New Rifle for Grizzly/moose

I'd go with a Ruger Alaskan 375 ruger but I'd swap out that Hogue stock for a Mcmillan in a heartbeat. Topped with a 1.5-5x20 or 1.75-6x32 VXIII, it'd be a great grizz gun
 
todbartell said:
I'd go with a Ruger Alaskan 375 ruger but I'd swap out that Hogue stock for a Mcmillan in a heartbeat. Topped with a 1.5-5x20 or 1.75-6x32 VXIII, it'd be a great grizz gun
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I'm going to swap my stock...And I've got a 1.5-5 vari X III on it. I think I'd prefer the 1.75-6


With a stock swap, and a tuned trigger,you are lookign at the KING of bear guns;)
 
'Boo said:
Hell man! That is the size of most coastal BC Griz cubs! ;)

There is a HUGE difference between a grizzly and a black bear even when they are equal sizes. Take that same grizz and fatten it up on a diet of fish and lush coastal greens to 2 times the size of an average black bear and there is no such thing as too much gun!
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Yes there is have been face to face with a few I only say this with experience I worked in a lot of mines and remote areas of B.C for 5-6 years and near the skena,, I am from Ontario Now but!!! seen some very large brown furry beasts and one in the North River valley out side of Invermere caught my attention on a elk hunt up the palicer!
But I still would not be affraidto tackle one with a well loaded 338 WM would i take it out of the selection of guns I have not likely a 378 weatherby or my 375 eptsein or better than both as I said my 350 Mashburn would be much better and if i felt strong enough i would carry my 458 WM in a M77 ruger safari or better yet my 416 Rigby !!!! but they are heavy!! as hell. I am a big believe in big powerful firearms I own many.

But really i would not hesitate with my my 338 wm with a Nosler Part 250 or interbond and would not scare me at all to drive one through a big bears front shoulders.
I say this with 100% confidence. I grew up on a beef farm and had the dirty job of getting rid of 8 year old 2000 Lbs Sharley bull that went koo-koo and was destroying the yard one easter morning just before breading season began.

Any bullet of any size in the wrong spot will not be effective or as effective as a well placed shot to the vitals, or as we are all suggesting if a stopping shot was needed i would rather just head shoot him or take his front legs away until i could head shoot him! But we are all thinking the worse case. and the chances are there but not likey.

I guess really as well i just would not no how much different a 375, 270 grain bullet running at 2600 plus FPS vs a 338 WM 250 running at 2600 fps would make on a charging bear, you still have to hit him where it counts.
Not trying to put down a 375 i love them I have 2 of them not in a ruger or a H&H but a bit of a step up in velocity from them and certainly not trying to troll for a fight, just being honest about the 338s effectiveness seen it do a lot.. its a cartridge everyone likes to hate because its stuck in the middle. Yes the 375 has more density more mass more energy cant agrue that and is plesent to shoot vs the 338..
For years and years the 338 was carried by many avid hunters for grizzly and was know as the alaskan gun of choice..many grizzly bears were taken.
 
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I vote for the Ruger Alaskan as well. Though if you do;t handload, I don;t think really good bullets are available yet (like partitions/swifts/tsx)
 
If well placed shots from my Ruger stainless/laminated .338 Winchester Magnum loaded with 250gr Nosler Partitions isn't enough for any grizzly (including BC coastal bears) or moose that walks, then something has gone terribly wrong and I want more than a .375 in my mitts...a lot more! Time to step up to either a .458 Winchester Magnum or a .458 Lott. Chamber either in a 22" barreled Ruger M77 or M70 CRF, put a 510gr soft point or two where they belong and the sun will be smiling again. But I still think there's nothing wrong with your choice of a Sako in .338WM in the first place. You've "been there/done that" so whatever you pick will be work fine.
 
One small comment on the Sakos. The new 85's ARE control-round feed. The older model 75 wasn't. ( I just picked up my Sako85 Stainless/Walnut today in 300 win mag.......cheer!).

I inquired about the larger cals- they have not yet been chambered, but are coming in 338 Win, and 375H&H.

Order early boys- mine took a year exactly. But I love it. I'll post a pic in a minute.
 
I am 100% confident that a 338 WM will kill a grizzly, heck I watched my dumbass buddy Rob nail one through both shoulders with a 7MM RM and a 160gr X bullet...

But the 375 Ruger Alaskan was *made* for the job of hunting big bears in close quarters, and with a trajectory similar to a 30-06, it's no souch at longer "mountain" ranges either.

FWIW, I had a 338 WM. and never saw it *kill* better than a 300 magnum on moose and bear, but 375 H&H and 375 Rugeseems to relaly smack them down..But of course, these are small examples. So, it's for what itis worth...

The 338WM may have an advantage at longer (400yards) range, because of a bit of added velocity, but at grizz hunitng distances (200 yards or less) why not use a bigger gun?

Bottom line is- SRUPP wants a dedicated grizzly/moose gun, so why piss around with a middle of the road cartridge, when he can use one that is bigger?
 
Brambles said:
Exactly, plus it doesn't seem to recoil as ferociously as the 338 win mag can, not sure about the 375 ruger but the 375 H&H isn't a brutal kicker. Its a win/win
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There is no messing around- The 375 H&H and the 375 Ruger are decent recoilers...But the 338 WM seems to have a bit more 'snap" if that makes sense.

Again, in my experience. I'd submitt he 338WM that I owned had a crappy recoil pad, though...

:)
 
Recoil !!

The difference i Find in the recoil between my .375h&H and the .338 WM , is like this , The .375 is like a ** BIG PUSH ** and the .338 Has more of a
** KIK / SNAP ** to it .:eek:

A fellow at The Range i shoot at said it's all got to do with the shoulder angle of the round , A .375 has a pretty strait shoulder so the energy is not as concentrated as a case with a sharp angled neck , And the .338 has a sharper angle , And if you look at a Weatherby case they really have a sharp angle and gie you a real good POP in the shoulder ,
** What do you guy's think about the Shoulder angle theory ???? **
BS or Not ???? :stirthepot2:
 
A good theory but I'm not buying it. I think it is all about the volume of powder, the size of the bore, and the weight of the bullet. Not exactly sure how they would fit together,but I would say those are what would be required to build the formula no shoulder angle necessary. Given equal bullet weights travelling the same velocity the smaller bore will build more pressure.

As far as the all rounder for Canada I too would choose the .338, if all wanted to do was go after Grizz, then .375 for sure, maybe even .416.
 
What ever cal you choose isn't really as important as rifle fit when the chips are down . I lean towards the 375 for what you want to use it for try to get a rifle that fits you extremely well so handle many different models etc. remember that what you will be wearing will also have a bearing on fast shouldering & getting on target fast . I generally prefer ashorter length of pull for this kind of application but that is my opinion
regards Tony
 
So, what you guys are saying, its not the size of the bore that counts , but how, and where you shoot your load? :eek::p Where have we heard this before! LOL.:D
 
Machinist said:
The difference i Find in the recoil between my .375h&H and the .338 WM , is like this , The .375 is like a ** BIG PUSH ** and the .338 Has more of a
** KIK / SNAP ** to it .:eek:

A fellow at The Range i shoot at said it's all got to do with the shoulder angle of the round , A .375 has a pretty strait shoulder so the energy is not as concentrated as a case with a sharp angled neck , And the .338 has a sharper angle , And if you look at a Weatherby case they really have a sharp angle and gie you a real good POP in the shoulder ,
** What do you guy's think about the Shoulder angle theory ???? **
BS or Not ???? :stirthepot2:
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That's an *interesting* idea. Totally wrong of course, but it's interesting...:evil:

Shoot a 375 Ruger (straight walled case, steep shoulder) and a 375 H&H (long tapering case, not much of a shoulder) in the same rifle..And as they have similar performance, they will give you similar recoil.
 
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