Rifle for Northern BC?

S

Scott Bear

Regular
Rating - 100%
86   0   1
Location
Prince George
I'm going to go hunting for the first time (besides gophers in AB) and was wondering what rifle/round would be good for the bush in northern BC. One of my old teachers told me that when he was young the First Nations said you only need two guns: a big one and a small one. There choice was a .22 and a 30-30. His mother also shot a moose that had wondered into her flower garden up in northern AB. She was pissed and shot it with a .22 short and the thing went flop and hit the ground!

I like the lever 30-30 but don't want to limit myself. I like the controlled round feed if I were to go for a bolt gun.

I have a 45-70 I keep in the truck for bears and thought I might use this? I would be hunting deer, moose and possibly elk up closer to mackenzie.
 
My brother lived in Mackenzie for years, shot a bunch of moose plus some deer. All the moose were short-range, the deer a bit longer. He used a .270 Win. His son shot some with the .270 but when he bought his own rifle made it a .300 Mag.
I think it would be hard to go wrong with any .30-06-class cartridge, say from the .280 Rem through the .308 win, .30-06, 7mm Rem Mag. A .300 Mag of some stripe might be nice if the recoil doesn't bother you too much, but I don't think you'll need one.
Your .45-70 is a bit limited in range by its trajectory, but if you're experienced shooting it at various ranges, it can work.
 
Because there is critters up there that can and will chew on you a bit, a 30-06 with good 180 or 200 gr bullet would be a min. A 338 with good 225 gr would be the ultimate weapon for the north, if you can handle the recoil.

I hunted with a 270 first and shot my share of moose and deer, but then went to a 308 norma mag with 180 partitions, then a 300 RUM with 180 accubonds. I had a few run in's with bears while working, hunting and guiding that made even my 300 RUM feel inadiquate at times.

Your 45/70 would be great if you know you range and your firearm and it's limitations. Most animals, other than sheep and goats are shot with-in 100 yards, so you do not really need a long range cannon, but a 338 would be sweet.

SS
 
.30-06 gets my vote.

never felt under gunned around Prince George for 5yrs with my .270win.

using your head is far more important then your choice of rifle up north.
 
Not to start a war but controlled round feed eliminates a lot of fine rifles and for what great gain?... but it is your choice and there is nothing wrong with it.

Certainly nothing wrong with a 7mm Remington Magnum cartridge. It's a ''light'' Magnum but sufficient for anything. The .338 Winchester Magnum is another good one with a bit more for a grizz. If recoil is a problem a brake on it makes it a pussycat to shoot.
 
I like CRF in 35 Whelen. Mine is custom, highly modified Mauser 98. I also have Rem 760 in one. In N BC there is nothing better. At short distance, 45/70 works well, at long, 338 mag is exc, but shot recovery is slow, and 2 or 3 cart. in magazine, does not feel very reasuring, when You see pizza size prints in snow. 35 Whelen does everythink well. My $02 worth.
 
You can choose any caliber you want. Lately I have been sticking to what's ready of the shelf for hunting calibers. I have typically been into the esoteric. I got caught once with a missing box of ammo. I was fortunate I found more ammo but it was a fluke and it cost me all the in hand cash I had for that hunting trip.

I stick with:

30-06
300 Win Mag
30-30
45-70

All can be found on the shelf up north….

Pete
 
These threads always start out the same. New hunter, what shall I get? First comes the completely sensible solution, get a 30-06, but quickly goes into various 300 magnums, the big kicking 338 magnum and other calibres just as useless to him. Useless? Yes, no bullet will kill, or even hurt, anything if it misses the animal. And I have seen too many new shooters, seldom fire the rifle shooters, young and old, that did terrible shooting with a heavy kicking rifle.
Northern BC is a large and varied area. I seriously doubt if he will be doing any mountain hunting, meaning sheep and goats, so that leaves the willow infested semi-alpine, swamps and bush of the rest of the country, and basically the large moose of the area. He says he has a 45-70. It's also quite a kicker, but manageable with factory ammunition, which is adequate, even for any grizzly he may encounter. So just take it and go hunting. A little practice can make it a 200 yard rifle and that is all you need.
I think the writer of the original post has also been doing too much reading. Otherwise, why under the sun would he say he wanted a controlled feed, if he got a bolt action rifle? For the last 50 years, hunters have chosen the rifle they desired, and couldn't care less how the cartridge got into the chamber. If any rifle failed because of a design fault, I have never read of it.
Actually, I often think there is too much information available today. He has probably Googled everything imagineable on guns, got completely conmfused, so wrote into these threads and that should complete the cinfusion!
 
I'm a 30-06 man, so it would be a no-brainer for me to say "30-06 with a good 180gr bullet." but there are many other good cartridges out there. If your not a handloader, stick with the 30-06, 308win, 270win; buying 180gr bullets in the 30's, and 150gr bullets in the 270. Cartridges for these are available anywhere. If your a handloader, the sky (and possibly your sanity) are the limit.
Mike
 
H4831 said:
These threads always start out the same. New hunter, what shall I get? First comes the completely sensible solution, get a 30-06, but quickly goes into various 300 magnums, the big kicking 338 magnum and other calibres just as useless to him. Useless? Yes, no bullet will kill, or even hurt, anything if it misses the animal. And I have seen too many new shooters, seldom fire the rifle shooters, young and old, that did terrible shooting with a heavy kicking rifle.
Northern BC is a large and varied area. I seriously doubt if he will be doing any mountain hunting, meaning sheep and goats, so that leaves the willow infested semi-alpine, swamps and bush of the rest of the country, and basically the large moose of the area. He says he has a 45-70. It's also quite a kicker, but manageable with factory ammunition, which is adequate, even for any grizzly he may encounter. So just take it and go hunting. A little practice can make it a 200 yard rifle and that is all you need.
I think the writer of the original post has also been doing too much reading. Otherwise, why under the sun would he say he wanted a controlled feed, if he got a bolt action rifle? For the last 50 years, hunters have chosen the rifle they desired, and couldn't care less how the cartridge got into the chamber. If any rifle failed because of a design fault, I have never read of it.
Actually, I often think there is too much information available today. He has probably Googled everything imagineable on guns, got completely conmfused, so wrote into these threads and that should complete the cinfusion!
Click to expand...


I can go this this...good post.
 
I went on an annual Moose hunting trip north of mckenzie for the better part of 10 years.....I carried a 7mm08 with 139 grain bullets. Killed moose real good and sure there were the odd bears but I never got chewed on and certainly never felt undergunned.

Guess I was lucky:onCrack:

I agree....use your 45-70 ! The bush is thick up thataways anyhow;)
 
H4831 said:
These threads always start out the same. New hunter, what shall I get? First comes the completely sensible solution, get a 30-06, but quickly goes into various 300 magnums, the big kicking 338 magnum and other calibres just as useless to him. Useless? Yes, no bullet will kill, or even hurt, anything if it misses the animal. And I have seen too many new shooters, seldom fire the rifle shooters, young and old, that did terrible shooting with a heavy kicking rifle.
Northern BC is a large and varied area. I seriously doubt if he will be doing any mountain hunting, meaning sheep and goats, so that leaves the willow infested semi-alpine, swamps and bush of the rest of the country, and basically the large moose of the area. He says he has a 45-70. It's also quite a kicker, but manageable with factory ammunition, which is adequate, even for any grizzly he may encounter. So just take it and go hunting. A little practice can make it a 200 yard rifle and that is all you need.
I think the writer of the original post has also been doing too much reading. Otherwise, why under the sun would he say he wanted a controlled feed, if he got a bolt action rifle? For the last 50 years, hunters have chosen the rifle they desired, and couldn't care less how the cartridge got into the chamber. If any rifle failed because of a design fault, I have never read of it.
Actually, I often think there is too much information available today. He has probably Googled everything imagineable on guns, got completely conmfused, so wrote into these threads and that should complete the cinfusion!
Click to expand...

This man is a clear thinker..very sage advice!
 
i hunt from the kitimat valley to the nass valley and i use my 300 win mag 270 win and 30-06 and .22 and deciding on a .375 but it depends on my mood and how much hiking i feel like doing
 
Last edited:
H4831 has the right idea! Use what you are comfortable shooting. I use a .375 H+H for moose to gophers and everything in between.

Why don't you head out to the range with a buddy and get a little practice in on a few calibers, just to get your head around it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom