Falling block verses break open action

[S.E.Ak]

A thing to remember is the guide is responsable for the clients life and may need many quick shots to clean up a mess.Most guides will carry a rifle with a four in the caliber when guideing just for that reason.For their own hunting its mostly a three something.All my hunting rifles are H&R except for a Ruger #3 for the 45/70 hot big stuff.
In town here you will not find any of the Ruger/Hornady ammo or any of the short mag stuff.You will find 270,30-30,308,30-06,300wm,338wm and 458 and lots of 45/70.Lots of 357mag and 44mag and 45colt not much else.

[243dave]

S.E., Do guides carry my beloved .243 ?? Its got a 4 in there too.     

[S.E.Ak]

Deer hunting on their own some may or even a 264.For guideing the ammo starts with four. My bride does use a 243 handi for deer alot but likes her 357mag/357max handi better

[Drilling Man]

  I was an Alaskan resident for 25 years, and i hunted with a bolt gun quite a bit, but i'd say i hunted with my drilling and Valmet 412 more.  If i had owned a good double rifle back when i was hunting brown bear all the time, i would have carried it instead of a bolt gun.  They are the perfect brown bear gun, in my book!
  It's true, most of the fish/hunt guides don't even live in Alaska all year around.  They are mostly outsiders trying to make a living off Alaskan resourses!  And yes that bothered me when i lived there...
  It's also true that there's a strict weight limit on flying into the bush, but outsiders for the most part are paying so much for the hunt, they don't even see it.  The guide knows this, and add's it in, but as a resident you are trying to save money and already know to travel light.
 
  I once was stuck in the Brooks Range on a sheep hunt, while the pilot flew loads and loads of "luxuries" into a camp for a guided hunt!  That cost me about a week EXTRA out in the bush, with not much to eat!  WHY? Because the "guide" paid enough to get serviced first!  (why not? it wasn't HIS money he was spending!) Add in the weather delays, and you can get stuck out in the bush for quite a while...
  As an Alaskan, you learn to travel as lightly and cheaply as you can, as you can't afford to do other wise, and with weather delays ect., your friends and realitives are trying to go places too, and you want to be considerate.
  DM

[S.E.Ak]

The great bear guide Joe Want carried a DR H&H.He started guideing with P&T the folks that gave many of us older folks the desire to go to Alaska. Joe was Master Guide #006

[Casull]

It's also true that there's a strict weight limit on flying into the bush, but outsiders for the most part are paying so much for the hunt, they don't even see it. 

 
If weight is the issue, I just don't see a three barrel drilling providing a savings over a single barrel bolt rifle.

[243dave]

A bolt gun can be made as light or as heavy as any other gun.  I think what they are getting at is that a break-down gun such as a drilling, break-open single or double can be made very compact when taken apart, which aids in transporting in a bush plane. 
Lets get back on topic.  For me the break-open single does it all.  Its doesn't have the elegent lines and is probably not as stong as a big falling block action but its more versitile.  I'm not a fan of H&R's/New Englands because I've owned two and one was dangerous while the other was inaccurate, the Encore is the platform for me.  After a trigger job they do it all.  You can have a pistol, a rifle, a shotgun, a muzzleloader, and even a rimfire.  Plus with a well made custom barrel its accuracy can be a consistant .25 MOA.  This is the most versitile platform that I know of in all of shooting, the TC Encore.
Dave

[pastorp]

Dave,
 
Honestly a lot of the indians in SE alaska do use the 243. One elder in our village bought a new savage 99f in the mid 1950s chambered in the, then new 243 winchester cartridge. That has been his only hunting rifle from then to now. He fed a large family on deer, moose, & bear meat with that gun all those years. Yes he killed moose with it too. Sometimes you use what you have.    He told me he had killed over 1,000 deer with it.
On one hunt he killed 6 deer and after packing them down to the beach where his skiff was tied up & loading the deer, without think he just jumped in and made the run of about 15miles home. When he got home he could not find his gun. At the next low tide he went back and found his rifle on the beech. The tide of course had come in during the intrum and covered it with sea water. He took it home and flushed it with fresh water and covered it liberally with motor oil. Due to that type of treatment the stock looks black today, but he still shoots it.
 
Sorry to go off topic but I though you might enjoy that story.....Regards,

[243dave]

Pastorp, I enjoy the stories.  I was stationed in Fairbanks for a few years in the early 90's and I would have never left Alaska had I been a single man but my wife didn't care for the winters and the long distance from our families.  A few years doesn't make me a sourdough but I have an idea of the culture and way of life and I envy you guys, I miss it.  When I arrived up there I thought I needed at least a 300mag to hunt even caribou.  While the 300 win mag is a great cartridge I found out by talking to some ole timers that many of them used much smaller rounds and they killed moose and bear just fine.  I met one fellow that only hunted moose with his old model 70 243, I love my 243's but I still carried my 300 because the 200gr partitions gave me a bit more convidence for the size game that Alaska contains.  My take-----  For hunting a magnum rifle isn't needed(but isn't a bad thing) but for a guide the rifle should throw a real big piece of lead and have plenty of stopping power.
Dave 

[pastorp]

Dave,
 
Sounds like you have a pretty good handle on things Alaskan........
 
Regards,

[mechanic]

I've never hunted Alaska, but I've watched TV shows.  Guess that makes me an armchair expert......
 
One thing I noticed on a show about the Inuit whale hunters.  As they are cutting up the whale, they have a guard posted for bears.  The camera did a close up interview with him.  He was armed with a mini 14 and 30 round mag.
 
I personally would want a bigger gun, but then, I've never walked in his shoes.
 
Ben

[S.E.Ak]

The natives often have just one gun to do it all and its most times a small caliber.Flat shooting is important to them for seals and such and they have nothing but time to follow caribou herds.They are never out alone so once hit a bear seldom will charge a group and if it does a swarm of hornets will be at him quick enough.After the bear has time to die they go get it and use it up.
Bolt action talk is for a different forum and serves no purpose here!

[Casull]

Bolt action talk is for a different forum and serves no purpose here!

It only came up as a result of talk about weight.  However, if it, or me, is offensive, I will stay away.   

[S.E.Ak]

Weight too has little to do with it,package size is the more important thing

[S.E.Ak]

Never had any desire on the Handi's.  The falling blocks, however, are just darn cool.  As far as the Handi's being cheaper, there are a couple of bolt guns you can buy for about what the Handi's go for.  To me that is a no brainer, I'll take the 3, 4 or 5 shots offered by the bolts (plus they are usually capable of greater accuracy).

First mention of bolt guns in thread

[Rangr44]

After owning plenty of both types, over the last 50-odd years, count me solidly in the break-open camp.
 
This is a (subjectively) beautiful .30-06 BRNO Effect ($1200), IMHO worth two $900 Ruger #1's.
 

 
.

[pastorp]

Ranger,
 
Now that is a elegant rifle....   Very classy.
 
Regards,