Mountain Rifle with Grizzly capability..your thoughts?

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BCBAIRDO

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I have been saving up and am hoping to get a new rifle that I can use for alpine hunting (mule deer, sheep, goat, caribou) and would still like the punch of being able to shoot a Grizzly if I got lucky enough to get the draw and/or had one running me down.

I have currently an old Tikka 7mm Mag but with scope it weighs upwards of 11.5 lbs...very accurate but nearly kills me carrying it in the mtns. I have a Rem. Model 7 in 7mm-08 with a Leupold VXIII and it comes in at about 7.4 lbs total but a bit small for larger game.

I was thinking of getting a 300 Win Mag and topping it off with a Night Force NXS 2.5-10x42 or a Leica ER 2.5-10x42.....the only thing I am struggling with is what make/model of rifle to get. I was thinking of the Tikka T3 but after reading some posts about the less than desireable stock design resulting in large felt recoil I am leaning away from this gun. The Sako Finn Lite would be nice but I was hoping to take that extra $$ at the Tikka price point and put it into nice optics.

What do you guys have for a Mtn. Rifle setup?....any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thx BCBairdo
 
My only suggestion would be to forget thinking of it as a "grizzly" rifle... maximize what it is, don't compromise its primary purpose... it sounds like you want a nice, light, flat shooting rifle in a cartridge suitable for medium game... stay true to that. Those characteristics don't mate well with grizzly catridges... JMO.
 
.35 Whelen shooting mono- metals?

.338 Win Mag shooting 200-220gr Monos

if price isn't a issue I suppose the Sako 85 is a great option!?

but I've never seen a Grizzly bear before.
 
Assuming price is not as issue, you could consider a Christensen Classic (Carbon Fibre) in .300 Win Mag. It weighs 6.7 pounds plus your scope.
 
You can't have a nice light mountain gun and a grizzly gun in one. Grizzly calibers are heavy and therefore the gun is design heavier. Without the weight it would kill both you and the grizzly when you fire it from recoil. I honestly think something is wrong. A tikka weighs 7lbs. Where did you find the 4lb scope? If its too heavy try a tikka in composite stock. IMO your not going to find a more accurate flat shooting weapon then you already have. 7mm mag through a tikka is about as good as it gets in that price range. And that caliber can kill basically all game in the mountains. Just my two cents
 
Sako A7 in 270WSM and carry some bear spray...way more effective at preventing a grizz attack anyhow.
 
My most recent effort at finding a lightweight rifle to serve the purpose of mountain hunting and the remote possibility of a bear encounter is a Forbes 24B in 30-06.
Its currently wearing a 3-9 Burris scope and weighs in at 6 lb. 4 oz.
Load development to date has shown that it prefers a 165 gr. bullet over 180s and also has made some very good groups with 220 gr. Hornady RN.
I think a combination of both bullet weights would be adequate for sheep hunting and bear protection, although in some instances with regard to bears a much larger cartridge would be more comforting...
 
I wrestled with this exact same quandary a few years back. I wanted flat, fast and light with enough bullet if a bear became a problem, to adequately deal with it. I settled on a Remington 700 Ti in 300 WSM. I went a little overboard and ordered a Brown Precision 14 oz stock and PT&G speedlock and alum bolt shroud. The factory rifle was excellent without the other weight saving features, I just wanted the lightest possible rifle. I had wanted to use 165 AB however my rifle didn't like them so after much trial and error with 165s I tried some 150 gn TTSX and it all came together into sub moa with respectable velocity. This is not a bullet weight I would go grizzly hunting with but I have used them before on some very large game and they work very well. A well placed shot to the front 1/3 of any grizzly would be a great deterrent and I can feel quite confident in my survival. This rifle is a pleasure in the high country at 5 lbs 15 oz all up and ready to hunt, and although I'm not the least bit scared of grizzlies I feel very confident that if one choses to force a confrontation, I'll come out on top with this caliber and bullet selection.





I would highly recommend this rifle in either the short mag or the Win mag, I mounted a 3-9 Leupold compact on it to stay with the light weight theme............
 
Two separate requirements here. I'm a .270 guy, but for your situation, I recommend the 7mm-08, due to it's shorter action, for mule deer, sheep, goat, caribou, which means you already have a suitable set up, unless you want to TRY to find something lighter:) Wait, and buy a .338 Win magnum, only if, and when you get drawn for grizz:)
 
I am almost exclusively using a mix of 2 guns. Both with 20" pipes. One is my .308win Rem 700 semi-custom. It weighs 6 lbs WITH the scope and sling.
The other is my .375 Ruger Alaskan. It weighs almost 10 lbs with scope. I don't really care which one is in my hand. With my handloads, all my ammo is Grizzly tough.
The Remington points like a finger, so I feel like the instant sight acquisition and the premium bullets would take a grizz. Get a .308win with a 20" pipe and you won't be sorry.



The .375 Ruger is the one in the middle!! Don't let anyone tell you its not a mountain rifle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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I carry the Kimber 84M in 308..I stick with a bonded bullet of 165gr, partly b/c they fly well from this gun and also b/c if I had to poke a bear i'd like that amount of weight...I also carry bear spray on my hip. Practise a bit at close range shooting as the first time to "snap" shoot isn't when you really have to!!! If I was hunting Grizz, that's different. I'd be carrying my 9.3x62 or 358NM. If I was buying an off the shelf gun, I'd look hard at a 338WM...probably in a T3 of all things, especially if on a budget..as the 2 I've had where OK to shoot....or a M70 Stainless also in 338, which would be a bit heavier, but nicer to shoot

My .02$ anyway
 
1899 said:
Kimber 84L in .30-06 with a Swarovski Z3 3-9x36 or 3-10x42 and 200gr Partitions.
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That should do nicely, historically the 30-06 with 220 grainers was considered to be perfect. My Grandfather killed many grizzlies and that was his recommendation.

If I get my LEH, I'll be taking my Brno 21H 8x57 with 200 grain partitions.
 
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I would say a light weight 30 caliber rifle, either 308 or 30-06 with 165 gr bullets for sheep and goats and half a dozen 200+ gr bullets in a different pocket for a Grizzly encounter.
 
A lot of grizz have been shot with a 270 win. as it was the go to sheep gun in the days gone by my self i like the 280 rem. and have a pocket with some 175 round noses in it and the bears are the least of my worries staying warm and dry is my main worry .
 
I'm no expert on mountain hunting, but why let that stop me from offering an opinion?

I went on a Alaskan grizzly hunt with goat potential and took a Kimber classic in .338 Win Mag with VX3 3.5-10 and never wished for a smaller caliber. Got the bear, and never even rusted the rifle.

I also hunted on a goat/moose/caribou hunt in grizzly country with the same partner and was advised to take the lightest, biggest, ugliest and most weatherproof thing in the collection that could still reach out and touch things and would double as a walking stick and canoe paddle. That one was a stainless Montana 1999 with MPI stock in .300 win that weighs 7 1/2 pounds scoped with a VX3 4.5-14. It worked too, but it would have been better if it were 7 1/2 pounds lighter. It did come home a great deal uglier. My partner had to square off with a sow grizzly at petting range but managed to get out of it with nobody including the bear getting hurt. Some guys have all the luck. There was probably a point for me in that trip that getting eaten would have been a welcome relief from taking another step. Nobody can expect you to keep going if you're dead, so hoping for a bear to end it all seemed like an option.

It didn't escape my attention that everyone on the Alaskan hunt was carrying a .338, and two out of four in BC were also carrying the same caliber.
 
hawk-i said:
I would say a light weight 30 caliber rifle, either 308 or 30-06 with 165 gr bullets for sheep and goats and half a dozen 200+ gr bullets in a different pocket for a Grizzly encounter.
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That fairly well mirrors my opinion in post # 7 and if an encounter were to happen I would likely empty the rifle, throw it at said bear and run like Hell knowing full well that Mr. Bear would be unable to catch me due to what I'd be leaving in my tracks..... ( sorry, just my stab at humor ! )..
 
I think most of us tend to over think and over gun ourselves when hunting in Big Bear country....I remember reading an article somewhere some time ago, about the Inuit using 25-06's, and I think even 223's on Polar Bears with no problems.
 
I'd carry the 7mm-08, bear spray on my waist belt and good helping of common sense.

If you do draw a grizz tag that could be a good reason to go rifle shopping again. Personally, I wouldn't feel bad sticking a good 140 or so grain bullet from a 7mm-08 into the ribs of an interior grizzly....but I'd probably just grab my somewhat chunky .338 WM and just pack less snickers bars.
 
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