What cartridge for Alaska and western big game?

You’re, and you do realize that a gunt is the bit on a larger female where the gut stops and the ———— starts
Apple takes claim for autocorrect. Do you have something to provide to the comments? Or are you just another lil worm on the outside?
 
I am looking for a cartridge to hunt big game out west and in Alaska. The largest game I hunt now are whitetail deer. I use a suppressed Tikka T3x in 6.5CM at ranges of 70-300 yards.

I am moving out west and want to go after elk, black bear, pronghorn, mountain goat, and other things. Later I plan to go to Alaska to hunt caribou and moose. I still don't expect to take shots at more than 500 yards. The 6.5CM should be enough for pronghorn but I think I need a more powerful cartridge for the rest.

I don't hand load. I don't put together custom rifles. And I am very adverse to recoil. So I am not even considering the 7PRC, or 300 Win Mag, or anything that kicks similarly hard. I cannot shoot those effectively. I am currently looking at the 6.8 Western, 7mm-08, or the 308. Which of those would be best for an off the shelf mountain rifle and ammunition? Whatever I go with will have my 8" suppressor on it. Are there other cartridges I should consider?

Did you make a decision?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I’m not reading 12 pages of comments but if I’m hunting in grizzly or brown bear country the bleed moor is not gonna be on my shoulder. Yes I would carry a handgun but the rifle will be in my hands or near my hands more than a handgun. I would lean into a 300 win mag you can shoot 150 up and over 200 grains in a factory round. Get a 7-8 lb gun outfit for around 10 lbs brake it and choose lighter loads for practice or medium game throw in 180-215 for Alaska or elk
 
I’m not reading 12 pages of comments but if I’m hunting in grizzly or brown bear country the bleed moor is not gonna be on my shoulder. Yes I would carry a handgun but the rifle will be in my hands or near my hands more than a handgun. I would lean into a 300 win mag you can shoot 150 up and over 200 grains in a factory round. Get a 7-8 lb gun outfit for around 10 lbs brake it and choose lighter loads for practice or medium game throw in 180-215 for Alaska or elk
22 bleed moor worked pretty good...


Moose.jpeg

B Bear.jpg
 
Man, asking which caliber to hunters is asking what’s the best car for racing, what’s the best shoe for hiking, what’s the best etc etc. each forum has its own kind of people which kind of lean to one direction with a few exceptions.
I don’t claim to have the most experience or most collection of rifles, but I’ve had my fair share. Chased a lot of “trends”, first AIs, then creedmores, and last bandwagon were the PRCs. Had one of each of those, 280ai, 6.5cm, then a 7prc. Even chased a trend of the big powa with a 30 Norma AI (pita with the brass). Ultimately, I now just carry my old school surgeon 308, with rebarreled proof carbon sendero. Admittedly, if I was going for moose in Alaska and plan to do long shots, I’d bring 7prc or maybe 300norm, but for everything else here out west, there’s nothing I’d hesitate to take with my old trusty 308. Take that with a grain of salt, as I’ve never been to Alaska.

All that to say: use what you got. Your 6.5 is plenty for most out west besides (imo 500y+) big bears and moose. But if you’re just inside 500y, it’ll take anything. As others have stated, spending money on other equipment will help you more than a new rifle and caliber.
If you still itching to get something new, go try out a few buddies and then decide.
 
Back
Top