Grizzly Rifle

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bearhunter79

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Hey reaching out to the forum for some help! Just drew a spring grizzly tag and its a good reason to buy a new rifle just for this trip. I will be hunting west of Valemont BC, foothills of the Rockies and need everyone's help based on their experience as to what to buy. My go to Black bear and everything else rifle is a
30-06 with a 20 inch barrel and I love it, but why not get something new. Would like to get something soon so I can get some range time in with it but non of the gun stores around me have anything that has left me feeling more than so so.
 
375 H&H or 375 ruger look intresting as your hunting in the interior sumthing wood stock and Blue steel in a classic hunting rifle
 
375 ruger guide gun or African are definitely on the short list love the classic blue and wood of the African but like the tool like qualities and shorter barrel of the guide.
 
416 Ruger -

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A .375 Ruger in your choice of rifle is the answer. I would be snapping up that one from Prophet River or a similar one, putting a good scope on it and go hunting.
 
Personally I think you'd be much better served with a 300 Win mag using 200 grn Parts or ABs. The foothills bears are NOT coastal bears and are not of the same size or temperament. Any 30 cal magnum is more than enough for any inland grizzly, using the right bullets. The 300 is also a much better all around cartridge after the grizzly is down and you find you have no real use for a 375 or 416. Don't get me wrong, I love 375s and 416s but in reality any 30 mag is just as effective on thin skinned game under 1000 lbs, with the correct bullet.
 
At one time the notion that someone would consider the .30/06 insufficient for grizzly hunting would be met with amazement. The .30/06 loaded with 180 gr Partitions was the grizzly gun. Today the .30/06 is no less effective, and should probably considered a prudent minimum, but there is a broader selection of choices. Your rifle should be chosen with consideration to the type of country you'll be hunting in. Steep difficult hunting suggest that a lightweight rifle is beneficial, so you might not want that one chambered for in .340 Weatherby. Likewise, a hunting rifle doesn't fill the same roll as a protection rifle, so unless you just want one, there's little benefit to choosing a .458 or even a big case .375. One of the .300 magnum cartridges would be excellent, but consider the weight of the rifle before jumping on that bandwagon.
 
Rod said:
My suggestion is either 300 Win Mag or 338 Win Mag. . You can use a 200 gr. bullet with either one but the 338 you can also comfortably use 225 gr. or 250 gr. bullets. . If it were me, I'd go with the 338 Win Mag. as you already have a 30-06 for smaller animals. .
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My choice would be a 338 (WM or RUM). Thre's not much a 300 WM can do that an '06 can't, especially with handloads and premium bullets. If you're going to be hunting at close ranges, have you thought of the 45-70?
 
Go with a 338 Winchester in a medium weight rifle, use a 225 grain old fashioned bullet, and you'll be fine.
My rifle of choice when I used to get paid to deal with problem bears, was a 21 inch barreled 700 Remington, in 338, it worked just fine.
Over and over and over some more.
Then I tried some 210 Partitions, but that's another story.
 
I would leave the sub-40 calibers at home. Besides the 416 Ruger, other appropriate choices are the 416 Rem. Mag., 458 Win. Mag. or 458 Lott - all generally recognized dangerous game calibers. Inadequate calibers and improper bullet selection could get one killed - and very messily at that.

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416 Rem. Mag. Zastava LKM70 Custom Fullstock Carbine

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458 Lott Custom Sako AV
 
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Haven't seen anyone chime in about shot placement with a smaller calibre rifle.
I'm amazed how brave some people are when the wounded game isn't going to kill them..
I use a .375 H+H with 260 or 300 gr. Nosler partitions
Bigger is better
 
I guess it's all a question of druthers. I've always been partial to a big chunk of lead, even moving rather slowly. The bigger, the better. I find it tends to put the brakes on critters quicker. That being said, there is not an animal in North America, and not very many in the world, that I would not try with a 308 or '06. Shot placement is critical. When is the last time you read of someone getting mauled to death by a grizz that had been shot by anything bigger than a 30-30? tens of thousands of grizzlies were killed with a 30-30, and that was before premium bullets ever came along. Nowadays, anyone hunting grizz with a 30-30 would be a dang fool, but anything above 308 class should be fine.
 
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