Gun Models and Calibres for Artic Conditions

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waxied

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Hello!

I have a question for the knowledgeable and northern hunting/shooting members.

I recently accepted a job in a northern community and there should be opportunities to hunt a wide variety of large game. I am looking for a versatile gun model that could take down anything from a wolf to a bear. I am thinking a 30-06 is the way to go. The real question though is what model is a good "artic" gun? I am going to be up quite far north, with lots of heavy winds and snow close to 9 months of the year. I don't want to go up there and find out whatever I decide to buy is a "club".

One model that I saw on another forum was the Marlin lever 45/70, but I think that is overkill.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
I think if I was you I would be looking at a fairly heavy caliber. 300 win mag or 7rem mag. Correct me if I'm wrong but when you say north I'm thinking frozen tundra of arctic. Lots of open plains and valleys. Probably some long range shooting. Plus some heavier game so I would want a gun that can shoot long range and hold the power and fight the wind you would for sure be experiencing up there. I don't think a lever bush gun is the right gun IMO.

Look at stainless steel barrels and composite stocks for sure. Wood stock will get destroyed in those conditions. Maybe a nice tikka stainless would be a good choice. Comes in both7 mm and 300 win mag. That would be my choice at least.
 
I lived "north of 60" for 30 years.
Less complicated actions tend to be more trouble free in extreme cold, although most anything can be made to work with proper preparation.
Most any medium caliber will work for most everything you will be likely to hunt.
Where I lived, in the Eastern Arctic, magnums were rare.
Injection moulded stocks are less durable than solid wood or laminated wood.
 
Thanks guys. It will absolutely be up in artic tundra. Tiriaq, what were you huntin and what did you use? I was thinking about buying it before I head up. Any cleaners and oils you think would be important to get? I am surprised by how little information there is about shooting and hunting in those conditions!
 
If you are going to Nunavut, there is a 2 year waiting period before you can get a resident big game licence.
I shot caribou with .308, .243, .303. They are not hard to kill. .22-.250 and .223 are popular for caribou among the Inuit. Not my first choice.
Ran a gunsmithing shop for over 20 years. Based on what I saw, BLRs, Remington pumps and autos would be at the bottom of my list. Remington/Ruger/Winchester bolt action rifles are fine. Solid wood, laminated or composite stocks. Wood feels better in the cold.
Get a quality scope.
 
Lee Enfield No. 4 . Just ask the Rangers. :)

Grizz

tiriaq here - I've shot caribou with a No. 4.
The Rangers use them because they have them, and are given ammunition.
I sold a lot of guns. Lee Enfields sold if cheap, and primarily for marine mammals. Otherwise, just about everything else was more popular.
 
Keep in mind ammo availability. If you intend to reload note that some loads don't like extreme cold and you may need to reduce grains and use magnum primers. If not reloading, bring quality ammo with you in bulk. Fwiw, my choice would be a bolt action 300 or a 308.
Good luck!
 
How far north are we talking, still mainland or up in the islands ?.....Wood and stainless is best and a 300 or 338 would be my recommendation and if you're going to be out with it in -40 and below, bolt action only and strip your bolt and remove any grease and lube from it with a good flush of brake clean (which leaves no residue) otherwise instead of a boom it will be a cccclllliiiiiiiiiccccckkkkkk. Make sure your stock has a good finish on it and the whole stock is properly sealed or it WILL shrink and possibly crack. There is absolutely zero humidity at -40 and below, and your wood stock needs to be protected. Kevlar and fiberglass are very good in the high arctic but plastic is worthless and will literally smash into pieces on a komatik or sled, or possibly when you fire it. If you are going out for a couple days in the -40, leave your rifle outside at all times DO NOT bring it into your living quarters and the radical temp and humidity change that will be in there. When hunting in these conditions I always keep my ammo in a pocket inside my parka, at close to body temp and I do not load my rifle until I am ready to shoot. This greatly diminishes differences from summer shooting and sighting in to harsh winter environments and extreme cold, which can make your 300 WM act more like a 30-30 depending on powder and primer used.
If you will be using a scope, buy the best you can because cheap ones do not live in this environment and will fog internally almost instantly.......I highly recommend Leupold with their lifetime warranty against fogging, which doesn't mean they won't fail but at least if they do it won't cost you anything to have it fixed or replaced.
This is a whole different game than what you have experienced as of yet, and remember your life may very well hinge on the correct function of your chosen rifle. Do not neglect your rifle and always keep it clean, free of oils and greases and subject it to as minimal rapid temperature changes as is possible.
Other than that, bundle up, it's cold out there...........
 
The Canadian Rangers use .303 Lee Enfield rifles.From what I have read, they do so because the rifle is one of the few that is dependable in Artic conditions and the .303 will take down anything they might encounter.
 
Right on. Sounds like there is a whole range of different rifles that can be used but bolt action probably is the way to go.
It's interesting that you say there is a 2 year waiting period in Nunavut. I think that is for NWT. I have contacted the wildlife officer in the area I am moving to and he said I can get my hunting license after 90 days. The fur bearing tags are based on the HTO which have different regulations depending on the amount of game available to hunt. I am there for 3 years minimum, so I will wait if I have to!
 
c-fbmi thanks for the tips. I am moving to Nunavut but thankfully not the high arctic! I will still have lots of daylight!
 
The Otis Dry Lube is really good for the far north conditions. No liquid to freeze up and keeps working in those conditions.

If you are heading up with the Federal Force or Military, you can hunt as soon as you get there depending on permission from the community you are in. Some are really good, some are so xenophobic, they won't give anyone permission to hunt. I think the xenophobic locations, 2 of which I was privileged to live in, think you'd get in the way of the systematic caribou slaughter and force someone to come home with only 18 or 19 caribou on their komatiks, instead of 20 to 30... If you plan on hunting, get a long range medium calibre rifle. If you plan on snowmobiling up to them, shooting until your mag is empty and doing it until you're out of ammo and then doing it again, like I was so blessed to witness a few times, any .223 or .22 rimfire will do.

Hopefully, you don't come out as jaded as I did.
 
Lee Enfields in .303 are dependable in sub-zero conditions and so are 7.62 Mosin Nagants. If used with Eider duck oil or dry graphite lube they work fine. At 60 below, kerosene works too.(Good luck on finding the Eider oil though);)
 
I used to watch white whale being shot in Churchill ... they would motor over to a pod of several animals shoot one quickly and lash it to the boat ...it looked like they used boot hooks to bring it alongside .. then the balance of the whales in the group would hang around until the killing was done .. then they brought their catch back to the factory .. factory sure stunk!! Rifles were pretty rudimentary -- was a long time ago but I cant recall Enfields .. maybe. FWIW years later the C1 (FN) autoloader worked just fine at 40 below but the prep was a full wash in kerosene first. They worked as long as you could work anyway :)
 
Sounds like a lot of people have had their own interesting adventures up north! Really cool to hear the different stories and perspectives! I think I am going to go for either the 338 or 300 WM in stainless steel. I see a few different ones out there. The Tikka T3 and Savage 116 seem to have some really great reviews.
I am not that knowledgeable about guns, so picking up a Lee Enfield and troubleshooting any problems probably won't get me too far!
 
If the OP has not yet made up his/her mind, I'd recommend a good quality bolt action, control round feed (Mauser action) 30-06 rifle with iron sights and a good 3x9 scope in QD rings with a military style shooting sling.

Makes would include Winchester Model 70, Ruger 77 and CZ550.

I prefer bolt rifles with easy to strip (without tools) bolts. When it starts to get cold in September, I strip the bolt down, degrease it and run it dry without lube through the winter.
 
geologist said:
If the OP has not yet made up his/her mind, I'd recommend a good quality bolt action, control round feed (Mauser action) 30-06 rifle with iron sights and a good 3x9 scope in QD rings with a military style shooting sling.

Makes would include Winchester Model 70, Ruger 77 and CZ550.

I prefer bolt rifles with easy to strip (without tools) bolts. When it starts to get cold in September, I strip the bolt down, degrease it and run it dry without lube through the winter.
Click to expand...

Sage advice. If you can't find something like this in 30-06, a .308 will do the same thing. They're very durable rifles and the one thing I'd be concerned with, namely ammo availability, shouldn't be a problem if you go with these calibers.
 
I too would go with a mauser type action with a heavy firing pin striker assembly for a little better ignition. The Tikka and savage are a little bit light in that department for my tastes. There is a reason that military rifles have heavy cocking pieces.
 
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