358 vs 35 whelan

[stymie]

I am lookin for a rifle to use in Alaska, have thought about a whelan  but also have a plethera of 308's win,win bolt, 2 m100's,swede mauser,98 mauser, lee-enfield, and have thought of having one rebarreld to 358 win. and 225 gr bullet topped with a 1x5 scope..any suggestion thoughts?

[talon]

Are we talking Brownies or black bear?

[Daveinthebush]

Talon makes a good point. Bears!

If brown bears are your goal the .35 Whelen is the only choice with the firearms that you currently have.

If you omit the bears, the .308 would be fine.  BUT, many people that hunt deer, use .338's and .375's just because they know that a gun shot is a dinner bell to some bears.

I quote someone: " Your arms are bloodied to the elbow and your rifle is leaning against a tree as you process your, deer (caribou, moose, goat) and a brown bear come to dinner.  What caliber of rifle do you want leaning against the tree?

The .358 Win. would make a great black bear gun as it does not take much to knock them down.

[stymie]

Black bear ,maybe the griz/brown in a year or so. Want to get comfortable with A RIFLE, much like my 308 mod 70 that i have used since I was 14(first gun-my dad gave it to me on my d'day-and only gun my parents gave me.)
.

[Sourdough]

Don't mean to rush your way of thinking, sounds like you want to wait a year or so before going out for Brown Bear.  Good idea, but it usually don't work that way.  You go out for deer, sheep, or something small, and as you are field dressing your animal, a Brownie comes over for lunch.  Yes that's how it usually happens.  So from the get-go you need to be ready, just in case.  I'd only been in Alaska three months when I shot my first Grizzly.  Was not looking for Grizzly, looking for Black Bear, got a Grizzly instead.