Brown bear caliber

marley

marley

Very Active Member
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For Christmas my wife gifted me a Brown Bear hunt in Alaska. This has been my #1 bucket list hunt for as long as I can remember. I have booked my hunt already. I am planning on a spring hunt with Mel Gillis. I have watched every brown bear hunt I can find on YouTube and the one most consistent thing I’m seeing in most of them is that they don’t go down easy. I have a 300 Norma improved and was thinking of using a 200 grain A-frame or 208 grain LRX but after watching all these videos I’m thinking about having my smith turn me out a swap barrel in a .375 H&H or a 416 Rigby. The thought of searching for a big brownie in thick alders doesn’t sound fun to me. What are your thoughts?
 
Was going to be a smart azz and say .22 mag with V-max bullet. 🤣🤣🤣
Truthfully though I feel the biggest caliber you can shoot quick and accurately would be my choice. Also, if you kneel or sit to shot and your guide is behind you do not stand up until you see what he is doing. Even if the bear is coming at you.
 
I'm thinking the 300 will do the job with stout boolets.

If you're wanting to upgrade I was going to suggest a 338 magnum of your desire.

Twist it right and sling some 250-275 copper solids or bonded bullets and you should be good to go.

Having said that I've never killed a brownie so this is just my opinion.

Had your outfitter shared hunting styles or how far you should expect your shots to be?
 
Slick8 said:
I'm thinking the 300 will do the job with stout boolets.

If you're wanting to upgrade I was going to suggest a 338 magnum of your desire.

Twist it right and sling some 250-275 copper solids or bonded bullets and you should be good to go.

Having said that I've never killed a brownie so this is just my opinion.

Had your outfitter shared hunting styles or how far you should expect your shots to be?
Click to expand...
He said rarely over 200 yards.
 
marley said:
For Christmas my wife gifted me a Brown Bear hunt in Alaska. This has been my #1 bucket list hunt for as long as I can remember. I have booked my hunt already. I am planning on a spring hunt with Mel Gillis. I have watched every brown bear hunt I can find on YouTube and the one most consistent thing I’m seeing in most of them is that they don’t go down easy. I have a 300 Norma improved and was thinking of using a 200 grain A-frame or 208 grain LRX but after watching all these videos I’m thinking about having my smith turn me out a swap barrel in a .375 H&H or a 416 Rigby. The thought of searching for a big brownie in thick alders doesn’t sound fun to me. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
First, congrats on having an incredible wife!

Second, brown bears only don't go down easy when the hunter makes a less than great shot. Their skin is quite thin, and if you poke a hole in their heart they are DRT (study anatomy diagrams, you know the drill).

Third, out on the Alaska Peninsula (where I assume you'll be hunting based on the guide) expect wind. Lots of it. On my brown bear hunt I grossly underestimated the lateral drift from cross winds on a ~200 yard shot at a nice 9' boar on the 200gr bullet in my .300 Weatherby Mag. Had I been shooting my .270 with 130gr copper, I would likely have killed him instead of sending the bullet through the air in front of his face. Wind data for the location that I found after the fact showed average speeds of 50mph sustained that day with gusts up to 100mph. My wind drift was likely somewhere in the 20-40 inch range versus the 5-10 I had guesstimated.

Going forward my brown bear approach is going to be the .270 with 130gr copper, but having my .45-70 guide model on hand for follow up tracking with my dog if needed. I just hope I don't have to repeat the situation with my buddy's bear where Ravn Air didn't send our guns for a few days, leading to him using a borrowed rifle on his bear and my dog and I blood tracking it without so much as a knife on us while my buddy set up on the only high spot with the gun to attempt to cover us. Thankfully that bear flopped dead into the lake while my dog and I were still ~100yards away.
 
johnnycake said:
First, congrats on having an incredible wife!

Second, brown bears only don't go down easy when the hunter makes a less than great shot. Their skin is quite thin, and if you poke a hole in their heart they are DRT (study anatomy diagrams, you know the drill).

Third, out on the Alaska Peninsula (where I assume you'll be hunting based on the guide) expect wind. Lots of it. On my brown bear hunt I grossly underestimated the lateral drift from cross winds on a ~200 yard shot at a nice 9' boar on the 200gr bullet in my .300 Weatherby Mag. Had I been shooting my .270 with 130gr copper, I would likely have killed him instead of sending the bullet through the air in front of his face. Wind data for the location that I found after the fact showed average speeds of 50mph sustained that day with gusts up to 100mph. My wind drift was likely somewhere in the 20-40 inch range versus the 5-10 I had guesstimated.

Going forward my brown bear approach is going to be the .270 with 130gr copper, but having my .45-70 guide model on hand for follow up tracking with my dog if needed. I just hope I don't have to repeat the situation with my buddy's bear where Ravn Air didn't send our guns for a few days, leading to him using a borrowed rifle on his bear and my dog and I blood tracking it without so much as a knife on us while my buddy set up on the only high spot with the gun to attempt to cover us. Thankfully that bear flopped dead into the lake while my dog and I were still ~100yards away.
Click to expand...
Oh man….your story is why I’m thinking of having a new barrel spun up.
 
johnnycake said:
First, congrats on having an incredible wife!

Second, brown bears only don't go down easy when the hunter makes a less than great shot. Their skin is quite thin, and if you poke a hole in their heart they are DRT (study anatomy diagrams, you know the drill).

Third, out on the Alaska Peninsula (where I assume you'll be hunting based on the guide) expect wind. Lots of it. On my brown bear hunt I grossly underestimated the lateral drift from cross winds on a ~200 yard shot at a nice 9' boar on the 200gr bullet in my .300 Weatherby Mag. Had I been shooting my .270 with 130gr copper, I would likely have killed him instead of sending the bullet through the air in front of his face. Wind data for the location that I found after the fact showed average speeds of 50mph sustained that day with gusts up to 100mph. My wind drift was likely somewhere in the 20-40 inch range versus the 5-10 I had guesstimated.

Going forward my brown bear approach is going to be the .270 with 130gr copper, but having my .45-70 guide model on hand for follow up tracking with my dog if needed. I just hope I don't have to repeat the situation with my buddy's bear where Ravn Air didn't send our guns for a few days, leading to him using a borrowed rifle on his bear and my dog and I blood tracking it without so much as a knife on us while my buddy set up on the only high spot with the gun to attempt to cover us. Thankfully that bear flopped dead into the lake while my dog and I were still ~100yards away.
Click to expand...
First fall they opened the KP to registration brown bear a MM member and I headed south to go chase bears and I spotted a brown bear in the creek by the rest area in turn again pass. All we had was a .308. Well we empty all the rounds in it if I remembered right. Sure got interesting real fast.

Brown bear hunting is boring until it’s not. I’ll be on kodiak this spring for up to 30 days. Can’t wait.
 
marley said:
For Christmas my wife gifted me a Brown Bear hunt in Alaska. This has been my #1 bucket list hunt for as long as I can remember. I have booked my hunt already. I am planning on a spring hunt with Mel Gillis. I have watched every brown bear hunt I can find on YouTube and the one most consistent thing I’m seeing in most of them is that they don’t go down easy. I have a 300 Norma improved and was thinking of using a 200 grain A-frame or 208 grain LRX but after watching all these videos I’m thinking about having my smith turn me out a swap barrel in a .375 H&H or a 416 Rigby. The thought of searching for a big brownie in thick alders doesn’t sound fun to me. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
So its on your bucket list #1 how many more times after that are you going to do a Brown Bear hunt?
I would stick with the 300 Norma you already have slap a Berger 210 VLD in it and use the savings on not having to build another rifle for bucket list #2.😊🤘
 
Might want to check with your outfitter on caliber size. I know a couple that don’t like the 300’s and want something bigger
 
I have a number of friends who guide brown bears up in all areas of Alaska. They prefer clients to use the tipped X bullets; that’s a BIG .300, that is plenty with the proper bullet no doubt.
 
Our forefathers frown at our antics 😉

Try just bringing a recurve and two bladed heads.

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I already posted on your other thread, and the more I think about it the more I lean toward the 378 Weatherby. Its one of only a few factory rounds that will fit your .590" bolt face and it can be easily loaded down to 375 H&H levels for manageable recoil. It can also be loaded up significantly hotter than the H&H for your buffalo hunt. You could even use it on elk or deer if you wanted since there are some 375 bullets with pretty good ballistic performance. The 416 Rigby or 416 Weatherby would also be cool if you can take the recoil.
 
Might want to check all those archery and muzzy bears to see how many hunts it really took, without the follow up shots or charge stopping of a real rifle. Anything above a 270 will work, eventually. :)
 
Marley, if your considering one of the Weatherby cartridges, take a peek at the 338-378. It’ll fling a 262 grn Hammer at 2950. The recoil is there but smooth, mucho energy and with a .650 BC it’ll buck the wind just fine and have many uses down the road. Just my thoughts and good luck to you.
 
First, your 308 Norma is enough if you’re using quality bullets (and a Berger VLD is NOT a quality Brown Bear bullet. That’s just a really bad idea.). If you shoot your 308 Norma, consider 200 grain Swift A Frame, Trophy Bonded Bearclaw, Barnes TSX or Nosler Partition bullets.

I’ve only shot one Brown Bear, on Kodiak. I used my .338 Win Mag with handloaded 250 grain Nosler Partitions. They worked great and Bear died quickly. If I ever do another Brown Bear hunt, and I do want to, I’ll shoot either my .338 or .375 H&H. Either is a fantastic choice for Brown Bear. I’d stick with the bullets I mentioned above, as you want a bullet that’ll penetrate deeply and hold together.
 
It’s not exactly the same, but I’ve shot several head of African Game with a 375 HH. That’s what I would pack for a big Bear. Small caliber guys like to quote energy, blah, blah, blah….

Big bullets flat hit harder. I really like the 338’s and 375.

Best of luck, that’s one of my bucket list hunts as well!!
 
It's a .375 H&H hands down. Use it anywhere on anything out to 350+ yards, if you learn to shoot it. Globally available ammo. No issues, wide bullet weight/ammo selection. Lower cost all around, pair with variable low power scope, or a dot for the willows/close work.
 
Syncerus1 said:
It's a .375 H&H hands down. Use it anywhere on anything out to 350+ yards, if you learn to shoot it. Globally available ammo. No issues, wide bullet weight/ammo selection. Lower cost all around, pair with variable low power scope, or a dot for the willows/close work.
Click to expand...
Yeah
I use a 375 ruger with 270 tsx & 250 swift Afram , perfect bear load
 
I have shot tons of African, NA-Alaskan, NZ stuff with my .375 pre 64 mdl 70, Shilen #4 contour 22" barrel, magna-ported (dating myself) and a Chet brown FG/CF stock, topped with a Vari-x III 2.5-8 duplex, and more recently a Trijicon RMR dot. Used more than a handful of different manufactures brand ammo in a mix of weights and designs. It's all good when you have to make it go bang. Quick handling, fast pointing gun. Killed-follow up shots on Cape buffs from 5 feet, and eland to over 400 yards. I think someone famous said One planet, one gun... maybe Asian Sheep are the exception.
 
I like the 22 short...I really like to piss them off and then shoot them at 10 yards with my bow🤣🤣🤣

On a serious note I'd love to kill one.

GL Marley adventure of a lifetime.
 
Syncerus1 said:
It's a .375 H&H hands down. Use it anywhere on anything out to 350+ yards, if you learn to shoot it. Globally available ammo. No issues, wide bullet weight/ammo selection. Lower cost all around, pair with variable low power scope, or a dot for the willows/close work.
Click to expand...
I’ve never taken a brown bear 🐻 or even hunted one, but from what I’ve learned by reading the stories from



experienced big game hunters is that the .375 H & H Mag with a muzzle break is perfect- using 300 grain Nosler Partitions. Seems quite logical to me. Place the shots right & keep shooting, case closed .
Jerry Gold- in Windsor, Colorado
 
nmtaxi said:
I'm booked for Spring of 2026 for Kodiak. Plan on taking my .338 win. mag. for now. Still over 2 years to think about it.
Click to expand...
What unit of Kodiak? I hunted Frazier Lake. Snow pack was an issue when I went. I saw several bears I simply couldn't get to without snowshoes. Finally got one below snow line and made a hurried stalk with a 175 yard shot. I wanted to get closer but he was across a cove and moving away. I hit him good but he still went 1/4 mile. The 338 with Partition type bullets is a good rig if you stay under 200 yards
on Brownies.
 
Longshot349 said:
What unit of Kodiak? I hunted Frazier Lake. Snow pack was an issue when I went. I saw several bears I simply couldn't get to without snowshoes. Finally got one below snow line and made a hurried stalk with a 175 yard shot. I wanted to get closer but he was across a cove and moving away. I hit him good but he still went 1/4 mile. The 338 with Partition type bullets is a good rig if you stay under 200 yards
on Brownies.
Click to expand...
I'll be on Red Lake. My understanding is that area doesn't get the snow that some of the others do. Hopefully that holds true.
 
Syncerus1 said:
It's a .375 H&H hands down. Use it anywhere on anything out to 350+ yards, if you learn to shoot it. Globally available ammo. No issues, wide bullet weight/ammo selection. Lower cost all around, pair with variable low power scope, or a dot for the willows/close work.
Click to expand...
You hit the nail on the head-100 % perfect response in my opinion!! 375 H&H & Heaviest Nosler Partitions- 300 grain . Place shots right. As good as it gets. I’m no expert, but I’d bet my life on that combo. Happy Hunting- you’re a Lucky 🍀 Duck 🦆!
Jerry Gold- Windsor, Colorado
 
It was great for Alaska-Yukon moose but wife bought it for me as bear protection it worked didn't have to use it for that
 

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