West coast woman

C

clmecham

New member
Location
Bella Coola
Hi, I posted before but I can't find it! I am new at hunting but not new to guns! I would really like to have my own gun for when I am on the tractor, and in the garden, and for moose season. I have boys who are finally old enough to come with me. I am thinking about a 270 or a 306. I would like to hear from people regarding which gun would be good. I am surrounded by grizzley bears so it would have to be a fair size. I am 5 ft 10 and 150lbs so I can handle a good kick.
 
well a 270 and 308 are goign to be somewhat equal... and neither of them would be the best choice for grizzly protection....

are you looking for defense gun or a hunting rifle that can do double duty , ???

out of the 2 you list caliber wise I would get a 270WSM in a winchester featherweight, or a tikka T3, the advantage of the tikka is it is magazine fed and comes in a stainless, synthetic combo....

the magazine option is great as you can buy a second magazine and carry it as a spare, also the tikka's bolt is one of the smoothest around...

if you looking for just a plain defense gun I would get the .450 marlin lever action, throw some XS ghost ring sights on it and your set, or a low power scope.
 
I am looking for a dual purpose rifle. I like the idea of having a gun with me on the tractor, for the bears but if I see a deer or moose! Plus I am one of the hunter's for one of our potlatches this fall. I am so excited! So I need to get something soon, so I can start practicing!
 
Bella Coola sure has lots of grizzlies!

I'd suggest you think hunting first (which is what you primarily will do with the rifle) and grizzly defense second, since even in Bella Coola, more hunting than defending get's done!:)

So a .308 or .270 would work for hunting and as defense in a pinch.

You might want to ask around and see if there are some experienced hunters that can let you shoot their guns to see what you like. Failing that, maybe you could contact Gary Shelton who wrote the bear defense books, he lives in your area, in Hagensbourg (sp?)
 
Re. 270 or 30/06

If you start handloading you can get a tractor rifle, a hunting rifle, awalk around rifle, shooting practice rifle.
You can't own enough guns, especially with 4 big sons.
 
Buy a good used bolt action 30-06. Good choice of bullets good from deer to bear and will do every thing you want. Put an advert in EE with a price range. Someone will fix you up.
 
Bolt action 30-06 with iron sights. Eg. CZ550, Winchester Model 70.

If you do put a telescopic sight on it for hunting, I'd suggest quick detachable rings that don't require tools to put on or take off eg. Warne Maxima QD's.

A good milsurp such as a LE No.5 in .303 British would also be a good choice and quite affordable.

Ike is from Bella Coola and is very knowledable as he works in bear habitat, you might try PM'ing him although he will probably insist that you buy a Remington 870P 12 gauge with rifle sights.
 
Last edited:
Can't go wrong with an old 30-30 for a tractor gun. Short enough that you can keep it behind the seat if you are in a cab and durable enough that it'll still shoot straight after being banged around a bit.
 
Marcel B. said:
Marlin has a couple of nice lever actions in .45-70.
Click to expand...

I would say a Marlin 45-70 too, but it kicks like a mule and lever guns are more complicated than most bolt guns. 308 is a great all around cal and very accurate, without as much recoil as a 30-06 or a 270.
 
Welcome clmecham, for my 2 cents I would have a Marlin lever action in.444. This gun is fairly easy to manouvre and the .444 will drop just about anything in North America. It's also short enough to easily pull from a scabbard on the tractor. Good luck with them Grizzly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom