Cartridge help.

[KegRiver]

Maybe I missed it, where did it say that the bears we are supposed to be hunting are Grizzlies?

Had I known that I would have opted out. I don't shoot Grizzlies.

I think you should also have mentioned that these are the only cartridges you are interested in but that others may be as good or better suited to the task.

A 600 Nitro express for instance. Now that is a real fun gun to shoot. As a bonus when you hit an animal with it, they die, deader then dead.

It's the gun I would choose should I ever be called to stop a charging Griz.
Remember, we're not trying to drop a distant animal here. This is close in shooting.

It pushes a 900 gr sp at 2100 fps That will generate over 8,000 lbs of knockdown power.
That's nearly twice the power of your .338 Lapua Magnum.

In high school my buddy bought himself a 600 Nitro Express. The first time I saw a case for the gun I thought it was a spent 10 gauge shot shell.
The dimensions were almost identical. Now that was a gun!!!

[Marlin xl7]

When I said " bears" I was talking, mostly black bear, but perhaps in the future a trip to alaska for a grizz.

[MattSako]

Well... as far as i know all the black bear i shot were with my 375 H&H... bout 50 yards.. and they always died within a 5 yards radius.... And god know blackbear have a good last breath even with the lung obliterated....

My own opinion.

[pickrel pat]

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

If you mean more moose and bear are killed with the 30-30 cartridge than with any other cartridge,I challenge you to produce data that proves this to be true.

If you mean any other caliber,the 30-30 is not a caliber,but it shoots .308" bullets,just like the 308win,30-06,300wsm,300winmag and many more cartridges,so it is possible that more bear or moose are killed with .308" bullets than with any other caliber.

id bet you that the 30-30 has killed more bear and moose than any other gun. maybe not in the last20 years or so, but in canadian history. i cant prove it, but its oh so logical. every trapper, farm boy, hillbilly in moose/bear country used to have one. its also killed more whitetails in the eastern states than any other gun. lotsa old turdy turdys around!

[32-40win]

According to some published info on recoil, if you are comfortable shooting a 3" 12 gauge with a heavy load, say 1-1/2 oz of lead, or a 3-1/2" goose or turkey load, a 375H&H is fairly reasonable to shoot, the 3-1/2 can hit 416Rigby levels.

I've had a 338winmag for about twenty years now, love it. It is nicer to shoot than a lot of 7mm's/ 300's I've shot. It's on a 375 action in a 700KS Mtn rifle, and it's fairly light, believe it is still under 8-1/2 lbs, no muzzle brake, 3x9x40 Leupold.
At the time I bought it, it was the lightest one on the rack at Frenchy's, against Sako,Browning,Weatherby, Winchester and some other light rifles they had there in .338. I'd rather shoot it than my SBE.

As to bears and horses, I can remember watching a rodeo because of a bear in Ya-Ha, we were at the west end, crossing the river, buddy's horse got a whiff, and on went the show. He stayed on board, and got wet. Bear was a little west of us along shore. He was a little torqued when my horse crossed with no problems, just ambled across after the rodeo was over. Bear didn't care, just headed for the park, likely on his way back to Banff.

[KegRiver]

I have shot a lot of black bear, not sure of the number, more then twenty I'm sure.

I have shot Black Bears with everything from a 7.62x39 to a 30-06. Mostly I used a 30-30. It has taken more then a dozen bear in my hands.

When I was growing up, one neighbor used a 25-35 for everything bigger then a rabbit.
He was a war vet and he never missed. He took a lot of game with that little pea shooter. Moose, Bear, Deer.

I can understand you wanting more gun if you are planning on hunting Alaska Brown Bears. For the rest of us, well lets just say that it's up to you how you spend your money, but the question was, "What would the rest of us choose."

I think you should have said, " What would you choose if I offered you only these four choices."

In that case I would say. I would choose to hunt alone with a gun of my choosing.

Really! where does it say that only these four are good choices?
Why must everyone like the guns you like?

I have shot some of the big magnums. I can take the kick they deliver, I choose not to.
This question plants a suggestion in young minds that only the biggest cartridges are capable of doing the job properly, and worse still, it makes the suggestion that real hunters use the biggest and latest mega magnum.

That is simply not true. And it could well lead to newer hunters giving up the sport or spending a lifetime wondering why they can't hit anything.

Those things hurt. I don't care who you are, to claim they don't is a flat out lie.

For the record, I am not a small man. I'm 6'1" and 230 lbs. I can tolerate a lot of pain. As far as I'm concerned I have had enough pain in my life.
I don't have to go looking for more. Thank you very much.

I will use a gun I know can do the job, not the one you think I should.

Remember, you asked.

I almost forgot, you asked what we thought of the kick of each of those cartridges. The only one I have shot, is the 338.
The kick reminded me of getting kicked in the shoulder by a Shetland pony.
It's the only thing I have to compare it to. No fun at all.
The friend who owned it,sold it. The man lived through WW2 as a teenager in Holland. He knew more about pain then any ten men here combined.
He said it kicked too much.

Many of you here Knew Wim from High Level. The flying Dutchman. Would anyone who knew him say he was a wimp? That 338 belonged to him.

[MattSako]

6'1" and 230 lbs ? And you think a 338 kick ? you sound like someone with a muzzle brake on a 30-30 ... its very funny to see how the big man are actually the most scared hunters.. Its all good i respect your choice but... i would be ashamed to see some women shooting a 375 H&H next to me while im scared of my 30-06 with a muzzle brake... ive seen a lot of those recently... Its hilarious... im bout 5.7 and 156 and i do shoot 375.. 338 lapua all day.. my biggest gun is 8.59 mm Titan Lazzeroni ( 338 Titan ) and its only good for 600 shot through the barrel and it feel like a regular 338 mag kick like a 22... and i shoot it as much as i want ... Its all in the stance and position.. No they do not have a muzzle brake.. All gun can be shot by anyone..

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by MattSako

6'1" and 230 lbs ? And you think a 338 kick ? you sound like someone with a muzzle brake on a 30-30 ... its very funny to see how the big man are actually the most scared hunters.. Its all good i respect your choice but... i would be ashamed to see some women shooting a 375 H&H next to me while im scared of my 30-06 with a muzzle brake... ive seen a lot of those recently... Its hilarious... im bout 5.7 and 156 and i do shoot 375.. 338 lapua all day.. my biggest gun is 8.59 mm Titan Lazzeroni ( 338 Titan ) and its only good for 600 shot through the barrel and it feel like a regular 338 mag kick like a 22... and i shoot it as much as i want ... Its all in the stance and position.. No they do not have a muzzle brake.. All gun can be shot by anyone..

Sure Matt, sure!!

Don't worry, those pimples will go away some day and you'll find a girlfriend.

[MattSako]

Believe me or not. Should i care? totally not.