Caribou hunt in AK

[Redhawk1]

I am going on a hunt to Alaska for Caribou. I was thinking of taking my 375H&H but after being told the range for shots out to 350 or 400 yards, I decided agents it. I am considering a .308 Winchester or am I thinking to small? I was told Caribou were not that hard to put down and I know a .308 would do fine. Can I please get some feed back form you Caribou hunters. Thanks in advance.  

[Daveinthebush]

It all depends on the time of the year and where you are hunting.  Earlier in the year up on the Bering coast.  the grizz will follow the herds around.
If the bears are still out a .375 is not all that over-gunned.  If you have your hands in a chest cavity up to you elbows and Mr. Brown shows up for a free meal you might want the .375.

On the other hand, the .308 is fine, use 150's or 165's.

It all depends on how worried you are about grizz.  I will take my .308 next time although I have used a .243 and .35 Whelen too.

[Redhawk1]

I think I solved my problem, I am working on getting a 7mm Remington Mag. Lighter weight than my tactical .308 win and not over gunned with the 375H&H for the Caribou. Thank for the feedback.  

[Daveinthebush]

Always find a new excuse to buy a new gun.

 "Honey, I am going to Alaska to hunt and the guys up there say that to be safe I need a bigger gun."

A 7mm will be fine.

[Redhawk1]

I went to the gun shop to pick up the 7mm Rem Mag and a guy just sold his Tikka 300 Win Mag with a Redfield 3X9X40 scope. I picked it up at a great price. I already took off the Redfield scope and put my 3X9X50 Leupold scope on it. I already had the die for the 300 Win Mag so reloading is not a problem.  

[Daveinthebush]

Now you need something for a backup. Tell your wife that you need a .454 as a backup gun just in case the bears are around.

If we play this right you just might end up with two new guns! :roll:

[Redhawk1]

That I won't need. I have a Ruger 44 MAG, a BFR in 500MAG and the barrel is cut down to 5 1/4 inches and I have my Super Redhawk in 454 Casull cut down to 2 1/2 inches. No need to push my luck.  

[Sourdough]

The .300 is a better choice than the 7MM.  Just take it to the range and practice at 200 and 300 yards.  When you are out on the Tundra, the Caribou will see you first most likely.  If they have been shot at they will run the other way.  If no one has been shooting at them, they are curious animals, and are likely to approach you.  If they do that just sit down, everyonce in a while wave an arm, ot something to keep their attention.  The biggest bulls will hang back, but the young bulls and cows will often approach to within 40 to 30 yards.  You may have to take a 200 or 300 yard shot at the big bulls hanging back.  

I haven't had much experience with the .300, but I often use the 165gr boattail for Caribou with my 30-06.  Yes, Caribou are not hard to kill.  If hit solid they usually lie down, and if not disturbed will die right where they lie.  You just need to be aware, once you start skinning, blood will carry far on the wind.  Keep your eyes open for unwanted guest, of the big brown kind.  Odds are you won't see one, but better to be watchful and not see one, than not pay any attention and get visited.

[Daveinthebush]

One of the biggest problems is range estimation.  The tundra can be deceiving to one trying to guess ranges.  If you can take along a range finder it will certainly help you.

Sourdough is correct about caribou being dimwitted. That is until you spot the biggest bull of your life.

You have a bigger kill zone on a caribou than a deer so plan your point-blank-range accordingly, 3" above or below line-of-site.  A 180 grain will do. At 400 just hold at the top of the back.

50   100  200  250   300   400   500
2.7  3.1   2.2   zero -3.8  -16.4  -37

[Winter Hawk]

My ex father-in-law carried a .300 H&H magnum.  He loved bear hunting, and had a couple of brownies, grizzlies and a polar bear he took with it.  Someone convinced him at one time he needed something bigger so he got a .338.  He said after half a box of ammo through it he went back to the .300.  He brought home lots of caribou and moose with that rifle, also.  You made a good choice!

-WH-

[Dand]

Redhawk1 - that last post by Daveinthebush is right on.  I have had good luck with my 300 win on caribou - I've taken over 20 with mine.  I like 180 gr in case I bump into a moose or bear and because I was blowing up too much meat with 165 gr bullets including Nosler partitions - but mostly Speer Grand Slams.  Now I stick with 180 gr Nosler partitions or Speer Hot cores at about 2950 fps.  I'm currently experimenting with x bullets and fail safes.  In these last 2 bullets,  165 gr might be fine with their more solid construction.  When I was using 165 bullets I seemed to encounter quite a few animals at very close range and at the 3200 fps MV for my load, it was making a real mess on the meat.

I got this gun just because I have trouble estimating distance on the tundra - it can be real deceiving.

While it always pays to be vigilant about bears, I think the concern is a bit over stated unless you are in an area where there has been lots of hunting and gut piles around.  Still, there is always the threat and its wise to keep your eyes open.  And, if a problem comes, I think the 300 has a bit more authority than the 7 mag.

Good luck.

[Redhawk1]

I loaded up some 165 gr. Nosler ballistic tip bullets over 70 gr. of IMR4350 in my 300 Win Mag. The ballistic table has it at about 3150 fps. In your opinion is  this a good Caribou load? I am looking more at the bullet construction, I know the 165 gr. weight will do the job. The reason I went with the 165 gr. over the 180 gr. is my gun did not get good groups with the 180 gr. out at 200 yards. The 165 gr. and 150 gr. had real good and very tight groups, both at 100 and 200 yards. I am sighting my gun zeroed at 200 yards.

[Daveinthebush]

Noslers are a slight cut above regular bullets.  The 165 should do fine. Accuracy and confidence go hand-in-hand.  But it also eliminates one excuse, you can't blame it on the load now if you miss!

Have you tried the Remington ballistic charts to see what they suggest for a sight in?  Just curious.

[Redhawk1]

Noslers are a slight cut above regular bullets.  The 165 should do fine. Accuracy and confidence go hand-in-hand.  But it also eliminates one excuse, you can't blame it on the load now if you miss!

Have you tried the Remington ballistic charts to see what they suggest for a sight in?  Just curious.

200 yards is the recommended and will be good to 300 yards then out to 400 yards I will need to hold about 16 inches high. My concern was bullet construction. I do not have a problem with getting different and better quality bullets. I have used Nosler ballistic tip bullets in my 30-06 and had great success with them. I just want to make sure when I do my part the bullet does it's part.  :grin:

[Redhawk1]

I ended up going with the 165 gr. Barnes X bullets. I got real good accuracy out of them. I know they will do the job. I tried the Nosler ballistic tips, and Nosler partitions with great results also, but the Barnes X bullets shot the better groups. All were shooting about 1 inch groups at 100 yards.