Spring bear gun and load?

[Daveinthebush]

Spring bear season is almost here in Alaska.  So what is going to be your bear gun and load combination this year up  here or anywhere else. :gun4:

Remington 7600 - .35 Whelen
Leoupold 4X
250 grain Speer Grizz
5? grains of 4064

Or

Thompson Contender in .445 Super Mag.
14" barrel w/ muzzle break
300 grain hardcast
?? grains of H110

[BW]

Well,

For the Brownies, it will probably be the same as last fall...

Winchester M70 Classic Stainless/Plastic (the factory stock is too cheap to call synthetic)
Chambered in 416 Taylor
370gr North Fork Bullets
70+ grains H4895 (for near 2400fps)

For Black bears...
Winchester M70 Classic Stainless/Wood
Chambered in 338 Win Mag
Either a 225gr North Fork, or maybe one of those new http://groovebullets.com/
Load still not developed  :eek:

Both rifles wear Leupold 2.5-8x scopes, the .416 with QR rings and irons for back-up.

[Matt in AK]

Dang it guys.  I'm already like a kid the day after Thanksgiving just waiting for Christmas to come and here you guys go rattling the presents under the tree.  

I can't hunt grizzly without a guide until Fall so it's black bear for me.

Spring baited hunt in Dave's neck-of-the-woods off the Richardson Highway.  I figure to use a handgun for that close up action.
Two choices:
- TC Encore
 -- 14" bbl with muzzle brake
 -- 2-6X Bushnell scope
 -- 30-06 w/180 gr Core-Lokt
- Ruger SBH
 -- 5" bbl
 -- open sights
 -- 44 Mag w/320 gr hard cast loads by "Alaska Backpacker"
I'm leaning toward the Encore.  I can cock it silently, unlike the Ruger, and figure that might be a good idea with bears potentially close-up before I know they're there.

Spot-n-Stalk, either Spring or Fall, on the Kenai:
- Remington 700
 -- 2-7X Leupold VX-II
 -- 338 Win Mag w/225 gr Core-Lokt
I chased (stalking would falsely imply skill) three blackies last Fall but those guys outsmarted me each time.  The wind would shift (or I wouldn't pay attention to it until I was wondering "Now why's that bear running so fast?  Hmmm that breeze on the back of my neck is cool and refreshing." :eek: ) and they'd either disappear or turn on the afterburners.  I figure this year I'll camp out at treeline and walk the ridges (military crest) and avoid the 2-3 hour "alder tango" up the hill every time I spot a bear.  Whaddya think?

[dabigmoose]

HI Matt and Dave
 I just got back from bison hunting in the farewell burn area
was a week of -10 and -25 and the worst trail i ever seen after we flew in on the  windy river we rode 20 miles of snowmachine trail with no snow maybe a inch or two mostly ice.
Well we took two bison and seen a lot of bear sign around some old dens
that we scouted. Grizzly should be good over there this spring as well as black bear.I will post later as i am still recouping after the trip ,caught
a nasty cold.

Dabigmoose

[Matt in AK]

Dabigmoose,

Congrats on the bison!!!  That's an amazing Alaska opportunity -- truly wild and free-ranging bison.  You know you owe us a real good huntin' story soon.

If the weathers stays like it is, I think I'll drive on down near Girdwood and see if any blackies are out yet.

[freddogs]

! was thinking of using the 50 cal muzzleloader. Only black bears were I hunt. They don't seem that hard to kill. :biggun:

[dabigmoose]

HI matt
 If ya get down to Soldtna sometime let me know
I will be going to prudhoe  on thursday but will be back on 3/27.
I will post a Bison hunt story in the alaska hunt forum
in a few after i get some photos back.
Hope ya get a spring bear bro
talk at ya later
dabigmoose

[Matt in AK]

Dabigmoose,

I'll be sure to look you up some time soon.  I've heard the drive to Soldotna is beautiful and the hillsides, at least in the Fall, are great places to look for black bears.

[Moose-Hunter]

Great thread! :-) For spring and fall brown & black bears, I'll be using my Model 70 338 Win. Mag. with factory 250 grain High Energy Nosler Partitions, or my Model 70 375 H&H with 300 grain Nosler Partitions, or my new Model 70 300 WSM with factory 180 fail safes. I'll be using my 338 for most of my hunting, though. I have my black bear baiting clinic coming up in April and if I bait for blackies this year, I just might use my Marlin .44 Rem. Mag. for baiting. And yes, spring is really near! I can't wait. :grin: Cabin fever is killing me.

[Groundhog]

This spring will be my first ever black bear hunt.  I've booked a June hunt in Newfoundland.  How does my gun selection sound?

T/C Encore
24" 350 Remington Magnum
2X7 Nikon Monarch
225 Nosler Partition
6# Grains 4320 @ 2650

[Cabin4]

I will be hunting black bear using the trusty old 45-70 in the Marlin Guide Gun. 300 Grain Nosler Partions and a Leupold 1-4x20.

[Del]

My plan is to take a friend bear hunting in Prince William Sound, Alaska this spring.  Since my main goal is to get him a bear, I will only take my "WOLVERINE" by Wild West Guns.

The "WOLVERINE" starts life as a Ruger Super Redhawk .454 (or .480) then is shortened to 4", ported, lightened, smoothed, tuned, & converted for moon clips.  It will shoot the .454 or .45ACP from the same gun!  

The "WOLVERINE" is actually 2.5 ounces lighter then a standard S&W 4" brl. / .44 mag!  Since this will be my main outdoors hip gun, I wanted a lot of punch in a small package.   And I really prefer a double action sixgun over a single action, for close range / need in a hurry / keep this bear off me type work!

Good Hunting, Del

[Del]

Guess I should have mentioned that I'll probably be carrying the Freedom Arms factory 260 grn JFP load when I'm out w/my hunting buddy in  Prince William Sound.  It will be plenty for the Black bears and should do fine if we get a chance at a Brown bear.  This load chronys over 1800 fps from my 6" FA, I hope it gets a solid 1600 fps from the 4" brl. WOLVERINE!?

Anyone else going spring bear hunting!!??

Del

[bearhuntr]

Gents,
Count me in! I will be trying for both a blackie and brownie this spring. My choices mirrors BW's with the exception of model of rifle and the fact that I shoot from the "right" side of things! :grin:

Mauser 98 customized 416 Taylor with 400 grain Hornadys at 2350fps. This rifle performed AWESOME the last time!

Ruger M77MII in 338 Win. for the blackie, shooting a 250 Nosler Partition @ 2715 fps. This stainless rifle is the most accurate medium bore I have ever shot. It helped to change the stock over to fiberglass (B&C) and have the trigger smoothed though. I have never had anything but full penetration on a blackie ever with this combo. Offers extra security for the occasional brownie as well :eek:  
 
I like others are finding that spring bear fever has hit with a vengence! Won't be long now, thank goodness. Good luck to all of you this season...be safe and shoot well!

best,
bhtr

[bayrunner]

Hey Del____ What does feel like shooting that wolverine.

[Del]

Well, I finally got out and shot my new "Wolverine" from Wild West Guns!

First let me list a couple loads for my 4" S&W .44 mag that the Wolverine replaced.  Also, note that these were MAX in my gun and I would only shot a limited amount so I could extend the life of the gun!
1081 fps - 320 grn LBT handload
1341 fps - 255 grn LBT handload

Here's some .454 loads that I shot through the 4" Wolverine the other day.
1440 fps - 300 grn Win. factory JFP
1452 fps - 260 grn FA JFP / 36.0 grn H110 / CCI 450 primer
1601 fps - 260 grn FA JFP factory load
1658 fps - 260 grn Partition Win. factory load

As you can see there is a pretty big difference in loads, and the Wolverine is listed at 2.5 ounces LIGHTER then the 4" S&W .44 mag 629.  I'll be taking the 260 grn Win. Partition loads out for spring bear in PWS.  For a "bear protection" load to carry while hunting, hiking, fishing, I'll probably use the 300 grn Win. JFP or a 325 grn LBT handload @ aprox. 1350 fps.  

Bottom line, "how does it shoot"?  Well it's pretty snappy, the Ruger grips & porting help a lot, but the trigger guard DOESN'T smack my middle knuckle!!  But, for now a few cylinders full per range session will do - it packs a good punch! :wink:   Plus I can always shoot .45 Colt & .45 acp to plink and have lots of fun!! :grin:

[Cabin4]

Del,

THat is a very interesting conversion. It's seems like a real trick that the gun will shoot 45acp and is also chambered for the 454. The case lenth dif on these  rounds makes it very interesting and still get them to chamber properlly in a revolver !  I'm certainly no expert, but that is very interesting. Will it still chamber the 45lc ?

By the way, I was at an S&W show here in PA a few weeks back. The rep from S&W said they are making the 500 mag in a 3icng barrel. He said that they have more orders for this 3ich version than they can keep up with. Mostly for Big Game western pro guides. I can understand why !

[Del]

The Wolverine is able to shoot .45 Colt, .45acp, & .454 ammo due to the fact that Wild West Guns does a moon clip conversion to these models.  The .454 from this gun is a handful, but like I said it DOESN'T smack my middle finger knuckle,  and that has been a problem for me on basically every model .44 I've shot to date.

I heard that S&W was going to bring out a 3" model of the .50 S&W, and I can understand that some big game guides & some others want the biggest punch they can get in a small package to carry on their hip.  Personally I think the gun is TO BIG & HEAVY to carry on the hip all day!

Good luck to everyone who is going out spring bear hunting, don't forget to come back here and tell us about your hunt!  Del  [/u]

[Old Moss]

Will if I was there, I would be loading up my 375JDJ, 270gr sptz at 2150 fps, in a 14" contender 2x Leupold.  With a 45LC Vaquero loaded hot.

     Thanks