and have lived and hunted here ever since. I pack and hunt with what-ever happens to be my current fling. Moose rifles over the years chambered in .270, 7x57, .308, 7mm, and last years from my 1899 .303 savage. All my dads moose, black, and grizzly bears were taken with his surplus .303 brit. I work a lot in the bush and have had about a dozen 'bear encounters'. None of which ended up in a dead bear (or me). For a few years I packed an 1894 Marlin in .44 mag. My current packing/bear rifle is a neat sporterized Enfield. I like to pack something short and light (Husqvarna 4000/4100 is a favorite). I took a fully wooded Enfield sheep hunting once (Canadian Ranger issue) and never again! But thats just my thing. Some guys seem to like packing something north of 8 lbs but not me.
Since you already have a long range hunting rifle, what about a CZ 527 carbine?
Low weight (6lbs), excellent adjustable "set trigger" (~2lbs), 18.5" barrel, excellent factory iron sights, points and handles very nicely...classic CZ quality.
Lots of ammo choices. Cheap plinking stuff, and commercial hunting loads commonly available up to 150gr. At 2200fps,a 150gr bullet does a lot of damage.
It performs better than a 170gr .30-30 at 100yds (1405ft-lbs vs 1355).
Not sure what you're into, but some handloaders have even played around with 170gr 7.62x39mm loads, with good results.
