[Stid2677]

Hard to beat the 375H&H for dangerous game,, flat shooting, hard hitting and the shoulder design makes them feed reliably. Also ammo is widely available if needed to replace lost ammo.

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

I’m guna start getting together information to have one built by a local custom guy that impresses me towards the end of winter/early spring.... just beginning the research

 

[wildwilderness]

375 ruger is slightly shorter, shorter action, and faster, more power than the HH version. With Bears most guidance is don’t shoot closer than 50 or farther than 200. So the big long mags are wasted, especially with a shorter barrel. 20” is better for the alders and blood trailing. If you feel the 375 isn’t enough go 416 ruger!

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

375 ruger is slightly shorter, shorter action, and faster, more power than the HH version. With Bears most guidance is don’t shoot closer than 50 or farther than 200. So the big long mags are wasted, especially with a shorter barrel. 20” is better for the alders and blood trailing. If you feel the 375 isn’t enough go 416 ruger!

Thanks for the info, larger than .300 and it’s new to me

 

[SkunkCabbage]

375H&H for the sol reason if you are flying remote to say Russia, you can probably track some down. Nothing against the 375 Ruger but what if your ammo doesn’t arrive...

 

[Wapiti1]

.375 Ruger of the choices listed. A .416 won't feel small, but does kick a lot harder. The 9.3X62 isn't sexy, but would be a good choice as well. For dangerous game you want something that has enough oomph, but is controllable for followup shots. It's a pretty good arguement that the .375 is never a bad choice, though.

I know a few guides for big bears and they would rather you bring a 30-06 you shoot well than a .375 you are secretly terrified of.

Jeremy

 

[Anello]

I love Weatherby cartridges, albeit with limited experience. So, the .340 or the .375 would be sweet. The .375 H&H is an obvious choice given its popularity and more tolerable recoil. I've owned a .338 LaPua and I'm not crazy about that cartridge for hunting.

An alternative thought, I shoot a 35 Whelen that paints with 225 TSX and 250 grain partitions. Recoil is very tolerable and follow up shots would be easier. But, I've never hunted Brown Bears, so would defer to anything that the guides recommend.

 

[wildwilderness]

It doesn't appear you are afraid of recoil or big cartridges? Bears aren't considered thick skinned by Africa standards so many of the Standard Medium bores work well at normal hunting distances. I bet more have been killed with the old 30-06 than any other.

From a personal preference as mentioned I like short compact rifles, especially in close quarters. So the standard Long Action for '06 case is as long as I would go. Many of the Magnum cartridges, including the H&H need the extra length, then a long barrel to burn powder etc.

There was a cartridge designed for just that purpose- the 376 Steyr and the line of Steyr Scout Rifles. Never really took off though, but still able to find components.

The 375 Ruger was designed to fit in an '06 length action and out perform the H&H. It also meets the .375 cal minimum for dangerous game in Africa if you ever decided to go. the 416 Ruger is the same case necked up. The good standby .338 win mag is also a shorter case than the 300 WM, and has killed many brown bears.

As mentioned there are a number of time tested medium bores that would work well - 338-06 a-square, 35 Whelen (I would do the Ackley version to avoid and 'headspace' issues) and the popular in Europe and Africa 9.3x62 mauser.

 

[Jacack]

375 Ruger, I have one and while I haven't taken a big bear yet it has been a awesome round.

For elk and moose it's a hammer with some 260 accubonds.

Loaded with 235 barnes its damn good too.

I even shot some whitetail with cast bullets and trail boss loaded way down just for fun.

That said I bought a 416 Ruger too but man thats a violent recoil with 400grn cast. Not bad standing but sighting in off the bench was eye opening.

 

[jacknifejc]

Another vote for the .375 H&H. The Kimber Talkeetna is a great choice.

 

[Treerat-sniper]

Several years back I bought a Win 70 in .375 H&H with a brown bear hunt in mind (still hasn't happened yet). If I ever win the lotto, possibly Africa. The convenient part is that .375 is the minimum in several African countries & more universally available. If I didn't already have that I would be eyeing the .375 Ruger Guide gun.

 

[Wapiti1]

I'd PM Sourdough on the slide and see what his thoughts are. I suspect that he has more truly big bear experience than any ten of us on here.

Just a hunch on my part.

Jeremy

 

[Clarktar]

375 Ruger, I have one and while I haven't taken a big bear yet it has been a awesome round.

For elk and moose it's a hammer with some 260 accubonds.

Loaded with 235 barnes its damn good too.

I even shot some whitetail with cast bullets and trail boss loaded way down just for fun.

That said I bought a 416 Ruger too but man thats a violent recoil with 400grn cast. Not bad standing but sighting in off the bench was eye opening.

You shoot those elk and moose with iron sites with your 375 ruger? Do you have the 375 ruger guide gun, or different make and model?



Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[MaraviaDave]

375 H&H...shooting Barnes 270 gr. LRX bullets. Preferably in a stock with a vertical grip, adjustable cheek piece and a low magnification variable power scope.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

A 30 cal mag will be fine, but the bullet must be very tough as shorter range shots are more likely and impact velocity may be too fast. I would want a copper monolithic in that case for sure.