Mountain hunting caliber
- Thread starter taz1977
- Start date
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
300 Win. Mag. only because I got my trophy Ram using this round. 7.62x39, 45-70 and 416 Rem. Mag. have also been used on Bighorn Sheep. I prefer heavier calibers for Elk and Moose which will be encountered in the mountains as well as Big Bear.
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Jeronimoe83
CGN Regular
- Location
- Prince George, BC
I used a 6mm Remington in a Remington 788 for mine. This year I have either a 300 wsm w/ 22" barrel or a 6.5-284 norma w/ 26" barrel to choose from. Im kind of leaning towards the lighter and shorter 300 wsm i have as it was a definite chore hiking up them hills.
A lighter gun is nice for mountain hunting. A 7mm in either a 7-08, 280 Rem, 7x57, 280 AI are all good starting points. But there are other great and capable calibres out there. Sheep hunting can put you in griz country so some might feel more comfortable with a 7 or 30 mag of some sort.
- Location
- In the shadows of the Rockies
I would take either of these compact rifles. Both weigh 8.8 lbs scoped. Not excessively heavy and I don't feel hindered packing the weight. The SAKO has the advantage of being impervious to wet weather -
375 H&H Magnum SAKO 85 Kodiak with Leupold VX-2 Ultralight 3-9x33mm scope
416 Remington Magnum Zastava LKM70 Fullstock Carbine with Nikon Monarch 1.5-4.5x20mm scope
375 H&H Magnum SAKO 85 Kodiak with Leupold VX-2 Ultralight 3-9x33mm scope
416 Remington Magnum Zastava LKM70 Fullstock Carbine with Nikon Monarch 1.5-4.5x20mm scope
300 WM or 300 WSM with 180 AB!! Great combo and not at all undergunned for griz. Though some feel that something with a lanyard is required in griz country. Let them carry the heavy gun!! loL!
Are grizzlies a concern? If not, 260 rem or 6.5creedmoor would get my vote. I like things made from common cases so 260 rem would be my choice, and its hard to beat 264cal bullets for BC and SD.
If grizz is a potential, a 300 mag or 338 mag is much better for safety reasons, but getting one that's light enough to carry but heavy enough to shoot will be harder.
If grizz is a potential, a 300 mag or 338 mag is much better for safety reasons, but getting one that's light enough to carry but heavy enough to shoot will be harder.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Worked well when you were guiding Jack O'Connor, didn't it?
But in fairness, there's no reason that a 270 wouldn't be great. The problem with the magnums in lightweight rifles is that they get obnoxious quickly and are hard for most hunters to shoot well in field positions. And the ultralights tend to get unbalanced pretty badly. Not such a good thing when you're out of breath and trying to steady the rifle for a quick, and possibly long, shot. A nice, middle of the road weight in a reasonably flat cartridge would be the best way to go. Think of the original Remington M700 Ti in 270...like the one I passed up on the used shelf at Chilcotin Guns many years ago. Funny how you always remember those one.
The 7mm Rem Mag is probably the best mountain rifle of the common cartridges. It is extremely flat, does not have much recoil and can get you on a few more shots that might otherwise be outside of your comfort zone with a lesser cartridge. It would do a better job in grizzly country than the 6.5's also. If you never plan on shooting beyond 300 yards a 7mm-08 or .270 would do just fine also... I would hate to think that choice might be regretted at some inopportune moment.
